Defenseman’s Slot Coverage Drill

The Best Slot Coverage Drill I Know!

Why is this “the best slot coverage drill I know”?  It’s because it deals with what I believe are the two most important aspects of a defenseman’s work in that critical area.  As a side benefit, forwards get the chance to work on their toughness and other offensive skills in that area.

– Dennis Chighisola

Although I’m going to introduce this drill in two phases, you’ll later see how it combines those phases into a drill that forces defensemen to adapt to our game’s constantly changing conditions.

The Drill Set-up

Create lines as shown, with forwards split between the outside two lines, and the defensemen lining-up in the middle.  Here the forwards on the right have pucks, but the drill can — actually it should — be run from both sides.  Also, as the forwards complete their roles coming from one line, they should then move to the other line.

Phase One

The drill begins with a forward moving into the offensive zone and circling behind the net with a puck.  This player has only one duty in this drill:  to make a pass.  Thereafter he must exit the play after making a pass (we don’t want to confuse things by making this a 2 on 1 for the defender).

As the drill begins, the forward from the other line drives to the net, while the first defenseman backchecks that man to the net.

As the player with the pucks emerges from behind the net, his first option would be to pass to his teammate who has moved to the slot.  Only the defender’s success at covering his man will prevent a pass to him.  (Click the sketch to the right to see a video of Phase One.)

Phase Two

This drill moves to Phase Two if a pass can’t be made to the forward in the slot.

In Phase Two, the player with the puck then passes to the second defenseman in line.

As the puck moves to the point, the role of our slot-area defenseman changes drastically.  No longer should he be as concerned with the pass, since the new problem is that his goaltender is now in danger of losing sight of the puck and facing a possible deflected shot.  (If you click-on the sketch to the right, it will show the full drill, as it flows from Phase One to Phase Two.)

Putting the Two Phases Together

Really, the drill runs as shown in the second video…  As you saw, the puckcarrier quickly moved through his pattern and the defenseman is forced to deal with the problems as they occur:  covering for a pass with the puck down low, and then quickly driving his man outward and controlling his stick if the puck moves to the point.

As I said in the beginning, what makes this such an awesome drill is the fact that the defensemen ultimately learn to deal differently with the different threats.  I happen to use this drill fairly often in my practices, and it has served me well for over a decade (maybe twice that long).  It’s that good, at least to me, and I urge every coach (of players probably older than 10-years) to give it a try.

– Dennis Chighisola

If you either agree or disagree — about this being one of the best drills ever, please let me know what you think in the Comment area below.  And thanks so much!

Teaching the Beginner Hockey Player

Okay, I have to start with a huge smile here, because I’ve just finished what I’ll call — for the lack of a better name — a “tryout” for a new 5- and 6-year old team coming from my winter Learn-to-skate/Learn-to-play program.  Ya, they were an adorable lot, with a 4-year old even being one of our better little guys.  Anyway, for the sake of those who might be forming a similar kind of team right now, I thought I’d share some of my thoughts here, as well as some of the “drills” we started with today…

– Dennis Chighisola

Now, it shouldn’t surprise you at all that almost all of what I’ll share here can already be found elsewhere within the CoachChic.com site.  The reason is that I really DO practice what I preach.  I mean, if I’ve said, “This is how we should teach _______,” it’s because that’s what I’ve found over 40-ish years will really work.  And I don’t care if it has to do with beginners or elite level players; that’s how I’d do it.

As far as “my babies” go, I told a few of their parents beforehand that it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes to get a sense of whether a youngster belongs on that team.  In a way — and not much different from older kids, most of us can usually spot a hockey player as he or she comes out the door.  There’s just something about the way he or she carries himself or herself.

Of course, it might take a drill or two more to gain a sense of whether a very young one is ready to take a few instructions.  Understand that I was only going to start planting the seeds in this first gathering.  In a way, I wanted to get a head start on some things I’ll want the kids to ultimately learn.  But I also knew that those kinds of drills would actually give me an idea of whether the kids — at their young ages — could focus and understand some verbal instructions and brief demonstrations.

Now, here’s what guided me in my drill selection…

• The younger players are, the more malleable they are, and the more a really good “teacher” can influence them.
• Defensive play may be a factor in the kids’ success down the road.  Sure, there might eventually be a time when youngsters can start appreciating a forechecking scheme, different kinds of coverages, etc.
• But, right now the only thing that will really capture these little guys’ attention and enthusiasm — and probably the only thing they can really understand — is offense, as in scoring goals.

That in mind, I grabbed a number of ideas from my “Creating the Early Goal-scorer” video (and you might also scan “ The Idea(s) Behind Those Goal-scoring Gadgets“).

Of course, my current youngsters are true beginners at the game, which makes them slightly less experienced than the players I was really aiming to help in that video.  So, while I did try a few of the ideas demonstrated there, I had to use another important teaching technique I’ve mentioned a few times elsewhere.  I mean, what I had to do was create some even easier to do lead-up progressions to start easing my new kids towards the more difficult skills.

Remember:  Really young ones aren’t into too much structure or discipline.  So I started things by just tossing pucks out onto the ice and encouraging the kids to just have some fun.

Also remember:  Since these ARE really young ones, it’s not right for me to immediately talk to them like older players.  So, I quite often during this session called them into a little group by announcing, “Okay, kids, let’s have a really important meeting here.”  And, getting them on their knees and focused (for about the 20-seconds their attention spans will allow), I’d frequently start with some kind of question — maybe about the row of pylons we were going to attack, or about the “simulated goaltender” sitting in the net-crease.

I also loosely applied the Whole: Part Method of structuring drills…  For example, each little guy got to attack the make believe goalie in one drill, we had 2-player races towards that goalie — this to encourage more speed in their attack, we practiced going in and out of pylons (which I referred to as “the bad guys”), and at one point we played a simple game of keepaway with a puck.  At the end of the morning session, I put a couple of the earlier practiced “parts” together by having them — one boy at a time — weave in and out of the pylons at a decent speed, and end by scoring on that simulated netminder.

Oh, and you know my penchant for taking notes…  So, at one point during that session I made a note to myself to bring some weights to use for strengthening their stick grips, passes and shots.  (What I plan on doing can be found in the “Passing Basics in Hockey“ video, in the section on “Discovering Stick-strength”.)

Finally, at one point during our session — while the kids were playing keepaway, I mentioned something important to two dads who were out on the ice helping…  Both dads had themselves played to pretty high levels, so I thought it a good idea to share the distinctions I see.  Or, as I said while we watched the keepaway going on, “That’s really what THEIR game is all about, you know.”  And I went on to suggest that it’s not about the leftwing lock, defensive zone coverage or a powerplay.  No, THEIR game is about getting the puck and keeping it away from their opponents.  It’s about weaving in and out of those “bad guys”, and it’s about beating a little goalie who is usually no more agile than the plastic one we’ll use at our practices.  And, as I’ve also said at numerous times in these pages, our jobs — as parents and coaches — is to help our youngsters be successful at THEIR level.

Now, before ending I have to say that there’s yet another reason I was smiling — or even chuckling — as I reflected on this morning’s tryout session.  As I noted above, these “babies” are as malleable as players can be, and they can be changed rather quickly under the guidance of a really good teaching coach.  And while I have a strong belief in my own abilities, I also know I can almost triple our teaching efforts by helping my assistants to be nearly as effective.  Oh, my reason for chuckling?  It’s because I can only imagine what our games are going to be like when every single young member on our team is able to stickhandle through their opponents and cooly tuck the puck into their opponents’ nets.  Oh, boy…  I suspect we’re going to be creating some hockey monsters this coming winter!

If you like this article, or if you have any questions about it, please do Coach Chic a favor and add a Comment below.  Thanks!

The Mental Component: Another Approach to Hockey Training

As if all of our guest writers aren’t on the cutting edge when it comes to the science of training, let me tell you that our friend, Craig Shaw, is into some stuff that is really “out there” (in the nicest sense, I mean).  Personally, I love the high-tech electronic gadgets.  But, wait until you read about what Craig’s into.  Also, you’ll have to read my later notes to discover why this article found it’s way into the From The MOTION Lab category.  Oh, and although they’re not obvious, there are links to two awesome video down below…

– Dennis Chighisola

The Mental Component: Another Approach to Hockey Training

By Craig Shaw

The mechanical, physical and nutritional components of training get the most focus from coaches and athletic trainers.  These are obviously very important, but up to a certain level of technical ability, athleticism and then the emotional and mental components become at least if not more important.  To paraphrase Coach Chic, “It is the smart hockey player who will get the ice time once the tryouts are over and the season is in full-swing.”  As Saul Miller points out in his book Hockey Tough, “once a player reaches a certain level, 90% of his success is related to the mental/emotional side of the game.”  Although these statements are debatable, very few would argue that they don’t have a lot of truth to them.

Are there ways to improve this aspect of a player’s underlying capacity?  Visualization, positive self talk, deep breathing and the like are quite well known and very useful.  Here is another approach which attempts to make the brain a more efficient mechanism:

Neuro-scientists have found that by improving the underlying capacity of timing and rhythm, one can, in fact, ‘fine tune’ the neuro-pathways of the  brain.  One program that has been used to do this is the Interactive Metronome program.  This program has been around for about ten years and has been used by elite athletic programs around the world, including in all the major professional sports leagues in North America.  Through three to four weeks of training, athletes use this computer program for about twelve hours in total and often make lasting improvements to their processing speed, focus/concentration, balance, reaction time and timing.  For example, professional golfers make significant gains to their golf shot accuracy.

This summer I put two elite hockey players through the program and improvements in the above capacities were noticed by these athletes, their peers and athletic trainers.  In fact, the improvements were so significant that there are plans to drastically expand this part of the training program for many of the hockey players in the Victoria (British Columbia, Canada) area.

The downside is that training usually costs about $80 a session.  But again, the results are lasting: once the pathways are established, they tend to be more-or-less permanent.  Further, reading fluency and other academic gains are common as well.  Parents and teachers report that the athletes seem more mature and emotionally grounded.  Therefore, it can be considered an investment in the future.

A less-expensive approach which may give some similar benefits: the Dance, Dance Revolution video game may be an option.  I am the last person to promote video games, but this one is the exception.  Learning to skip rope and play the drums may also be helpful in this regard.

In short, want to move forward in a part of your game that is usually overlooked by other players?  Consider the mental/emotional aspect.  Those viewing the Interactive Metronome website (www.interactivemetronome.com) will notice that their focus is on helping those with significant physical or developmental issues, but the applications for athletes and students without these kinds of difficulties are also worth noting.

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Want to see a demonstration video about the Interactive Metronome?  Click here!

And if you’ll Click here, you’ll see another YouTube video featuring a goalie training with a similar device.

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Man, talk about cutting edge.  Yet, Craig has provided us some ideas we can use to “fine tune the neuro-pathways of the brain” at home if we don’t have access to expensive devices.  (And yes, I did say “we” and “us”, because I’m going to see about implementing some of those things myself, most likely in The MOTION Lab.)

Then, this side note…  Years ago, figure skaters used to be required to perform “compulsory figures” in order to move-up in test levels.  Perhaps you used to see them at the rinks, using a huge compass (or “scribe”) to inscribe large circles on the ice.  And with those, an individual skater would practice and aim for absolutely perfect skate edge control, tracing the circles, doing pivots, etc.  At the higher levels of testing, I would see judges actually get down on their knees, use a mitten to dust away the snow, and then inspect the ice for a slightest wobble or loss of edge control.  My point here, is that practice sessions required unbelievable concentration or focus leading-up to the tests.  And I DO mean unbelievable.  I tell this story because — similar to what Craig mentioned above, compulsory figures students were known to jump a full grade in their school work after a season of intense on-ice practice at concentration.

By the way…  I’m going to end by teasing my friend here a bit, suggesting to Craig that he rethink his feelings on computer games.  For, while I also once felt they were mind numbing (LOL), I’m going to soon do a post on some very positive things I’ve seen in that area.

– Dennis Chighisola

Did you know your Comments really help me?  So, please get involved.  Just use the box below to offer your thoughts, questions or suggestions.  Thanks!

Periodization for Hockey

Okay, “periodization” sure seems like a mouthful.  However, if you can endure a little bit of technical jargon in the following article, our strength training specialist, Scott Umberger, is going to put you far ahead of most people in your hockey circle.  This truly IS awesome stuff.

– Dennis Chighisola

Periodization for Hockey

By Scott Umberger

This might be one of the “heaviest” topics that I could discuss, particularly to the general population versus a group of academics who live and die for the argument of science.  You, I know, want a simple explanation and a simple answer to “Scott, how should I coach or train?”  Keep in mind that the following could entail a 50-100 page college thesis.  But I will attempt to KIS it for you (or keep it simple).

Periodization is the timing of training. This applies to all training, on and off the ice. The big question is how and when to space the work and rest intervals, and how to sequence the drills or exercises to experience optimal results.  That’s a lot of stuff.  What should you be doing, how long, and what rest intervals should you be utilizing?

The principles of periodization revolve around the idea of rotating exercises and rest intervals to keep the body adapting or guessing. The controversy falls into what and when. There are many theory’s that exist in both the Eastern and Western parts of the world. I will say this, a Russian Hockey Coach once stood up at a Canadian hockey clinic and said something like, “North America, you have more ice and more skaters than we do (in Europe).  However, we consistently produce more highly skilled players than you.”  He is exactly right. Russian drills are performed at a much higher pace (more game specific), and the rest intervals are much shorts than we typically employ here. This results in more quality repetitions over the course of a season and a career.

The English version

Here’s the deal, guys.  You need to rotate exercises and drills that you use with each athlete. The science that I’ve laid out above covers that.  Additionally the athletes need a change.  (Who wants to work at a job that does the same thing everyday? Not me. Not your players.)

I suggest that you rotate exact exercises every 4 weeks.  If you want to modify the original exercises, by all means go ahead. Just make sure that there’s something different about them. If you are doing stickhandling drills, perhaps make your players close their eyes.  Variety is the spice of life.

The human body is tremendous, and the Russians classified it as an organism.  You need to train that constantly adapting organism by keeping things fresh, both physically and mentally.

The art of periodization is timing the set up so that the training effects/skills build upon one another and peak at competition time.

Tools

I would also like to state that what is done on Monday will not help on Saturday.

This is why I like the exercise bike for in-season work and not for out of season work. The bike does a great job of flushing the legs during the season after a game or practice. It’s also a way to “get a sweat in” for a player who is beat up. During the season, the muscles of the “hip flexor” and “groin” need to be rested because of the stresses of skating (literally everyday).

Out of season, the slide board plays a tremendous role in training these muscles under the weight of ones own body. Nothing can replicate the stress of the season, but properly programming a slide board workout can come pretty close. The stress on the hips are also much less than skating on ice or on a treadmill.

These are tools, and they should be used as such.  And, as I’ve pointed out elsewhere, nothing works all of the time.

Ideas for Developing a Cycle

Things become slowly more complex when conditioning, skills, and strength training are placed into any cycle. There is truly an art in this — in knowing the athlete, the sport coach, and the athlete’s ability to recover.  (I sometimes get frustrated seeing less than qualified people trying to pull this off.  And if you find yourself needing help with this, that’s one of my specialities.)

Generally, my advice is to pick exercises or drills that would improve the weaknesses of your athletes.  Rotate those over 4 weeks, making sure that your athletes master each exercise or skill.

Some Science for Those Who Care to Know a Little More

Personally, I have begun converting from the Russian Conjugate Sequence System to the Block Training Methodology. This methodology is outlined in structural units:

Block Training Unit

• A single training session
• Microcycle – several training days. A weekend showcase could last 3-4 days, so the training preparation should be adjusted accordingly.
• Mesocycle – several microcycles in the range of 2-4 weeks, typically 3-4, depending on the timing of the yearly cycle (in season vs out of season).
• Macrocycle – includes a complete competitive season (pre-season, in-season, and post-season periods). With hockey, it’s pretty simple, referring to annual cycles. As a 14 to 15 year old with a goal to play Juniors at 16,17, or 18, these Macrocycle’s would be 2,3, and 4 years, respectively.

Types of Mesocycles

• Accumulation – the aim is to improve conditioning (General Physical Preparedness- GPP) as well as sport technique. GPP is conditioning in order to be able to train at an adequate level. If one needs to rest 5 minutes in between sets, then they are not in shape and won’t reap the benefits of the training session. In regards to hockey skills, you could work on not allowing the puck to settle on your stick before you shoot. You don’t master this skill during the season.
• Transmutative – the idea is to transform the nonspecific GPP into Sports Specific Preparedness. An example is to polish up the hockey skills that you have been practicing. The conditioning becomes more specific to the position and sport instead GPP which is preparing the athlete to train in general.
• Realization – having everything come together. This phase focuses on applying the new skills and preparedness in a competitive environment.

I would love to give specific recommendations here. I simply can’t because that kind of advice would have to be specific — for the athlete’s age, competitive level (A, AA, AAA, Jr, Major Jr, professional, etc), and his or her training experience.

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As if Scott hasn’t done an awesome job already, I sometimes like to help things stick with some short stories.  So…

Anyone who has ever trained at a sport that involves measurement — like lifting for poundage, jumping for distances or racing for times — has most likely experienced something known as a “plateau”.  In other words, after long periods of training, you reached a “sticking point” where it was difficult to add much weight to a lift, add an inch to a jump, or cut even a millisecond off your time.  Back in my youth, a lifter countered each plateau by changing his routine, most often using exercises that worked the same muscles but in slightly different ways.  If you can picture it, the new exercises were refreshing — both physically and mentally, and they usually managed to shock the body (and mind?) past that plateau.  That said, what if instead of waiting for the inevitable sticking point to rear its ugly head, one “periodically” altered his or her training routine ahead of time?  Well, I might be oversimplifying things a bit here, but that’s close to what Scott has described here.  (By the way…  All athletes can experience sticking points in their progress; I’ve just used the above examples because they are easily noticeable or measurable.)

I like to also tell a personal story when it comes to this area, this one on the slightly humorous side.  You see, I hate my wife because she swims like a fish while I can be likened to a dawgoned rock in the water.  So, just envision a comparison here, with my wife needing to swim for a fairly long time in order to break a sweat, while I, on the other hand, would be out of gas in a matter of seconds.  Of course, when it comes to a skating contest, I could probably cruise the rink forever without tiring.  My point:   Once the body becomes fairly familiar with a given movement, that movement isn’t as apt to pose a real challenge.  And that’s just another reason why constant change is necessary for further growth.

Finally, perhaps a lot like you, I’m dealing mostly with amateur players who have lots of other commitments.  For that reason, it might be difficult for us to install a program as in depth as Scott might do in his gym.  Still, we can rotate things like tools, exercises and drills as Scott suggests.  The main idea is avoid plateaus and to keep the athlete growing.  And, while we might not be able to do everything as Scott and other professional strength coaches do, I believe that applying just some of the principles mentioned above is going to put a CoachChic.com player, parent or coach far ahead of others.

– Dennis Chighisola

You probably have a lot of questions about this topic.  So, let’s go back and forth through the Comments area below, huh?

Should Parents Back-off on Their Child’s Hockey Training?

I know this is going to be a rather touchy subject.  Yet, I want you to hear-out a couple of extremely qualified guys.

In the following audio presentation, Lisa Cohn interviews Dr Patrick Cohn and noted baseball coach, Tommy Weber, on that very topic — about the possibility that parents should back-off when it comes to their youngster’s hockey training.

Again, I’d like you to hear Coach Weber’s side of this argument, then I’d like to add a few of my own comments a little later.

– Dennis Chighisola

Why Sports Parents Should Back-off

with Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D. and Tommy Weber

Click the arrow below to play:

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Okay, so you should have gotten a pretty good sense of how one very experienced sport coach and a noted sport psychologist feel on this subject.  And, I’d have to agree with all that’s been said in that interview.   At the same time, we hockey folks have a slightly greater challenge than families in most other sports…

For one thing, ice hockey rinks are usually built in pretty remote locations.  So, it isn’t like our youngsters can just hang their gear over the handlebars of a bike and head-off to practice on their own.  In other words, parents must help transport their kids and all that heavy gear, and it just makes sense that they’re going to hang around for the hour or so of practice time.

And, while it’s not necessarily an excuse for hanging around for practices, hockey families do invest an awful lot more money in their youngsters’ practice time than those in most other sports.

I might add my own reason for staying for a practice, in that I’ve always really enjoyed watching my guys have fun — as they played or as they practiced.  (Actually, that’s one of the things I miss so much today, since my son has long retired and my grandson now practices far away at college.)

Okay, so I’ve given my hockey brethren plenty of reasons to ATTEND their youngsters’ practices.  However, I don’t think it’s the attending practices that Dr Cohn and Coach Weber are really getting at.

No, as a matter of fact, I think it’s more a matter of us parents needing to give our kids — and their coaches — some space that’s really at issue.

I actually addressed that subject in an earlier video (in “Up The Boards, Johnny!“) with a message I really want my friends here to appreciate.  I mean, it is not possible for your son or daughter to serve more than one master at a time.

Please think about that one again…  Nothing but confusion comes from a youngster needing to please both the coach and his or her parents (not to mention teammates).  In fact, I firmly believe a lot of the fun can be taken out of the playing experience if a youngster is forced to please too many.

Then, a personal note…  On rides home from games, my young guy would almost always ask me, “Well, what did you think?”  I simply answered that with several questions of my own, as in “I don’t know; what do you think?” or “What did your coach have to say?”.  You have to understand — and I wanted my guy to also understand — that it didn’t really matter what I thought.  Hey, only one guy (or gal) gets to name the next group of players to go over the boards and onto the ice, and that’s the coach.

– Dennis Chighisola

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The Most Important Factors in Hockey Shooting

Jerry Z — yes, THAT Jerry Z of CoachChic.com in-line fame — submitted a VERY good question the other day.  As a matter of fact, it might be one of the best ones I’ve fielded to date.   You see, I quite often raise the points noted below as I talk to my Team NEHI hockey players.  And I especially get into this stuff when their offensive efforts are failing.  So, here’s what Jerry asked…

– Dennis Chighisola

Q: What do you consider the most important factor is in shooting?  Whether it’s to be accurate?  Hard?  Quick? (I assume each shooter is different, but how would you prioritize practicing?)

A: Really, I have a very short answer for Jerry.  Before I get to that, however, I’d like to share some information that should help players of all levels, including elite guys and gals.

First, although every player IS different, I probably wouldn’t change the basic advice I’ll be sharing here.  Oh, I do talk to forwards and point-shooters a little differently (which is a topic for another time).  But, no matter what position a player plays, he or she really should be aware of the following…

Now, to really make my point with (head strong?) young players, I’ll use a couple of very familiar subjects — namely, the NHL’s top scorers’ list, and a popular segment of the NHL’s skills competition.

Most often I’ll begin this kind of discussion by asking my guys if they recall who the top scorers are in the NHL.  Once things have settled down, and once they’ve tossed more than enough names my way, I’ll move-on to ask them which guys had the hardest shots in the most recent NHL slapshot competition.  Once again, kids will usually get a little rowdy and argue amongst themselves (I like when they get into it like that), but we ultimately do boil the list down to a couple of really strong shooters.

In a way, my players have played into my hands here.  I mean, I believe they can envision at this point the top scorers and the hardest shooters.  And they’re usually ripe by this time to answer a few of my planned questions.

The first thing I’ll put to them is whether any of the NHL’s extra hard shooters are near the top of the league in scoring.  I’m usually looking at a bunch of open mouths by now, and a whole bunch of players who really want to know what’s coming next.

What’s next?  It’s that most of the guys found near the top in scoring — probably in any league — are those who have moves and put their shots on-goal quickly.

Now, before someone offers the fact that there have been many great shooters at or near the top in NHL scoring, I’m going to say that is absolutely the case.  In fact, all of the guys who tally a lot of points can fire the puck.  But, that’s not my point.

My point IS that top scorers shoot quickly.  Seldom are they one dimensional (with just a big shot).  Again, they have moves — or dekes, and they can usually launch the puck with lightening speed from any spot or any posture.

Before going further let me share some of the keys from another brief conversation I often have with my students and players, this having to do with a match-up between an attacker and the goaltender…

• Please consider that the goaler probably desires two things in such a confrontation.
• He’d like to be able to see the puck (which suggests that screens must prove very frustrating to him).
• A goalie needs time.  I mean, most goaltenders own the best equipment their money can buy, and they spend a lot of their practice time learning how to place that expensive gear in the right place relative to the puck’s location.  And, given enough time to put that gear in the right spot, I’m betting that the hardest shot in the world isn’t going to find its way to the back of the net.

And that, my friends, is the basis upon which I answer most questions having to do with shooting.

That shooting quickness and shooting power belong at opposite extremes should be easy for me to now argue.  Accuracy, on the other hand, will take a little more explaining.

From what I’ve said about the goaler’s needs, you should understand why I see a quick trigger as the most important shooting trait.  It should make sense that the ultra-quick shot has the best chance of catching the netminder out of position.

Now, don’t get me wrong on this next one, because I believe it’s awesome to have a powerful shot, and I work with my guys plenty to develop their hand, forearm, shoulder and core strength.  At the same time, the most powerful shots usually take time to uncork, and that’s often exactly what a goaltender needs to get himself or herself in the right position.  And that’s why power takes a backseat to shooting quickness in my book.

Shooting accuracy is a tricky one…  Frankly, every shot should be on-goal.  (What is it I’ve heard some coaches say?  “You can’t score on 100% of the shots that miss the net!”?)

This short story…  A lot of years ago I read an article about a pro team that had just played our local NHL entry.  The visitors had beaten our guys, and their coach in a post-game interview gave a lot of credit to his point-shooters.  As he described the situation, his team hadn’t been generating much offense from the blue line, so they decided to make a one-game pact.  All the defensemen agreed to not take any slapshots, but to instead just throw pucks on net as quickly as they could.  The result?  Three goals originated from the point.  My assessment?  Those kinds of shots got on-goal fast, there was a better chance they’d be accurate, and the combination of quickness and the screens that took place in front of the locals’ net took-away the two things the home team goaler wanted — as in sight of the puck and time to get in position.

Still, for all I’ve said to this point, Jerry is really asking about how much time HE should devote to each of those shooting skills.  So, my honest answer to that one?  I think he — and all players — should work on all three areas.  As a relative beginner, however, I might suggest that Jerry give his shooting strength a slight priority at first.  Once he’s able to rip some pucks (or balls) fairly well, shooting quickness would come next.  All along, though, he should try to practice hitting spots, and he should always try to put his shots on-goal.

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Heat Illness and Hydration Tips

Although Jason Price has in mind those athletes who will be enduring the likes of some pretty tough outdoor activities under the hot summer and fall sun, I’m going to suggest that the following represents an extremely timely collection of advice for hockey players.  Sure, we play and practice in cooler — often very cold — environs.  But that’s misleading.  Actually, hockey players should have a number of the concerns Jason raises here.  (This article was written last month.  But, it’ll remain timely for hockey players from now until next spring.)

– Dennis Chighisola

Heat Illness and Hydration Tips

By Jason Price – MS, CSCS, ATC, LAT, CPT, USAW Club Coach

Athletes Equation

jason.price@athletesequation.com

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With August nearly half over most High School and College Athletes are either back into or on their way to pre-season practice. Where most athletes go into the season prepared from a summer of training they often find themselves getting into trouble with conditions of August two-a-days with decreased performance or far worse.

Most athletes prepare for the season working out in hot conditions and this gives them a false sense of security when approaching preseason practice. They feel they are acclimatized to the conditions but facts are facts. Most athletes may train at the most 2 hours a day and if they go everyday that is impressive. Most are taking days off in between training sessions.

Now look at the facts of the preseason. Multiple hours of multiple training sessions a day, increased stress of fighting to make the team or earn a position, and practices strung together for days at a time. That is a recipe for disaster for an athlete if they do not take the right approach into the preseason.

Heat Illness is one of the only injuries that is 100% preventable. All it takes is awareness, it is that simple. Awareness from the coaching staff, athletic trainer and athlete, and all it takes is one of those people to be ignorant to the dangers of training in heat to cause a potentially tragic situation. The book “Junction Boys”, about the preseason camp run by Paul Bryant at Texas A&M, does a great job of describing how heat illness can ravage a team because of ignorance towards it.

First, let’s discuss heat illness and what can happen from it. There are three heat related conditions of primary concern for coaches, athletic trainers, and athletes. In order by how dangerous the condition is, they are

3- Exercise-Associated Muscle Cramps

2 – Heat Exhaustion

1 – Heat Stroke.

Again these three conditions are 100% preventable. Symptoms of the three conditions can overlap and often one condition will move on to the more serious one. So, athletes who start having exercise-associated cramps will often ultimately put themselves into a condition of heat exhaustion and then even heat stroke.

Failure to treat these conditions can cause serious dehydration and the complications that come with that (even possible death)!

Now, I am not saying athletes should not train in the heat. Most Athletes have no choice.  All it takes to avoid problems is being aware of the dangers and knowing how to keep oneself protected.

So, how can you tell if someone is suffering from heat illness? They will demonstrate signs of thirst, fatigue, lethargy, flushed skin, headache, and visual disturbances. Anyone showing signs of heat illness should be treated as a medical emergency.  For, if the proper treatment isn’t given them, they are in a potential life threatening situation. Again, Heat Illness is 100% preventable.  If someone shows signs of heat illness, and if they are treated appropriately, they have an excellent prognosis for full recovery.

The table below outlines how you can differentiate between heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat stroke is by far the more serious condition, it’s potentially life threatening, and the individual should be transported to the nearest medical facility for treatment.

Who is at risk of heat injury? Healthy individuals, children, elderly, those with excessive muscle mass, the obese, those with low body fat, the poorly acclimatized or poorly conditioned, those with a previous history of heat illness, anyone who is dehydrated, one who is sleep deprived or those with acute illnesses (flu, allergies, colds, etc). Obviously, this includes a good many individuals.

So, how can you prevent the risk of heat related conditions? First and for most, stay hydrated. Hydration is key. If you wait until you are thirsty to drink then it is too late and you are highly at risk. If you wait until practice to hydrate, then you are highly at risk. So, here is the best strategy to fight heat illness:

• Drink 8-12 8oz of fluid at least 24 hours prior to an event
• Drink at least 16oz of fluid 2 hours prior to exercise and again 20 min before exercise
• Have fluid available during training and practices (unlimited water breaks should be given; if an athlete says he or she needs water, let them get it).
• When exercising for more than an hour, drink at least 5-10 oz of fluid every 15-20 minutes.
• Drink cool fluids containing less than 8% carbohydrate.
• Use individual water bottles to monitor fluid consumption.
• Check Urine color for hydration status (see Urine Color Gauge)
• Take weights prior to and after practice to measure loss of fluid in the body.
• Replenish lost fluid with at least 24 oz of fluid for every pound of body weight lost due to exercise.
• Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and carbonated beverages.
• Allow 10-14 days to get acclimatized
• Reduce intensity of prolonged exercise

*By fluid I am inferring to water or a watered down sports drink. Fruit Juices, energy drinks, and other beverages are not good fluids to hydrate with.

So, with this knowledge of heat illness and a strategy and how to prevent it, you are prepared for taking on the heat as you prepare for the fall sports season.

Reference:   Anderson, Marcia; Hall, Susan; Martin, Malissa. Foundations of Athletic Training. New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkens. 2005.

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As a wrap-up here, hockey players, their parents and their coaches at least seem not to be as concerned about hydration issues as they should.  No, we don’t usually practice and play under extremely hot conditions.  And, no, we’re probably not in danger of the most severe heat related illnesses.  At the same time, hockey players are very much in danger of reduced performance if they don’t hydrate properly.  After all, while environmental temperatures surely are a factor in water loss, so is exertion, as well as stress.  So again, hydration — or frequent water intake — is important to a hockey player.

Finally, I’d like to emphasize one point Jason made, in that once a player gets thirsty, the fluids he or she takes-in at that point won’t help for a considerable length of time.  That’s the reason he suggests starting the hydration process long before the practice or game.  In other words, stay ahead.

– Dennis Chighisola

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Hockey Success Breeds More Hockey Success

Actually, the above statement would be true if we were talking about academics, our chosen field of work, a hobby, you name it.

– Dennis Chighisola

In fairness, I have to begin by saying that this topic was brought about by an email I just received this morning from a CoachChic.com member.  I’m thankful this guy is with us, because he comments often and thusly provides me a lot of food for thought.

In that email, my friend was saying how his youngster had felt really good about himself upon leaving the rink each time over recent weeks, and that this excited him so much that he wanted to do more hockey related things back home.  That’s not so hard to understand, is it?  After all, we humans avoid pain as best we can, and we gravitate towards things that make us feel good about ourselves.  Again, there shouldn’t be any big surprises about that.

Ironically, I’ve been working on several projects recently…  I have an on-ice puckhandling course starting locally in a few weeks, my Learn-to-skate/Learn-to-play clinics begin in early October, and I’m also working on a new video that will appear on this site’s new sales page (ya, I hate that “Oops, you’re not a member?” page — LOL).

The irony comes with the fact that all I really want to talk to customers about is confidence — be it for my clinics or in the promotion of this site.  I mean, that is absolutely everything.  Every guru who has ever lived has said it in one way or another, and that’s also a key principle in The Bible, in The Secret and in The Law of Attraction.

As this relates to my clinics — and even that new sales page…  I hope long-time members have gotten the sense that the drills and slow, deliberate progressions I offer here are all about confidence.  A player does a given skill progression to the point of mastering it, and he or she is sure to feel good about taking-on the next challenge.  And so it should go, from beginner all the way up to elite execution.

Okay, but now back to my main premise…  My CoachChic.com friend said that his young guy left the rink psyched.  With that, the boy went home to seemingly find ways to continue that feeling.  That’s gonna happen, you know.  The player who is loving the game finds a stick and ball at home and experiments, maybe even reliving some of the recent rink excitement.  In the case of my friend’s boy, he also found a way to spend plenty of time on his in-lines.

This in mind, here are a few suggestions for member parents and coaches…

First and foremost, appreciate that YOU have the most say in whether your kids have either good or bad experiences at the rink.

For example, I know some parents get hung-up on a team’s designation (like it sounds better to the guys at work if you tell ‘em your kid plays on a AAA team).  However, I’ll suggest that the player who is going to be in the lower two-thirds of that high level roster is NOT going to be able to truly execute many of the things he or she would like.  In fact, a lot of kids on any given team will play in what I call “panic mode”, because nearly everything they attempt to do is rushed by the superior talent around them.  Many, in fact, won’t be able to skate 2′ without coughing-up the puck or throwing it away in a panic.  Oh, I know, I’m being a bit rough on some of you by saying this.  But, I feel my lot in life is to offer you the best advice I can.  So, I’m just suggesting that some serious thought has to be given to where a youngster plays for close to 9-months out of the year.

For my next point, let me take you to a rink lobby some 15-ish years ago…  I’m walking into the rink to teach a clinic, and I’m greeted by a whole bunch of my former Learn-to-play students as they’re leaving their game ice.  The kids are smiling and waving to me, and I had to believe they’d just done pretty well.  Once the kids disappeared to their lockerroom, however, I discovered a very different story from the group’s parents and coaches.  Those little guys had actually been beaten by a score of about 17-0, with the grown-ups looking and sounding all down in the dumps.  Again, the kids — not yet influenced by the adults, are laughing and seemingly excited at having just played.  The reason I tell this story?  It’s because some of those youngsters were likely allowed to continue feeling good about that hockey experience on the ride home and thereafter, while others were probably going to be told how badly things went.  My personal answer to this is to suggest that I’m a better “spin doctor” than all those professional politicians you see on TV.  I see a little guy take a tumble in one of my clinics and I rush to tell him, “Awesome fall!” — just as he’s deciding whether to cry or not.  And I can usually think of something positive to say to my team, even when they’ve had bad night.  Hey, I want them eagerly coming to practice in a few days, so there appears no other choice but to give them a reason to do that.  And that’s what I’m suggesting here:  Be a spin doctor yourself, and give your own player or players reasons to feel good about the last hockey experience.

Now here’s the best reason for doing some of the things I’ve suggest here…  No matter how a youngster feels about himself or herself, there’s going to be what I refer to as a snowballing effect — with the enthused kid improving all the more between trips to the rink, and the less excited kid likely going backward.  And it keeps rolling that way, with the gaps often widening over time.  As a matter of fact, that’s what I meant in the title up top, in that “hockey success breeds more hockey success”!

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A Different Approach to Hockey Strength Training

CoachChic.com members may get tired of hearing it, but I’ll never tire of saying that I’ve met some of the world’s best and brightest through social media sites.  And I count among that special group my new Twitter friend, Maryse Senecal.

Now, not so surprisingly, most entries in the Strength Training for Hockey Players section have come from those with Physical Education backgrounds.  That should make sense, owing to the special studies required in that discipline.  I take notice, however, when I get to learn from someone with the kind of specialized skills possessed by the likes of Maryse.  So, I hope everyone pays attention here, as she shares with us a different approach to hockey strength training.  (FYI…  If you’ll notice in her introduction, Maryse echoes some of the same shortcomings in ice hockey players that Scott Umberger has noticed and previously shared with us.)

Oh, by the way…  Maryse’s original title to the following piece was “Training the Athlete”.  I just renamed it above for our members’ sake, just so you could find it among the many special articles on strength training.

– Dennis Chighisola

Training the Athlete

By Maryse Senecal
myo-precision

I am an orthotherapist by trade. My specialties lay in the study of myology and bio-mechanics. It was only a natural progression to find myself in the personal training world. In that evolution, I was fortunate to do my internship with the Lead Master Trainer in Ottawa. His specialty is his work with pro athletes. He was interested enough in my field of study to give me a voice when planning his athletes’ dryland programs.

I suggested that we start their off-season training by first addressing their range of motion. These athletes are strong, no doubt there, but they have often sacrificed flexibility and core strength for pure unilateral strength, disallowing the opportunity to pull from their hip, core and flexibility to maximize their power in their performance.

We began rewriting their programs, breaking their program into 4 phases. As I trained them, I was often used as their demonstrator and then their pacer. All this while I was approaching my 40’s! What kept the athletes’ focused on me was the fact that I had no problem keeping up with them, rather, they had to keep up with me. What allowed me to do this consistently was the connection between hip/core strength and flexibility.

And so we began…

1 – Phase 1 – week 1 to 3 – Intense Yoga

We found that the guys’ range of motion was absolutely shameful! So, yoga for stretch and core stability. Intense, as in everyday. Then, because they are performance and strength driven, we would move the yoga gradually into strong power yoga. We would add weights to their sessions, more often than not in an ‘off balance” environment… again, to increase spine and core stability. Note that the boys hated this phase of the training… but they went through it anyway.. in that time, we would work very hard with them in the nutritional environment as well…

2 – Phase 2 – week 4 – 8 – Strength

This phase of the training involves a lot of weight load to increase the strength component of their regimen. Because we believe that training should incorporate a body synergy, core strength and stability was always incorporated with their strength moves. Training to avoid injury. Off balance, or unilateral moves, core strength and stability along with the weight load. I have to admit that the boys were not getting as strong as they would have in a pure strength environment, but for their chosen sport, it really was best. Who cares what you can squat if you can’t bring that strength into your sport? The athletes would train in strength on days 1-3-5, supplemented by yoga on days 2-4.

3 – Phase 3 – week 8- 16 – Power

This was by far the best part of the training. Power… strong plyometrics, off balance plyos, quick foot drills, interval cardio training, strong power moves… really the best part of the training. This is where the boys would start seeing the gains made in the slower parts of their workout phases.

4 – Phase 4 – Training Camps

Once the boys started their training camps, we would pull it back. We would incorporate all of the above components in a circuit format where all aspects of their training would come together. We would also pull back the frequency of their session so that they could concentrate on their performance for camp.

The success they experienced in the training camps was extraordinary. While some were getting injured, or over winded.. our athletes were holding their own. Not as strong, true, yet much faster and more endurance. Because the hip was being shaped and strengthened all through their time with us, pathologies like groin pulls were almost non-existent. I say almost because some came in with that problem, and rehab set their workouts back.

Although different sports demand different bio-mechanics, the phases of this training program can and should be adapted to any chosen sport. The key is to keep it interesting with variety and keep it strong by challenging balance and core strength.

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This note from Dennis Chighisola…

In ending, I’d like to mention a technique I often use as I sort through tons of great research — in that I tend to borrow a little bit from every expert.  Sure, there are some areas of our game where there’s seemingly just one right way to do something.  Yet, we all live different lifestyles and have differing free time to devote to training, we all have slightly different body-types and other unique physical traits, as well as very different goals.  And that’s where borrowing bits and pieces of what the experts suggest tends to help.

Allow me to add one more thing here, in that the above also explains why I feel compelled to offer so many different training approaches here within the pages of CoachChic.com.  Actually, I think it’s the right way to do things, giving you options, I mean.

Finally, I know Maryse would enjoy your feedback and questions, and she invites you to email her.

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Learning Hockey — with Coach Chic & Chomper

This special note from Coach Chic…

If your son, daughter or team is at the stage where they need to learn hockey’s basic rules and positioning, this is the video for them.  No, it’s not for grown-ups, as I’ll soon explain.  But it’s been written and produced in a way that seems to really work for 5- to 7-years old.  And, as you’ll see, it’s awesome for helping very young kids learn about off-sides, icing and where to line-up for face-offs.

Now, I’ve coached all levels of our game — up through high school and college, and I even had several minor league pro interviews.  I’ve also helped a number of students reach the NHL or other elite levels.

That said, perhaps one of the things I’m best at is in knowing where I am at a given time.  I mean, I don’t treat high school guys like kindergardeners, and I don’t talk over the heads of my littlest students.  No, in fact, I go into what I jokingly refer to as my “Mr Rogers impression” when I teach my Learn-to-skate and Learn-to-play clinics.

And that’s what I felt the need to do as I prepared to write the script for the following video.  As I said already, I wasn’t writing it for you, the parent or coach.  (Actually — and I’m chuckling at myself a bit here, because I felt pretty stupid doing some of the audio.  But, I knew “baby talk” and a lot of bells and whistles were necessary if I was to keep the attention of little ones.

If you’ll notice, this video was created a number of years ago (it still has my old CoachChic.com introduction).  Actually, I produced it as a gift to a number of students I had in a summer hockey school back then, sort of as a supplement — or home study program — for the things we were working on on the ice.

Frankly, I held my breath as I waited for feedback from my camp parents.  But, every single follow-up comment was unbelievably positive.  In fact, a number of parents told me that their kids practically wore-out the CD I’d given them.  And, some told me their youngsters knew the video by heart.

Okay, so why don’t I let you take a peek at it right now.  Then, once you’ve had a chance to view it, I’ll add a number of further comments and some advice down below (there seems to be something slightly off with the timing of audio and video when face-offs are covered — it’s hardly noticeable; but I promise to fix that as soon as possible)…

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Okay, is it silly?  Yes.   But, does it work?  Absolutely — because it’s just what a young player needs!  And, as I suggested in the video, countless viewings are going to prove a whole lot more effective than just a few.

As I also suggest, a parent can enhance the learning experience by asking questions of the youngster, perhaps testing him or her in a fun way (and even using a little tool I’ll make available here pretty shortly).

For both parents and coaches, I think you ought to also consider that kids aren’t ever going to truly understand their playing positions without first knowing their left from their right sides.  So, I would make it a point to frequently quiz or otherwise help your youngster/s in this area.

As for coaches of very young teams…  I have done a simple drill — off-ice and on the ice — that really reinforces the off-sides rule.  So, here goes…

• Either mark a line (with chalk) on the lockerroom floor or out in the runway, or use a section of the blue line on the ice.
• Have a coach be a partner for one kid at a time as they both approach the offensive blue line.  In this way, the coach gets to totally control over the drill.
• The coach will want to alternate his her approach to this drill.  In other words, sometimes you might move at a slow, sure pace, and put the puck on-side ahead of your young partner.  At yet other times, the coach should pretend to have difficulty advancing the puck, at which time the young skater must know enough to delay until he or she sees the puck cross the line.

Oh, by the way, parents could easily run that drill at home.  Just be creative about locating a mock blue line.

Then, here’s a little insight into my reason for solving the problems dealt with in that video…  When my grandson was a 6-year old Mite C in the local youth program, I used to cringe at the amount of ice-time that was wasted in his games.  I mean, kids would mill around for what seemed an eternity, searching for where they should line-up for a face-off.  Worse yet, few of the little guys understood the rules of off-side or icing, which meant there were countless more face-offs than there should have been.  So, if there is a very good reason for solving these problems — or for having your youngster or team watch the video countless times, it’s to give them more real playing time within an hour of ice, and to thusly make the game more fun for them.

Finally, here’s our deal, and a good reason why I’m currently making this video available to non-members:

I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK!

Down below is a box for “Feel free to leave a comment… “.

What I’d really like to know is if the video seemed to work — with an individual, or with a team.  And, while it would be nice to have a commenter’s name and organization, I would at least like to know the age of the youngster/s using the program, as well as your position (as a parent or coach).

Oh, and yes you can share this page and video with teammates or friends.  Just send them a link to the CoachChic.com home page (that works best), and tell them to scan the free stuff for “Learning Hockey — with Coach Chic & Chomper“.

Thanks for stopping by.  And, I look forward to helping you further as your little one grows in the game.

– Dennis Chighisola

Opening Night for the ‘09 NEHI HS Prep Hockey Team

An introductory note from Coach Chic…

Well, after a long off-season of training, my two NEHI teams have been gearing-up recently for the starts of their new playing seasons.  As a matter of fact, my HS Prep guys opened tonight with a pretty convincing 12-2 win.

So, you’d think I’d be thrilled, huh?  Well, so you’d think…

Actually, I believe it’s good for my guys that I’m seldom satisfied with any game, no matter the outcome.  And I’m almost always able to find a number of things that need fixing, or that need at least a little more work.

Now, I’m likely to later cover a lot of the following in far greater detail.  (In other words, if it’s a skating problem I’m mentioning here, for example, I’m probably going to show you in the Skating section how I ultimately solved that.)  For now, however, I’d at least like to touch upon the things I think need addressing with my older team.  I don’t doubt member coaches, parents and older players will find a few things that’ll also help them (sorta like some food for thought)…

The purpose of my High School Prep team is to ready 17 young guys for their respective high school seasons.  All my kids are headed to different schools, and they range in needs from trying to make their school team to wanting to really excel wherever they’re going.

In Massachusetts, school hockey doesn’t begin until the Monday after our US Thanksgiving.  So, that’s my goal — to have the kids ready on that big day.  And I try to convince them (and sometimes their parents) that our common goal is to have everyone totally ready on November 30 of this year.

What I’m getting at is that nothing but development matters to me until that day arrives.  And, in a way, this takes a great deal of pressure off me and my players.  Oh, I’m intense when it comes to my kids working and learning.  But we should all know that they can’t take their autumn game scores or stats with them when they head to tryouts.

So, I started by sharing this philosophy just so you understand the rather patient approach I’m going to be taking with the following topics.

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I have my own to-do list as I prepare for games.  And the first game of each new season has a longer list than most others.

I print-up a batch of nice roster sheets so that I don’t have to waste time scratching them out for each new game.  That’s on a smart drive, too, just in case I have to make roster changes at any point during the season.

A one-time deal has me bringing new game socks and our game jerseys to the first game.  (Thank God I have a family who will care for the jerseys from now until season’s end!)

I tote a small plastic bucket (adorned with our logo), this carrying about 20 special pucks meant just for our pre-game warm-ups.  Each year I paint these a little differently, with this season’s pucks remaining black around the sides, but sprayed silver on tops and bottoms.  The goalies hate these (LOL), but those pucks sure do make them focus.  Inside that bucket are also a few tennis balls for my goalers to juggle and do other pre-game work with.

I carry a large loose-leaf book that contains my rosters, official papers, emergency telephone lists and then small items — like chalk, pencils, clear tape, notepaper, small sticky-pads for my game notes, and the likes.

Inside the above book is my team’s lockerroom door sign (as described in the Coaches’ Corner).

Then, there’s what I refer to as my “Murphy’s Law Kit”!  Ya, “stuff” happens when we least expect it, so I’ve collected a ton of odds and ends to bail my kids — if they forget a neckguard, if they strip an edge, if they lose a helmet screw, etc.  Oh, and all the typical first aid items are also in the box.

So, how did yours truly do on HIS opening night prep?  Geeeeeeeze, I left the dawgoned game socks back in the office.  (Grrrrrrr…)

*

I asked the guys to report a little early for this first game.  Unbeknownst to the players, I wanted them to relax as they readied for the first game, and I also wanted some extra time to go over a few important things…

After having a quick administrative discussion — like how the jerseys should be collected at game’s end, how we’d operate in the lockerroom, etc., I went into bench decorum.

• Of course, my defensemen sit on the defensive end of the bench, with our forwards stationed closer to the offensive zone.
• I also pointed-out that I want the next guy up at a given position ALWAYS keeping an eye on the man he’ll replace.
• The kids and I next established in a brief discussion which player might be the most important on line changes — the one leaving the ice, or the one entering the play.  From there, I told my guys that they must clear the way for those trying to get onto the ice.  Ya, if you can just picture players getting tangled in a doorway while a team plays shorthanded…  Ugh.
• I told my guys that I wanted them to only concentrate on a few parts of their game.  I think things come together better when we do it this way.  So, I asked them to mainly focus on our primary forecheck, and to also try to make effective dump-ins.  Hey, if you think about it, solving just those two things over the first few weeks will make it easier for us to gradually add other key elements of our system.

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We have a neatly timed pre-game warm-up routine I’ll also tell you more about soon.  Of course, things looked pretty ugly and were poorly timed during our first real try at it.  Perhaps more importantly, I sensed my guys had lost their focus on one drill, and poor focus means the kids are learning and reinforcing poor techniques rather than the right ones.

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During this game, a new situation arose that needed dealing with…  A penalty killer should have what’s referred to as a “strong stick” in his or her own zone.  In other words, if my players get their stick-blade on a puck back in our defensive zone, the puck has to be sent out of the zone (and hopefully HARD down the ice).  Actually, I tell my guys I want pucks to hit the far-end boards.

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Early in the game, a number of my guys came-off the ice with our opponents lugging the puck towards our net.  (Ha.  Oh no you don’t!)  The time to change-up is when the puck is buried safely in the offensive zone.

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I thought our goaler played well on this night.  At the same time, I think a few of his difficulties weren’t his fault; they’re mine.  And I have to help him fix them.  So, in one instance I wrote a note to myself that I want to create a drill that forces the boy to fight for pucks in scrambles around the crease.  (A lot like the new guys who hadn’t learned with their former teams how to change properly, I think my goalie had been let-down by his past coaches, since he seemingly never learned to really handle the puck — either passing it, setting-up dump-ins for teammates, or tying-up loose pucks.  Oh, our goaltending coach and I have helped him with these things during the off-season.  But, there’s still lots more work to do — for his sake.)

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Then, there was one awesome play I just have to discuss with all of my guys as soon as I get the chance…  One of my defensemen was coming back towards our end with an enemy puckcarrier close by, and with another attacker trailing not far behind (sort of a 2 on 1).  A lot of backchecking forwards would have wrongly headed towards the puckcarrier, figuring that’s how they could best help their teammate.  My backchecker, however, immediately grabbed the open trailer, which allowed my D to confidently handle the puckcarrier.  Aaaaah, awesome.

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In closing, know that the game bench is a crazy place, in that there are lots of things for players and coaches to deal with.  Add to that the fact that players are coming and going — on line changes, and it’s virtually impossible for a coach to truly discuss many of the above points with all of his or her players.  For those reasons, I hold a once-per-week “discussion session” where we’re able to really relax and study the notes I’ve taken at the last game.  There’s no screaming or yelling or embarrassing players in these sessions.  Instead, for example, I might begin this coming week’s get-together with something like, “What do you guys think might be the best time to change-up?”  As I hope you’ll appreciate, I’m encouraging at least a two-way discussion here (and hoping a bunch of kids will chime-in), mainly because I think the information sticks better when players help solve a given problem.

As you should notice, there won’t be a shortage of things to work on during our next three practices.  Actually, a lot of the difficulties we had tonight might even spawn a few new drills.

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The Secret of Champions!

Shaun Goodsell, MA

President and CEO of Mental Edge

Shaun@MentalEdgeNow.com

For years I have wondered what part innate talent plays in the success of athletes. Growing up aspiring to be a pro athlete I thought on many occasions, “I wish I were talented enough to be as good as others.”  In fact as I have progressed in business I have also believed that success is a by product of the genes you get and some are lucky while the rest of us are scrapping and clawing to rise to the success of others.  While attending the PGA Championship last month I started thinking about the pathway these athletes took to get to where they are. Could there be more to it than simply genes?

Recently, I came across a book that challenges the significance of innate talent in the success of athletes, musicians, and business leaders. Geoff Colvin has written a book titled “Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World Class Performers from Everybody Else”. Colvin makes a compelling case that THE ART OF DELIBERATE PRACTICE is what differentiates world-class performance from others.  He then goes on to describe this compelling concept:

“People who engage in intensive deliberate practice push themselves slightly beyond their current limitations physically and mentally.”

Doing this leads to greater perception, greater knowledge, and greater memory of what they know.  Practicing in this manner over a long period of time leads to the brain and body literally changing. When one learns to perceive more they are able to focus in on vital information that is significant when looking to creatively chart a course of success. For example, being aware of facial expressions in young athletes gives clues as to how they are receiving certain points of teaching. Often times a young athlete’s ability to be coached is closely connected to the closeness they feel to their coach. If a coach is not picking up on these subtle cues they miss information that is vital to their ability to influence a young life. In the same manner, learning to read important cues during a competitive situation gives athletes an advantage on their competition. It is this information that many athletes seem to miss.

Intensive deliberate practice not only improves an athlete’s level of perception but also increases their “working’ knowledge within their sport. It is as though an athlete’s knowledge base grows with each opportunity to play and practice in this manner. This dove tails with other performance coaches who encourage athletes to make sure they are always in the process of learning with each situation. Increasing their data base helps to inform them as to how to predict and approach different situations with greater mastery.  With this increased knowledge making decisions becomes easier and confidence in that process is increased.

Lastly, intensive deliberate practice improves an athlete’s memory of what they have learned in past performances. When they intentionally go into situations with this mindset their memories of the working knowledge they have acquired increases and they draw on this to acquire an edge on their competition.

It turns out the mental aspect of performance is vitally important and learning to approach our performance opportunities with a deliberate intensive approach gives us the secret many champions use to create the Mental Edge!

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Putting A Hockey Parent’s Mind in the Right Place

The idea for this piece actually stems from an exchange I recently had with a good friend from Twitter.  Apparently his son’s hockey team started its new season with a tournament, and my friend was bemoaning the fact that a few games were lost due to some recurring mistakes.  (So, what’s new in the world of youth hockey?  LOL!)

Of course, talking back and forth about the tournament — and hearing my friend’s observations — was fun, except… Ya, I said except…

You see, very soon into our conversation I started sensing that my friend feared his own son’s long-term goals might be hindered by his team’s shortcomings.  Hmmmmm…

Okay, my friend is a really bright guy, and I know he immediately understood the way I put a different slant on this subject.  So, while I’m sure he’s now okay — and he has his mind in “the right place”, I think this is a very worthy topic to share with all my CoachChic.com friends.

– Dennis Chighisola

Briefly, let me re-state the scenario here…

We parents probably get to watch our kids play in a kzillion games over a long hockey season.  And, there’s nothing wrong with the fact that we live a little with the wins, and we probably die a little with each loss.  In a way, that’s at least part of the fun in following a team.

Some of us have probably watched enough hockey to even know where our favorite team’s problems lie when things go wrong.  (No problem with that one, either, as long as we keep those kinds of opinions to ourselves.)

Now, returning to my initial point, I want to suggest that we parents wear at least two hats when we go to the arena.

Of course, we’re moms and dads first, and we want to do everything we can to help our own be comfortable and ready to play.  Ya, that includes helping younger ones get their gear ready, or sending our older guys off with our traditional well wishes — like, “Keep your head-up, son!”  And from there — if you’re anything like me, you probably climb the bleachers and proceed to slide left and right, trying to help your son or daughter avoid a check, make the shot, block a puck, whatever.  Oh, and of course, you have to cheer plenty if your youngster finds success in any way.

Secondly, we should be fans of the whole team.  If you think about it, most of the kids down on the ice are our sons’ or daughters’ friends, and it’s pretty likely our kids care plenty about the successes or failures experienced by their buddies.  So again, cheer loudly for your youngsters’ teams, if only because it’s right.

Okay, where do we go from here?  Is it possible our team’s coming season is going to unveil some real downers?  You bet.  Is it possible some volunteer coaches might not have the answers to their team’s shortcomings?  Ha.  And, is it likely our youngster’s team will be a mix of stronger and weaker players?  That’s a fact — from the local Mites to your favorite NHL entry, so get over it.  And, is it possible any of these things will have an impact on your son’s or daughter’s ultimately making the team of his or choice down the road?  NOT in a million dawgoned years!

In answer to the latter, I do believe very much in the old adage that suggests, “If you’re any good, the scouts (or whomever) WILL find you.”

Realistically, the first major goal for US-based players is to make the high school team of their choice.  (I highly suggest you pause here and listen to my very short audio on A Player’s First Real Goal.)  In Canada — and in some US areas, a junior team is the next step from youth hockey.  In any case, the selection process for these teams involves a tryout.  And, make no mistake about it:  A tryout is purely an individual thing.

Let me say that in yet another way…

Supposing your youngster is a goaltender, and he or she is battling 6 or 7 other netminders for a few limited slots.  During the tryout process, your guy or gal is down there on the ice and in the spotlight, with other tryout candidates firing rockets or attacking in two and three man waves.  And I have to ask you:  Does the coach overseeing these tryouts care one iota what your youngster’s record was back in Mites?  Does he or she care if your child’s team won or lost in the finals of some long ago Pee Wee tournament?  And, does he or she really care what your kid’s goals-against average was as a Squirt or Atom?  Naw, it’s a “show me what you can do today” thing at a tryout, and you can toss-out everything from the kid’s past EXCEPT the skills, work ethic and personality he or she has honed over many years.

And I would say the same for skaters…  In a tryout setting, a coach isn’t watching combinations of players; he or she is watching individuals — for the same aforementioned skills, work ethic and personality.  If a player stinks because he or she hasn’t paid the appropriate dues, there’s nowhere to hide, and there’s no saving him or her from going down the proverbial river.  If, on the other hand, a player demonstrates all the necessary skills, he or she will be hard to miss.  In either case, the kid’s stats back in Bantams aren’t likely to matter, nor are the number of trophies sitting back on the family mantel.  It’s a one time shot — or maybe a couple of days, and the decisions are going to be based solely on what the player can — and can’t — do right then and there.

All right, so let’s go back to my earliest couple of points, in that we have two basic roles — one as a parent, the other as a fan.  And let me add to that one more…  For, I’m here to suggest that we parents are the ones truly responsible for our youngsters’ long-term development.  (Actually, this is where I usually come-in — in local hockey circles, and right here at CoachChic.com.)

Now, from a personal perspective, I always tried to keep some time free during my young guy’s winter hockey schedule.  In other words, I wasn’t going to allow him to be so trapped to someone else’s schedule that it left no time for extra work — on athleticism, on skills, on strength development, or on whatever else he may have needed AS AN INDIVIDUAL.

Over the years, some youth coaches were great, some not so.  Over those years, my own guy was surrounded by players of poor to great skills.  (Did it all matter?  Ya, but only in the quality of team practices.  Good coaches usually run good practices.  At the same time, sometimes poorly skilled players prevented a coach from running a slightly more intense or more upbeat session.)  But, in the long run, and in having been through this over at least two generations, I can tell you that past coaches and past teammates had almost no effect on my two guys’ future chances in the game.

Commenting more on the need to personally oversee our own youngster’s development…  If you think about it, just doing whatever others are doing — or, just entrusting development to a team — is going to put your youngster smack dab in the middle of a huge pack.  And, that does not bode well if he or she plans on attending a really competitive tryout someday.  The answer to that, of course, is for a parent to somehow supplement the youngster’s training with something well beyond what the team offers.

Again, little in the very end is influenced by teammates or youth coaches.  As I stated previously, a player can’t bring his or her newspaper clippings, trophies or stat sheets to a tryout.  Of course, some readers might find the above a drastically different kind of mindset.  But, I’m going to suggest to all my friends here that it’s the type that works for players over the long-run.

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Comparing Hockey, Figure Skating and Speed Skating

I’ve always promised to respond to my members’ needs.  It gives me a great deal of satisfaction when I’m able to do so.  I hope to accomplish that here, responding to a long-time member’s question.

As he explains it, Ravi is considering taking some figure skating lessons in an attempt to improve his hockey play.  Before he does, however, he thought to ask this old coach about the merits of such.

Then, because there are more than two skating sports, please allow me to discuss this topic on a slightly broader scale.

– Dennis Chighisola

It’s probably been close to 20-years since I attended a hockey coaching symposium that included a lecture on skating by former NHL coach Pierre Page’.  As I recall, Page’s college Masters thesis involved a study of the hockey skating motion (actually, I believe it aimed to also determine the factors that make some skaters faster than others).

Pretty obviously, this kind of lecture was scientifically based.  And, all these years later, I notice that numerous other biomechanics experts agree with the points made by Page’.

All that said, he made a comment that day that really struck a chord with me.  Apologizing in advance, that lecture was a very long time ago, and I’m probably not going to get it exactly word for word.  However, the gist of what Page’ said was that, “Some skaters find it easy to make quick movements, while others are better at moving smoothly.”

I think Page’ suggested that the numbers are probably close to evenly split within any group, with about half tending to be quick by nature, the other half tending to be smooth.  (Ironically, I could envision my own players back home as Page’ spoke, and I could immediately identify those two type of players within my own roster.)

Still, what was to come next was something even more profound, and even more appropriate to this discussion…

What Page’ pointed-out — and what I’ve found to be true, is that a player with one strength tends to have difficulty with the other.  In other words, a naturally quick skater quite often has problems with smoothness, and the smooth skater frequently struggles to make quick foot actions.

Now, I have a gut feeling on this subject…  For, what I’ll suggest is that the naturally quick skater is loaded with fast-twitch fibers.  That’s what makes him or her quick.  And, at the other end of the spectrum, the nice, smooth skater is probably dealing with mostly slow-twitch fibers, thus his or her struggle to execute really quick movements.

Are there players who fall in the middle of these two extremes?  I don’t recall Page’ addressing that.  However, I’d answer that in the affirmative.  It just makes sense.  In fact, I’ll suggest we could plot all of a team’s members on a Bell Curve, with small numbers of skaters falling at the two extreme ends, the majority falling in the middle.  The group would still be split on the two sides of the bell — half being smooth and half being quick, but there would likely be only a small number of players who were extremely quick or extremely smooth.

Next, allow me to insert a brief but related personal experience…  Going back to my earliest days of running hockey skills clinics, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen figure skating instructors salivating at the rink’s side boards as they watched my kids fly around the ice.  Inevitably, they seek me out after the class, offering something like, “Wow, would I love to get such-and-such-a-player into figure skating!”

I usually — as politely as I can — shake my head and laugh.  And then I usually follow with, “Little wonder.  You guys start your skaters moving around the ice like little statues, worrying about their form from the very the beginning.  Then, years later, it bothers you that your skaters are boring!”

Quite differently from their approach, my first aim is to create little daredevils in my Learn-to-skate and Learn-to-play clinics.  I’ve always figured it would be easier in later years to tone them down a bit, rather than to do as most figure skating coaches do, later attempting to light a fire under their (robot-like?) kids.

This all brings me to a subject I frequently write about and speak about, or what I call “The Nature of Our Game”.  In general, this study includes our ultimate arrival at what it’s really like for a participant to engage in a given game — be it hockey, figure skating, checkers or Monopoly.

Oh, I could go on for quite some time with this topic.  However, let me cut to the chase…  Hockey, of course, is a game of transition (meaning players must continuously switch between defensive and offensive roles), and it’s quite often referred to as a game of constant reading and reacting.  Figure skating and speed skating, on the other hand, are more like planned events.  In the case of figure skating, a participant usually performs a predetermined routine, with that routine being rehearsed hundreds of times.  Nor are there many surprises in the sport of speed skating.  Skaters in that sport know their always-counter-clockwise route beforehand, as well as the distance they have to travel.

Okay, let’s now return to the earlier line of thinking — in that some players are naturally quick, and some are by nature smooth in their movements.  Let’s next consider the needs of each kind of player.  For, doesn’t it make sense that a slow footed skater could use plenty of work on his or her quickness?  And, does it make just as much sense that the quick but not so coordinated player could use help with his or her smoothness?

Those things in mind, I’m going to suggest that the quick but rough-around-the-edges player would likely benefit from a little work at body and blade control — or the things a figure skating instructor might be able to help with.  As for the hockey player who is already smooth but lacks quickness, I’ll suggest that a figure skating kind of practice would only reinforce the slowness.

Don’t get me wrong here…  The skating segments of my clinics and team practices include a little of everything — from figures-type work to some speed skating drills to exercises borrowed from quickness and agility kinds of sports.  (I even borrow some skate sharpening techniques from speed skaters, but that’s a story for another time.)  My reasoning:  Quite obviously, players within my group have numerous and varied needs, which means that I have to cover all the bases.

Finally, I hope members soon come to know that I like to answer most questions in the way I’ve just done for Ravi.  Oh sure, if I watched him take one twirl around the ice I’d likely know exactly how to advise him.  However, I’d much prefer to arm him and my other CoachChic.com friends with as much information as possible.  In that way, every different type of skater should be able to troubleshoot his or her own needs.

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Catching-up with Jerry Z

Well, it’s been some time since I first introduced our new buddy, Jerry z.  Actually, about a month.  But, he and I have needed that time together.

I needed some time to sorta sit back and get a sense of where he was — personally, as well as in comparison to the guys he regularly plays with.  But, I’ll explain that more a little later.

I also had to get a sense of how much Jerry could do between our sessions together.  (I’m chuckling to myself right now, but I recall giving some homework assignments to a young lady who lived in a 2nd floor apartment, and man did her downstairs neighbor scream at the pounding from above.  Oh, well…)  Thankfully, Jerry was able to do the things I prescribed as homework, and he even had access to some outdoor venues — including a nearby tennis court and a local high school track.

Anyway, let’s get on to the video I’d done about Jerry.  After you’ve seen that, I’ll have a few more comments to add…

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Now that you’ve seen the video, allow me to back-up a bit…

You see, I’d like this to be a learning experience for a broader audience than just in-liners.  So, I’m going to share some of the problem-solving techniques I commonly use with players — be they roller or ice hockey participants.

As I mentioned in the video, overcoming his greatest overall problem is going to make the most impact on Jerry’s playing ability. So, that was my major concern when we met for the first time.

As an aside in this area, I can’t tell you how many folks I see inspecting beginners and immediately fixating on some little, picky thing that has hardly any bearing on that experience level.  In other words, it doesn’t make sense to look for a minute mechanical flaw when a player is suffering from a much more basic one.  In fact, if you want to really frustrate an inexperienced player, force him or her to worry about the angle of this or that, his or her weight distribution, or the likes.

With that, my assessment was that Jerry mainly lacked time on his wheels, and along with that the comfort and energy efficiency seen in more experienced skaters.  Of course, I could have told him to just skate more, and send him on his way.  However, there was still some solid advice I could provide him, including how to move through a pattern similar to what he’d experience in a game.

For sure, that pattern had to include changes in direction.  So, parts of our next few sessions included me helping Jerry with pivots, sharp cuts and cross-overs (and you might notice his improvement in those areas as the above video progressed).  I also showed him how to stop in in-lines.

Now, had a glaring equipment problem jumped out at me in the very first meeting, I’d have dealt with it immediately.  However, it wasn’t until Jerry tried doing some fairly sophisticated moves that a stick and a skate problem came to light.  (I want to go into a little depth on those topics, so I plan on addressing them soon in another post.)

In closing — for now, I hope you noticed Jerry’s progress from the first sessions to the last.  I surely did, and it’s been even more noticeable up close and in person.  As a matter of fact, as I watched the end of that video, I realized Jerry had new needs.  Oh, he’ll still benefit from doing some of the basic drills.  However, I have a couple of new gadgets I want to tell you about shortly, these aimed at bringing Jerry’s game to yet a higher level.  So, stay tuned…

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This New Category Coming for September

Yes, it struck me that we were missing something, and that would be hockey specific conditioning.  So, beginning this month — September of ‘09, I’ll start adding some very usable stuff to help players go longer, harder and faster in their games!

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NHL Birthday Calendar

Coach Chic’s good friend, Tyler, from the NHL Digest is responsible for sharing this fun and interesting collection of National Hockey League birthdays.

Amazingly, it contains “…all players ever to play in the National Hockey League! It currently contains more than 7000 players. It will be updated as the final rosters for the 2009-2010 NHL season are announced.”

So, click on the NHL Digest logo below, enjoy the calendar, and even share it with friends!  Again, enjoy…

CLICK THE LOGO TO GO TO THE CALENDAR

Follow Tyler on Twitter for great hockey updates…  @NHLDigest

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Shooting Gallery

Please see Drill Submission Rules and Help below.

Contributor: Cameron F. — Niverville, Manitoba, Canada

Drill Category: Fun, Offense, Goaltending

Drill Description:

Comments: Many drills require nearly a full team to execute during a practice. This is a drill I like to use when we are short players. The drill itself needs 3-5 players plus a goalie and does not take up a lot of room on the ice surface.

Benefits:
FUN!
Forwards: This drill brings into focus nearly every aspect of goal scoring: accurate shooting, fast hands, quick decisions, and shot selection.
Goalies: This drill is designed to work on fast twitch muscles, balance, and recovery while under pressure.

Set up with shooter in the middle of the ice, at the hash marks with pucks. Other players are lined up towards the net, on both sides, in line with the edge of the crease.

Goalies must stay inside the crease for the first shot. As an added challenge, have the goalies start within 6 inches of the goal line.

Objective of game:
Players – score – 1 point
Goalie     – cover puck – 1 point
- puck goes behind the goal line – 1 point
- puck goes outside the blue line – 1 point
- puck touches side boards – 1 point

Running the drill:
P1 shoots the puck, G makes save and attempts to cover or direct rebound away from players.
After initial shot, players are allowed 1 pass before shooting. Progress to one-touch passes and one-timer shots to best simulate game situations.

After point is awarded, set up the drill and run again. Play to seven points (suggested).

Click image below to see a short video.

Chariot Races

Please see Drill Submission Rules and Help below.

Contributor: Deb K. — Boulder, CO

Drill Category: Fun, Conditioning, Skating

Drill Description:

All the kids line up in pairs on the goal line. One kid remains standing, the other is on his knees. The standing player holds the blade end of both sticks, while the kneeling player holds the butt-end. On my cue, the standing players race, pulling their teammate down the ice. We try this with forward skating and backward skating and of course we switch the players around at each end of the ice so they both get the fun of being dragged In this drill, the kids really have to dig in, so they eventually figure out keeping the skates forward (I call it running man style) doesn’t allow them the propulsion they need, and they start turning their skates out to really dig in.

Click image below to see a short video.

Tic-Tac-Toe Down Low

Please see Drill Submission Rules and Help below.

Contributor: Cameron F. — Niverville, Manitoba, Canada

Drill Category: Fun, Offense, goaltending

Drill Description:

Comments: This drill needs at least 7 players for flow and one end of the ice from the hash marks to the boards.

Benefits:
Forwards: This drill works on driving the net, accurate passing, timing, and shot selection.
Goalies: This drill is great for working on plays that come from below the goal line and lateral movement.

Set up:
Two lines, one on each boards at the hash marks. One line has pucks. One player below the goal line on the strong side.

Running the drill:
P1 passes to P2 who is below the goal line.
After pass, P1 and P3 drive to the net from each side of the ice.
P2 can pass to either P1 or P3 for a shot on net. **Progress to P1 or P3 has option to make another pass before shooting**

After shot, players exit drill area through middle of ice so next group can run as soon as goalie is set.

Players can change their approach to the net to experiment with angles of attack and the related timing.

Click image below to see a short video.

Big Ball Keepaway for a Mental Distraction

Some time ago I discovered the benefits to just slightly changing any given drill to shock my players’ concentration.  Substituting another object in place of the puck can do this.  And, I’ve more recently tried — with some success — the use of big balls, like those used in basketball or soccer.

– Dennis Chighisola

Okay, I know the above claim needs a whole lot more explaining, so here goes…

Let me start by reminding my CoachChic.com friends that “repetition (surely is) the best teacher”.  However, “boredom is the greatest threat to effective teaching”.  In other words, doing the same exact drill, over and over again, IS great for creating muscle memory.  Still, that’s only good to a point, since overdoing the same drill is likely to eventually cause our players’ eyes to glaze-over.  I mean, at some point, our players will start just going through the motions in zombie-like fashion.  And this is when poor technique and poor decision-making — along with the wrong kind of muscle memory — start creeping in.

Let me also remind you that it’s at a time like this when there’s a need to get a little creative, or “artful”.  (If there’s a caveat here, it’s that we have to continue reinforcing proper techniques, and not just go to another form of drilling for the sake of change.  In other words, while players have to feel a drill is new, parents and coaches have to be careful in choosing a substitute drill.)

Now, one of the earliest posts I contributed to this site had to do with using a small ball for teaching passing techniques.  As I described in that one, pairs of players move while passing the ball back and forth to each other.  As I also suggested, proper passing and receiving fundamentals can be reinforced while this drill runs.  The receiver can be reminded to give a good target, and we coaches can reinforce a need for the passer to lead his or her teammate and to put the pass right on-target.

If you get where I’m going with this, you might also sense, as I do, that players usually won’t see the above described drill as being anything like the same old, same old ones we’ve done so many times before.  In fact, I often see my players refreshed by this approach, and they tend to give more of themselves just because the drill does seem new to them.

As another example…  Late last winter I started to get the impression that my junior high school team kids were just going through the motions during our breakout drills.  (Actually, things were getting pretty ugly.)  How could I blame them, though.  We must have done those same old drills hundreds of times over the long season.  So, I decided to bring a soccer ball to our next off-ice practice session.  And, it did the trick.  Suddenly the kids seemed to brighten-up, and they were suddenly focusing again, too.  Their concentration was back, and they once again began attempting to place passes right to their teammates’ hands.

Now, once I see something works, I salt that idea away for future reference.  Ya, switching to small ball passing (as described earlier) probably crept into my drill repertoire some 15-years ago, and it’s always been there for me to fall back on as the need arose.  So has the big ball idea been available for me since late last season.

That said, I want to insert here another thought…  In strength training circles there is a relatively new approach referred to as periodization.  And, for all the science that might be used to describe that mouthful, my oversimplification of that term is this:

While sticking with a given training routine for a considerable length of time will produce positive results, there will ultimately come a time when progress either slows or almost stops.  (This is often referred to as “plateau-ing”.)  So, the idea of periodization is to avoid plateaus — in advance — by periodically changing an athlete’s routine.  In other words, we know a routine is ultimately going to lose its effectiveness.  So, why not switch to some alternate exercises beforehand?

So, does this line of thinking sound anything like my idea of using alternative drills in our hockey practices?  I definitely think so.  And, borrowing from the idea of periodization, I’ve even begun inserting substitute drills BEFORE the traditional ones start losing their effectiveness.

As an aside here, and as a way of introducing a few new drill ideas for you…  I don’t think we should get stuck on any given type of substitute for a puck.  At certain times small balls work; at others times I’ve found it wiser to use a big ball, because it slightly slows the action, or because it in some other way makes a drill run better or safer.  And, I don’t doubt that either you or I might arrive at something even better to use sometime down the road (I don’t know; frisbee, anybody?).

Now, late this summer I felt the need to reinforce offensive 2 on 1 principles with my Team NEHI guys.  I think players tend to like games of keepaway, probably because there’s competition involved, and also because these contests aren’t very different from real game action.  Of course, I like keepaway games because they force real game decision-making, proper passing and receiving skills, and because they can be performed in a small, easily observed area.  In other words, it’s pretty easy for participants and coaches to see if choices and skills have been performed successfully.

Shown to the right are my guys playing games of 2 on 1 keepaway (roughly) within the end face-off circles.  (If you click on the photo you’ll see a video of my guys in action.)  Actually, we played these games on-ice during the week with pucks, then used a soccer ball in our weekly off-ice practice.  If you can appreciate it, the same principles and techniques were reinforced in both venues, while the kids reaped the benefits of seemingly different drills.  In the video you might notice the kids laughing a bit, or being fairly animated (suggesting they’re enjoying the competition).  Also, notice the two young kids (our junior high school goalies) in the second group, as they actually try to get open and they also use some eye fakes to fool the checker.  And, done enough, I’ll suggest that these things will gradually transfer into their game play.

Shown in the second photo are some of my NEHI HS Prep guys doing the same drill.  (Click on the photo to see that drill in action.)  You’ll notice I’ve added a little incentive (or consequences) to their success or failure in the game.  Hey, there are consequences if we lose the puck in a real game, so — on an honor system — kids who cause a turn-over quickly do 5 push-ups.

This brief sidebar…  I tell my guys ahead of time that I don’t want the push-ups to be seen as a real punishment.  The reason I’m only asking them to perform five quick ones is so that they’ll at least associate a small amount of pain(?) or embarrassment(?) with losing the puck or ball.  (If you think about it, most of the drills we coaches run during our practices don’t have the same kind of results-oriented consequences as our games.)

The final photo shows some of my kids working on their offensive zone man-advantage plays.  I’ll get plenty into powerplay tactics down the road.  But, for now let me say that an effective powerplay can often be the great equalizer when/if our team is struggling in other areas.  Also, if you think about it, powerplay skills and principles tend to trickle-over into many areas of a team’s 5 on 5 play.  I say all this to let you know that we spend a pretty good amount of time working on man-advantage situations.  Understandably then, we REALLY need alternative forms of practice to avoid all the issues associated with boredom.

(Click the photo to see action drilling on our powerplay.)  This clip was taken early in the kids’ learning my version of the umbrella formation.  So, while they certainly haven’t yet gotten to the point of executing plays in this video, they are quickly learning to recognize where teammates should be, where opponents likely are, and where their passing options might be.  Again, though — aside from the teaching aspects, this form of drilling makes it possible for me to practice powerplay tactics — A LOT.

In closing, I hope players, parents and coaches appreciate my concerns for practicing plenty while also trying to keep focus or concentration.  I’ll suggest there’s a delicate balance required in our drill selections — between traditional ones and alternatives.  The use of small and big balls can help towards this aim.  But, they’re by no means our only options.

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About This Special “Drills” Section

One of my favorite all-time NHL coaches was the late, great Roger Neilson (I hope I remembered the spelling correctly).  They used to call him “Captain Video”.  And — I mean this in the nicest way…  Having met Roger numerous times, I can tell you that his mind was often off on another planet.  (Again, I mean that in a very positive way, so perhaps I should temper it, in that my impression was that he thought WAY outside the proverbial box.)

Those two things in mind — that Roger was a video nut, and that he seemingly liked to look at things in new and very different ways, you might also have a sense of why I loved him.

Anyway, one time as he was introducing a new topic at his popular coaching clinic up in Windsor, Ontario, Roger began with, “Coaches love drills.”

Why do I remember that statement from more than a dozen years ago?

Well, for one thing, he was about to describe my MP Drill Format (talk about an ego boost for me).

As importantly, though, he really made me think.  I mean, I can recall from just about every coaching seminar I’ve ever been to, that almost all I’d hear during breaks had to do with drills.  Some coaches would be swapping them, most would be thrilled at the new ones they’d just learned in the lecture hall, and a few would be moaning because they hadn’t yet discovered anything new to take home with them.

Hmmmmmmm…  Ya, I guess you’d say that, “Coaches love drills.”

Actually, I’m seldom at a loss for drills, and I’ve either explained or shown elsewhere here how Todd Jacobson and I have oftentimes created our own.  Yet, every once in awhile I will feel a need for help (that’s right, I’m no different than anyone else when it comes to experiencing an occasional mental block).

That was the case this past week when I was trying to think of some fun-oriented drills — you know, the kind that might break-up the monotony of a practice while still teaching the players something.  Or, the kind of drills that might get my guys working a little harder just because there’s a slightly new tease, whatever.

So, what did I do in my time of need?  I did as I’ve done a lot lately, sending out short SOSs to all my hockey friends on Twitter and Facebook.  And it didn’t take long to get some really nice responses.  (Aaaah, it seems I can always depend on my social media friends.)

As an aside here…  Of course, if you’ve been through CoachChic.com at all, you know there are already hundreds of drills in the various categories (with new ones being added every few days).  Most of those are very specific to a topic, however.  This area will be aimed at drills alone.

A second thing also caused me to strongly consider this new category…  I mean, among my hockey friends and within the CoachChic.com membership are some extremely bright coaches.  I know they know their stuff, and their drill ideas could be invaluable to others.

Then, there’s a third reason I believe this area is going to be useful…  As I’ve stated numerous times elsewhere, I was once a young coach, and I craved a medium in which to show my stuff.  (Think how awesome I felt making a presentation to the NHL Coaching Symposium in 1980, how I felt when Roger described my MP Drill Format that day, and what it was like for speakers at a few other major coaching seminars to recognize this then-young coach sitting in the audience.  Ya, those kinds of things spur a guy or gal on.  And I’m thinking that this new Drills section will give some new bright young guys a chance to show their stuff.

Now, while a lot of the content on this site is reserved for CoachChic.com members, I’m planning on keeping this area open and free to the public.  Call it my (actually our) way of giving back to the best game on earth.

Along that same line of thinking, I’m going to welcome drills from members as well as non-members.  Again, the gist is for us to just share drill ideas.

Then, two final points…

- In viewing the first few drills to come-in, I can see that this area is going to require an awful lot of work on my part.  For sure, sketches sent me could be posted rather quickly.  At the same time, drills described in text are going to take me quite a lot of time to recreate — either in a sketch or by video-taping some players demo-ing.

- An undertaking like this is going to require a few rules for participation (to make it workable and so it doesn’t get abused).  Those rules and some help are provided below.

Well, that’s it for now.  From here onward it’s up to us to make this seemingly worthwhile area work — for everyone.

Drill Submission Rules & Help

Drill Submission Rules & Help

• The true purpose of this section is for coaches to ultimately have a vast number of new drills at their disposal.  (It’s also a great area for contributing coaches to show their creativity.)

• Obviously, the easier it is for Coach Chic to understand and prepare a drill for posting, the sooner he can publish it to the on-line collection.

• A drill must be accompanied by a full name and the state or province in which the contributor resides.  (This is just to give you fair credit, and you may ask that only your first name and last initial be publish.)

• You needn’t have invented your drill submission, although Coach Chic would love to know if you did.  Again, the main purpose here is to just provide coaches with lots of good drills.

• No email addresses or website links will be posted with a submission.

• Coach Chic IS into promoting individual coaches for their work; he is NOT into promoting hockey schools or other business ventures.  Sorry.  (However, if there’s a question about this, please do email Coach Chic.)

• Email drills to Coach Chic (<= just click here).

• Diagrams can be sent as attachments.  Text descriptions are easier handled from within the body of an email.

• Please indicate a drill submission in the Subject area of your email.

• Since drills might eventually be grouped according to their main theme (ie, attacking, defending, shooting, breakouts, etc), please indicate what you believe the main purpose or benefit is.

• Please name your drill.

• Coach Chic will likely alter or convert a drill presentation into either a text, diagram, motion diagram or a video format.  The contributing coach still gets all the credit.

• If you wish, the following diagram can be right clicked and you can Save As (to wherever you’d like to work with it).  Use your Paint or a similar drawing program to add players, lines, what have you.

————————————————————-

A Quick Checklist:

• Use a rink diagram whenever possible.

• Include your name and state/province (but you may ask that only your first name and last initial be published).

• Note if the drills is/isn’t your own creation.

• Give the drill a name.

• Provide what you see as the drill’s main benefit/s.

• Send diagrams as attachments; send text descriptions in the body of your email.

• Put “Drill Submission” in the email Subject line.

• Email drills to Coach Chic (<= just click here).

Good and Bad Pain in Strength Training

You can put my good friend Michael Mahony near the top of the list of those I’m constantly referring to as the best and brightest on Twitter.

For those who don’t know, Michael posts frequently in “The Muscle Building Fat Burning Video Blog“.  It’s an interesting place to visit, in that he’s talking to readers (and video viewers) about his personal fitness quest.  (Mike’s videos can also be found on YouTube).

Now, when I saw Mike Mahony’s latest post — concerning pain, I thought to myself that CoachChic.com members just have to consider this stuff.  So, have a read, and I’ll add my own comments a little later.

– Dennis Chighisola

What about pain?
By Michael Mahony

What’s on my mind today?
I’ve been doing some thinking lately and have come up with a few interesting conclusions regarding pain.  I am not talking about the debilitating, unable to walk type of pain.  I am talking about the type of pain you get from an intense workout or how your lungs burn during an extreme cardio workout.

How long?
When you walk barefoot in your house and stub your toe, how long does the pain last?  Generally it passes rather quickly.  You might be left with a bruised toe, but the pain itself subsides as fast as it started.  It is the same way with the pain you get during a lift.  Yes, it hurts to push yourself past the burn, but that pain subsides.  It goes away quickly.

How much?
You obviously need to pay attention to the intensity of the pain you are feeling.  There is the pain of going past the burn during a lift and there is the pain of an injury.  Both are different kinds of pain and they are obvious as to which is which.  Pay attention to pain from an injury because it is an indicator that you need to stop what you are doing.  However, the pain you get while taking a lift to failure is something you want to go beyond.  Push yourself hard and you will see gains.

How often?
Each time you do a lift you are going to feel pain if it is done correctly.  Your job is to push beyond that pain.  Working at this level of intensity is required to get good, consistent gains.  Yes, you are going to be sore after pushing your body this hard, but the results should be worth it to you.  If they are not, maybe this isn’t the right thing for you to be doing?

What is failure?
Finally, you are trying to take the set to failure.  What is failure anyway?  I strongly believe the point of failure is completely influenced by your mental attitude.  Yes, the muscle has a point where it will be unable to move the weight another repetition, but is that where you quit every time?  I am suggesting that most of us quit sooner than we should.  We let our brain stop us before our body does.  Do me a favor.  The next time you are in the gym, do not pick a stopping point (ie. 8 repetitions).  Just pick a weight and do the exercise until you can’t move the weight any more.  I call this “doing all the repetitions.”  That’s right, do them all.  Don’t stop until you can’t move the weight another repetition.  Don’t let your brain stop you, let your body stop you.  You will have to be ready to go beyond the pain that you feel, but it will be worth it.  Give me this favor for the entire workout and then let me know what you think.

Mike mentions some VERY interesting things within his piece…

I have a huge sign posted in The MOTION Lab that states, “No pain, no gain!”  You might find it interesting, however, that I whisper to parents that it’s only partially so; I mainly put that up for the sake of some teenagers who seem to have a need for such stuff. 

As Michael suggests, there’s a good pain and a not-very-good pain, and it’s important for athletes (or those responsible for athletes) to recognize the difference.  In fact, if one of my players or students complains that something hurts, I’ll usually question him until I get to understand which sort of pain he might be talking about.  Hey, it surely is going to make a difference in how we’ll approach the next drill, the next practice or the next game.  And, with a little bit of experience, it might also provide us a pretty good indication about whether the player should seek some medical attention.  (Obviously, it’s best to err on the safe side.)

Now, I can’t for the life of me exactly remember the quote, but…  In a Jerry Kramer book about Vince Lombardi, the late, great Green Bay Packers coach pushed his players with the belief that, “The lesser conditioned player will always quit first!” (or words to that effect).  My interpretation is that Lombardi was really talking about pain — or, a player’s ability to endure it.  Just think about that, if you will:  Two players do battle, and one just finds it easier to quit.  We might also be talking about “mental toughness” here, in that the one able to endure a little (of the right kind of) pain is likely to have more staying power than someone who can’t.

Then, I’ll bet most non-athletes reading all this have still experienced both the good and the bad kinds of pain.  As this relates to our (adult kinds of) labor, I’m often heard to say how much I hate the tiredness that comes from something like stressful paperwork, while I really enjoy the tiredness derived from a day of toiling in my yard.  (Man, I sleep like a baby after a day of getting the good kind of tired.)  Athletes experience something very much akin to this, even very old athletes like yours truly.  I mean, it’s definitely no fun dealing with a real injury, but there’s something still kind of nice about that little bit of soreness gained from some hard work.

Finally, thanks, Michael.  And I look forward to following your progress over at “The Muscle Building Fat Burning Video Blog“!

– Dennis Chighisola

First Things First in Hockey Skills Work

I have to laugh at myself a bit, because I sometimes find it funny how my old noggin’ works… What I’m referring to is that one thing often leads me to think of something else, and that just as often leads me to think of something else (and so on).

Such was the case as I read Craig Shaw’s comment this morning.  And that thought process led me to answer Craig in the way I did, as well as to ultimately decide to share a few thoughts with all of my other CoachChic.com friends…

You see, as I reflect back on the hundreds of outstanding players I’ve had through the years, I’ve always found they had a few things in common.  Oh, I’m not talking about great genetics here; actually, I think most of my best players overcame some shortcomings to achieve what they did.

From a mental perspective, those kids always seemed to have a very positive approach to trying new things.  I mean, they could laugh at themselves whenever they were really challenged by a drill.  Hand in hand with that was a certain “Show me what you have for me today, Coach!” attitude.  And, while some might suggest those traits are genetic, my feeling is that they’re a reflection of their parents’ attitude.

What I’m here today to talk about, however — and what Craig reminded me about, is what I probably did for those kids who ultimately found some success in the game.

As an aside here…  You might find it odd that I don’t usually brag about a specific player, or claim to have put this kid or that kid in the NHL or on a National Team.  That’s because I don’t believe there’s a coach on the planet who is totally responsible for a player’s success.  Oh, I know I helped a ton of young guys and gals along the way (as have other coaches or skills instructors), and I’ve even watched a bunch of ‘em on TV.  If you want my honest opinion, though, it’s the moms and dads who give their kids legitimate chances to make it, and it’s the kids who make good use of what their parents are willing to provide — plain and simple.  That said, this entry is about one of those “little things” I probably have done right for my kids through the years, and something that probably served them well for years and years to come…

What I’m getting at is my refusal to skip steps.  So many parents and coaches are in a hurry to have their kids perform moves like elite players.  And I think I may have even been that way as I guided my first generation through NEHI programs.  But, being in a hurry almost always means skipping steps.  And skipping steps almost always causes a player some difficulties down the road.  (Please think about that one, because I’ve seen far too many older players who couldn’t be saved due their failure to master given skills when the time was right.)

Now, one luxury of my job is the time I have to study (and study and study).  And, while I’m not done studying the game yet — by a long shot, the way I’ve plotted skill progressions for you within this site is likely the most concise you’ll ever find.

Take, for example, the stopping movement…  I bring my students or players through maybe ten steps, from the very beginner challenge to some very advanced applications.  (These are described and shown in the three “Must-do Skating Drills” videos under the Skating category.)

Of course, rational people would say it makes sense to NOT go on to Step 4 until Step 3 is mastered.  Yet, there’s something that seems to cause younger parents and coaches to get a bit irrational at times — or they get antsy about their kids’ progress, which causes them to skip from Step 3 to Step 7 (whatever).

I’m also (as my noggin’ makes me jump again) reminded of the advice I provided in the “Creating The Early Goal-scorer” video.  For, my main aim there was to help you help your youngster succeed “at his or her own level”.  Trust me on this one:   Most of the other kids in your youngster’s age group are skipping steps, or they’re not even being given the chance to master many of the game’s basic skills.  So, a kid who IS slowly lopping-off key steps IS ultimately going to blow-away the majority of his or her peers.

Okay, I may have seemingly jumped around a bit here and there (and that’s likely the electrodes in my noggin’ at work).  But the advice I’m trying to convey to you today is to just “stay the course”.  There are bound to be ups and downs in a season — geeeeeze, with young players, there can be ups and downs in a day.  The thing I’m here to tell you is that others will likely panic with the downs and get a bit over excited about the ups.  You, on the other hand, ought to be able to smile at both (yes, even at the downers), because you know you’re on the right course, just putting “first things first”.

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