Good Offense or Bad Defense?

One of my favorite CoachChic.com members, Craig Shaw, recently added a few great Comments under the “Troubleshooting the Tight Turn (or Boston Turn)” article. In the latest one, he asked me to “do a YouTube search for a Victoria Salmon Kings goal,” suggesting it will “knock your socks off”.

As it turned out, my grandson had sent me a link to that play about a week ago, but it was worth it for me to see it once again (and maybe again and again).

As I watched the video one last time, however, it struck me that, while it was loaded with some unbelievable offensive moves by the Salmon Kings, there had to be a kzillion defensive mistakes made by their opponents. (Ya, if I was coaching the other team, I’d have likely suffered 32 heart attacks on the one goal!) So, I thought a study of this video might just best be undertaken under Thinking the Game – Defensively.

– Dennis Chighisola

Good Offense or Bad Defense?

Remember that I’m a hockey coach, so I see things a little differently than the typical fan. Oh, when wearing my skills coaching cap, I love the kind of puckhandling and passing demonstrated in the following video. Still, I’ve also been a team coach for most of my adult life, and over the past decade I’ve been readying my Team NEHI players to do well at the higher levels of our game. So, that means I work on both highlight reel skills AND smart playing principles (many of them having to do with the defensive side of hockey).

That said, take a look at the following video. For sure, you’ll be entertained (and it might even knock your socks off).

Now, after you’ve marveled at the offensive skills demonstrated in that video, try to go back and watch it at least once from a defensive perspective.

As an aside… I have the technical ability to work within videos like those offered on YouTube.com – to copy them, break down the plays, and run them in slo-mo, stop-action, whatever. But, I don’t believe it would be either legal or ethical to show that here. So, you might need to go back and forth between this page and the above video to follow along with me. Sorry ‘bout that. (But, hey, I’m just thankful the likes of YouTube, TSN and the NHL make these kinds of videos available to us.)

Hopefully you’ve now watched that video from a defensive perspective, and I’m also hoping it’s opened your eyes to what a coach might see (and agonize over).

As another aside… When we’re working on the defensive side of our game, I am forever telling my players that good puckhandlers can be absolutely mesmerizing. Actually, the great offensive players just die for moments when they can get defensive opponents to do some of the things I’ll note below.

So, the following is MY defensive breakdown of this play:

• If I might let any defender off the hook in this mess, it would be the first guy. He initially had good inside positioning on the first puckcarrier, but he just got physically out-muscled. (I tend to be a lot more understanding when it comes to physical mistakes versus mental ones. But, that’s just me.)
• From there onward, everything goes downhill — fast… The second defender makes an attempt to take the puckcarrier’s body (or cross-check him?), but he lunges far outside his center of gravity and has almost no strength as he makes contact. Missing the hit, he looks down at the puck from then on. My guess: The mesmerization has begun (as evidenced by the second defender being beaten several times after the attempted body-check).
• The third defender may have started okay, as he tries a pokecheck. However, it becomes obvious that he had his eyes down and was looking at the puck when the second attacker beats him – badly — with a deke or two.
• If you freeze the video right after the pokecheck, you should see a scene that includes four dark jerseys and only two white shirts. Darn, but the checkers should have had the advantage here. Ya, they should have. What I tell my players to do in this situation is to grab a man and totally negate him. That would have worked here, but that’s not how the defensive team played it. And that’s why the original puckcarrier is wide open for a return pass.
• Now, the one-touch pass from the first white player to the eventual goal-scorer helps to make another point I try to impress upon my players… If you watch things leading-up to the goal, you might sense (as I do) that the defender in front of the net is stuck because of what his teammates have done (or not done) to that point. In other words, if his mates had grabbed and eliminated an attacker (or two), he could stay at home to just pay attention to his own man (that guy near the goal-mouth). However, he is stuck in what I see as a 2 on 1 here, with a puckcarrier moving towards the net and a man behind him open at the backdoor. Ugh.

I will say this again: that really good puckhandlers can entice a defender into doing things he doesn’t want to do. And, in certain cases – as in this one, the whole thing can snowball and throw a bunch of players into total disarray. (Actually, I’ll tell my players that, “If you don’t do YOUR job, the guys around you are going to have a hard time doing there’s!”)

Then, one last point… Realize that we’ve been watching pros here. (I interviewed three different times for ECHL head coach/GM jobs, I’ve coached many guys who have attained that level, and I can tell you that all the guys in that video are REAL players.) Moreover, I guarantee you can find NHL players making the same mistakes as I’ve outlined above (just find a highlight reel video on-line, and then look at it from a defensive viewpoint). All things are relative in our game, you know. So, an attacker who has reached the NHL can, at least sometimes, tantalize an equally gifted defender to look down at the puck and look stupid. And, if that’s true – that the best players in the world can make such mistakes, appreciate that younger players need even more help with their defensive discipline and technique.

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I would REALLY like your Comments on this one!

THE Bobby Orr Move

Ya, like there was only one — or “THE” Bobby Orr move. There were probably more like a hundred of them. However, for the sake of helping my NEHI players to add one more move to their offensive bag of tricks, I several years ago dubbed a certain Orr move “The Bobby Orr Move”.

Now, I’m going to soon go into an analysis of that special play. But first, I think it’s time to resurrect Number 4’s memory. Yes, I’m wondering right now if a generation of young players (maybe more) only knows the name. So, for their sake, and also for those who recall how much fun it was to watch him, here’s a little something special borrowed from YouTube.com…

Next, as you perhaps wipe away your own tears, please go back to the 20-second mark of that video and watch the play that follows. That, my dear friends, is what I refer to as…

THE Bobby Orr Move

By Dennis Chighisola

Over the next few minutes you may just want to review that portion of the video again. At the same time, let me explain what I’m seeing there.

Countless times as I watched Orr during his years in Boston, he’d freeze the man covering him by faking a slapshot. Just the sight of Orr raising his stick usually caused the defender to brace-up — as if to block the shot, which then allowed Orr to perform further magic.

In that brief clip of Orr’s special move at the point, he walked around his cover and then fed a teammate cross-ice with a nice pass. At yet other times, I saw Orr take a slapshot as soon as he’d broken free from his check.

Of course, I’m here to tell you that this move — or this string of moves — can actually be learned by a younger player. In fact, if you click on the photo below you’ll see a video of one of my outstanding young Team NEHI Junior HS kids doing a pretty good imitation of the all-time great…

Now, I’ve sometimes mentioned elsewhere in these pages how I break down such a fancy move so that I can teach it to younger players. In fact, that’s how the boy above and many of his teammates learned this play — from my dividing the more complex skills into several easier, fairly do-able steps. Okay, so let’s explore those steps:

Step 1 is the Fake

I’m talking about a real fake here! I mean, if you can appreciate it (and I talk to my players often about this), a defensive player — be he a goaler or a skater — is NOT going to go falling on his face just because an attackers wills it, or prays it. Naw, a deke has to be believable! And, if it is, the defensive player will likely to do what the attacker wants him to do. So again, the whole thing starts with a big, believable slapshot motion.

Step 2 is the Pull

In a way, this is the spinarama move made famous by another offensive great, Denis Savard. In this case, however, I have my players do as Orr did, by only pulling the puck around on the backhand. (My personal belief is that spinning around from the backhand is easier and quicker to execute, it might carry the attacker wider around his man, and it also brings the attacker to a great shooting angle once he’s gotten around the checker. By the way, this is one reason I like to play my defensemen on their “off-wing” side.)

Step 3 is to Go Wide

And, as in Step 1, I really mean that a player has to do this step to his or her max — or to exaggerate it. As I’ll so often say to my kids, any fake is going to only last so long, and then the checker is going to try to recover and get you. (Think about that, if you would… An attacker takes the bait, but that has that “Oh, my God!” moment, at which time he or she desperately lunges back into the play.) So, the wider our attacker swings, the safer he or she is going to be.

Step 4 is to Penetrate

Actually, I’ll ultimately give my attackers all the usual options here. However, as we started practicing Orr’s move, I at first limited my young guys to just quickly getting around the imaginary checker and unleashing a slap on-goal. In due time, I asked my players to read the goaltender — and to shoot if they saw open net, or to move-in if the goaler had come-out on the angle. Down the road, I’m going to add a teammate to the play (probably over on the weakside backdoor), just so the guy doing the Orr move has the third option to pass.

Now, the following snapshots are linked to more action videos (so just click on each). And, in the case of the first one, I hope you get a kick out of our youngest player doing the same move as a righty shooter (because I surely did). In fact, I think he demonstrates the move awesomely!

Here’s a video taken from a front view, just to give you a different perspective (click on the image).

And, the final video is in slow-mo so that you might see the big guy again from the front view (click on the photo below).

Now, from all the above I’m kinda hoping you might come-away with a number of impressions…

1. The greatness of guys like Bobby Orr is that they pioneered some amazing moves. Years later, however, it’s possible for fairly skilled young players to perform those very same moves.
2. Complex moves aren’t quite so complex if we study them and then break them down into easier, do-able steps.
3. In many instances, some of those steps require real emphasis — as in the case of Orr’s move, where it’s extremely important to make a believable fake, and just as important to swing far-out and away from a recovering defender.

Now, I had what I hope you’ll see as an interesting conversation with my assistant coach the other night, this while our kids were practicing this move. For, I mentioned to him that each of the players was going to get something slightly different from what they were doing. Oh, I’m going to bet that two or three of my kids will try that move in a game over the next few weeks. At the same time, a number of my players aren’t quite ready to do that — just yet. So, what’s in it for the latter group? I think that working on such a move is an awesome skill drill for every one of them. Just picture it: They’re working on faking, pulling the puck in a spinarama, learning to swing wide around a defender, and trying to get their shots off as soon as possible. So again, I think inserting something like this into a fairly skilled team’s practice is a very worthwhile endeavor — for all of the players.

Finally, once I’ve given you enough time to put this drill to good use, I’ll then show you another favorite move of mine, this one made famous by the great Guy Lafleur!

Reflections of a High School Hockey Coach

I actually asked our good friend, Todd Jacobson, to provide this mid-season report for all of us.  Why at this time?  Well, I just sense that it’s about at the midpoint in a season when a coach has a pretty good grasp of the roster, a sense of how things are going — or where they’re going, and it’s also around this time when he or she might wish, “I shoulda done this,” or, “I shoulda done that.”

Now, Todd is in about his 5th or 6th season at the helm of his school’s program.  And, with that, I’d like member coaches to appreciate just how little he leaves to chance.  I mean, he begins his next year’s planning REAL early, he knows exactly how he’s going to early-on screen and then assign players to roles, he’s planned how lines will be formed and then used, he has a picture in his mind about how his overall program will function (between varsity and JVs), and he has a philosophy — or an approach to his overall season — that he totally believes in.

But, enough from me.  This is some really good stuff!

– Dennis Chighisola

Reflections of a High School Coach

I’d like to start off by saying that anyone who wants to coach high school hockey better be prepared and willing to put more than their fair share of time and effort into it, if he or she really wants to make it work.

I also want to say that I absolutely love it. You have about a 13 week season in which you have to fit in tryouts, scrimmages, regular season games, on ice and off ice practices, team meetings, weight room sessions, and that is only the stuff on the surface.  That list doesn’t include all of the administrative work that goes into a successful program.

Believe me, when I say that I start preparing within weeks of one season ending (usually sometime in April). It starts with getting letters out to rinks as I look for quality ice times. It also encompasses numerous league meetings — for scheduling, etc.  I also have to have a balance of practices and games for both the Varsity and JV teams. Then there is the budget and trying to keep the ever skyrocketing prices of ice under control without having to sacrifice the number of practices we’ll have.  Next I have to juggle weight room sessions, off ice training, and team meetings into the off days. So, in any given week, our Varsity team will meet about 6 times, and the JVs about 4 times. (As an FYI, we also have a pay to play fee which I have always been totally against.  But to put a quality hockey program on the ice you need money to come from somewhere other than just the school.  So, about 25% of our budget comes from the pay to play fees.)

Getting started we have about 4 days of tryouts (3 on ice and 1 off ice) whereby the coaches are to look for the standouts at both ends of the roster.  In this way, by the second day, we are really looking at a small group of what I call “bubble” players.  Bubble players are the kids who will make the last couple of spots on our Varsity team and be the top players on the JV roster. We also have what we call swing players and JV-plus players. Swing players may be kids who don’t see a lot of Varsity game time but can fill in when needed, and they get to practice with the varsity all season long, as well as get plenty of game action on the JV team. The JV-plus players are a few JV kids who we bring up from time to time, for practices and for certain games (so we can maybe get them some much needed varsity experience).

Once tryouts are over, we have about 10 days to get ready for the season opener. I purposely start my Varsity games later than most other teams. This gives me time to get the proper amount of practice on our playing systems. We usually play anywhere from one to three scrimmages during these 10 days.

Typically, line combinations are made quickly, based on a number of criteria I use:

• I try to balance my top two lines (that way teams can’t focus on one group or the other).
• I look for a scorer, a grinder, and a playmaker for my first two lines. (When I talk to other coaches, I hear them say it’s tough to play us because we do balance our lines pretty well.)
• My third line is usually a defensive minded one.  I look for kids who will hustle and work hard for 35-45 seconds, which provides the necessary rest for our top two lines. Any offense we get from them is a bonus.
• I personally like to run 3 lines of forwards and 4 to 6 defensemen. I feel our up tempo style dictates that we roll three lines (and I find that all the successful teams do much the same). The teams who don’t usually find themselves tired in the third period usually pull away in the end.

I’m a huge fan of the subliminal (or the “head games” coaches typically play on opposing teams):

• We have a dress code for games; whether it is at home or away, we dress appropriately. I always say, “If you dress with class, you play with class.”
• I also like my team to hit the ice first, regardless of if it’s at home or away. I think when you show that you are eager to be out there it sends a message to the other team.
• I like to have my players at the rink well beforehand, or at least one hour in advance.
• Our players will do some warm up type drills (agility ladders or golf ball stickhandling) to get themselves in a good mindset for the game to come.
• Sometimes I will have a team meeting as soon as the kids arrive at the rink, and then I give a pre-game talk just before we go out to the ice.

Most coaches will tell you that the majority of their coaching is done in practice, and then we bench manage and make corrections during games.

My philosophy has always been to scout all of our opponents (I try to see every team within about 2 weeks of when we play them).  But this can be time consuming and difficult to work into any schedule.  However, with a good sized staff of coaches, sometimes we benefit from an assistant skipping a practice to go watch a team that we will be playing soon.

My other key philosophy has been to plan on taking away something another team does well, this in hopes of frustrating them. If I feel we are the stronger team, we work on setting the tone and making the other team adjust to what we do well.

I also believe in playing a quality schedule. We play some of the toughest teams in our state year every year.  So, when we ultimately do qualify for the state tournament, we have earned it.

To give you an idea of where we stand with four weeks to go in the current season, we have 9 games remaining (8 of them at home) and are we’re just below the .500 mark.  (Like it or not, we play some very tough teams in the next two weeks.)

I have a saying that, “You can’t leave points on the table.” And in two games so far this year, we’ve done just that.  So, now that we’ve dug ourselves a hole, we need to steal some points from some of the better teams we’ll soon play. Last year we left points on the table early in the year, as well, but then knocked off some pretty good teams down the stretch to qualify for the tournament. If there’s one thing in our favor, I feel that we usually peak later in the year, which is when you want your team to be clicking on all cylinders. Some teams come out fast and fade.  But I feel the more important the games are later in the year, the better my teams will usually play.

So as we move toward “crunch time”, and needing to play some pretty solid hockey against some pretty good teams, we continue to work on the things that we need to tighten up. Positional play within our systems has been a struggle, but we are getting better with every practice. We have a group of kids that work hard on every shift.  There are no superstars, but they’re more a collection of kids who have skills that gel well together.  In other words, this year’s squad is a real “blue collar” type team. They’re definitely the definition of a team, they need each other to be successful, and in the end I know that they will do just that.

Your in Hockey,

Coach J.

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Now, I’m not about to put words in my young buddy’s mouth.  However, if you’ll notice how much Todd’s “system” means to his team’s success, you also might realize how little influence he and most other high school coaches have over their players’ individual skills.  But, let me try to explain that better…

I know darned well that Todd works on his player’s skills nearly every day.  I know he holds some great practices, both on-ice and off-ice, and that many of these are geared towards enhancing his kids’ skating, puck-work, passing, scoring, defending, strength and conditioning.  All that said, it’s hard for him — or any other high school coach — to affect huge changes in a player’s overall skill capabilities in only 13 or so weeks.

What am I getting at?  It’s that high school coaches — for the most part — only get to work with the players as they’ve arrived.  So, we’re thrilled if they’ve learned highlight reel skills on their way up through the youth hockey ranks, and even more thrilled if they’ve busted their buns during the very long off-season.  For, once they arrive, the major part of a coach’s job is to pull them together into some sort of system.

The reason I’ve added this particular wrap-up?  I think the onus is really on prospective high school players to prepare well in anticipation of truly competing at that level.  After all, there’s a HUGE difference between the 13-weeks the high school coach will have them, and the 39-ish weeks a player has to really prepare.  (But, that’s just this old coach’s 2-cents worth.)

Unbelievable job, Todd!

– Dennis Chighisola

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Be a friend:  You know how much we appreciate your Comments!

Coach Chic’s Hockey Diary

There are some things I’d like to share with you — maybe personal things or whatever might be going on in my day.  Yet, those kinds of things might not really be appropriate for CoachChic.com.  So, for now on I’ll be making occasional posts in the new blog that’s linked below…

Just Click HERE to go to

“Coach Chic’s Hockey Diary”!

Troubleshooting the Tight Turn (or Boston Turn)

Now, this has really been fun!  A number of avid members offered their thoughts on the following problem (begun over at “The Tight Turn (or Boston Turn“), and I got to interact with them (which is always the most fun).

Anyway, to recap things, just in case you’re jumping in late here…  The first photo below shows my young buddy and grandson, Anthony Chic, protecting the puck and making a tight or Boston turn around a defender.  And, although he’s one of the best at this ploy, the camera catches him making one glaring mistake — at least at the moment that photo was taken.

From there, a bunch of my CoachChic.com friends tried to figure what this zany old coach was getting at.  And, while most seemed to be coming kinda close to what I was seeing, no one really hit it dead-on.

With all that, I’m going to do my best below to explain myself.

– Dennis Chighisola

Troubleshooting the Tight Turn (or Boston Turn)

Okay, it’s quite possible that a lot of my great friends here are ultimately going to slap their foreheads and mutter to themselves, “That’s what I meant!”  And, while many of you — especially Jerry Z, Ravi and Ozzy — almost sounded as if you were hinting at what I’ll suggest, I don’t think anyone really said what I was looking for.  (After I’d prepared this piece, Michael G actually came as close to the answer as anyone.)

Anyway, (to the left) let’s start here with the original photo of Tony C fighting off that defender.  I’m showing this again, just so we’ll have a frame of reference.

Next, to give you a sense of how this old coach sees such things, let me show you the same picture (below), but with the defensive player removed…

What I’ll normally suggest (or joke about) to one of my students who strikes a pose like this is that, “If someone opens a door and a little breeze enters the rink, you’re going to fall on your dawgoned ear!”  Can you see it?  Anthony’s skates are both FAR outside his center of gravity.  And in such a posture, he has no strength — or no stability — whatsoever!

Then, I’ve doctored that photo again (below), but this time moving Tony C’s inside foot/leg closer to under his center of gravity.  So, take a look, and see if he just might be a whole lot stronger in that stance.  (Moving parts around within that photo wasn’t easy, and it’s not exactly how I’d like it to look.  But, it still should give you a sense of what I’d be aiming for.)

Now, in reality, I’ve solicited Comments and withheld my thoughts for a time so that I could address some other common issues when it comes to a move like this.

You see, there are a kzillion hockey “wives tales” forever circulating around the rinks — and particularly within youth hockey circles, with a number of them either raised or hinted at in the accumulated Comments.  So, please allow me to tackle some of those, because I think these points will help an awful lot of my friends deal with some of those so-called wives tales:

1. If you have the time, go over to YouTube and watch a few of the highlight reel goals.  I guarantee you’ll find most of your favorite players — from Ovechkin to Crosby to Datsyuk — making big-time plays with one hand on their sticks.  You see, a player can only make very narrow dribbles and dekes with the stick held in both hands.  And, while I’ve picked on Anthony here because I found a flaw at one moment in time, he is actually doing a ton of things right in that play.  For example, notice how he is able to extend his reach with the stick held in one hand, so that the defender doesn’t have a prayer of getting to that puck.  As importantly, Anthony is able to fend-off his man because his other hand is free to do so.  Oh, and by the way…  Because all of my students and former players can do everything both ways, Tony C would be just as comfortable extending the stick far out in his left hand and holding-off his man with the right.
2. I think a lot of the wives tales — or false impressions — stem from players or youth coaches “thinking” they see something they really don’t.  And one thing I sense a lot of folks around the rinks believe is that the skates should be arranged one behind the other when executing a quick cut like this one.  Oh, for sure, the inside skate must lead — a little — in the tight turn.  But, to move with the skates in a straight line also removes strength and stability.
3. I loved that one of my NEHI HS Prep kids jumped in on this conversation.  And I also love the chance it gives me to address something else…  I mean, you will hardly ever hear me say or see me write, “Keep your HEAD up!”  Why?  It’s because the EYES are the important thing when it comes to puckhandling!  Actually, the best attackers in the hockey world look down at the puck; one can’t carry for very long without occasionally checking on it.  That said, can you just imagine a great puckcarrier bobbing his or her head up and down as he or she moves down the ice?  Geeeeeeze…  What a good attacker should really do is hold the head fairly steady, use split vision to see almost everything, and occasionally just move the eyes with quick glances — down, up, etc…
4. I am going to suggest here that our game is one of constant adjustments.  And I’ll further suggest that any given technique might be good at one moment and not so good at another.  As an example, I’ll often joke to my older students that they can skate like figure skaters in open ice, but they’d better drastically change their posture as they enter traffic.  In other words, large and pretty cross-overs or an upright stance might be okay with no one around you; but, you’d better sit low and spread those skates as soon as there’s a chance for body contact.  Said yet another way…  Within just a few seconds, we might see a player in a speedy or graceful posture suddenly shift to a bracing stance; he might go back to an open ice stride, and then quickly return to the strong and stable position.

Oh, and one more thing about those wives tales…  Supposing a young player or youth coach spotted Anthony’s photo and presumed that — since he’s a pretty dangerous attacker — his technique is one to emulate — to a tee.  Well, you and I now know that it’s true in many regards, yet it’s definitely not in at least one other.  If they picked-up on his method of protecting the puck, I’d say they’re on the way to better skills.  However, if they hung their hats on the way he’s been caught in his foot placement…  Well, can you imagine a coach teaching that method for the next 10-years?  And that’s what I’m getting at about a lot of those so-called rink wives tales.  They were based on a wrong assumption in the first place, but nonetheless keep being spread and spread and spread.

Finally, I can’t tell you guys — Jerry, Scott, Ravi, Wilder, Ozzy, Mike and GKelly — how much I appreciate you jumping in here.  Honest to God, I couldn’t have done this piece without your help, and I’m praying I haven’t discouraged you (with a few of my teases) from weighting-in on future conversations.  I love you guys!

Oh, as for a prize…  I was originally thinking about an all-expenses-paid trip to Pluto.  As it turns out, I can’t afford that.  So, I’m hoping Jerry, Ozzy and Mike will settle for a shorter ride — maybe to Jupiter?    (Thanks again, guys; you’re the best!)

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PS:  Anthony Chic recently told me that the defender in that photo actually took a penalty on the play.  So, while I’m suggesting that he could have fallen on his own, an official evidently blamed the ensuing spill on the defensive player.  Ya, there are some advantages to being tricky out there on the ice, including drawing a lot of penalties.  Oh, well…

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No way should the conversation end here.  So, please DO add your Comments below!

What If You Don’t Have an Agility Ladder?

Having lots of posts here in reference to using — and even making — agility ladders, it was just a matter of time before someone would write me about what to do if they don’t own their own ladder.  And, as you’ll soon see, that’s an easy one to answer.

– Dennis Chighisola

What If You Don’t Have an Agility Ladder?

Up front, let me tell you that agility ladders can be a pain in the butt to use.  Laughing to myself here, I should point-out that all the great videos we find around the Internet have most likely been edited — a lot.  And that goes for my videos, as well.  I mean, athlete’s miss-step plenty when they’re first learning, and they frequently get a little tangled in the ladder or at least knock the ladder out of shape.

That said, I use a number of approaches to working on footwork, with most of these depending on the location where my players will work…

For example, there are a lot of places where we need to get our agility work in, and then vanish from that area without a trace.  And for that, it makes sense to just spread a ladder, do our workout, roll it back up, and pack it away.

For another example — this one having to do with agility work in a more permanent location…  I recall numerous hockey (and other sport) parents telling me that they made a ladder for their youngster after having liked the way I work with the one in The MOTION Lab.  Most of those parents told me that they used colored tape to mark-out a ladder on the floor in their basement or den.  I’ve actually done that myself — using good old duct tape, although I’ve discovered that older players and a lot of traffic will ultimately scuff the tape and turn-up its edges.  Really, though, most of my tape-jobs have last a few months, at least.

I’ll sometimes offer that a family can paint the outline of an agility ladder on their driveway or another paved area.  If there’s a caveat here, it’s that frequent work on an unforgiving surface can be rather hard on the legs.  Along this line of thinking — about using paint…  I haven’t sprayed those on grass, but I do use white, water-based spray paint to mark the field area where my NEHI teams do their off-season sprint workouts.

Then, of course, it is possible to use chalk to outline an agility ladder on the right kind of surface.  If there’s a problem here, the chalk isn’t likely to stay very long.

Finally, my experimentation in The MOTION Lab has brought me from using a regular agility ladder to a taped one to the painted ladder that now sits in the middle of the Lab.  There are no ropes or rungs to get tangled in, no set-up time required, and the paint stands-up far, far longer than the tape I’d previously tried.  Better yet, our agility ladder is always there (as shown in the above photo), even though we can ignore it most of the time to perform other types of drilling in the same area.

PS:  If I’ve failed to mention it previously, the standard agility ladder is 18″ wide with the rungs spaced 18″ apart.  But, I see no scientific reason for being exact on those dimensions.

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Do you have any ideas along these lines?  Have you tried something similar but better?  Please tell us in the Comment area below!

The Tight Turn (or Boston Turn)

This post could really be entitled “What’s Wrong with this Picture?“, because that’s exactly what I’m going to ask you.

This photo happens to show my young buddy and grandson, Anthony Chic.  And, while he is really one of the best at protecting the puck in these types of plays, he’s making one glaring mistake — at least at the moment this photo was taken.

So, here’s the deal…  I’m not going to complete this post until a number of members have weighed-in, or offered their opinions or guesses.  Once I do receive a number of Comments (down below), I’ll share with you all I know about tight turns (or so-called Boston Turns).

– Dennis Chighisola

The Tight Turn (or Boston Turn)

The Effects of Growth Spurts on Hockey Players

I sometimes wonder if my friends at CoachChic.com appreciate the unique topics discussed here.  Oh, I don’t mean to sound like I’m patting myself (or our other awesome writers) on the back when I say that.  However, there are some — perhaps not so hockey specific — subjects that I never see mentioned elsewhere, despite the fact that they can impact hugely on a hockey player’s skill development, safety, and more.  Anyway, I think the following topic is an important one.  But, I’ll let you be the ultimate judge of that.

– Dennis Chighisola

The Effects of Growth Spurts on Hockey Players

Right now, a number of my Team NEHI junior high school kids are in a funk.  In other words, while they’re pretty nice players, little things are going wrong in their execution.  (Well, sometimes there are more than just little things going wrong, but…)

Ironically — and despite my having seen this happen for going on 40-years, it always seems to take a few weeks for me to notice.  Thereafter, it might take me even a little while longer to recognize the real problem.

The reason I mention my junior high team kids is because they’re in the rough age group where growth spurts so often take place.  I mean, growth is obviously happening with my littlest students, and also with my high school guys.  But, that group of kids from about 12- to 14-years old is really something else.  And, of course, some of the kids in this age bracket are also experiencing the effects of puberty, which further magnifies what I’m about to discuss.

Now, let me offer a personal story here (and maybe give you another opportunity to laugh at this old coach).  For, probably a good 25-years ago, I was sitting in the stands at one of my son’s pre-season hockey games, and I’m watching a previously highly skilled boy fall all over himself.  I mean, he’d made one of the top high school teams in the country — as a freshman, mainly because he had wheels, he could do tricks with the puck, and he could shoot absolute bullets.  Yet, just prior to his sophomore season, he was now skating like he’d never had a lesson in his life, and he couldn’t handle a puck beyond a couple of dribbles!  Man, I mean to tell you that he was awful.  (You should have heard me whisper to my wife that night, like, “I teach dawgoned skills for a living, and my son can’t even skate!”)

Thank God, in that the effects of his latest growth spurt didn’t last into the regular high school season.  Phew!

Okay, so was it just a short bout he had with this thing?  I’m guessing not.  More likely the effects of that spurt began way back in the spring months, but they just weren’t as obvious during our off-season clinics and hockey camps.

So again, quite a few on my current team are in a funk, some of them looking an awful lot like my son did at the height of his struggles.  Yet, a few of the kids are just a smidgeon off in their body control.  And, my fairly educated guess is that there are a number of reasons why those in my small group are currently facing slightly differing challenges:

1. I’m sure that every individual does experience growth spurts in different ways, and to different degrees;
2. I’m sure that all of the kids are at different points in their current growth spurts;
3. I’m sure that they’ll all struggle through these for differing lengths of time.

I think those three points (and there are probably more) contribute to why it takes me a length of time to recognize what’s happening with any given player.  After all, it shouldn’t be surprising if he or she has a bad game (or two or three).  Hey, even most pros aren’t all that consistent, so pre-teens should be expected to go a little up and down in their play.  However, what catches my attention is when a player is drastically off his or her game for a stretch, or when that rough stretch starts to go on for a considerable length of time.

Okay, so what do we do during such times?

• First, I have to remember that I was in my team parents’ shoes some 25-years ago.  So, I’ve most recently talked to the ones with players who are struggling a great deal.  I don’t want them to overly worry about what they’re seeing, and I especially don’t want them to be overly hard on their kids if those kids aren’t exactly performing up to snuff.
• In the case of the older players who are now suffering through tough times, I’ve actually had short talks with them, and I’ve tried to ease their minds a bit, and even suggest that they’ll be far better players than they were before, as soon as they get used to their new bodies.  (And that’s what the difficulty is, you know, in that such kids are climbing — or falling — out of bed every morning with a totally new body!)
• Because so many on my current roster are in the same boat, I’ve been gradually switching back to a lot of coordination type drills.  (That’s the only thing I’ve sensed that helps at such times.)  So, footwork, puck control, passing and timing their shots have been high on my drills list.  And, we’ve been doing a lot of tumbling and ball-playing activities lately in our off-ice sessions, while I’m going to start getting everyone back to twirling their jumpropes soon, as well.

By the way…  Have you noticed that most of the exercises I’ve prescribed would be good for all of my kids, and not just those who are struggling through growth spurts?  That’s the way I feel about most of my troubleshooting efforts, in that putting a couple of drills or exercises into a given practice or routine for a few doesn’t hurt the other kids at all; in fact, I’ll suggest that approach helps everyone.  (Actually, while some might not yet be into a growth spurt — quite yet, what’s the likelihood they will be very shortly?  I’d say, pretty darn good.)

Now, there’s another concern I want to raise about kids who are experiencing growth spurts, and it just might be as important as all I’ve said to this point.  For, with some players seemingly sprouting inches overnight, there’s the distinct probability that they’re quickly outgrowing various pieces of hockey equipment.  Worst of all, parents may be too close to the situation, and tending not to notice such things.  Also, I think parents get into a rhythm about gear purchases, expecting to make most of the larger ones in the spring or summer.  During their son’s or daughter’s earliest years, there probably wasn’t the need to replace pants, shin guards or gloves mid-season.  However, those are the items I most often notice being too small on kids who have suddenly grown.

Then, a third point…  If you’ve followed things here for very long, you probably recall my concerns when it comes to the effects gear has on skill development.  Tight or restricting equipment can cause a player to perform skills differently, most often in the wrong way.  And, all he or she has to do is practice the movement wrongly enough times, and that becomes the way he or she is going to do it until the muscles are retrained in the right way.

Finally, while I’ve spent a lot of time on the way sudden growth spurts can impact on player performance, and I’ve also brought to light some safety and developmental issues, I think there’s one more thing that’s pretty important to consider.  After all, I’ve noticed that even very good players can get down on themselves during times when their skills suddenly fail them.  That should be as understandable as anything else I’ve said to this point.  Sure, little setbacks here and there are part of the learning process — and I’ll suggest they’re one of the huge benefits to our growing-up in sports.  At the same time, you and I don’t ever want any sort of setback to really devastate a youngster.  So, that in mind, I think we coaches and parents have to first recognize when a growth spurt might be affecting a player.  Thereafter, I believe a combination of 1) explaining things to them and 2) giving them some worthwhile exercises will make all the difference in the world.

Okay, so I’m going to end as I began, wondering if you’d ever find this kind of information anywhere else.  (In a way, I guess it’s an inner drive in me — to be as thorough as possible — that gets me so much into a topic like this one.)  But, of course, I’ll have to leave the value of all that up to you.

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Okay, so tell me what you think (by adding a Comment below)!

Imagination

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Shaun Goodsell, MA

President and CEO of Mental Edge

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Imagination

imag·i·na·tion  i-ˌma-jə-ˈnā-shən  1 : the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality 2 a : creative ability b : ability to confront and deal with a problem c : the thinking or active mind  3 : a creation of the mind

What has happened to the imagination of our youth athletes? Many hit a roadblock and it not only seems to stop them in their tracks…it appears to stifle and paralyze them for a long time.

Recently, I was talking with a young player that has been experiencing some personal challenges with his team. He is performing at a high level and enjoying some of his greatest success. When I asked him if he was having fun he replied, “Not really”. I immediately felt sad for this young person. I thought to myself, “What skill would help him overcome his lack of enjoyment and allow him to experience fulfillment and accomplishment for the all hard work he’s put into his sport?”

At this point it occurred to me that he would need to utilize his power of choice to craft and create new meanings from the events that were getting him down. He was stuck in his current negative and pessimistic meanings, which lead him to despair, to live in a constant state of disappointment and a lack of personal power. How does one do this?

This is done through imagination. Imagination is the ability to creatively bring into being something that has yet to be formed.  Every change that one makes occurs because of the ability to gain a vision for a different reality. When we can imagine a different response and meaning to events that, in the past, have resulted in unempowered responses we reacquire control of the quality of our lives. The inability to be imaginative costs many their sense of well-being, quality relationships, improved performance, and most significantly a sense of personal power.

Becoming imaginative and creative grants us incredible power to shape and create the quality of life we want regardless of the events that might be taking place around us. In becoming imaginative we become people of possibility rather then pessimism.  This is not to say there are not events that are difficult and realities that should not be dealt with.  But many people underestimate the capacity they have to utilize their imagination to navigate and manage the journey of sport and life.

If you would like help sparking your imagination, give us a call today 763-439-5246!

Until next time, here’s to your possibilities!

Shaun

Shaun@MentalEdgeNow.com

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This note from Coach Chic…  Although Shaun and his staff do an unbelievable job of talking to our playing members, I’d like to suggest that coaches like me also need to heed their advice.  Hey, with the long hours we put in, and with the challenges we so often face (alone?), we coaches surely do need the kind of positive advice offered above.

Then, since I am into such stuff, I’d like to paraphrase an appropriate saying (that I’ve heard attributed to a number of great thinkers), in that..

“No great idea ever materializes unless it is first conceived in the mind.”

About Goaltending Help

Answering a comment from my new friend, Nicky R (that’s her avatar below), caused me to think about something…

Actually, what happened is that I finished replying to Nicky, and I next saw the heading for a recent post entitled Resisted Shooting.  From there, I’ve mentioned before about how the fireworks go-off in my brain, with one thing making me think of something else.  (I’ll leave it to you to decide whether that’s a good thing or not — !)

Well, what I got to thinking about was the fact that member goalers (and those who work with goalers) shouldn’t just stay within the Goalies section, or discount all the things available to them in all the other various categories.

Take, for example, that Resisted Shooting idea…  Is it necessary for modern day goaltenders to handle the puck — and even shoot it up-ice?  You bet!  And, in their attempts to fire the puck up-ice, is it possible they’re going to at the same time be mauled by opposing players?  You can bet on that one, too!  So, a drill such as Restricted Shooting would be just as useful for netminders as it is for defensemen and forwards.

And, come to think of it, so would almost all the skills that are covered here help a goalie,  so would the strength training ideas, and so would a good many of the tips offered under Thinking The Game!

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So, what do you think?  You know I love to see your Comments!

Coach Chic Interviewed on “IslesNation” Blog

A note from Dennis Chighisola…

I’m asked to do a lot of these kinds of things.  And, hey, they’re good for my business, and they often allow me to share some important ideas.

Anyway, I was just interviewed for the IslesNation Blog, and I truly believe there’s something to be learned from this, especially if one is serious about coaching.  Just click the logo below to read that article…

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As always, you KNOW I appreciate your Comments!

The Broken Hockey Stick (and More)

As always, I warn folks involved at our game’s higher levels not to take something like the following too lightly — I mean, just because my examples happen to involve some young players.  As I’ll ultimately suggest, learning should never stop, no matter the age or experience level.

With that…  I can’t believe I (at least in a way) missed jotting this note during yesterday’s Mighty Mite hockey game.  It’s not like a big deal wasn’t made out of it.  Thankfully, though, good friend Michael G reminded me in an email this morning.  Yes, one of my little guys broke his stick in yesterday’s game, and I’m now going to explain to my friends here why I think it’s necessary for hockey coaches AND PARENTS to make note of such events.

– Dennis Chighisola

The Broken Hockey Stick (and More)

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Now, I’ve mentioned elsewhere here about our need to spot so-called “teaching moments”.  And, to me, such moments usually involve some important event that doesn’t happen often enough to get covered in practices.  Let me give you an example, though…

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When my buddy Anthony Chic was a Mite B, his team played in an exciting holiday tournament at a nearby rink.  A critical point in one of the earliest tourney games was when one of Tony C’s teammates closed his hand on a puck in their crease, with this resulting in a penalty shot for the opponents.  Okay, no big deal, right?

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Well, maybe you saw this coming, but…  A few days later, in the game which was to decide the team’s chance to move-on in tournament play, the very same thing happened.  I mean, a different defenseman on Anthony’s team once again smothered a puck in the crease, and the deciding goal was scored on the ensuing penalty shot.  (Ugh!)

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Hmmmmmm…  Now, one might think that all of the kids who witnessed the penalty days earlier would have remembered the consequences.  Ya, one might think.  But, the fact of the matter is, not all 6- and 7-year olds are noticing — or totally understanding — what’s going on at such a time.

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The rest of that “Hmmmmmm-thing” is that we now know our team’s coach did not use that earlier event as a wonderful teaching opportunity.  (Worse yet, I have to wonder if he ever used the second occurrence to explain what happened to his kids.  ???)

Okay, so yesterday we had that youngster break his stick during the game action.  In a panic, he rushed to the bench, both portions of the stick still in hand.  Since we’re allowed to be on the ice during these Instructional League games, an assistant coach and I both rushed to tell him, “Drop it!  Drop it!”

With that, we might have been able to convey to a few kids the message about it (playing with a broken stick) being a penalty.  But, how many kids really understood that in the craziness of the game?  And, I’d be willing to bet that most of the kids who were involved in the action at that time didn’t even witness what took place.

So, here’s the big deal, as far as I’m concerned…  There were 20-ish kids involved our game yesterday, and probably 30-something playing in those long ago tournament games.  And, since two great teaching moments were missed for the sake of quite a few kids, I’m going to suggest that those kids are (or were) left in jeopardy of committing the same rule infractions sometime down the road, maybe even during a very critical game situation.  And, is it going to make some young player feel pretty badly if he or she gets nailed for such a violation?  I’m thinking that’s so.

Now, at the higher levels I’m going to suggest that the consequences are all the greater.  I’ve seen players benched by their high school or college coach for taking needless penalties.  As a matter of fact, many higher level associations have officials visit member schools during the pre-season, just to talk to the players (and coaches) about recent rule changes.  Ya, they think it’s that important.

Okay, so what should we parents and coaches do about all this?

For sure, I and my fellow coaches have to grab those teaching moments and make the most of them.  A long winter schedule usually provides us a number of these, no matter our level of competition.  In each instance, we want to pick a time or method when every single player can be in on the conversation (which means the team bench is hardly the place to handle these things).  As for me, I think I’m going to compose an email that will direct my Mighty Mite parents to this article, and I’ll also put a link on our team website.

As an aside here…  There will always be a difference in the ways we each communicate with our teams.  When it comes to my two older groups (ages about 12- to 18-years), I can usually present the information directly to my players.  However, if we’re talking about very young kids, it might not be a bad idea to share our advice with both the players and their parents.

Then, as for the beauty of Mike G’s email…  He did something very much like I’ve always done for my son or grandson, in that he took advantage of that teaching moment as a parent.  I was absolutely sure Anthony Chic wasn’t going to close his glove on a puck in the crease immediately after we saw it happen the first time.  And Mike did the same for his little guy.  As he explained it to me, he’d read some bedtime stories to his son last night.  Then, as Mike wrote, “I started to talk briefly about the fun we had skating today…”  Of course, the broken stick issue arose during their conversation, with his little 4-year old actually telling dad exactly what he should do if he breaks a stick. 

This final aside has to do with my sneaking suspicions about why such a young player was/is so sharp…  Oh, I’m sure it helps that Mike played a lot, and that he still plays.  I’m guessing the little tyke has already seen his share of games — watching his dad, or those on TV (yes, a “hockey house” probably has games on the tube more than most others).  Yet, I suspect that the most impactful thing is that they talked often about the game already.  And this causes me to further surmise that numerous little bull sessions have encouraged him — even at 4-years old — to think the game.  So, while Mike ended his email by saying his son “sometimes can surprise me…”, I’m going to suggest that perhaps his growing hockey smarts shouldn’t be so surprising at all!

Now, those parents who haven’t played much (or any) hockey can take heart in the fact that you can still help your very young one with his or her game.  All you have to do, I’ll suggest, is to just stay a hair ahead of him or her in your hockey knowledge.  There’s certainly plenty of information available at your local library and on the Internet.  And, I happen to know that’s why a number of folks spend a lot of time here at CoachChic.com.  And remember, you can always ask for my help whenever you need it.

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You know how much I enjoy your feedback.  So, please DO add a Comment below!

Russian Circle Passing – Variations #3, #4, #5

Please see Drill Submission Rules and Help at the bottom of the Free Drills page.

Contributor: Stirling Wright – Virginia & Maryland, USA

Drill Category: Skating, Passing, Pass Receiving, Attacking and Goaltending

Please first see the basic set-up of this drill as described under the free Drills section.  For, from that basic format, some really awesome offensive and defensive variations are possible.  (Click here for: “Russian Circle Passing“.)

Stirling has added quite a few great variations to the basic drilling.  So, I’ll let him take it away from here…

– Dennis Chighisola

Russian Circle Passing – Variations #3

Drill Description:

Comments:

The set up is the same as the basic drill, but the first player starts with a puck and is skating backwards. As he gets to the red line, passes the puck back to the line he came from, and continues backwards until the apex of the circle, where he opens up his stick to get a pass from the other line.  He quickly transitions to forward, now attacking the net.

Benefits:  Players become more aware of the transition space in the neutral zone, and able to transition the puck forward twice in the same drill.

Running the drill:

- In the basic set-up, skaters are lined-up along the boards and behind a blue line on both sides of the ice.

- The drill begins with one player skating backwards (with a puck) around the center face-off circle.  Nearing the red line, he passes the puck back to the original line.

- Continuing on, he pivots from backwards to forwards near the bottom of the circle, and then receives a pass from the other line.

- That player then continues to attack the far goal.

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Click image below to see a short video of this drill in action.

PS:  If you set your video player to “Loop”, the drill will play over and over again.

Russian Circle Passing – Variations #4

Contributor: Stirling Wright – Virginia & Maryland, USA

Drill Category: Skating, Passing, Pass Receiving, Attacking, defending and Goaltending

Drill Description:

Comments:

This next variation is the same as #3, except that the second person in line becomes a defenseman for a 1 on 1.

I’ve altered Stirling’s variation a bit here, placing a line of defensemen next to each line.  In this way, “D” get to handle each rush.  (To be honest, I also did this so that the video would be a little clearer.)

– Dennis Chighisola

Benefits:  All the previous skills are honed, along with the addition of players getting to work their 1 against 1 skills.

Running the drill:

- In the basic set-up, skaters are lined-up along the boards and behind a blue line on both sides of the ice.

- The drill begins with one player skating backwards (with a puck) around the center face-off circle.  Nearing the red line, he passes the puck back to the original line.

- The first skater continues on to take a pass (as in the earlier drill), while the second player in the original line (or the red defenseman in my sketch) jumps out to defend against the first skater.

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Click image below to see a short video of variation #4 in action.

Russian Circle Passing – Variation #5

Contributor: Stirling Wright — – Virginia & Maryland, USA

Drill Category: Skating, Passing, Pass Receiving, Attacking, and a faster pace on the Goaltenders

Drill Description:

Comments:

From the same set up as all the rest, but this time the second person in line takes the pass from the first player and immediately heads straight in on goal for a scoring chance. This keeps the pace up and both goalies staying very busy. (Remember to allow time for goalies to recover, but keep in mind that speed drills are not just for skaters.)

Benefits:  All the previous skills are honed.

Running the drill:

- In the basic set-up, skaters are lined-up along the boards and behind a blue line on both sides of the ice.

- The drill begins with one player skating backwards (with a puck) around the center face-off circle.  Nearing the red line, he passes the puck back to the original line.

- The first skater continues on to take a pass (as in the earlier drill), while the second player in the original line quickly attacks the net..

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Click image below to see a short video of variation #5 in action.

Variation #6 coming soon!

Resisted Shooting

A couple of things went into my slightly changing the way we’re working on shooting drills at this part of our Team NEHI Junior High School season…

First and foremost, we (players, parents or coaches) shouldn’t ever stay at one progression level of a given skill if at all possible.  (Actually, that’s an important principle of motor learning, and something I’ll have to go a little further into some day.)

Anyway, for an example, when it comes to shooting I still allow my kids to work on their technique while standing close to the boards.  However, it isn’t often they’ll get to stand comfortably and take shots in their games, so we also practice plenty taking them while flying down the ice.  Even that form of practice has outlived its usefulness, though.

Secondly, I’m noticing that my young guys are missing some shots because they’re being disrupted in one way or another by opponents.  And, if you think about it, that’s really how the game is played — I mean, with our attackers trying to make plays as defenders practically maul them.

All that said, it was obviously time to move-on to a new and more difficult kind of shooting practice.

– Dennis Chighisola

Resisted Shooting

Okay, so what I did was to have my players go through their normal shooting progressions at the start of last night’s skills session, and then I gathered them together to explain what we’d do next…

I tried to explain that each player had to do a favor for his partner, by attempting to make it difficult for him to pull-off a shot.  At the same time, I also warned them that I didn’t want to see anyone get hurt.  Actually, my kids are pretty good in understanding such directions.  So again, I let them know that they were really helping their buddies get better if they made it hard for them to shoot, but that they should foul them within reason.

I wasn’t able to garner the best video in the world last night during the brief time I had my camera out.  But, at least you can get a sense of our first attempts at this new drill by clicking on the photo below.  (If you’ll notice, the trailing players still haven’t gotten the handle on their roles in this.  That’s okay, though; that’s why we practice 3-times per week, and why I’ll stay at the following drill for a good long time.)

As I intimated above, I’m not stopping there by a long shot (pardon the pun).  So, I promise to gather more video footage as soon as the kids get more into this form of drilling, and as I likely change some of the ways we’ll do other types of resisted shooting.

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What do you think?  You know I love to see your Comments.

Hard Around the Boards (and Dump-ins)

The other night I had to use an extremely conservative forecheck against a pretty strong opponent.  The X’s and O’s of that is a story for another time.

I sensed we had to be very good at a few other things in order for my kids to execute that new forecheck well.  And, while good dump-ins were going to be needed, there was something about those dump-ins that had to be done even better.

What you’ll soon discover is that we needed dumps and some clearing passes to travel rather fast or go hard around the boards.  So, the following is going to show you how I’ve managed to start making my kids aware of certain things having to do with this particular ploy.

– Dennis Chighisola

Hard Around the Boards (and Dump-ins)

Now, I think a lot of coaches take things for granted.  In other words, they might (or might not) notice their players doing some things wrong in games, but they never think to design or search for a drill that will correct those problems.  In a lot of instances, coaches might think players will just “get it” when they get older (or whatever).

By the way, remembering the things I need to help my players with is a huge reason why I take frequent notes.  And this particular area of CoachChic.com is mainly available to you because of the fact that I take so many.

Anyway, that new system needed really good dump-ins (and so does our powerplay entry), and we also needed some unique help getting the puck out of our zone.

I actually started the teaching process by gathering my Team NEHI players so that they could see our off-ice rink just about as it’s shown in the photo to the right.  I then started explaining some things that others might take for granted, or things they might think their kids will ultimately solve on their own.

(Here I go chuckling to myself as I so often do, but…)  It seems that a lot of players don’t think much about the angle in which their dumps have to hit the boards in order to gain speed and travel a good distance.  So I started talking in extremes at first, asking the kids what will happen to a puck if we shoot it directly at the boards (or at an angle perpendicular to the side boards, as in #1 below).  Of course, the puck will pretty much die right there, or it’s surely not going to travel around the boards.  Then, pointing my stick as if it was an arrow, I asked them what would happen to pucks that hit at angles of something like 5-degrees (as in #2), 10-degrees, maybe 50-degrees, and so forth.  What I was doing was trying to convince them that shots closer to the perpendicular weren’t going to travel far, and that shots coming closer to parallel to the boards were going to assist them (with #3 and #4 getting closer to the ideal).  Actually, there is an angle — close to parallel to the boards — whereby the puck seems to whip through the corner and even pick-up speed.

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Did I really need to go into such detail before taking on my intended drills?  Yes, I did.  For, while a few players might have understood already the above concepts, I knew a number of them didn’t.  Besides, I never leave anything to chance, and I don’t take much for granted.  Furthermore, I am not about to leave players in my charge to fend for themselves (at least when I can help it).

Now, as you might notice in the first video (click on the photo below), you’ll see that I placed all of my kids on the side that put their sticks close to the boards (lefties on the left side, righties on the right).  From this positioning, it’s easier for them to get their drives close to parallel to the boards, and easier is what I’m always looking for in a new drill.  (By the way, I just noticed from re-watching these videos that a number of the kids put their heads down or gave some other indication when they erred.  I think that’s good, at least in this case.)  So, take a look at the video and see how some of my youngest players did.

After they got a handle on the first drill, I had lefties and righties switch sides.  I once again preceded the next drill with a short discussion, this time explaining how it might be a little more difficult now for them to get their dump-ins parallel to the boards.  Take a look to see how they did (by clicking on the photo below).

In case you wanted to know, we need our powerplay dump-ins — and the dumps for our new forecheck — to go all the way around the boards and partway up the other side boards.  But I also wanted to clear the puck from our end with very hard passes behind our net and perhaps even out of the zone on the other side.  And this had me altering the above drill as show in the video below (just click on that photo to see it).

If there’s a message in all this, it’s that we need to find ways to explain and then practice the many “little things” that go into making competent and confident players.  We can’t take anything for granted, and we can’t let anything go while the kids are in our charge.

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You know how much I enjoy your feedback.  So, please DO add a Comment below!

Coach Chic’s Hockey Net Blocks

Here’s a tip in itself, before I get into introducing you to a handy little gadget for your practices…

Through the years, I may have wanted to use a certain drill (or whatever), but there was something standing in the way.  It could be just a small annoyance, or just about anything discouraging or frustrating enough to prevent me from doing something that is really worthwhile for my kids.

That’s a really tough choice, isn’t it?  I mean, on the one hand I know a given drill or exercise is going to help me players, but at the same time running it is going to present a huge headache to me.

Well, I happen to feel that tough choices like those — or the way I choose to handle them — can separate me from a thousand other coaches (and it often does).   In other words, I choose to tackle the problem rather than abandoning a great training idea.

So, with that, let me introduce you to the following problem-solver…

– Dennis Chighisola

Coach Chic’s Hockey Net Blocks

Actually, about a decade ago, one of my helpers in a Learn-to-play clinic planted the seeds for this gadget.  (And we’re currently using the latest version as waves of young Mighty Mites attack the net in the photo below.)

To set the stage…  We were letting a group of beginner hockey players have a little fun attacking one of my simulated goalies (SMG) and a net.  The problem was that those little guys were filling the net with pucks quicker than my helpers could fish them out.  I’m sure you know the problem, because it happens as often in an Atom or Pee Wee or high school practice as it does in a clinic as I’ve described.

Anyway, as I muttered that day about there needing to be a better way, one of my on-ice helpers grabbed a pair of pucks, stacked them, and then used that 2″ pile to lift the net up off the ice.  What happened after that, of course, was that quite a few pucks slid under the back of the net and out where they were easy to grab.  I just smiled at that, I thanked the guy for his idea, and then I told him I was going to run with it.

You might appreciate that the two pucks would occasionally be hit by a shot and slide out from under the net.  So, while the idea was a good one, that wasn’t really the answer.

Over the next few weeks I tried using a 2″ block of wood to raise the net.  And I ultimately made it a wedge shape so that there would be less surface area exposed to incoming shots.  The problem with wood, as I soon discovered in my older guys’ practices, is that it splinters when hit with any sort of real force.

“Okay,” I asked myself, “what can I get that already exists, is in a wedge shape, and WILL stand-up against harder shots?”

And the answer was an industrial doorstop.  Yup, these are much larger than the ones found in local department stores (those dainty little ones that are made to look as nice as they are useful).  The industrial ones I found are plenty thick enough to raise the net — close to 2″, and they are constructed from extra durable rubber (they’re not pretty maybe, but really built to last).  I’m guessing I ordered about 8 or 10 of them, so I could carry several when I needed them, and so that I’d always have some backups in my equipment storage room.

I did have to make a few adjustments over ensuing months, however…

Shown in my (horrible?) sketch below is the thick rubber wedge with a rounded slot cut-out from the top.  I  gouged the top so that the bottom of the net rests into the wedge and fairly well holds it in place.

Keeping track of my new “Net Block” was another matter.  Too often it would get buried deep in a bag of pucks or even get left behind at the rink.  So, I eventually drilled a hole in each wedge to accept a 1/2″ thick rope  about 18″ long.  With this, my gadget is a little more visible or obvious when it comes to picking-up at the end of a session, and the long rope allows me to dangle the wedge for storage (like on my puck bag or on my equipment carriage).  The photo below shows the New Block that is currently hanging on my gear cart…

Finally, I don’t think there’s any real genius involved in my creation, and it’s quite possible other coaches will arrive at better ideas (please let me know if you do).  The point I’m trying to make here is that there are solutions to typical training problems, and that to solve a problem is likely to make our jobs easier and the kids’ training more productive.  To be perfectly honest, we can get a lot more shots accomplished in less time whenever we employ those Net Blocks.

Backward Skating Help for Beginners

The following post is in answer to a question submitted by member Jamie L.

Jamie helps coach his son’s Mite C team, and he’s asking for suggestions in aiding the kids on that team with their backward skating speed.

So, with that, let me give this one a try…

– Dennis Chighisola

Backward Skating Help for Beginners

To begin, I have to caution coaches about being overly concerned with backward skating speed.  Oh, for sure, a back-skating defender needs a certain amount of speed — he or she must get off the mark rather quickly, and at least initially reach a decent level of speed.

However — and this is a BIG however, to push lesser experienced players to try for fast backward skating just might introduce a lot of unwanted extra movements.

Trying to explain this better here…  I’d like for a moment for Jamie and other members to put themselves in the role of an attacker…  For, as you’re moving down the ice and approaching an enemy defender, I’m sure you’ll be looking for ways that defender might become vulnerable.  The photo to the right shows a defenseman leaning forward and towards his right, which would suggest to you that you could quickly cut towards your right and leave him hanging there.  (Oh, notice that the player in that photo also makes matters worse, as he looks down at the puck.  Tricky puckhandlers just love that!)  Actually, if you click on that photo you can see the play on video.  The attacker doesn’t take advantage of the D’s mistake (shame on him), but you should see in the slo-mo portion just how vulnerable the defender has made himself.

That established, I want to suggest that any upper body movements by a defender — like bouncing around, lunging forward, or pumping the arms — will put him or her in trouble.  You might imagine how risky it can be for a backwards skater to bounce around (constantly jeopardizing his or her balance), and pumping of the arms is just as dangerous.  And, lunging or leaning forward (like the player in the adjacent photo) makes it virtually impossible for him to be mobile or to react laterally with an attacker.

In much the same way, a very large cross-over step commits a player in that direction, and it would take too long for him or her to react-back should an attacker make a quick cut.

So, too, can wiggling during the skating motion make a player extremely vulnerable.

Now, for my money, the best backward skating drill in the world is the one my in-line student, Jerry Z, is performing in the next video.  While a player is doing this, I’m asking him or her to keep a steady upper body.  As you’ll see, this drill was initially a real challenge for Jerry (he’s far better at this now).  What you might also notice is that he wants to lean forward, but the hopping motion is going to put him on his nose if he doesn’t come up and over his skates.  (By the way, this drill is far tougher on ice blades, since those are rounded on the bottom.)  Carrying one’s body weight over the middle of his or her blades is the steadiest he’ll be, and this posture also offers the best chance for quick lateral movements.  Go ahead and click on the photo below to watch that video, and I’ll add some further thoughts after that.  (Jerry would probably laugh about this now, but you might noticed that I yelled at him early-on, so that he’d switch to holding his stick in just the top hand.  That’s important for a D when he’s playing a 1 on 1 situation.)

Now, anyone who got into my previous post, “Help for Beginner Cross-overs“, has to think there’s a lot of contradiction between my current suggestions and the earlier ones.  But, there are and there aren’t…

For example, the large cross-overs I earlier prescribed for beginners are awesome for learning outside edge control.  They are not useful in playing our game, however, for the reasons I stated above.  In fact, once my students and players become pretty proficient at crossing, I’ll switch them to practicing the 2-step drill also shown in the earlier post.

I might further suggest that a player (and we coaches) separate the defenseman’s backward take-off from his or her actually being involved in playing a rush.  In other words, he or she might use a little extra body movement and larger, more powerful cross-overs to get going off the mark.  Thereafter, though, playing an attacker requires the steadiness I was looking for in the above hopping drill.

Okay, so what should Jamie do with all this?  My suggestion is to use all the drills I’ve shown in these two posts.  Each will satisfy a given need.  I would not make young players push for backward speed, since that’s when all the unwanted extra movements creep in.  In time, the kids’ backward skating should reach a point where I might be able to help further.  I just hope I’ll still be around to offer further advice at that time.

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Well, this post is probably deserving of a lot of questions and Comments.  So, please fire away.  You know I love that.

Towel Pulls — for Speed & Form

This is but another entry I’d promised Eric S some time ago, in reference to his question about alternative high speed skating drills.

And, just so Eric and other members know…  Once in awhile it takes me a few days to gather some video footage to show what I’d like to show, and a few more days to put the video and photos together.  And that was the case with the following exercise, in that I had to wait until my next team practice to shoot the following…

– Dennis Chighisola

Towel Pulls — for Speed & Form

Now, this exercise has been used in sprint training for quite awhile (and I’m guessing the drill has probably been known by a number of names).

If you take a look at the nearby photo, you should notice that one of my players gets a chance to work on his running form as a partner supports him (or holds him back a bit).  Quite often that partner holds something like a towel at both ends to support and slightly restrain the runner, and thusly the name, “Towel Pulls”.

I’d need an awful lot of towels (or whatever) to accommodate all my players, so I’ve resorted to having the supporting partner hold the back of his teammate’s jersey — be it in our off-ice or on-ice form of drilling.

In my own adaptation of this exercise, I look for three phases…

Phase One – I ask the back partner to provide some resistance for his partner to work against, and during the first few seconds I’d like the front guy to concentrate on running (or skating) form.

Phase Two – Seconds later the pair start moving, with the runner or skater working faster and faster.

Phase Three – Finally, the back player lets go of the jersey (or towel), whereby the runner or skater usually shoots out like a rocket.

If you click on the last photo (to the right), you’ll see this pair working together in action.  The sprinter doesn’t do badly for one of his first attempts at this exercise.  However, you might notice that his arms and legs could travel in wider ranges of motion.  Still, that IS why we practice, isn’t it? 

PS:  Studies have proven that there is a direct correlation between running speed and skating speed.  So, if I am able to help my players run faster, it makes sense that such speed gains will ultimately transfer to their on-ice game.

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You know how much I appreciate your feedback.  So, please do add your Comments here!

Help for Beginner Cross-overs

A few days ago, member Scott Thurston chimed-in on my article about “A Difference in Hockey Teaching Levels“.  As Scott said, “I find a lot of truth here”, in reference to some of the nervousness experienced by adult level beginners as they try new things.

Scott went on to say that he has “several mental blocks”, these primarily having to do with forward and backward cross-overs.

Then, shortly after I’d let Scott know that I’d prepare something to help him with his game, I received a very similar question from another member, Jamie Lockwood.

In Jamie’s case, he’s helping with his young son’s Mite C team, and he’s hoping I might offer some thoughts to help his son and other kids on the team become more comfortable using their outside edges.  As he describes it, many of them “are dragging their inside foot/toe on turns rather than leaning with them on the outside edge.”   (I’ll deal with Jamie’s other question in a separate post.)

Finally (and sorta laughing at myself here), after having said in that earlier article about how differently I normally have to approach the unique age groups, I find that Scott’s and Jamie’s kids’ problems can be handled very similarly. 

– Dennis Chghisola

Help for Beginner Cross-overs

To begin, although Scott (and almost everyone else I know) describes a cross-over problem as being with the skate or leg that is swinging over, the real problem is with the insecurity of bearing one’s weight on the other skate.  In other words, if one feels a little unsteady crossing the left skate over the right, it’s because that player is uncomfortable with putting all of his or her weight on the right skate.  (By the way, this left over right thing is the most common among beginners — of any age.)

I can also picture exactly what Jamie is saying about his young kids…  And, I’d be willing to bet that most of the ones who are dragging a skate on their turns are doing so mostly as they cut towards their right.  Why so?  It’s for the very same reason Scott feels unsteady, as in not trusting carrying the weight on the right skate.

As an aside here, I’m not sure if this is or isn’t a cultural thing.  If you think about it, we all learn to run the bases in baseball while circling towards our left.  So, if you’re from a baseball playing nation, just envision the discomfort of running the bases in the opposite direction, or mostly bearing our weight on the outside edge of our right cleat.  (Laughing at myself again…  I’d mentioned in a recent post about my high school football exploits.  So, let me tell you that, while I scored a number touchdowns or had long runs sweeping towards the right, I absolutely hated if the quarterback called a play sending me out and cutting in the other direction.)  Again, I don’t know if it’s a cultural thing, but more new skaters do have difficulty placing their weight on the right skate for any length of time.

Now, the key phrase in that last paragraph — and the key to changing things for the better — is that part about “placing their weight on the right skate for any length of time“.  Ya, most of us can stand on the left skate, and even rock from edge to edge for a spell.  But, it’s balancing on the right skate “for any length of time” that gives us an uncomfortable feeling.

I will say that there’s a benefit to the fact that an adult player can at least understanding this, and eventually do something about it.  So, while Scott might struggle (due to the voices I joked about in that earlier piece), he probably can make a more concerted effort to solving the problem than can Jamie’s little ones.  In Jamie’s case, I wouldn’t even mention this stuff to the players; instead just get them to do certain things certain ways.

Okay, thanks to one of my great young Team NEHI players, Alex B, I was able to shoot some quick video last night before our Junior High School Team practice.  First, however, I’d like you to note the poses in the two adjacent photos.  For, in the beginning, I have new skaters just stand with their feet crossed — right over left for about 10-seconds, then left over right for an equal length of time.  While holding a given pose, I want the players to rock from side to side a bit, thusly shifting the weight from skate to skate.  As you can imagine, this forces a little bearing of body-weight on each skate, but in the least threatening way.

Next, I ask a player to just slowly cross in place, right over and then left over.  Just click on the photo below to see Alex demonstrate that for us.

You may have noticed that the previous drill caused just a slight use of each outside edge.  But, I’d like to step that up some by having a player do large, exaggerated cross-overs.  The idea is for the player to really go slowly and far up with a leg, this so he or she is spending a longer amount of time on the other skate, and a little more time on that skate’s outside edge.  (I’ve just uploaded a late video showing this, so please click on the photo below to see that.  Also, I’ve included some slo-mo footage so you might see my player leaning a little more on his outside edges from time to time.)

I’ll usually move to a slower version of my “2-step Drill” next.  Actually, this is an advanced movement my older players do often on the ice — in place, moving forward and while skating backward.  For beginners, this drill has the most benefit right at the transition point.  In other words, as you watch the video below (just click on the photo), notice that Alex has to push-off with an outside edge as he comes out of a stop and tries to cross in the new direction.

Now, there are two other areas of CoachChic.com that should help you both immensely…  I have quite a stretch of cross-over and change-of-direction drills included in the “24 Must-do Intermediate Skating Drills” video (and you might also find some help within the other two (Advanced and Beginner) videos.  The other area that could help a lot is the one where we follow adult in-line skater, Jerry Z, as I help him along the way.  (Start at the very beginning of those entries.)  Don’t let the in-line part of that area bother you; Jerry’ problems are very similar to what early ice skaters go through.

Also, don’t discount the use of the skates on a rink’s rubber mats (Jamie), or somewhere safe at home (Scott), like on a small carpet square.  Trust me, there is a great deal of skill transfer from the off-ice practice to on-ice capabilities.

By the way, crossing-over is crossing-over, when we’re talking about beginner skating challenges.  In other words, all the in place exercises I’ve shown you are at the same time going to make it easier for a player to do the exact same thing when moving to the ice.  Those drills can also be done when moving slowly forward on the ice.  And, once a player is comfortable doing the crosses that way, it shouldn’t be too difficult for him or her to do them slowly while going backwards.  Then, from that point onward, the speed of the drills should be based on how well a player (or players) can keep their discipline.  In other words, there’s no sense in a player trying to go faster if he or she suddenly avoids doing the crossing movements properly.

Lastly, I know exactly what Jamie is talking about when he says that his young players drag a skate as they make a cut.  That would be an inside skate (maybe closest to a pylon), and usually the right skating while cutting towards the right for most kids.  Why?  For the same reason noted above, in that it can be uncomfortable bearing weight on a certain skate.  Ironically, I found some footage of Jerry Z performing this movement in one of our earliest sessions together.  He’s far better at this now, but if you’ll notice in the video (click on the photo below), Jerry’s turning and crossing problems are the exact opposite of most new skaters, in that he had difficulty turning towards his left.  By the way, this skating maneuver is often referred to as the Boston Turn.

Now, other members might like to know that Jamie and his son skated with me last winter in my Learn-to-play clinic.  And I’m kinda hoping that he remembers a drill I did with the kids that is similar to the one an in-line player is demonstrating in the following video.  (Oh, by the way…  I just dug-up this old clip from someone else’s website — go figure. Well, I guess it’s nice to be popular.  )  Please click on the photo below to see that video.

Then, a tip to both of you…  There’s no way around the fact that “practice makes perfect”.  So, don’t look for quick fixes, but long-term gains instead.  In other words, practice those shortcomings as often as you can (hey, the pros still practice theirs).  Oh, and good luck!

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PS to Jamie:  As promised, I’ve answered your question about backward speed in a new post.

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Just so other members know, I’m loving it when guys like Scott and Jamie toss me questions or post Comments here.  So, please do the same when you get the chance!

John Carlson OT Goal for Team USA

The “look-away” play — be it a pass or a shot — seems to be a hot topic these past few days…

– Dennis Chighisola

First, Marco Sturm scored the over-time winner in hockey’s 2010 Winter Classic, when Patrice Bergeron “looked away” from his intended target — thusly drawing attention elsewhere, and then fed Sturm with a pass that was almost too easy for him to tap-in.  (Click here to see the Sturm goal from Bergeron.)

Next, Greg K just pointed-out that John Carlson used a similar move to seal the World Junior Championship in OT for Team USA.  The difference in this play was that Carson looked towards a teammate as if he was considering making a pass, this forcing the Team Canada netminder to split his attentions between several attackers.  And, it seems, Carlson caught the Canadian goaler slightly off guard when he finally did pull the trigger.

And, once again thanks to the likes of YouTube, we’re treated to the following video (enjoy)…

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Other members started things with their initial feedback on the Sturm goal.  So, please keep the ball rolling with your further Comments here!

A Difference in Hockey Teaching Levels

This happens often, so I guess I shouldn’t always think it’s so ironic that I have very similarly themed conversations with different hockey folks within a matter of minutes or hours.

That’s actually what happened from yesterday morning to later in the afternoon, and then just now in an email exchange.  That email exchange, by the way, was with our in-lining hockey friend, Jerry Z.

So, let’s explore Jerry’s question, and also relate that to my earlier conversations…

– Dennis Chighisola

A Difference in Hockey Teaching Levels

To begin, I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to work with players at all the different levels of our game.  Some might think this is a negative, in that I might be a Jack of All Trades but Master of None.  Ya, you might think.

However, it’s worked-out to be a huge plus for me, and here’s how…

One example might be a former pro player (and current pro coach) I worked with for a good many years.  You see, despite the levels he ultimately reached, he had a skating flaw that was virtually impossible to correct or override by the time he became an adult.  I suspect that flaw crept in during his very first times on the ice, and he just reinforced it and reinforced it over about the next 20-plus years of skating.  The huge benefit for me — and to the hundreds (if not thousands) of beginners I’ve had in subsequent years — was that I knew that problem was possible — but preventable — if I did certain kinds of drills with my Learn-to-skate kids.

The above, of course, is just one example of how going back and forth between levels has benefited me and my students or players.  And I can tell you that it’s worked in both directions — from elite player traits helping younger kids to the experiences with young players helping my oldest guys.

Okay, so now, about that email from Jerry…  We’ve gotten in the habit of communicating about once per week, especially if we haven’t had the chance to work together for awhile.  Anyway, within his most recent report to me, he included the following:

“A friend made an interesting observation about my last video (posted on the CoachChic.com site), the one where I’m skating with the old skates and stick. He said I skate as if I’m afraid to fall. I thought that was an interesting observation and am looking into falling more on purpose so I know what to do when I’m careening out of control…”

With that, I need to mention here that I have for years conducted beginner hockey sessions — for toddlers, and for adults.  And, while our game’s basic skills are obviously the same, I actually run those clinics in drastically different fashions.

A conversation with one of my Learn-to-play parents at rink-side Sunday morning helps explain part of this…  And he totally agreed and understood as I explained my reasons for having my little ones roll on the ice, do bellyflops and backslides, and initially jog their way across the rink.

I really got into this a great deal more when I bumped into a high level figure skating coach outside a local store hours later…  We’re birds of similar feathers, that young lady and I, both of us thinking and looking far, far outside the proverbial box when it comes to helping the skaters in our charge.  Anyway, when the conversation turned toward our creating outgoing or flamboyant “personalities” in our athletes, I described the way I try to create little daredevils in my Learn-to kids’ very first times on the ice.  Ya, I’m talking about the diving and rolling and flops again, and the way I give the kids high-fives when they do a crazy fall.

Okay, so I’m presuming you have the gist of how I approach my “baby groups”.  And you have to be thinking I’m just going to walk into a beginner adult class and run a carbon copy of the little ones’ lesson plan.  Huh, hardly.

Number One, adults know too much.  I mean, my babies will flop around with absolutely no thoughts or fears of hurting themselves (and that mentality usually stays with them for all their years in the game).  My adult guys and gals, on the other hand, are thinking to themselves, “Hey, I’d better go easily here…  I could break a leg or somethin’!”  Probably even more often, they’re thinking, “Hey, I have to go to work in the morning!”

Ya, adults know too much, and they are almost always holding back quite a bit — or a lot, if we’re comparing them to their toddling counterparts.

And this brings us back to Jerry’s friend’s observation, in that he looks in that video as if he’s afraid to fall.  Ya, our buddy just turned 50-years old the other day (Happy Birthday, JZ!).  And, while it doesn’t have to be a conscious thing on his part, there is definitely a conversation going on in his head — as in, “Hey, I could get hurt here!”

Having dealt with probably a thousand or so adult beginners, I’ve found most of them — including Jerry — to be willing workers.  Only rarely have I had a student who totally held back (which caused me to wonder why the heck they were even on the ice).  Yes, Jerry and most others do really try, and they usually try pretty hard.  Still, with each slight wobble or near fall, I don’t think he or many other adult beginners can resist that ever present internal voice which warns them, “Hey, I have to get up and go to work tomorrow morning!”

All that said, I’ve noticed that confidence grows as adults master given skills.  So, while there’s a point in the early going where Jerry or another beginner might turn pale in the middle of a very basic movement, it’s pretty likely that he and others will eventually whistle and not worry doing the very same thing a month or so later.  Sure, there is probably always going to be something new that rattles them, at least a bit.  But, even those fears can probably be overcome with time.

Oh, that Jerry suggests in his email that he might try “falling more on purpose”?  I sense that is a good thing.  I highly recommend it (just not when I’m around, and not when my liability policy is on the line — LOL).

Then, one final reflection, this having to do with age…  A lot of the adult groups I’ve worked with over the years have been teams, and they’ve been a mixture of guys and/or gals, some in their 20’s and some much older.  And it should make sense to the reader that the 20-somethings quite frequently take to the ice in hell-bent-for-leather fashion.  Those young people are probably also playing street hockey, basketball or flag football with buddies, and they’re still acting — and especially thinking — like kids, with not much concern for their physical well being.  At the other end of the spectrum — and, at 50, Jerry surely is far at the other end, well, the older guys know too much, and the voices are likely screaming at them! 

High Intensity Skating Drills – Part 3

Eric S started this ball rolling a few weeks back, as he asked me about some suggestions for high intensity skating drills.  I did the best I could with my first response (Part 1 and Part 2), but I still promised to add a little more here.

Now, for those who might get a bit turned-off with my dryland drill samples, please understand that it’s often easier for me to video-tape during our weekly off-ice sessions.  At the same time, almost everything I show you from those practices can be done on the ice.  So, don’t discount transferring any of these drills to a traditional on-ice practice.

– Dennis Chighisola

High Intensity Skating Drills – Part 3

Now, let me provide a little background to the following exercises.  Thereafter, clicking on each of the thumbnails will show a different way I incorporate jump take-offs in both my off-ice and off-ice practices.

By the way, after having one of my high school students twist an ankle while trying to negotiate a rather rigidly constructed jump, I switched to foam barriers for a lot of exercises.  Actually, the gadget seen in the following videos (and in the photo to the right) is made from a foam “noodle”.  You probably know this as a swimming pool toy.  It’s extreme inexpensive, and it can be discarded after it’s served its purpose.  I formed the 90-degree angle with a wrap of rubber tubing, but I think tape would have just as easily done the trick.

Now, click on any of the thumbnails below to see my Team NEHI kids performing some light jump take-off training.  Again, these exact same drills can be performed on the ice (actually, the first one — done on-ice — was shown in a previous video).

Just as a suggestion (or a safety precaution), I usually limit the amount of intense jumping exercises I do with young players.

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What do you think?  Can you or your player/s benefit from this kind of training?  Please let me know in the Comments box provided below.

“Pond Hockey”

Having noticed a number of my Mighty Mite players losing their footing this past Saturday in their game, it struck me that a lot of folks — from any hockey playing age group — might not realize the following.  So, I’m recycling a post I made last winter around this time.  Enjoy, and please be aware of this…

– Dennis Chighisola

While I sometimes call undisciplined hockey “pond hockey”, taking a twirl outdoors on the bogs, lakes or rivers can be awesome for a player’s skating and conditioning. 

If there’s one thing I have to warn outdoor skaters about, it’s the abuse the skate blades take on that kind of ice.  You see, tiny, wind blown dust particles usually coat the ice.  And, it’s extra hard, having been frozen at extremely low temperatures.

So, after having skated on a pond or river for even a brief time, I highly advise players to have their skates resharpened before heading back to indoor ice.  Better yet, it’s a great idea to use a second (perhaps used) pair of skates just for playing outdoors.

A New Mighty Mite Pylon Course

Some new pylon course ideas are soon to be unveiled here at CoachChic.com.  Not that there’s anything new about different configurations, or that it’s unusual to rearrange the pylons to create different kinds of skating or puckhandling patterns.  Still, as I’ll suggest in that entry, various layouts should really be aimed at enhancing specific kinds of skills.

Now, if you go back to my earliest Mighty Mite post (”Our First Mighty Mite Hockey Practice“), you should see that I used a straight row of obstacles as a very simple of way of showing my babies how to go in and out of opposition players.  (In my case, I carry around foam dots instead of pylons.)

Still, while a good many of those youngsters maneuver fairly well through that course now, and while most of them are starting to instinctively use both sides of their stick-blades to change directions, I’ve felt lately that something new was needed to bring these skills to at least a slightly higher level.  So, with that, I changed my dots a little and created the following…

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– Dennis Chighisola

A New Mighty Mite Pylon Course

To begin, there are plenty of good things to be said about using a basic straight-line course, and I’ll continue to use that layout with my Mighty Mites.  At the same time, I wanted something that would cause the kids to cut more sharply, as well as a design that might force them to use both sides of their stick-blades more.  In actuality, I ultimately want my little guys to be able to make sharp cuts with the puck, something like one of my former junior high school team kids is doing in the photo to right.  (Wanna bet those little rascals won’t be able to do that by this coming spring?)

A straight-line course can be made all the more difficult just by moving every other pylon outward a bit.  The photo to the left illustrates that, with the arrows showing how I moved a pair of cones (or foam dots) slightly to the left.  The photo to the right helps show how drastic the cut now has to be (in comparison to a straight-line course).

As I mentioned above, some of my kids still need a lot of work to make handling the puck on their backhands more instinctive.  And you should be able to see that in the video (just click on the above right photo), with some getting it, and others not (at least yet).  But, that IS what teaching and practice are all about, huh?

As an aside here…  You will quite often hear my voice in the background of that video, and you’ll hear either me or other coaches providing constant feedback throughout the videos hosted on this site.  Yup, constant feedback is important, and it’s one of the key elements in an “artful” way of coaching.

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Please share your thoughts on the above.  You know I love hearing from my CoachChic.com friends!

Various Pylon Courses

Please see Drill Submission Rules and Help below.

Contributor: Dennis Chighisola — Whitman, Massachusetts, USA

Drill Category: Skating and Puckhandling

Comments: Every coach uses pylons (or other kinds of obstacles) from time to time.  However, I wonder how many coaches have considered the following…

Benefits:
For sure, there are huge benefits to be gained by using pylons or other barriers in various patterns.

At the very youngest levels, an obstacle course forces players to weave as they might need to do in their games.  As importantly, having to frequently turn left and right as they move through a course gives us a chance to teach them how to use both sides of their stick-blades.

I even find various courses beneficial for older players, but with some reservations…

Those Reservations:
When I use pylons (tires or my foam dots) with older players, I warn them that slow meandering through the course isn’t going to help them with their game; in fact, it might hurt them to practice in a way that isn’t related to the way they want to play.

I even take the time to compare the typical course to computer based games — you know, the kinds that can be approached at different levels or at different speeds.  And I’ll go on to explain that a game is usually easy when the twists and turns come at you slowly, while the real challenge lies in having the winding road or obstacles really flying at you.  That established, I constantly remind my guys that they have to supply the challenges.  In other words, if they move at breakneck speed through the course, the obstacles come at them at a pace that will actually help them with their game.

Of course, there also comes a time — when kids get older — when the real-life pylons are trying to kill them (or at least put a pretty good hurt on them).    And this is all the more reason for older players to approach any given course as quickly as they would rival checkers during a game.

If you click on the nearby photo you’ll see a video I previously posted in an entry about passing.  Yes, part of the drill was aimed at helping my NEHI Jr HS kids connect on passes.  But, I also incorporated a straight line of tires that had my young guys executing some pretty sharp cuts with a puck.  So, have a look before going on.

Now, one last point before showing you a few of the course designs I’ve used over the years.  You see, I think whatever kind of a course we use, it ought to fit a certain purpose, with our players understanding exactly what that purpose is.

For example, using a straight course for young players would be worthwhile for them if we first explained how the obstacles represent the “other team’s players” we want to go in and out of, and that it’s important that we use both sides of the stick to accomplish this.  Later on we might want to have them start using cross-overs to move themselves from side to side.

At the other end of the spectrum might be the kids you just saw in the above video…  Ya, most of those kids are attacking the tires as if they’re attempting to perform a highlight reel goal in an over-time game.

All that said, the following are some pylon course layouts I’ve used fairly regularly:

1)  The most obvious and most used course consists of just a straight line of obstacles.  Again, as noted above, that course is what you make of it.

2) Over recent years, this pattern has been one of my favorites.  I talk in terms of speed and highlight reel moves as the kids ready for this course, and I really push and prod them to attack it as fast as they can possibly go.

3) With an even number of pylons, a coach can pull every other one out so that players have to zig-zag and cup the puck with each cut.  Speed in this simple course can be adjusted according to the age and caliber of skater.

4) This can be a fairly advanced course, owning to the fact that players have to make very sharp cuts — with their skates and with a puck.  And again, speed should be adjusted per the level of our players.

Finally, such courses really are what we make of them.  And so do our players reap benefits according to the way they negotiate them.

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Have questions or suggestions concerning this entry?  Please leave a Comment below.

Mighty Mite Team Wide-dribbles

Well, my Mighty Mites suffered the first setback of their season yesterday (hmmm…  actually, the first hockey setback of their young lives).  And, while I always feel a little bit down after a loss (as any passionate coach probably should), there’s one trait that just as probably separates me from lots of others.

You see, I am forever an optimist.  Better yet, I see every season as a marathon.  Or, as a sport psychologist might suggest, “It’s not a good idea to get either too high with a win or too low after a defeat.”  Naw, the best thing to do is to stick to a long-range plan that I/we know will ultimately work.

That said, a return to practice this morning (on the day after) saw me pick-up the training a notch.  In other words, I stuck to “the plan”, and introduced or refined some skills that will benefit the kids hugely in the long-run.  Below, I’ll explain the drill we refined quite a bit this week.  (Within a few days, I’ll let you in on another drill I just added.)

– Dennis Chighisola

Mighty Mite Team Wide-dribbles

Now, at the very start of this season, I made a big deal out of our need to miss rival goalies with shots, and to instead look for all the open space around him or her.  As the photo to the right shows, I used my SMG (or simulated goaler) to remove the luck factor.  In other words, that SMG removes the chance for a great play by a live goalie, or a bit of luck on his or her part.

Almost all of my little guys have grasped this concept by now, and probably about half of the roster has scored goals in games by doing exactly as I just described.

Okay, so it’s time to add yet another skill to their individual attack capabilities.  And, for this, I’ve started teaching the kids to fake towards one side of the goalie before bringing the puck across and tucking it in on the opposite side.  The photo to the left shows one of my older players executing a maneuver that’s intended to tease or distract a rival defender in open-ice.  The photo to the right shows one of my Mighty Mites using the same faking movement — the “wide-dribble” — to set-up the goalie (or SMG).  If you can envision it, this youngster has first drawn the goalie’s attention to the right, and he is now in the act of shifting the puck across to deposit it on the left side and behind the netminder.

Of course, you’d like to see that play in action.  So, just click on the photo below for a video showing several 4-, 5- and 6-year olds performing a wide-dribble move on the SMG.  (They’re doing pretty nicely, if I do say so!  )

Now, I think it’s important for members to know a few other things that are actually going on surrounding this particular move (on the goaltender).

First, most young kids don’t naturally handle the puck on both sides of their stick-blades.  So, this particular skill is being taught or encouraged in several other drills (one of these to be posted shortly).

Secondly, a lot of members might be surprised at my spending so much time on the very end of a play — as in scoring goals.  However, this is a technique I use often in the teaching process (and I especially employ this method when I’m teaching a skill like body-checking).  What I’m trying to do is first establish the end result.  Then, with that, I’ll start showing my students or players how to work their way towards that end.  Still, for fear that I haven’t really explained myself well enough here, I promise to cover this approach in more detail within some future entries.

PS:  The above video just might be useful to a young player for visualization purposes.  In other words, have a youngster (or youngsters) watch it — over and over again — in hopes he or she (or they) might be able to memorize the moves (or internalize them).  Seriously, give that a try; it really works!

By the way…  While I’m teaching these things to kids as young as 4-years old — and they’re getting ‘em, I have to wonder how many 10- or 11-year olds haven’t yet mastered such moves.  Okay, just wondering, but…

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Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions about my approach here.  You know I love to interact with you guys (and gals)!

Defenseman’s Figure-8

Although I call this a defenseman’s drill — because it does help enhance some blueliner-specific skills, I actually have all of my players work at it.  And, although I’ve placed this in the Puckhandling section, this drill really does help improve skating mobility, mobility with the puck, as well as passing and receiving skills.

– Dennis Chighisola

Defenseman’s Figure-8

While skating and puckhandling… I initially have individual players practice this drill on their own, learning to skate the figure-8 pattern, and to carry a puck with them as they move through that pattern.  (Younger players might attack these skills separately at first, initially learning the skating portion, then later trying to carry a puck along.)  As stated above, this really is an awesome drill for skating mobility and for moving in numerous ways with the puck.

As the above sketch shows, a player places his gloves about 8′ apart, and then moves in a figure-8 pattern around those gloves.  The challenge to this particular drill, however, is that the skater must face one side of the rink at all times, thusly having to execute numerous pivots — from forward to backward to forward, etc. — as he moves around the gloves.

For skating, puckhandling, passing and receiving… I ultimately turn this into a passing drill, positioning two players with their gloves arranged parallel, and the two players facing each other.

One player performs the skating and puckhandling part of the routine first, as his partner rests and gives a target for a pass.  After about 8-seconds, the puckhandler passes the puck to his partner, whereby the two players switch roles.  (To see the drill in action, just click on the photo below.)

Now, I ask you:  Is this a pattern defensemen frequently have to skate (and handle a puck through) in a game?  You bet!

PS:  There is one little technical matter required to make this drill work well…  As players stickhandle around, they must move forward through the middle of their gloves and backward around the outsides.  This makes it a little easier for them to make a pass moving down through the middle and towards their partner.  Oh, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have the players change direction each time they do the drill.

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Do you like this drill?  Will it prove helpful to YOU?  Please let me know in the Comments box below.

2010 NHL Winter Classic – Marco Sturm OT Goal

What this entry is partially about is the potential for using such a great resource as YouTube. Ya, we have to be thankful to the NHL and sites like YouTube.com for the opportunity to study some of the world’s greatest players.

Now, as for Sturm and company… I happened to pick-up on something as “the goal” was being scored. However, I’d like you to review this brief video clip before I comment further…

Actually, I didn’t realize that the broadcast’s color commentator made mention of what I’d noticed. But, that’s good, in that Patrice Bergeron deserved a great deal of the credit for that goal being scored.

What happened is that Bergeron looked away from his intended passing target, which made most of the Philadelphia players at least briefly focus their attentions elsewhere. And, that’s all he and Sturm needed to combine for a nice goal.

That “look away” technique is something that can be (and should be) practiced, you know. And I’ll quite often teach that skill to my older guys. The way I’ll run the drill is to have pairs or groups of threes skate down the ice together, with each puckhandler glancing quickly elsewhere before he makes a pass.

Did an earlier coach teach Bergeron that technique? I have no way of knowing. However, I think we can be pretty sure that it’s a skill he made part of his game through plenty of practice over the years. And that’s part of what I’m suggesting here — in that teams or individuals can now add this technique to their bag of tricks. All that’s needed is enough practice so that a play such as that ultimately becomes second nature (or instinctive).

Then, looking at the bigger picture here, I want to suggest that we coaches, parents and players can take almost any short highlight clip and study it. I mean, watch closely for the “little things” the elite players do.

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You know how much I appreciate your feedback. So, please do add your Comments here!

Russian Circle Passing Variations

Please first see the basic set-up of this drill as described under the free Drills section.  For, from that basic format, some really awesome offensive and defensive variations are possible.  (Click here for: “Russian Circle Passing“.)

– Dennis Chighisola

Russian Circle Passing Variations – Basic Set-up

- From the basic set-up, I will occasionally have the last attacker stop at the net and then attempt to screen, deflect or pounce on the rebound on the next attacker’s shot.

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- Also from the basic set-up, I like to send two players at a time from each line, thusly having them attack 2 versus the netminder.  At times, I’ll ask the attackers to weave — or criss-cross — on their way to the net.

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- When I’m looking to mix a little conditioning into this drill (as well as work on our attack triangle pattern), I’ll send three attackers from each line.  Man, do the guys run out of gas quickly, since there’s little time to rest as groups of threes return to line.

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Russian Circle Passing Variations – Set-up with “D”

The next phase of this drill requires positioning forwards and defensemen as shown in the accompanying sketch.  From this layout, numerous different match-ups can be practiced.

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- Clicking on the image to the left will show how 1 on 1’s work from this set-up.  As the sketch shows, defensemen are stationed at the opposite side red line as they await playing an oncoming attacker.  I tend to like this way of practicing such match-ups, mainly because each play is preceded by a pass to the attacking forward, which forces him or her to catch and control the puck in anticipation of confronting a defender.

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- From this set-up, all the various numerical rush situations can be practiced — from 1 on 1’s to 2 on 1’s to 2 on 2’s to 3 on 2’s to 3 on 3’s.  All the coach needs to do is send the appropriate number of players from a given line.

And, as suggested in the initial drill description, it’s important for the coach to frequently change the direction in which players circle (either towards their left or towards their right).

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Might you have any further ideas for making this drill format even more useful?  I’d love to hear from members — either in the Comments box below, or from your following the directions provided for drill submissions (found in the free Drills area).

Russian Circle Passing

Please see Drill Submission Rules and Help below.

Contributor: Dennis Chighisola — Whitman, Massachusetts, USA

Drill Category: Skating, Passing, Pass Receiving, Attacking and Defending

Drill Description:

Comments: This is perhaps one of the most versatile drills I have ever used.  In it’s basic form, Russian Circle Passing is a great up-tempo drill that includes fast skating, great puck movement, and any form of attack on net a coach chooses.  Better yet, CoachChic.com members will be treated to numerous variations of this drill that include all sorts of offensive and defensive match-ups (please see the link to drill variations down below).

Benefits:
Again, this is a great up-tempo drill that incorporates fast skating, the need to provide good stick targets, and the need to connect on passes as receivers move through circular patterns.

Running the drill:

- In the basic set-up, skaters are lined-up along the boards and behind a blue line on both sides of the ice.

- The drill begins with one player skating (without a puck) around the center face-off circle and providing a good stick-target for the first player in the other line.

- The first player in the other line hits the circling player with a pass, and the pass receiver then continues on to attack the goal in any way the coach prescribes (either shooting or deking the goaltender).

- Upon making a pass, a player leaves his or her line to circle and receive a pass from the other line.

Obviously, this drill should be run so that the players circle to the left (as shown), and then to the right (by just moving the lines to the opposite side boards).

Click image below to see a short video on the basic drill. (CoachChic.com members may click on this link for numerous other Variations on Russian Circle Passing.)

Some Simple Head-manning Drills

It’s nice that the questions keep coming in.  And, while the most recent one asks for “a” simple head-manning drill, I’m going to try to do a little better than that…

– Dennis Chighisola

Some Simple Head-manning Drills

Now, I never just skip ahead, or presume that every member knows every bit of hockey jargon.  So, let’s begin by discussing the term, “head-manning”.  (Is there anyone out there — like me, who wonders how such words and phrases ever came into being?  Oh, well…)

It should make sense that the puck can be advanced up-ice much faster with a pass than by having a player skate it over the same distance.  In fact, the following principles are pretty widely accepted, as they govern the decisions a puckcarrier should make while moving up the ice and through the neutral zone:

1. Whenever possible, advance the puck quickly over a long distance by passing it to a teammate who is closer to the opposition goal.  (This is what’s referred to as “head-manning” the puck, or passing it ahead to a man up-ice).
2. If there’s no immediate chance to head-man the puck, continue carrying.
3. If at some point the puckcarrier faces a rival defender or defenders, these things should be considered…  A confident attacker might attempt to beat a single defender, 1 on 1.  However, should he or she be confronted by more that one defender, smart hockey principles dictate that the puck be dumped.  (Hey, it’s wiser to gain the opponents’ zone and move the puck ahead some 60-plus feet, rather than risk a turn-over in neutral ice.)
4. There can be a fourth option for the skilled puckhandler, in that he or she might be able to move away from the defenders — or enter the offensive zone far from traffic, and then protect the puck and wait for teammates to arrive.

All that said, I don’t know of a single head-manning drill, but I do try to precede most attacking plays with some sort of pass.  And, many of these would be considered among the head-manning variety.  So, here are three:

Spring the Wing – I just created and started using this drill to accomplish a number of things.  I use it early in our practices as a way of warming our goaltender with some long shots (I had to recently abandon the two drills shown later in favor of this version, because we have had only one goaler at practices).  As you’ll see in the video (click on the adjacent photo), this drill starts with a long pass to a player flying up the wing-boards.  I ask my kids to help their mate keep flying (not to slow him with the pass).  If you’ll also notice, I’m trying to get my young guys to cut quickly while carrying the puck in and out of opponents (in this case a row of small tires).

Long Pass, Long Shot – This is a basic warm-up drill I like to start most practices with (when I have at least 2 goalies).

As in the earlier shown drill, the passing and skating and shooting on-the-go are great for my skaters, while I want them to view the shot as actually helping warm their goalers.

As shown in the photo (to the left) and in the video (click on the photo), skaters with pucks are positioned in two rink corners.  A skater flies towards neutral ice, receives a long, hard pass from the far corner, and then takes a long shot on net from about the blue line. (Obviously, this drill can and should also be run from the opposite corners.)

Now, I especially like drills like this and the next one for developing soft hands on a catch, because the force of a long pass is increased when the skater is moving towards the pass.

Breakaway Passes – This is just a variation on the previous drill, but it probably better satisfies a coach’s desire for a good head-manning drill.  In this one, a skater moves to neutral ice looking for a breakaway pass, catches the long pass from the other end, and then turns to attack the net at his own end.   (Click on the photo to see the video.)

(This drill should also be run from the opposite corners so that skaters get to loop in both directions.)

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Do you have any drills that even better help this member in need?  Just send your idea/s along according to the directions offered under “Drills”.

Creative Training Ideas for Goalers! Part 4

Todd Jacobson is still off with his women’s team at Notre Dame Academy for the next few months.  Of course, that won’t prevent him from occasionally sending us updates, ideas or further insight into goalie training.

In the meantime, my Team NEHI kids keep practicing and playing, and I’m still here to show you a little of what we’re doing.  And, picking-up from where we left-off in Part 3 of this series, I’m going to show you another step in those 2-puck Drill progressions.

– Dennis Chighisola

Creative Training Ideas for Goalers! Part 4

If you haven’t already, please take a quick run through the earlier post on this topic.  (It would be a good idea if you view the previous “Creative Training Ideas for Goalers” entries, just so you have an idea of how the next drill evolved.)

Now that our goalies can tumble and find one ball with pretty good regularity, it’s time to move them on towards a REAL challenge.

I mean, we all thought that 2-puck Drill was pretty difficult, huh?  Well, wait until you get a look at this one…

Here a netminder is tumbling, but he’s confronted with having to find and catch two balls at the same time!  Not easy folks, but it’s awesome to help a goalie deal with all the craziness that happens around him, and with the need to find a puck amid chaos.

So, have a look at the video (just click on the photo below)…

Well, to date that’s it for progressions along this line.  But, I’m still thinking, and I’m hoping you are, too.

Actually, maybe you can help with some new ideas.  Todd and I would love your Comments or suggestions!

As a postscript, I’m posting a link to this video from the Highlight Reel Skills section, mainly because the young goalie in this video demonstrates something I want all of my players to have.  I mean, did you notice his reaction when he failed one time?  Sure, I think he felt a little embarrassed.  At the same time, however, I think he was laughing at himself, knowing full well that he can eventually lick that challenge.  So again, that’s an awesome training attitude to have, the ability to laugh at oneself as you try new challenges.  And it’s something I always noticed about the kids I had who went on to make a name for themselves in the game.

– Dennis Chighisola

Starting Your Hockey Year Off Right!

It isn’t often that I’ll ask skaters to take a look at a goalie training segment.  Naw, you guys and gals USUALLY have enough on your minds without worrying about another position.  This time, however, what I’m about to suggest to you might just make all the difference in the world as you approach a new year.

Now, before reading further, I’m going to ask that you click on the photo below and watch the very short video of a Team NEHI goaltender doing a VERY difficult drill.  Please don’t read on until you’ve done that, and then I’ll see you below.

– Dennis Chighisola

Starting Your Hockey Year Off Right!

Ah, gotta love those kinds of guys…

Okay, now I hope you noticed my young goalie friend making a mistake and missing the balls one time in the middle of that video.  But, more importantly, I hope you noticed his reaction.  Just take a look again at the photo above for a hint at what I’m getting at.

Sure, I’ll bet he was a little bit embarrassed to muff the drill.  But, did you also notice he was laughing at himself?

Now, most members know that I’ve been doing what I do for about 40-years, and that I’ve taught thousands upon thousands of young players, with quite a few of them making a name for themselves in our game.

Want to know a common trait I’ve seen in all the best of them, though?  Well, it’s the same one demonstrated by the goaler in that video.  Yup, the best have always seemed to be able to laugh at themselves — or just shrug-off a mistake, and keep going right back at the challenge (again and again and again).

There are countless examples of this in sports lore, one story having to do with the great home run hitter, Babe Ruth.  Yes, the Sultan of Swat for a very long time held the record for the most homers hit in a career.  Yet, did you know that The Babe also held the record for the most career strikeouts?  That didn’t seem to get him down, though.  No, he just kept coming back, swinging and swinging and swinging.

And did you also ever consider that the top baseball hitters — hitting around .300 — actually make outs more than two out of three times they go to bat?  None of those guys would skip another try in the batter’s box, however.  Again, like Ruth, you can be sure they looked forward to yet more swings.

So, this is my New Years gift to all my CoachChic.com friends…  If you’re a player, learn to inwardly laugh at your mistakes, and keep coming back for more swings.  I promise you’ll ultimately get it, when lots of others got discouraged and dropped by the wayside.  And, if you’re a parent or coach, try to encourage this very worthwhile trait with those in your charge.

Happy New Year!