Floorball: The Fastest Growing Team Sport

I have my friends at the Sports Connection to thank for this extremely informative article.

I love that they’ve provided a brief history for floorball, and that they go even more into the rules than other articles I’ve published here.

So thanks, Sports Connection!  And I hope my CoachChic.com friends find this enjoyable and helpful!

– Dennis Chighisola

Floorball: The Fastest Growing Team Sport

Floorball originated in the Scandinavian region in the 1970′s. Floorball is a fun,fast paced hockey game that is played on foot with lightweight sticks and a plastic ball. One of the absolute advantages of Floorball is that it is very easy to become a player. Anyone regardless of age, physical condition, or gender can grab a floorball stick and join in the fun. The object is to score a goal by directing the ball into the opposing team’s goal. This sport is growing fast and becoming very popular. Floorball is most popular in Sweden, Finland, and other European nations. It is actively played around the world in over 50 countries, including Australia, Japan, Canada, and the United States. The game is safe and fun for everyone.

It is commonly recognized that the roots of Floorball are to be found in the game of street hockey that was being played in Canada and The United States during the 1960′s and 70′s. Following the growth of the National Hockey League (NHL), street hockey developed as a cheap alternative to ice hockey for youngsters.

A Brief Introduction to Floorball

Game Area:

Floorball can be played indoors or outdoors, preferably using a rink of size 40 x 20 meters (131 x 65 ft). Height of the surrounding board is 50 cm or 20 inches. The goal is 115 cm high and 160 cm wide (45” x 63”).

Play Time:

Just like ice hockey, the game time is made up of three 20-minute periods with a 10-minute intermission between each period.

Teams:

A team is allowed 20 players on its roster. Five field players per team are allowed in the rink plus a goalie who plays without a stick. You can play without a goalie in which case the team can play with 6 field players. Each field player has a stick and attempts to pass and shoot a plastic ball which weights 23 grams and is 7 cm in diameter (2-3/4”).

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Rules:

If a field player commits one of the following infractions, a referee will award a free shot to the opposing team or remove the offending player from the rink to serve a 2-minute minor penalty:

–Holding, shoving, checking, blocking or tripping an opponent

–Hitting, blocking, lifting, pushing down or kicking an opponent’s stick

–Hitting the ball with the stick or foot above the level of the knee

–Lifting the stick above waist level

–Kicking the ball twice

–Touching the ball with the hand

–Jumping up to reach the ball

–Playing the ball with any part of the body other than feet

Equipment:

Field players have a stick which can range from 65 to 104 cm long. When buying a new floorball stick, the length is very important. The stick should reach your belly button or just a little above. If the stick is too short, you have less playing range and it adds stress to your back since you will be constantly leaning over. If the stick is too long, your stick handling will be slower and you will lose power in your shots.

When determining shaft stiffness or flex, we are referring to how much the shaft is bent when you apply force to the stick. For all floorball manufacturers, the force is standardized at 30Nm. Stiffness is measured in millimeters of bend. The less the shaft is bent for the given force, the stiffer it is. Flex range for our sticks ranges from 24 for an extra stiff stick to 36 for a soft stick.

Face, Lie and Cavity:

These refer to various blade categories. Blade face ranges from 2X to 7X and indicates the curvature of the blade from heel to toe. An open face allows you to get the ball up in the air more easily. Too much open face might lead to shooting the ball too high. Cavity is a measure of the curvature of the blade from top to bottom when held horizontally. More cavity increases the ball velocity when firing wrist shots. Less cavity improves passing ability. You can modify the face and cavity of your stick by heating the stick with a hair dryer and forming it around a solid ball. Lie is the angle between blade and shaft. With a higher angle, you play the ball closer to your body.

Not just a team sport! Pro’s all over the NHL are using floorball sticks as training aids or warm up tools to helps “soften” their hands before a game. Its a great way to SAFELY work on stick handling indoors or outdoors. Best of all, Mom and Dad’s drywall will be safe!!

Sports Connection

Suspension Training for Hockey Players

I’m always saying that part of my job is to do the research for CoachChic.com members (and I also like to do it selfishly, for myself — ).

Anyway, I subscribe to a number of strength training magazines and newsletters, just so I can keep-up with the very latest in training methods.

So, along comes my latest ezine featuring an article on “suspension training”.  Hmmmmmm…  I kinda knew what the title meant, but I ultimately got into that article, and eventually decided to share the concept with you.

– Dennis Chighisola

Suspension Training for Hockey Players

Basically, suspension training involves hanging an athlete from a harness, this so that a certain body part (or parts) can be truly isolated in a given movement.

Ugh…  I know I’m not going to do this subject justice — in words, so let’s take a look at a short video depicting some interesting suspension exercises…

Man, my mind was racing as I watched that.  Why?  It’s because I’m trying to figure how I can rig one of those things in The MOTION Lab.  (Oh, boy, are some of my older students going to be in for a treat!)

Appreciate that I have lots of great drills for core muscle training, and I’m pretty resourceful when it comes to isolating different muscles or muscle groups.  However, I like variety in my players’ training, for two very important reasons:

1)  as soon as boredom starts trickling in, an exercise loses its effectiveness;

2) any given exercise tends to tax a muscle (or muscle group) in one way, while a slightly similar exercise tends to call more muscles into play, or it tends to tax a muscle in a slightly different way or at a slightly different angle.

I also feel the need to point-out that our game calls for frequently wrestling against resistance — as in tussling with opponents under all sorts of conditions.  So, I like strength building exercises that call for a player to deal with resistance while having to move his or her body through all sorts of (contorted?) positions.

For the above reason (and as show in the adjacent photo), you’ll see me constantly adding a stability ball, an under-foot air cushion, a teeter-totter or some other like aid to an exercise.  Ya, we have to help our players learn to deal with wrestling against resistance, because our sport calls for movements far removed from the typical machine-type exercise.

Then, one final note, just in case you’re considering getting a devise like the one featured in the above video…  The TRX system is just one of many now out on the market.  So, while my understanding is that it’s a really one, I’m also guessing there are others that will meet anyone’s needs (and pocketbook).  And, if you should find a device you like, or if you know more about this subject than I, other members and I would surely like to hear from you.

The Gamut in Youth Hockey Emotions

First, the following reminds me of a saying made famous by the great UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden.  For, having seen many of his former players mature to do great things in later life, one of his greatest pleasures was in saying, “I knew him as a boy.”

Ya, I knew the author of this piece as a boy, and I’m proud to see what he’s done with his life.

Then, let me tell you, that I had some difficulty arriving at a title for Frank Johnson’s article.  As you’ll ultimately come to appreciate, though, it does run the gamut in emotions.

Between the lines, there are an awful lot of lessons to be learned from Frank’s long ago experiences, and I’ll suggest that we’ll all want to mimic the good parts and then try our darnedest to avoid repeating some of the not-so-nice ones.

That said, I think anyone who has ever been involved in youth hockey — in any capacity — is going to find the following very, very interesting.

– Dennis Chighisola

After graduating from Whitman-Hanson Regional High School (’87), Frank Johnson entered the health care/emergency services field, serving with fire and EMS departments in Massachusetts, Michigan, California, and Wisconsin.  He now serves with the Pittsville, WI Fire Department as a Firefighter/EMT and also functions as a Cadet Leader in an area youth program (assisting in the training and education of young, aspiring firefighters).  Frank is divorced and the dad of two.

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The Gamut in Youth Hockey Emotions

By Frank Johnson

At the age of 4  my parents both noticed that I seemed to be clumsier than most kids my age, and that my mind and body didn’t seem to be in sync with each other.  They got concerned and consulted my primary doctor to look into this affliction.  He couldn’t find anything physically wrong, and suggested that they get me involved in some type of game or sport to improve my coordination.

Football was out because I was too young, as was baseball.  My dad suggested to my mother that I try hockey.  Of course, being a very protective mom, she was at first against it, but my dad had already asked me if I wanted to play so she didn’t have much more to say about it.  (Unless you count “If anyone hurts my baby, I’m going to be kicking someone’s a–!”)

So my dad brought me to Hobomock Arenas in Pembroke, MA to get me signed up for the Whitman-Hanson Youth Hockey instructional program along with my friend Kevin.  My ankles were bending like hell and I was sore as all get out after my first practice, but I was okay from then on.

Kevin dropped hockey after that season, but I stuck with it and returned for the following year, again in the instructional level.  I was mainly a defenseman, but I  also had two games in goal, with one win and one tie.  But I knew that I didn’t want to be a full time goaltender, so I returned to defense.  There were only two instructional teams, the Maple Leafs (my team) and the Canadiens, and so we saw a LOT of each other.

In 1975 I reported for tryouts with the WH Mites, and it was here that I learned one of the harsher realities of sport.  Ray Sanchez and the rest of the coaches didn’t see me as fit for any of the teams — either A, B or C, and they cut me after the last day of tryouts.  This is in direct contrast to a lot of sports nowadays, hockey and otherwise, where everyone makes the team.

I remember driving home that night as my father ripped me up one side and down the other about my lack of ability and pretty much everything but my shoe size.  I didn’t want him any madder at me, and if he saw that I was crying he would have been, so I just sat with my back to him and listened as his words hit me like a sledgehammer.  He calmed down somewhat as we pulled into our driveway, and he offered at least a little bit of an apology.  I ran inside and went to my room as he repeated everything that had happened to my mother.

I fell asleep shortly afterward, and didn’t hear my father get on the phone. I found out later that he had called my uncle Mike Flaherty (RIP Uncle Mike) and explained what had happened.  Uncle Mike was now a coach in the Rockland Youth Hockey Mite program, and he told my dad that he would talk to a few people to see if “something could be worked out”.  A day later he called Dad back and told him that I was welcome to try out for the Rockland mites, if I could secure a written release from WH Youth Hockey. “Oh don’t worry, I’ll get it,” Dad said.  He then sat me down and apologized profusely for his outburst the night of tryouts.  “It’s ok Dad,” I told him.  “Do you still wanna play hockey?” he asked.  “Yeah,” I said simply.  He then explained that once he had gotten the paperwork squared away that I would be trying out with Rockland Youth Hockey (RYH).  Well, he didn’t waste any time, and by that night he had the release in his hands, freeing me to make the transfer.

That weekend I found myself at the South Shore Sports Center (or Rockland Rink), along with a lot of other hopefuls who were trying to make the cut. Coach Bob Silvia was running the tryouts.  And since I had missed the first day, he asked me who I was.  I told him my name and why I was there, and he didn’t say another word about it.  Well, I must have done enough things right, because my uncle selected me for the “B” team, and after the euphoria wore off, he sat all of us down, issued jerseys, and informed us that our first game would be the following weekend against the Abington Stingers.  He also told me that he was switching me from defense to right wing, effective immediately.  My only thought at the time was “it’s better than defense”.

Game time came and I remember being nervous but excited. That’s when I saw who the referee was.  It was Coach Silvia, who had told us earlier in the week that he wouldn’t be able to make it to our game, but that he would be rooting for us.  I put it out of my mind and concentrated on the game.

About midway through the second period I found myself with the puck on the Abington blue line and no one in front of me except Frank O’Rourke, Abington’s’ goaltender.  Frankie and I would see a lot of each other in our youth careers, and we would go on to become friends, and later teammates. Anyway, I had the puck and I was all alone.  I skated a few strides and “swept” the puck towards the net.  O’ Rourke went down, but just a smidgen too late, and I caught the lower left corner.  I was dumbfounded as I realized I had just scored my first goal.  My dad said he darn near had a stroke when he saw my stick go up.  In a flash, all of the bad memories of cut day were gone and were replaced by complete joy.

When I came out of the locker room after the game, my father grabbed me right there in the aisle and hugged me so hard that I thought he was gonna break a few ribs.  After the game, he started telling everybody who would listen about my goal.  “He beat him cleanly” and  “The goalie never had a chance” were among some of his wording.

The following weekend we found ourselves up against the Stingers again, and I never expected to find myself in the situation I was in during the previous game.  Apparently fate has its way.  There I was on the blue line again, same goalie, same distance, same result!  I can still hear the clang of the back brace where the puck came to rest in the net.  Granted, the rest of the games weren’t that easy, and the goals didn’t always come that often, but I managed to put enough points on my record to be awarded the “High Scorer” award that I shared with my friend and teammate Jimmy Ewell.

The bottom line of that season was our loss in the playoffs to Abington’s premiere Mite team, the Hornets.  We did NOT like each other, and it escalated to conflict both on and off the ice.  The Abington newspaper carried weekly youth hockey results back then, and they took a lot of pleasure in writing about how the Hornets “shellacked” us, or how the Stingers “blanked” us.  Both Abington teams had custom signs made to hang behind their benches, with their team name and logo, and that to us was both strange and intimidating.  Not to be outdone, our coaches had a Rockland Bulldogs sign made up for our bench, and began submitting weekly scores to the Rockland newspaper.

Midway through the season we had a game against the Hornets.  And, not to put too fine a point on it, they handed us our butts by something like 10-3. Ronnie Hedin was the Hornets’ coach, and Paul Mincone handled things behind the bench for the Stingers.  (I would come to respect these men a great deal during my youth hockey days, and I also had the pleasure of suiting up for them many times as either a substitute player during summer hockey, or in the case of Mr. Mincone, as one of 6 Rockland players that joined forces with Abington in the Hobomock League during our Bantam year.)

After the beatdown by the Hornets, the Abington paper had a field day at our expense.  This is where the “shellacking” comment came into play.

We faced them again 3 weeks later.  And although we lost again (3-1), we turned in a much better performance than the previous outing.  The paper even grudgingly showed us some respect in that week’s edition, calling us a “strongly improved Rockland club”.  We did manage to take them down once that season.  And outside of our double overtime win against Sharon in the Snowflake Tournament, that was our high point.

Over the next few years I advanced up through the ranks of youth hockey, playing next at the Squirt level, followed by the PeeWees.  Most times I found myself relegated to playing “B” team hockey, although I suited up my fair share of times at the “A” level in place of an absent player or other such contingency.

As anyone who is familiar with the sport knows, there’s a lot more prestige playing at the “A” level, but with it comes a higher level of intensity and competition.  I found myself overwhelmed at times, but I didn’t let that unnerve me.  In Rockland, we always watched out for each other on the ice.  So there were times when my “A” level teammates looked upon me as their “little brother”, and they’d take anybody to task who dared to mess with me.  Some of the time, I was grateful for my teammate’s actions, while at other times I thought, “Hey, I can handle myself.”  It was only after something like getting my mouth guard knocked out, or my helmet ripped off (more than once), that I realized that having a team full of older “siblings” really wasn’t all that bad.  It also served to better prepare me for the somewhat lesser pace in the B program where I was a regular starter.  My coaches also were pleased that they had a player who could “float” between the two levels and hold his own.

I had developed a reputation during those days, and it follows me even to this day.  I wasn’t the most prolific goal scorer, fastest skater, or hardest checker.  But I always gave 150%, every game and every practice.

I also developed a lot of friendships that would endure for many years.  A good example of this occurred during the early part of the 1978 season, when I was playing in my second year of Squirts.  I was hospitalized for 5 days with a particularly severe form of pneumonia, and I missed two weeks of practices and games.  So one morning while I was lying in my hospital bed, my Uncle Mike and my cousin came in to visit with me.  I asked how the team was doing, and they told me that they were thinking of me and were anxious for me to come back.  It was then that my cousin handed me my stick.  I asked what it was all about, and I was told to look at it closely.  Upon examination, I found that it had been signed by all of my teammates, coaches and pretty darn near everyone associated with RYH.  The inscription really got to me, though, a line written by the captain of the South Shore Braves, a New England Jr. Hockey League team based in Rockland.  My teammates and I idolized a lot of the Braves players, and we hardly ever missed a home game. The Braves found out that I was hospitalized, and all of them signed my stick, along with the greeting, “Waiting for you – from the Braves”.  It was then that I realized that I had a lot of compassionate and loyal teammates and friends, and that made me all the more determined to get back on the ice as soon as possible.

Three weeks later, with the help of the nursing staff at Brockton Hospital, along with my parents and coaches, I was strong enough to rejoin my teammates for a game against Dorchester Lower Mills.  Not only did I get back on the ice at full capacity, but I also scored 2 goals and was voted the game’s #1 star.  Hockey can teach you a lot of lessons that will carry over long after you hang up your skates.  And this point was brought home with amazing clarity during that season.

Our rivalry with Abington continued during the latter part of my youth career.  And if anything, the emotions got ratcheted up a notch during my Peewee and Bantam years.  The games were more intense, and the physical aspect of the game itself was at an all time high.  Skirmishes and fights, both on and off the ice, were a fairly regular occurrences.  And to the casual observer it would appear that we were nothing more than “goons” or “thugs” who were more interested in hurting each other than in playing hockey. Nothing could be further from the truth.  We were fighting for not only wins and points, but for, above everything else, respect.  In this sport, the want for respect is not to be taken lightly.

We won our share of games and lost a few as well, but Abington realized that we were not the same doormat that we were in our younger days.  I suppose it was inevitable, what began to transpire in the latter half of my 1st year in Bantams and into my second.  It’s been said that if you combine two rival teams into one working unit, the results can be surprisingly positive.  The coaches from both sides saw that:  although we were wearing different colors and hailed from different towns, the division between us was really not all that great.  None of us would ever think about turning down a chance to play, and thus, if either Abington or Rockland found itself short a player, kids from the other team were more than willing to step in and help.  Granted, the first few times this occurred were awkward, to say the least.  And under the façade that we would put on was the dominant thought that, “I play for Rockland, not Abington,” and vice versa.  But it allowed us to diversify and at the same time to get to know the players behind the rivalry at a personal level.  Before long, strangers would become teammates, and teammates would become friends. Of course, when we played each other, all bets were off, and the rivalry was burning as brightly as ever. Until the game was over, that is.  The customary muttered profanity and begrudging acknowledgements in the post game handshake line were now replaced by “See you soon,” or “Great effort”, along with a firm hand grasp.  We realized that we were growing as both players and young men.  We would need that newly found maturity and acceptance midway through that year.

Coach Paul Mincone, the Abington Bantam coach, was planning as he had in years past to field a team for a league at the Hobomock Arena.  He didn’t want to deplete either his A or B level teams by utilizing too many players, so he approached the RYH coaches and division director (my own dad) with a proposition.  He had seen the way that we had interacted when we had played together, and the newly found respect that we had for each other.  So he suggested a merger of sorts between the two towns.  He would take 5 of our “A” level players and combine them with 10 of his own athletes to form a team.  “It would be great for both sides,” he explained.  And as he talked, the idea began to appeal more and more to the parties involved. The clincher was when Coach Mincone informed everyone that the regular team practices from the individual teams would count as one for the newly suggested organization.  The response to the proposal was an immediate and enthusiastic “Yes!”  When my dad asked about the selection process, Coach Mincone straightforwardly told him that it wouldn’t be necessary, as he already knew who he wanted from the Rockland ranks.  Among the 5 selected were myself and my two cousins.  I was thrilled when my father told me that I had been chosen, and I realized that we had been given a terrific opportunity.

To commemorate our new status as a team, our name was changed from “Abington” to Abrock”.  We convened the following Sunday at Hobomock.  Coach told us that he wasn’t expecting us to be immediately cohesive, but at the same time he rightfully asked us to give our best effort.  As he gave the line assignments, I looked across the room at our starting goaltender.  It was none other than Frank O’ Rourke against whom I had notched my first and second career goals back when we were Mites.  We were now teammates, and I marveled at how we all seemed to be coming full circle.  Mr. Mincone needn’t have been concerned with how we would play together.

We laid a one sided thrashing on Marshfield, our first opponent.  The scoring was well-balanced, with 3 of Rockland’s players notching at least one tally, (including my own unassisted goal), and my cousin turning the hat trick. When it was over and done, we had an 11-1 victory under our belts.  In just one game we had meshed into a sharp, aggressive and volatile team.

Afterwards, on the drive home, my dad marveled at how well we had come together, and he asked me how we had done it.  I looked over at him and said, very simply, “We know each other, and we know each other well,”  He simply nodded understandingly, and let the subject drop.

The following Sunday we came together again for our second game, this one against Kingston.  Granted, we didn’t light up the scoreboard as we had the previous week, but we still came away with a thoroughly workmanlike 5-0 shutout.  For the first time in a long time, I managed to notch two goals in as many games, putting Abrock’s second goal on the board midway through the second period.  After the noise and banter of the post-game locker room celebration died down, Coach Mincone asked for quiet, and within seconds he had the undivided attention of every one in the room.  “Okay, fellas, great win today, excellent effort, but I’m about to give you a dose of reality.”  He looked up and down the room and told us that the following week’s game was NOT going to be an easy one, and that we would be in for our first real test of the young season.  “We’ll be playing the Hobomock Chiefs,” he said in a flat, calm tone.  “They’ve won the Hobomock title twice in the last 4 years, and they know all about us now.  We won’t get past them as easily as we did Marshfield or Kingston, you can bet on that.  Think about it, have a good week and let’s be back here Sunday ready to play the best game we’ve played so far.”

Coach’s  words stuck with us throughout the week, and by Sunday we were focused, determined and ready for whatever our opponent could throw at us. This was fortunate, because the Chiefs came out flying from the opening face off.  They had obviously done their homework, and they realized that we were primarily a free wheeling, finesse type of team.  They forechecked aggressively, they went after loose pucks like men possessed, and in short, did everything to throw us off our game.  After the third or fourth bone jarring check laid out on an Abrock player, we realized that our game plan wasn’t working, and we decided to take on a “grind it out, hit everything that moves” mindset.  It served us well as we came to the end of the period tied at 1.  Periods two and three were repeats of the first, as the action was non-stop and wall to wall.  I suppose that a game between the two best teams in the league was almost destined to end in a tie, which it did (final score, 2-2).

To this day, it stands out in my memory as the best game that I was ever a part of.  The post game handshakes were those of two quality teams who had given their best and left everything on the ice.  I was in the line behind my teammate Rick Clifford.  And as he shook the opposing captains’ hand, I heard him say, “We’ll see you again.”  His counterpart replied simply, “Looking forward to it.”

Talk about irony.  After Coach gave his traditional pre-game analysis, he told us that our following weeks’ opponent was to be determined, but that he would get back to us ASAP with further details.  Three days later we got some news that we were never expecting.  Evidently several of my teammates’ parents had gone to our coach and complained about the lack of parity in playing time.  Coach tried to explain that playing time was “earned”, and not given out freely.  But his words fell on deaf ears.  The Abington parents said that the Rockland players were receiving more time than the Abington kids, while the Rockland parents felt quite the same.  So, to pacify everyone, Coach Mincone reluctantly disbanded the team.  To say the least, this did not sit well with anyone on the team, and we all agreed that this was one area where the parents should have minded their own business.  However, we had no say in the matter, and with that, the brief but fruitful merger between the two old rivals was over.

We all returned to our normal practice and game routine, but we couldn’t help but feel a genuine sense of loss at what had been taken from us.

In an almost fitting sense of irony, we squared off with Abington in the Bantam “A” finals that year, which would mark the end of our youth hockey careers.  And just like in my first playoff finals all those years ago — in the Mite level, Abington swept us 2 games to none.  I was saddened that it had to end this way, but all of us were looking ahead to the next phase in our hockey journey, playing for our respective high schools.

I would, of course, be returning to where it all had started for me more than ten years before.  I began my tenure in WH hockey with a hard swallow of reality.  Not only was this not going to be the safe confines of the youth hockey world, but it would require more self sacrifice than I ever dreamed of.

High school practices were held on Monday mornings at 5am, which is hard enough to begin with, never mind our having to rush home to get ready for seven hours of school.

As a freshman, I realized that I would have little chance of cracking the varsity team at Whitman-Hanson.  So I settled for playing junior varsity hockey.  My dad told me that it was a stepping stone to bigger and better things, and that I shouldn’t get down on myself.  “Hey, a JV letter as a freshman isn’t bad at all, Frankie,” he said.  “Next year, I can feel it; you’ll have a varsity letter on your jacket.”

My dad would turn out to be right.  I did make the varsity team after investing lots of sweat, blood, battered muscles and sleepless nights.

I’ll never forget the first time I donned the Panthers’ red and black.  It was during Rockland’s annual high school Christmas tournament, and our opponent for the day was none other than the Abington Green Wave.

My dad was up in the stands, and he had no idea what my number was, as I had just been named to the team the day before.   Unlike youth hockey, numbers are assigned at this level, and you don’t have much of a say in it.  I was given #20.  And as we took the ice to a nice round of applause from the W-H fans, my dad craned his neck trying to catch a glimpse of me.  My brother-in-law John looked as well, and then said to my dad, “That’s him!”  Dad asked, “Is that number20?” “Yep!” said John.  Dad told me later that he would never in his life forget seeing me in a varsity uniform for the first time.

The game itself was a lopsided affair, as we routed Abington, 7-3.  As we passed through the handshake line, I was greeted warmly by nearly all of my old Abrock teammates.  Yes, we were opponents again, but we were also friends, fellow competitors, and strongly focused young men.

All of us would have varying degrees of success in hockey during our post-youth careers.  But all of us earned the right to wear our school’s colors, and subsequently earn a varsity letter.  Several of my former teammates went on to play collegiate hockey, or pursued other avenues such as coaching or sports medicine.  But one thing rings true to this day.  A lot if not most of our important lessons in life were taught not in a classroom, but in broken down ice rinks, in locker rooms, and on team buses.  And to tell the truth, even the bad times — in retrospect — weren’t all that bad.  I tried to learn something from everyone I came in contact with, even though I may not have agreed with them or even liked them.  Was it all worth it?  Yes.  And I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.

As a footnote…  Frank moved from Massachusetts to Wisconsin some years ago.  So, as we talked over recent weeks, I came to realize that he wasn’t privy to what had happened to a number of the characters he’s mentioned here.  For sure, a few have passed on, including our mutual friend, Ron Hedin.  Ironically, Bob Silvia still coaches a local high school team, and he also runs a summer pro-am team my grandson plays with when he’s home from college.

Mainly, however, I want to point towards the fact that a guy now in his forties still remembers those who touched his life so many years ago.  And I guess I also feel the need to suggest that many of us are going to be remembered for years to come — in a very positive light, or maybe not so nicely.  That, of course, it seems that’s up to each of us — as a teammate, as an opponent, as a parent, or as a coach.

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Like this story?  Your Comments are REALLY appreciated!

Scenes from the World Floorball Tournament

Although I’ve certainly enjoyed many of the videos I’ve seen on floorball, the camera work often proved distracting, as did the audio tracks (like awful music).

On the other hand, I think the following video shows this great game in all its beauty.  And wait until you see some of the skills demonstrated by the world’s top floorball players.  (Ya, I’d love every young hockey player to learn the skills and the playing principles nurtured in this relatively new sport.)

So, enjoy, and let me know (in the Comments area below) what you think…

– Dennis Chighisola

Scenes from the World Floorball Tournament

2010 FINAL FINLAND-SWEDEN 6-2

I have my good friend, Michael Borg, to thank for sending me the link to this one.  And, besides the beauty of this game, I think the following video shows the excitement of this awesome tournament…

By the way…  Just so members gain a sense of how this old coach views such things, I couldn’t help but make some mental notes as I watched the above game action.  I mean, I am already thinking about some drills I’ll run with floorball-ers.  Better yet, I suspect I’m also going to ultimately show you the way I’ll use those drill ideas with my ice hockey players.

Talking About the Hockey Skating Stride

I’m lucky if I ever get home from a rink! 

Ya, if I ever get talking to someone interesting — like I did last night after my skills session with the Bridgewater Bandits, someone ought to just get us a table, serve us some coffee, and leave us alone!

– Dennis Chighisola

Talking About the Hockey Skating Stride

Well, what happened last night was that I got hooked-up with the dad of a young Pee Wee level player from the earlier skills session.  And, what made our conversation fun was that we’re both Physical Education guys, he currently coaches a high school football team, and we found it more than interesting to discuss ways the teaching of our two sports relate to each other.

Not that all things are the same when it comes to football and hockey…

For example, I was sharing with him the idea that take-offs would be very different when comparing a running sport with skating.

If you can visualize it, a runner gains absolutely nothing by just turning and taking a step laterally.  No, the best way is to start with a cross-over step.

In contrast, many skating analysts recommend that a hockey player begin with a “T-take-off”, or by pushing-off with one foot and gliding with the other.  (Again, visualizing things, I hope you appreciate that a runner can’t glide in such a movement, while the skater gains quite a bit.)

As I said before, however, there ARE many similarities in our sports…

I happened to play (eons ago) for one of Massachusetts’ top high school football coaches.  So, I’m quite familiar with the expression, “Where your eyes go, you go.”  In other words, if a player has his or her head down (a no-no in hockey, anyway), he or she is apt to too easily fall forward — or be pushed downward — during any confrontation.  To my way of thinking, neither does a player have any mobility if his or her head and body weight aren’t up and over the feet.

I think gaining stability and leverage during confrontations are also identical in both football and hockey, and my new friend and I further agreed that small, mincing steps are the best way to mirror the movements of an oncoming offensive player.

My football friend did mention something that still has me thinking, and I’m going to continue pondering this for some time to come.  For, he questions the oft used phrase in hockey that suggests you, “Keep your eyes on your man’s chest.”  Hmmmmm…  What I he believes is that the player’s hip-area might be a better area of focus.  Again, hmmmmmm…  So, as I said, I am going to have to think a little more about that one, and perhaps study a little video before passing judgment.

Okay, now to return to the title of this entry.  For, the initial reason for our later extended conversation was my friend’s concern for his son’s skating stride.  More specifically, his boy tends not to bend his knees, which quite obviously results in rather short forward strides.

From the start, I suggested that I don’t like to talk too much about knee bend when it comes to addressing this with a young player.  No, I’d much rather reason with him or her that the hips — or “the tops of the legs” — have to be lowered in order for a skate to be able to reach/extend far outward.  In other words, standing upright, one can hardly reach outward at all; on the other hand, sitting very low brings the tops of the legs down to a point where the foot/skate can reach very far outward.

I also suggested that a lot of players lack the leg strength to comfortably sit in a good skating posture for very long.  And that brought me to recommending an exercise that my new friend was surely familiar with.  Yes, it’s an old football exercise, that tends to also serve a hockey player quite well.

Shown above is a photo grabbed from a video I posted here long ago for Megan (a young lady hockey player who is a CoachChic.com member).  As you can see, the above player is using “all legs” to support himself.

I suggested that my friend have his son try this at home for something like 10-second bouts (or until there is a slight burn in the thighs), to have him rest a little between bouts, and to have him do a number of these to get the legs used to supporting him for longer (and longer?) periods.

Oh, in closing…  I’m always talking here about the “art” and “science” of coaching.  And having the above shown player dribble a ball while performing his WallSits is my “artful” attempt to distract him from the pain of just sitting (or taking his mind off the obvious burning in his legs).

After High School Hockey Tryouts

For those outside the United States (and for those who aren’t familiar with at least the way tryouts work in Massachusetts and most other New England States)…

High school hockey tryouts could officially get underway here in MA on the first Monday after the US’s Thanksgiving holiday.  In other words, that’s when the interscholastic fall sports seasons should be completed, and when all winter sports are permitted to get underway.

It’s nail-biting time for a lot of players (and their parents), and it’s also a tense time for me.  I mean, I’ve spent the last 6-months trying to ready a group of local high school hockey players for their respective tryouts, and I’m sweating that everything turns out okay for each of my kids.

Of course, most of them (and their parents) followed my suggestions and our practice schedule to the letter, while a few probably did a little of what I recommended and a little of what made them feel good (oh, well).

So many other factors come into play here…  Not every school team is the same — in competition for slots, I mean.  And, for sure, each of my kids left with their own unique strengths and (hopefully diminished) shortcomings.  Then (as happened with one of my kids, who along with his entire family caught a flu bug last weekend), other crazy “stuff” can happen.

Anyway, all that said as an introduction, let me share some thoughts on life “After High School Hockey Tryouts”.

– Dennis Chighisola

After High School Hockey Tryouts

As yet another preface to what I’d like to share…

Just prior to their leaving me, I took some time to give my guys a pretty valuable lecture on how they should undertake their tryouts.  And I’m talking about how they should prepare ahead of time — at home, upon arriving at the rink, and as they ready for the ice.  I also suggested how they should “show” themselves, and especially when it’s most important to show-off.  Not done there, I offered advice on how to finish one workout in preparation for the next.  (Ya, just based on that one, many other players will return in pain on the second day of tryouts, while my guys should have been as fresh as daisies.)

I mentioned in the introduction about my kids all trying-out under totally different situations.  In other words, some will compete at schools where the talent is pretty deep, while some others are vying for spots where little more than a heartbeat is needed to make the varsity squad.  That said, most of my guys know their fate by now (this being 4-days after the initial tryout).  Or, do they?

The reason I say that is because:  1) it’ll be a given that some of my guys make their varsity team, 2) it might be a given that a very young player of mine is assigned to a lower team, 3) a player could get cut from the entire program (but not one of mine should), and then 4) a few kids could find themselves assigned to a lower level (freshman or junior varsity) team on what most likely is a temporary basis.  And it’s both points #2 and #4 I was referring to moments ago when I said, “Or, do they” (really know their fate).

It’s also the latter point I really want to focus on in this CoachChic.com entry.  After all, the guys who “made it” should be okay.  So now it seems appropriate to help those who find themselves on the proverbial cusp.

I think it appropriate to first point-out how I see most hockey talent pools — and this seems to hold true at every level of our game — from Mites right through to the pros…

You see, all the players who report for a given tryout can usually be plotted on a “bell curve”.

In other words, there will be a few stars at one end, a few obvious cuts at the other extreme, some close-to-stars, some close-to-cuts, and then a whole bunch of players in the middle.

When it comes to tryouts, I think this picture makes some placements pretty obvious (as far as “keepers” and “cuts” go), while it also draws attention to the fact that there are usually a ton of players in a so-called “gray area”.

If I’m conducting a tryout, I know the above, and I focus my attention where it’s most needed — on those players in the middle.

As for the kids who find themselves there — in the middle of the pack, they probably ought to know that they could likely be seen as potential third, fourth, fifth or sixth liners in a deep program.  And, depending on how many lines a given program carriers on the top team, a youngster could find himself (or herself) on a lower varsity line or a higher JV line.

And what I’m really getting at in that last paragraph is that — aside from the jubilation or disappointment experienced by an individual player, there might not be a whole lot of difference between his (or her) making one team or the other.

Again, I’m not suggesting a player has to like being assigned to a lower team.  But, at the same time, I am suggesting that a coach might just have to flip a coin when choosing between a bunch of third, fourth, fifth and sixth liners.

A couple of points in reference to a coach’s decisions — or a coach’s choices between a bunch of fairly similar players…

A lot of times the last few players on a roster are selected based on their abilities to fill certain roles.  In other words, given a lot of players to choose from, the coach might look for so-called “character players” (or certain personalities), for more physical players, for penalty-killing types, and so on.  And, in case you haven’t ever noticed, a lot of pro coaches select their fourth liners for these very reasons.

Of course, no player should want his or her fate to be decided on something akin to a coin toss.  And it troubles me something awful that players — or usually their parents — don’t take measures long in advance to fix that.  I mean, they go with the crowd all through youth hockey and during their immediate preparations for those tryouts, and then they can’t understand why they’re ultimately seen as just one of the crowd once the tryouts begin.  Geeeeeeeeze…

Okay, now for some specifics — as in two of my players currently being assigned to their program’s junior varsity teams.  One is an upperclassman who took ill a few days before the tryouts (ugh, I can just imagine how difficult it was for him to cough and wheeze as he tried to show his best), while the other player is a very young one with tons of promise.  So, let me deal with each of these sample cases separately…

For the upperclassman who attempted tryouts with the flu, I’m going to guess that the varsity coach actually liked him, he knows the boy wasn’t able to show his best, so he assigned him to the JVs to earn his way back to varsity.  Why do I guess this?  It’s because coaches of strong programs don’t usually keep older players if they’re not seen as ultimately helping the big team.  In other words, expendable older players are cut, so that younger players can get the extra ice-time and attention.  This in mind, I’ve advised my guy to get well soon, and to then start blowing away the junior varsity level.  He’s a good kid, he’ll do anything a coach asks of him, he’s pretty skilled, he can finish-off around the net, and I believe he’s at least third line material for the strong program he’s in.

As for my younger student, he is absolutely loaded with talent, he’s huge for a freshman (or for any age), yet he handles his body (and his feet and his hands) with all the grace of a smaller guy.  Ya, I think this youngster is going to be something special within a few years.  And, I sense his varsity coach knows this, too.  In fact, I am guessing that the boy’s coach is actually protecting his prized freshman for the time being, looking to slowly ease him onto the varsity roster.  If there’s something funny — or kinda good — about all this, it’s that my young buddy is ticked that he didn’t make the varsity immediately.    Oh, I know he’ll keep a good attitude as he starts with his program’s JVs, and his parents are sure to keep him grounded.  But, as I mentioned to the boy’s mom yesterday, I’d prefer to see him bothered by the seeming slight, rather than not caring.  (Actually, if there’s one thing that might have been lacking in that boy, perhaps it’s a bit of nastiness.  So, the fact that he’s in a bad mood right now might be just what the doctor ordered!)

Okay, so here’s my wrap-up on this topic, or some points I’d like CoachChic.com members to take away from all this…

1) I only had the older of the two described boys for this past season — from June until late-November.  And, while he DID make major changes in his game over that span, I can only imagine how good he’d be if he was able to take a more serious approach a few years earlier.  The freshman I described is really right on-track, and his assignment to a JV team — at least for now — is totally expected.  I’ve had him for about 3-years, and there isn’t a skill, athletic quality or thinking part of his game that isn’t superior to most kids his age.

2) I hope parents of younger players make note of the above paragraph, along with something I said earlier.  For, it doesn’t make sense to start prepping for important tryouts at the very last minute (or even in just the year prior).  And, as I’ve already stated, going with the crowd is NOT going to separate a player from the rest; naw, it’s going to leave him or her smack-dab in a sea of players, and purely trusting his or her fate to luck or whatever.

3) As much as a junior varsity assignment may seem like a real bummer to some players, I think a player’s ultimate outlook is going to depend on how he or she perceives their future chances.  In other words, it’s how he or she sees their (physical and mental) abilities in comparison to those around them.  So, there are going to be a number of kids who know they’re lucky just to be kept on any team.  At the same time, there will be those — including my two young guys — who know they’re varsity caliber, and that it’s only a matter of time before they get the call-up.