A Goalie’s Water Bottle

Not too long ago, a faithful CoachChic.com member and I were having a conversation about his son’s seemingly running out of gas late in his hockey games.  After awhile, I came to understand that his son is a young goaltender, and his games were being played in almost non-stop action (like lots of current day 3 on 3 or small games are).

Exploring further, I wondered if the youngster was getting enough fluids.  I mean, my thinking was that the skaters would be able to replenish their fluids as they took frequent trips to the bench, but what about our friend’s goalie son?

As it turned out, not only did the youngster not have water nearby, but his dad wasn’t aware of the water bottle arrangements most older netminders usually use.  Hmmmmm…

– Dennis Chighisola

A Goalie’s Water Bottle

Oh, one thing I failed to mention up above is that our CoachChic.com friend is from the United Kingdom.  Not that it should necessarily make a difference here.  However, I’m sure it’s possible that some trends take time to travel the globe.  And, it was certainly possible that other goalers in that family’s home rink weren’t affixing bottles to their nets, or my friend maybe wasn’t noticing some of those who did.

Anyway, I’m not the type to let any details go unexplained, no matter how small.  So, calling upon both YouTube.com and another great CoachChic.com friend, I share the following with all our goaltender members (and the team coaches who work with them).

Actually, while the TV cameras gave us a pretty good glimpse of that goaltender’s water bottle, it probably didn’t show the arrangement as it really should be.  No, quite obviously the outer foam part is (rightly) affixed to the net, while the bottle itself should be stored inside that foam outer liner.  My guess is that the goalie had left the bottle loose on top of the net.

Okay, and the following photos are courtesy of Mike Mahony (his son Matt is a topnotch teen goalie in California)…

To the left you see Matt’s water bottle as it sits alone, and to the right is shown the bottle affixed to the top of Matt’s net.

Then, as I talked to various older goaltenders and the parents of goaltenders, I came to understand that bottles are now made specifically for those unique positional players.  I wasn’t able to find any on-line to show you, although I think the ones depicted in both the video and the photos provide a couple of good examples.

Finally, when goalies first started tying their bottles to nets, they’d wrap a skate lace around the bottle, secure that with several wraps of hockey tape, and then tie the lacing to the net’s webbing.

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez

Well, if you guessed I’m busy at researching again, you’d be right about that.

Anyway, take a look at what I found for you (it’s really good stuff)…

– Dennis Chighisola

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez

Let’s “Think” Goaltending!

I’ve been doing a little research lately for a special program I’m reading to advertise.  That kind of stuff often brings your favorite “Nutty Professor” to some areas other coaches just wouldn’t ever consider exploring.

Actually, I wasn’t looking for goaltending ideas as I surfed the Net today.  However, when I ran across the following video, well…

— Dennis Chighisola

Let’s “Think” Goaltending!

Now, you ought to know that our resident goalie coach, Todd Jacobson, is off with his Notre Dame Academy ladies’ hockey team for a few months.  So, while he’s away, I thought we might start a little interaction among members.

In other words, what I’d like us all to do (including myself) is to watch this video once or twice, and then see how we feel this kind of training might benefit a hockey goaltender.   So, take a look, and I’ll comment more right after…

Now, if you felt that some of the shown training would be helpful, but some of it wouldn’t, I’d totally agree with you.  (More on that later.)  And, if you feel some of the above could be adapted to help quicken a goaler’s feet as well as his hands, I’d similarly agree.

Okay…  All that said, how about if we use the Comments section to make any suggestions — in the ways we might be able to borrow from this form of training for a netminder’s sake.

Ready…  Set…  Let’s think (like a Nutty Professor)!

Hockey’s Last Man Back

I have my good Facebook friend Frankie S to thank for pointing me towards the following video.  (Hey, I can’t do all the research by myself!  )

As you’ll soon see, it contains a pretty good example of an important hockey principle (or the violation of such), as well as another suggestion for high level play.

– Dennis Chighisola

Hockey’s Last Man Back

Okay, before I get into any sort of discussion on this topic, I think it best for you to first watch the video.  It’s short…

Now, as I so often do when analyzing a pro level game-tape, I need to say that every player you can spot in that video is among the tops in the world –  I mean, the absolute cream of the crop.

That said, everything is relative within a given playing level — as Mites match with other Mites, Pee Wees with other Pee Wees, and worldclass players vie with other wordclass players.

I needed to say the latter, you see, because the mistakes made by the mistake made by that poor defenseman probably wouldn’t have even been noticed had the checker (and ultimate goal-scorer) been of lesser skill and guile.

Okay, so the main principle that may have been violated here, plus another to at least be considered…

1) If you can picture it, a forward far up-ice with the puck has the luxury of taking some risks.  Hey, we have to figure that he has four skating mates and a goaltender capable of covering-up for him should he lose the puck.

Not so for the defenseman in that video.  He is the last guy back for the offensive team, and one of the most important principles in hockey states that he must protect the puck and move it to a teammate up-ice as soon as possible.

Again, I’ll ask you to picture something — that the D’s skate-lace came undone, he tripped on a rut in the ice, or the puck just took a crazy bounce off his stick…  I don’t care if someone opened a door to the arena and a strong gust blew him off his feet.  The problem is, the last guy back should not be handling the puck for very long, or especially if an opponent is closing-in or within striking distance.

2)  I wouldn’t necessarily say that this next one is a well accepted tenet in hockey, but I know it is a choice among a lot of high leveler coaches…

What I’m getting at is that a lot of coaches would prefer that their deep guys — like the defensemen on breakouts — not send passes from their backhands.  If you think about it, almost every skater’s forehand is more accurate or more trustworthy than the backhand.  And, of course, if ever there are critical passes made during a high level game, they’re ones that take place deep in one’s own end.

Let me temper this part of the discussion a little, however…  I have not asked my players to do this — even through high school and college.  I noticed that most of my college guys used mostly their forehands, anyway.  Down through the lower levels, though — from Mites through my high school kids, I figured (and still do see it this way) that their overall skill development was far more important.  In other words, better that they be able to originate their passes equally well off either side of their sticks, instead of taking shortcuts.

Hopefully members got my main point, though:  that the last guy back had better be VERY protective of that puck, and move it up-ice — safely — as soon as possible.

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Have anything to add to this discussion — or any other thoughts?  My main aim here isn’t to dictate, but to instead encourage every CoachChic.com member to think the game better.

Hockey and Plyometrics – 1, 2 & 3

As a late note, I apologize for moving this collection of material from the “Free to Non-members” section to only make it available for my members.  However, having just recently added some REALLY high level information (as Part 3), I thought that only fair.  Sorry.

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As I’m so often saying (or writing), our sport is filled with all sorts of terms that aren’t well explained.  Plyometrics is probably one of those terms.  (Actually, I saw samples of this form of exercise in the old Soviet Union long before most coaches in North America knew about it.)

Anyway, while I (and a good friend) will be showing you one great plyometric exercise, this post is really aimed at just explaining the meaning and benefits of this awesome form of training.

– Dennis Chighisola

Hockey and Plyometrics – Part 1

Special thanks to Maryse Senécal
from Myo-precision for her
awesome video and demonstration
of just one form of plyometrics training.
(Please see below for much more
about Maryse and Myo-precision.)

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To get the ball rolling, I did a quick Google search for the term “plyometrics”, and here are two of the best (least confusing) ones I found:

Plyometrics is a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the functions of the nervous system, generally for the purpose of improving performance in sports. …
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plyometrics

Plyometric – refers to those activities that enable a muscle to reach maximal force in the shortest possible of time. A practical definition of plyometric exercise is a quick, powerful movement using a prestretch, or countermovement, that involves the stretch shortening cycle (SSC).
www.gk22.com/resources/glossary.html

Hmmmmm…  Did I say those were the least confusing I could find? 

Okay, I always get a little nervous as I try to explain such things to average moms and dads, hockey coaches and older players, because I know at the same time there might be another Phys Ed type reading this, or even a doctor or two.  So, in advance, I’m going to state that the following is my attempt at explaining plyometrics without too much Latin or anatomy class terminology included.

To make that point a little more, this very old story from my college days…  Ya, I had just finished taking an anatomy quiz and I began joking with my professor, in that, “I’m going to have to forget all this stuff as soon as I get out of here!”  He sorta squinted, not understanding my meaning, so I further explained that part about my working with regular folks, adding that, “I’m not about to snow my customers or try to impress them with all those fancy terms…  My job is to help them.”

That said, here’s my VERY basic explanation and some ideas when it comes to plyometrics…

Some forms of this exercise are pretty stressful.  And, while I’ll provide a few suggestions for parents and coaches of younger players later, I want to begin with the types of plyometrics that are most often used with more mature athletes.

Based on the exercise my good friend Maryse is going to eventually show you, let’s consider strengthening the chest muscles in a hockey player (as well as the other muscle groups that work the arms, shoulders and chest).  Actually, a bench press is a great exercise for increasing strength in the chest area, and it’s the kind of exercise that can gradually be challenged with more and more resistance (or more weights) as the athlete gains strength.

Machines or free weights (like dumbbells or barbells) are most often used for bench presses, with increased muscle size, strength and stamina usually resulting.  Ya, muscle size, strength and stamina…

Which leads me to the big “but” you’re likely expecting.

Well, a bench press might be almost like the way a hockey player uses his or her hands, arms and chest during a game — but, not exactly.  Naw, the most common movement that comes to mind is when two players are about to collide, and one or both have to suddenly push-off against the other.  It’s kind of an “explosive” movement, which is one term frequently associated with plyometrics, or (borrowing from both earlier definitions) it’s “a quick, powerful movement”.  In effect, it’s a quicker recruitment of all those muscles we’ve previously developed in a somewhat slower form of exercise.

All that said, picture a typical bench press movement.  Or, envision a push-up, which is similar to a bench press, just not loaded with extra weights.  Then, take a look at a variation on those exercises as demonstrated by Maryse…

As you should have recognized, the plyo push-up is very similar to a bench press, except that it’s necessary for the athlete to recruit muscles faster — into an explosive movement — in order to blast-off into the air.  Yup, much like a hockey player has to do in a game, huh?

Now, I mentioned earlier that I approach different age groups differently when it comes to plyometrics, and this is so.  And, I believe most medical types would agree with the following…

Plyometrics for Older Players I save the really stressful types of plyos for players in their mid-teens and older.  I’d like to know that their bodies are fairly well developed, and that they’ve had time to build the muscle mass that plyometrics are meant to call into play.  Twice per week is the most I’ll have my older guys do such exercises, although it’s believed by some that even once per week might be enough.  (If I’m going to have my players work-out more than once per week, the second session would not include very stressful exercises.)

Plyometrics for Younger Players Although some might frown upon younger kids doing so-called plyometrics, let me remind them that young people have forever skipped and hopped.  And, skipping and hopping ARE milder forms of plyometrics.  So, while I’d never let my younger kids do any of the stressful stuff, I encourage them to skip rope and otherwise bound around in schoolyard games type fashion.  (I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed it or not, but the most athletic youngsters always seem to be awesome at skipping and jumping.)

Okay, I wanted to end this entry with yet another fairly good description of plyos:

Plyometrics are drills or exercises aimed at linking sheer strength and scope of movement to produce an explosive reaction type movement
www.taylorhooton.org/Glossary-of-Terms

So, having set-out in the beginning to roughly explain the meaning and benefits of plyometrics, I’d say that either of those three definitions ought to give my CoachChic.com friends a fairly good understanding.

Finally, I can’t thank Maryse Senécal enough for helping us (you and me) with her expertise and that awesome sample video.  Search Maryse’s name here on this site to find other great contributions she’s made for members.  Then, if you’d like to see a little more of her work, she welcomes you to visit her site: Myo-precision

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How lucky can a guy be?  I mean, shortly after I published the above article and video, our friend Maryse offered to add a little of what she’s discovered when it comes to using plyometrics with different areas of the population.

So, with that, let’s turn-over Part 2 to Maryse!

– Dennis Chighisola

PS:  Maryse apologizes often for the fact that French is her native language, and that (at least she thinks) she struggles sometimes with English.  Ha, I should do so well. 

Catch Maryse on Twitter ********** Catch Maryse on Facebook

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Hockey and Plyometrics – Part 2

Dennis, you’ve done a great job describing plyometric training.  In fact a simpler way of putting it for the layman is just a (jump) move with a specific goal.

The technique is used first and foremost to train in explosive power, which we know athletes use every moment of their game.  Often, it’s what can make or break athletic performance.

I’d like to take this opportunity and expand on technique and tactics.

Children are plyo geniuses; they do it every day in play.  If we took a moment and analyzed 5 year olds, we would see that they do this naturally, without thought, without training — just pure abandon of movement in velocity.

We naturally love these feelings.  When shaping young players, as in children under the age of 12, plyometric training can be fun and easy to do. The tactic we must remember to use in this case is not one of power but of endurance.   For example, I would never use a box jump at that age.  Instead, I use fast foot hops, looking for absorption, accuracy and stability on the landing.  Their joints and surrounding soft tissue are not yet steady enough to withstand high jumps in an endurance environment.  The growth plates in the bones are not yet fused enough to withstand the load long term.

As we see them grow into adolescents, this is when we can start using plyos to teach them to recruit power in their sport.  But again, we have to be careful of injury.

We must now address the issue of strength training.  At that age, strength training can be as easy as using their own body weight if they are not yet ready for true strength training in the weight room.   For example, if I wanted to introduce them to box jumps at that age, I would start by using squats — unweighted, as a stepping stone.  Isometric holds (as in holding that squat position for 30-60 seconds), into 4 squats, into hold again, combining both moves to help build the leg, the hip, the hammies and the glutes.  And yes, it’s a burn.

As we progress that load, I would start introducing the box.  Teaching first and foremost the landing skills.  And again, in this environment, I would increase the duration of the jump drill, and I would begin combining squats and jumps in a drill.  Playing is fun, and kids even at adolescent age love to play.

Older adolescents start taking this all more seriously.  This is an important part of athleticism.  My guys train in the gym, they push weights and they feel powerful in that moment — until plyometric drills come into play.  They are often discouraged by the lack of endurance. This is how I explain it to them:

1) to be able to sustain a plyo drill on the leg, we must be able to squat 1.6 times our body weight.
2) to be able to sustain a plyo drill on the upper body as the one that we demoed above, we must be able to press 1.2 times our body weight.

This is not an easy feat!  In order to recruit pure power from the body, strength MUST be developed.  These are my tactics:

Phase 1 – pure moves in strength (the usual stuff we see every day in the gym)
Phase 2 – strength in movement (combination strength moves, i.e. lunge and press)
Phase 3 – intro to plyo drills
Phase 4 – pure moves in strength, immediately followed by a plyo drill (weighted squat for 12 reps right into box jumps for 12 reps)
Phase 5 – increase plyo drill difficulty and duration
Phase 6 – weighted plyo drills

For my athletes, following this system has helped them stay on task as the progression is continuous and fun.   I try to keep things light yet serious, and I try to keep things fresh by introducing new and exciting moves to try.

Muscle memory is at the very foundation of their training, yet it can become tedious and boring.   I try to keep it all fresh by changing up the way in which they do the pure move, I try to put it in different environments in the gym.  And, as for plyo drills, the crazier the better!

Thank you for the opportunity to speak on what I love to do!

Maryse

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Hockey and Plyometrics – Part 3

It just so happened that I was doing a little research today for a new program I’m about to announce (it’s my Hockey BootCamp), and I ran across the following video.  In it, one of the US’s top authorities on this subject gives a description of plyometrics that might fill-in the gaps for many members.  I hope you also enjoy the history of plyos as provided by Dr. Michael Yessis…

By the way…  Although I wouldn’t visit the old Soviet Union until about 20-years after plyometrics were initiated, it would be about another 20-years after I returned home for that term to even be heard by the average coach or athlete.

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Now, since we have here yet another enthusiastic guest instructor, I don’t think Maryse would mind a bit answering your questions, or trying to clarify a sometime confusing subject.  So, why not take advantage of her generosity, and fire a few questions to her via the Comment box?

Off-ice Hockey Shooting Practice

The following was inspired by a Twitter friend and CoachChic.com member.

He wants to provide a shooting and puckhandling area in his garage for his young son, and he initiated the conversation by asking about those (rather expensive?) commercially made “plastic ice” pads.

– Dennis Chighisola

Off-ice Hockey Shooting Practice

For those who have come to know me, you probably already appreciate my thinking in this area.  In a nutshell, I feel that “improving your game is all in the doing”.  In other words, it’s not the fancy gadget that makes you better, but the actually practice (even if it’s with some homemade device, whatever).

So, I immediately suggested something to my friend that probably wouldn’t cost him $20, and he could probably have it in place for his boy within an hour or so (instead of waiting for a purchased product to arrive via shipment)…

Your local Home Depot (or other building supply store) carries 4′ by 8′ sheets of all sorts.  Most of these are made for paneling walls or other large, flat surfaces.  And, of course, while some have roughened surfaces, some are as smooth as ice.

If you might experience a problem with using this sort of surface for shooting, it might be that the whole rectangle will slide if a lot of pressure is applied across the surface.  In other words, a slapshot might make the board move some, as might a hard wristshot, whereby the shooter really leans on his or her stick.

In answer to this problem, I’ve usually glued a layer of thin foam to the bottom of the panel (although just placing small squares of foam under the middle and ends of the panel often does the trick).  The main idea is to create somewhat of a non-slip surface under the board to grip against a paved surfaced.

Going back to my original premise, just picture my friend’s young lad firing and firing and firing there inside his garage.  Depending on the number of pucks he has available, it’s likely he could get in hundreds of shots in a very short time.  And, while those shots add-up, they also add-up to some awesome power and refinement of his movements.

Oh, and here’s another tip…  I have large mirrors around The MOTION Lab, these so my students can see themselves during a given exercise, and thereby perfect the movements involved.

If you can picture it, a player could be dribbling a puck or ball on the above described panel, and he could practice keeping the eyes up by seeing how long he can watch himself in the nearby mirror.

When it’s come to working on the slapshot in the Lab, my guys don’t even use pucks.  Rather, they face a large mirror, keep their eyes up, and just fire and fire, gradually trying to perfect their movements in that mirror.

Now, the type of mirror I (and the local gyms) use are very expensive.  However, I’ve used inexpensive (normal breakable) ones at home for my son and grandson.  These have never been situated in the path of a puck, but just off to the side.

So, are you — or the young player in your charge — shooting a couple of hundred pucks each day?  It’s possible, you know, and really inexpensive.  Hey, it doesn’t require much in the way of cost, since “it’s all in the doing”!