Skating for Ice Hockey

This pretty good question arrived about a week ago.  But, like a lot of other ones that require a great deal of thought, I’ve just sat and stared at it for days on end.

Truly, this topic might deserve a tome-sized answer some day down the road.  For now, however, let me deal as best I can with a very insightful guy’s question in this relatively short post.

– Dennis Chighisola

Skating for Ice Hockey

Ron actually included a lot of questions within a larger one, so I think it best for me to at least try to answer each one at a time…

“I’m curious what your opinion is about all the hockey skating instruction on the market today. I’ve watched quite a few of the DVDs and videos on the market…including yours.  You have a very simplified approach to hockey skating and as you said the rules of the game and the dimensions of the rink make hockey skating different from figure and speed skating. A lot of the other hockey skating instructors have different opinions on knee bend, arm swing, how to start, and so on.”

In all honesty, I don’t like bashing other skating instructors.  At the same time, I can’t go without suggesting that most of those who run clinics or sell DVDs and videos have very little training in the sciences surrounding our game.   In some instances, former figure skaters have done okay with a portion of what they teach, but they’re often missing the scientific background, and a knowledge of what I refer to as “the nature of our game” — or the challenges our players really face in the heat of battle.  Of course, some have great marketing talents that get their opinions seen more than the PhDs who really know their stuff, with a lot of their methods getting so much exposure that they’re taken as gospel, whether there is any true basis to their claims or not.  Then, for sure, there are those who climb down off telephone poles or slide out from automotive lube jobs to conduct so-called powerskating clinics at your local rink.  Ugh.  This doesn’t mean that a lot of guys and gals don’t do some good things; but it might mean that they can’t be taken too seriously when a debate arises involving skating mechanics, etc.

Al that said, one just can’t believe the naked eye — beyond a point.  Instead, we have to trust what has been discovered in the lab by very qualified biomechanical (and other) specialists.

But does all this matter if you score tons of goals and win every race to the puck. I mean I watched this one russian’s hockey skating DVD and his theories on skating were much different then the other hockey skating instructors but man he was an awesome skater.

  Oh, boy, does Ron have a good one there!  Actually, I try to make it a very big point in my video about skating analysis, that a beautiful stride doesn’t mean a player can play the game.

If you can appreciate it, the nice stride is about having balance within the body, and thusly expending a lot less energy and covering quite a bit more ice than one who is rather out of sync.  In contrast, an effective hockey player performs his or her duties in short, all-out bursts that are quite often out of balance.  In other words, a player is quite often doing things like tussling along the boards with an opponent, dashing only a matter of a few steps for a loose puck, teetering off balanced and batting in a rebound.

As for that Russian skating instructor, I think I know the guy, and believe he and I have even spoken on hockey matters separate from skating technique.  As Ron says, though, that guy surely can skate.  Does that mean the guy can be a productive player?  Absolutely not.  Would his kind of skills help him be even better if he could play the game?  Absolutely!

So again, skating skills — and especially proper skating mechanics — don’t necessarily mean someone can play the game.

Also, what do you think of the term “power skating” or should that term be phased out.

Once again, …  My very first “clinic” was dubbed “powerskating”, only because several before me had used that term.  We’re talking nearly 40-years ago, now.  It wasn’t too much later, however, that I realized two things:

1) that wasn’t what I did at all — teach only skating, I mean.  No, I mixed in almost an equal amount of puckhandling, and then I started to add the basics of passing, receiving and shooting.  Then, even later, I incorporated a little bit of body-checking into the mix;

2) to use the word “power” in there is to suggest that that quality is more important than any others when it comes to effective hockey skating.

In summary, I believe there are a few things to consider when it comes to skating for hockey…  First and foremost, we should rely on the many scientific studies that have been done on this movement (or trust me to do that for you).  Next, consider how hockey skating differs from other sports, and what it’s really like for a player to deal with all the challenges within our game.  Then, realize that — while skating is extremely important to hockey, it’s far from the only skill or quality that goes into the making of a solid hockey player.  Lastly, while I may have expressed some negative feelings toward some so-called skating experts, I do believe that most of them do a great deal of good.  Where they may overstep their bounds is in trusting too much their own observations over what’s known by true scientists.

The Need for a Hockey Coach to Think on His Skates ;)

Okay, that title wasn’t meant to make me sound like a genius.  (Actually, I had to choose something like that to help this subject reach the search engines.)

Really, though, I wanted to share a couple of thoughts with readers, these having to do with a few things that crossed my mind during a recent 3 on 3 league I work with.

– Dennis Chighisola

The Need for a Hockey Coach to Think on His Skates

The number of young (mainly 5- to 7-year old) skaters who frequent our current 3 on 3 cross-ice program dictates that we have two games going at the same time.  Actually, so does the difference in the various ages and skill levels require us to split the kids.

No matter the number of skaters, though, we seldom have enough young goaltenders to man four nets.  So, we usually resort to filling one or two vacant goaler spots with a few old automobile tires.

Such was the case recently, when the group I was overseeing needed a pair of tires in one net while a goaltender did man the other goal.

Perhaps you can imagine the problem already, with kids having an advantage in shooting on the small tires.  That started happening right from the beginning, with some goals being scored from far, far down the ice.  Oh, what to do?

Trying to think of a way to level the playing field, I noticed that a blue line crossed in front of the somewhat empty net, maybe almost 2′ out.  And, after thinking for a moment, I decided to introduce a new rule to our game…

I stopped action at the next buzzer, and announced to the kids that, “In order for a goal to count, the puck must be carried across that blue line.”  Insert some groaning by a couple of little snipers.    (Just so you know, I always have teams switch ends halfway through each game.  So, the other team would ultimately be faced with a similar challenge.)

Now, our game happens to call for great skills, game playing knowledge, as well as the ability to solve problems.  And as players mature, they’re also challenged to keep various things in their heads as they skate — like the game-time, the score, the latest strategies that their coach wants employed, etc.   So, my impromptu rule was going to help these little guys get a head start on learning to skate and think at the same time.

Oh, trust me, that a number of kids forgot themselves, and they were shocked when I announced, “No goal!”  Little by little, however, they all ultimately got the hang of it.

It wasn’t until the game was winding down that something else struck me…

I’ve mentioned elsewhere in these pages that even elite level players can have so-called “brain freezes”.  And in this regard I’m thinking about the times I’ve seen my high school or college players take icing calls on attempted dump-ins, when just another step or so would have brought them across the red line and made the dump legal.

What I’m getting at is a certain “ice awareness”, or the ability to know where one is on the ice.  Totally by accident, really, I’d instituted a challenge into our 3 on 3 game that forced the kids to not only think, but they had to also be overly aware of where they were and where they had to shoot from in order to have a goal count.

Lastly, if you’ve come to know me at all, you probably know that these little revelations aren’t going to end with that one game.  Naw, I see that one teaching moment being just the first of many I’m going to want to try in future 3 on 3 games.

 

 

Quickening A Big Hockey Player’s Feet

I don’t know where or when it began, but quite a few years ago I started to realize that I can do a lot for bigger guys.

Among the players I believe I influenced quite bit were current and former hockey players, several who ultimately steered towards big-time college lacrosse, and even one humongous guy who got a shot as an NFL lineman.  (Among the lacrosse players, a few of them or their dads actually told me that all the off-ice work I’d done with them was the difference in them making it.)

Little wonder I kinda smile when a parent brings a big, hulking kid to me for some quickening.  And, little wonder I shook my head when Rik C recently wrote me for help with his pretty big son.

– Dennis Chighisola

Quickening A Big Hockey Player’s Feet

Let’s begin with some of Rik’s message to me, received through our Ask The Coach option up at the top of this page:

I’ve got an 18 year old that is 6’4 220. He is playing Tier 3 Jr.’s in the US. He has great hands is a 3/4 point per game player but the area of his game where he needs work is his skating…he is too upright and he doesn’t have explosive ability. Once he gets going he is fast and eats ice…as long as he keeps moving his feet. I’m hearing he should be on the Skate Speed ramp for 10 to 12 ups per session and on slide boards for about 5 reps to complete a session. My question is do you believe this will help? And how long does it take for muscle memory to take over?

Well, can my CoachChic.com friends appreciate why I shook my head and smiled as I scanned Rik’s question?  Oh, I’d like it all the more if the family lived close to me, so I could make an in-person evaluation and even work with Rik’s son.  However, he did an awesome job of describing the boy, and I can just see similarities in past students of mine as I read each part of that description.

With that, let me consider Rik’s real question — at the end…

I found it interesting that he described exact routines for a speed ramp device and for the use of a slideboard.  The problem I see with each of those types of training, however, is that they both tend to help in an area that doesn’t seem to need all that much improvement.  (After all, Rik does say that his son “… is fast and eats ice…” once he gets going.)  Oh, I’m not saying that a player wouldn’t benefit from using either of those contraptions.  Still, to do so right now seems to be wasting time that could be better spent doing some other things.

What I’m really hearing from Rik — and what I’ve discovered in dealing with numerous other big-bodied players — is a need to “get going” quicker.

Just as an aside here, I feel the need to introduce the distinction I make between being “fast” or “quick”…  For, to me, speed — or being fast — is usually measured over a relatively long distance, perhaps like a race down the ice.  On the other hand, I see quickness as being cat-like or agile, and being able to react in the blink of an eye within a few steps in either of four directions.

As yet another aside…  I’ve found it interesting that over many years, most bigger or taller players do tend to skate rather upright.  I haven’t a clue why this is.  I will, though, try to make one suggestion below.

All that said, here’s what I would recommend for Rik’s son, as well as any other bigger players.  Perhaps not so surprising, all of these recommendations are described in some detail within the CoachChic.com site…

1)  Some sport psychologists have already agreed with my belief that there is a mental component to quickness.  In other words, it helps greatly if an athlete first “thinks quickness”.  With that, I like to have a player stand relaxed and with feet spread a bit, and then attempt to move the feet up and down as quickly as possible for about 8-seconds.  The player should hardly bring the feet off the floor or ice.  Sensing how that felt, I’ll ask him or her to see if he or she can do it again and feel the feet moving even faster.  I’ll also often introduce the thought of running on a flaming hot surface (like a hot pavement), whereby it would hurt to leave the foot down very long.  Said another way, I’d almost like to hear the feet tap lightly like a very fast drum roll.

2) Work on an agility ladder is exactly what this kind of player needs.  Not only does it help enhance the above described quick feet, but it also helps quicken changes in direction (and quick take-offs).

3) Over time, rope skipping can be one of the best ways to improve footwork or foot quickness.  (Just envision the way pro boxers ultimately move their feet while skipping.)

4) At 18-years old, Rik’s son should already be doing some plyometrics.  The very idea of this form of training is to enhance explosiveness.

5) I usually resort to WallSits (sitting against a wall for about 20-seconds as if sitting in a chair), as well as some skating in an exaggerated sitting posture.  A slideboard could also help here, if the player concentrates on that aspect of his or her posture.

As I’ve previously stated, there’s nothing wrong with the recommendations others may have made.  If there’s a problem with those, the ramp device and slideboard would probably only help enhance areas Rik’s boy is already fairly good at.  The ideas I’ve provided about should instead help with take-offs, and they should especially help his son to win many of the more consequential battles that take place in our game, these including quick, agile movements.

As for a timeline, I dare not guess.  All I might suggest is that improvement is going to come from the above prescribed methods.  And, I’ll offer, ’tis better later than never.

Hoping that helps, Rik, I also hope you’ll get back to me once you’ve had the chance to drink this all in.

PS:  All the exercises I’ve described above are covered in much greater detail within this website.

 

 

 

Should Facemasks Be Made Mandatory in the NHL?

This one falls in kind of a gray area, mainly because it doesn’t really have anything to do with teaching the game.  However, since it comes from a long-time CoachChic.com friend, I’ve made an exception and included it here.

Also, this isn’t the kind of topic I dwell much on.  So, since my grandson is nearly done his undergrad march towards someday working in a pro hockey front office, I’ve asked his input.

– Dennis Chighisola

Should Facemasks Be Made Mandatory in the NHL?

Good friend, Jerry Z, begins with his question, “Do you think there will ever be a change to wearing mandatory facemasks for players in the NHL?”

Offered as ammunition, Jerry continues, “After seeing Chris Pronger, Dan Paille, Nathan Gerbe and countless others go down with severe facial injuries, I think the game has gotten too fast and too dangerous.”

Jerry continues, “When you talk about the NFL, no one even questions the need for facemasks. With hockey, you have a much faster game, with the additional great risks of the composite sticks, quicker booming shots, ricocheting pucks, big bodies zooming in an enclosed area, and flashing skates. It seems like a new era, kind of like when goalies switched to wearing masks with the advent of the curved stick.”

Thoughts from Tony Chic

No flies on my young buddy, he begins by saying, “No they (the NHL) never will change.”  Anthony does, however, sense that, “… they could mandate shields.”

As he explains, “It’s just how the game is.  People know that it is a risk and are willing to take it.  It also polices the game, because when looking at it, when people don’t wear facemasks, they need to be more responsible for their sticks.  So they end up playing the game with less reckless abandonment.  That’s why junior players when transitioning to the NHL have less problems than college players.  The college players have a tendency to stick people by mistake.”

Thoughts from Dennis Chighisola

Now you might know why I dared call in my young buddy, Tony C. 

For sure, I think he’s right on all that stuff — especially the part about the absence of facial protection somewhat helping to police the flailing of sticks all over the place.  (Want to see some false bravado and a bit of madness, just catch a game where everyone is clad as if their grandmothers dressed them.)

I have yet another thought, though…  For, to make a rule change such as Jerry proposes, I’m guessing that both the NHL Office and the players’ union would have to back it.

It took a very long time for helmets to be mandated.  And a big part of the resistance to that was the thought that fans would somewhat lose their connection with the individual players.  I mean, there was nothing like seeing a speedy Guy Lafleur streaking down the wing with his blond mane blowing in the wind.  Helmets now at least partially block us fans from seeing what a player really looks like, but just imagine what covering his face might do.  Oh, I know there’s the football analogy, Jerry, but I still sense an awful lot of NHL execs want the fans to see what a Crosby or Ovechkin really looks like.

As for the players, I suspect they want a choice.  For sure, more and more players who grow up wearing a mask will want to continue doing so.  (Anthony’s mention of the college kids brings this to mind.  However, during his college off-seasons playing in a summer pro/am league, Tony C chooses to ditch his mask, probably in order to be accepted by his pro teammates and opponents.)

I’ve heard it said that some young pros want to wear the mask, but they’re a bit reluctant.  So they’ll wait to get one facial ding, and then they’ll use that as an excuse to keep wearing protection after the injury goes away.

I know of some pros who see the mask as dangerous in its own right, just because it creates some blind spots.

I’m also wondering if there are some players who see their earning power connected to the point I made earlier — in that fans will know them better if they’re easier seen.

Lastly, I will have to go along with Anthony Chighisola in his belief that half-shields might someday be mandated.  A great many stars are now wearing them, and it seems we can see their faces quite well.

*

Oh, boy…  My guess is that this subject might bring a host of varying opinions.
So, we invited others to let ‘er rip in the Comments box below.

Fair Ice-time in Youth Hockey

This post is actually a follow-up to an article entitled, “3 Principles Atom Minor Hockey Coaches Should Follow“, and its in direct response to a question asked under that piece.  (I highly recommend that every member read that, and even send it to your favorite coach or organization head.)

For, Phil writes to me about his past experiences in coaching the game, and then he raises something based on his recent observations.  For sure, his question is a tricky one, and it’s caused me to take several days to really think about how to answer.

So, with that, here’s my best attempt (please accept my apologies in advance for jumping around a bit with all sorts of random thoughts on the subject)…

– Dennis Chighisola

Fair Ice-time in Youth Hockey

Phil prefaced things in his Comment, noting that he’d had some success in Canadian youth hockey circles, and that he and others “… have always attempted to roll three lines the best that we could.”

Noting the touchiest of things when it comes to this issue, he adds, “Obviously there are dissatisfied parents when it comes to ice time.”  (Oooooooooh, ya!)

Then, coming to the point, Phil ends with, “This year the coaches are using their top players a lot more than the rest of the team, with certain kids getting only one shift in a period.  My question is, at what age does it become about winning at all costs and development of still young players?”

Ugh.

Now, I’m betting that most readers are going to be surprised that I actually have mixed emotions about this.

On the one hand, I believe that fair ice-time is pretty much a must through at least the Squirt/Atom years.  And if I had my druthers, that would continue right on through Bantams and maybe even Midgets.  So, some random thoughts…

Of course, parents will argue that everyone is paying the same tuition, so ice-time should be distributed in equal fashion.

I also firmly believe that a commitment to equal ice-time — as in Phil’s concept of rolling three lines — forces a coach to be a better teacher — to all of his or her players.  In other words, the coach is going to want to ensure that there are few weak links in those three units, which usually causes him or her to work extra hard to raise the skill levels of the lesser players.

Very much connected to the above concept is the idea of distributing the talent evenly over three lines.  For, in so doing, a coach is less likely to favor one unit over another.  (I do this all the time, and rarely care which line or defense pairing is going over the boards next.)

On the other side of the ledger is a coach’s attempt to win some games.  Ya, I don’t care who the coach happens to be; there is always the inner sense that folks will think you’re a jerk because you can’t help your kids get some W’s.  And, yet more random thoughts…

I think it’s important here to suggest that every organization has it’s own aims, and these might be tapered to its different age and competitive levels.  I know this can also vary within different countries or within different hockey regions, too.  (Some of the Canadian programs I coached against through the years were super-competitive, while most of the “town programs” I see in US-based youth hockey tend to put fun and learning far ahead of anything else.)

On the latter, however…  I don’t care what some (or most) organizational mission statements say, coaches can oftentimes feel as though they’re being judged on how successful their teams are.  So, given the possibility of either winning or losing a given game, just venture a guess as to what’s going to motivate most of their line-up decisions.

Personally, I feel the organization I currently work a lot with wants me to develop players.  At the same time, I know that there’s a great deal of league-wide competitiveness (like, between organizations, and even between owners).  Moreover, because organizations actually compete for players during each off-season, it just makes sense that highly motivated players (or their parents) are likely to seek certain coaches, levels or organizations with winning traditions.

Next, I’m going to introduce something that I doubt many folks have ever considered.  For, from all the observations I’ve made over about 40-years on my side of a clipboard, I’m going to suggest that a lot of youth hockey rosters are too large for the levels they’re expected to compete at.  In other words, an organization deems that a roster should include so many skaters and so many goalies, solely based on an imaginary ideal roster size, or the number of players needed to finance a given team.  And, I’ll suggest, this is where the trouble starts.  I mean, a team might be able to  find 12-skaters who can compete at a given level, but program guidelines dictate that another 3-skaters be added.  And, it’s usually those few less-than-up-to-par kids a coach fears putting out when a game is on the line.  Make sense?

Yet a few random thoughts having to do with the way this old coach tends to deal with fair ice-time, regardless of the players’ ages or competitive levels…

There ARE times when I feel the need to get a point across.

I’ll bet you’ve all seen the little guy (or gal) who acts like they’ve been shot whenever they’re involved in a collision.  You know what I mean:  they stay down on the ice (sometimes with a smile on their faces?), maybe waiting to have everyone cheer when they’re finally deemed okay.  Anyway, a young one only has to pull that once or twice with me before I do him a huge favor.  Ya, I’ll tell him I’m really worried about him, and that I think it best that he sit for awhile.  It can seem like a lifetime to a little guy, but I don’t usually let the sitting last long.  What I will often wait for, however, is for that youngster to squirm a bit, and tell me a few times that he’s really okay.  Again, I feel I’ve done him a favor for the long-run.

As a preface to the next one (and maybe even the previous one?), this short story…  A farmer decides to call in an animal psychologist to work with his very stubborn mule.  Upon arriving and grabbing the mule by his reins, the doc proceeds to drill the mule right between the eyes with a heavy hunk of wood.  The farmer is aghast as the mule buckles and drops to the ground.  With that, the psychologist explains, “First, I have to get his attention!” 

With older kids, it takes something quite different for me to resort to a benching.  One example might be if a young guy has a history of taking selfish penalties, and then pulls the same thing again.  A lot like the noted psychologist, I’ll occasionally feel the need to get that player’s attention.  So I’ll likely growl, and tell the player to take a spot far down the bench, adding that, “I’ll give you a call when your teammates feel the need to kill another stupid penalty!”  Still, much like I do with younger kids, I’ll ultimately let an older guy off the hook.  If there’s a difference in the way I handle the two extremes, I must admit that I’ll ask the older kid for a guarantee that we understand each other well before I’ll let him back on the ice.

Only at the older levels — maybe from strong Pee Wees on up, I’ll have a powerplay unit to use in man advantage situations.  This acts as a bit of an incentive, not always using the best players, but perhaps those who show most often for practices, or those who demonstrate an ability to follow simple directions.

Then, like Phil, I like to keep rolling all my units through most of a game.  Still, there are a couple of times when I might ever so briefly get away from that…  In a close contest, for example, I might gather my best players to go over the boards for the last minute or so of a period, and/or late in a game.  Again, all of my players will usually get tons of ice-time, but I reserve the right to play those I deem most trustworthy for just a few extra minutes or so.  I’ll also often use this as an incentive, employing a number of kids who have to that point played above and beyond.

Oh, and I guess I ought to close by saying that I perceive myself as a teacher first.  That posture makes a lot of what I suggest above more do-able for me than what a so-called “door opener” might accomplish.  I’m also a long-range planner, and that’s why I’ll use certain “benchings” to gradually bring all of my players onto the same page.

Lastly, that thing Phil mentioned about parents is real enough.  Hey, they DO pay the freight, and they DO deserve every consideration within reason.  And that’s why I’ll suggest that communication is a key to dealing with the ice-time issue.  I don’t think I’ve ever had a complaint about owning the last few minutes of a period or a game; most parents probably see how fair I am the rest of the time.  In some instances, parents are annoyed by the same things that bother a coach (like Little Johnny writhing in fake pain after a fall), and I’ve found them to be tickled pink when I whisper to them that I have a way to solve a problem.  As often, of course, parents aren’t as aware of a player’s shortcomings, or what he or she might need to do to contribute more to the team.  So again, communication is the key.

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Okay, a topic like this is bound to stir some controversy.  It surely is a tricky one.
So, fire away (only figuratively).  Oh, and if you really disagree with me,
just remember that my little buddy Raggs sniffs all my incoming mail!