Goalie Off-ice Training (from an unlikely source)!

Well, those who haven’t yet gotten with the social media craze ought to think again, since I met a number of our top guest writers through either Twitter, Facebook, or Google+.  Such was the case with this article’s author, the personable and very bright Cynthia King.

Actually, this article kicks off a special series Cynthia has in store for us…  Each month, henceforth, she’ll provide a new exercise specific to goaltender training.

With that, the following acts as an introduction to Ms King, along with a basic philosophy that should carry over to those future monthly articles.

– Dennis Chighisola

Goalie Off-ice Training (from an unlikely source)!

By Cynthia King

As I was gathering my thoughts to write this article, my first concern was, “Who is going to listen to goalie off-ice training advice from me?”.  There are a few reasons why I asked myself this question.  The first is that I am from Mississippi originally and had never seen hockey until 2004.  I reside in the Atlanta area now, and a family friend is the majority owner of our local ECHL team.  He introduced my sons and myself to the game, courtesy of the Gwinnett Gladiators (www.gwinnettgladiators.com).  The second reason is that I am a 45 year old Southern mom.  The third reason is that I am just a personal trainer.

However, when you combine all 3 of my concerns, you get 3 very important pieces to a puzzle that is still being assembled.

Shortly after seeing our first hockey game, my youngest son gave up being a baseball catcher and became a hockey goalie. Simply having said son explains concern number 2.  Concern 3 was eased a bit as I train, and have for years at a fantastic fitness center, Body Plex of Newnan, GA and I spent 2010 training with one of TV’s current Biggest Loser trainers.  Concerns 2 and 3 led me to an amazing opportunity which gets me here.

In July of 2011, I was offered a chance to help with off-ice training at Pro Tek Goaltending Camp in Montreal, Canada (www.protekgoaltending.com).  My son was participating in the camp.  My mind was in overdrive trying to figure out how in the world was I going to prove myself around the professionals that I was about to join.  Yet from day 1 of camp, I knew I was just given a gift and realized that THIS is just what I wanted to do.

My first order of business was getting 70 French speaking goalies to say “Bonjour y’all”.  They complied and that became our greeting everyday.  After that, I knew that talking to these goalies and asking them questions was my best way of understanding exactly what their specific training issues are.  As a trainer, I already had an idea of what needed to be strengthened and stretched.  Watching them on the ice and discussing their specific, or lack of, training methods, allowed me to tweak some of what they already do and introduce them to new goalie specific workouts.  I particularly enjoyed working with players at the Junior level.  They were eager to learn and apply the new techniques to their training program.

An obvious point of concern for goalies is the lower back and core.  I was rather shocked to learn that so many do not realize the importance of good core strength.  With so much emphasis placed on legs, goalies may not understand the role of stabilizing muscles in their often sudden, quick bursts of play.  I use medicine balls, BOSU balls, bands, and ropes to help improve balance and engage the core.  If your core routine only consists of sit ups, then you are severely limiting the power and stability that is afforded with solid core strength.  Conditioning the lower back is IMPERATIVE  to a goalies overall performance and injury reduction.  I incorporate all of the equipment listed above when targeting the lower back.

I like to work on different stretching movements for inner thigh.  As you know, groin injuries are prominent with goalies.  They can be reduced or heal faster if inner thigh regions are properly stretched and strengthened.  I like to use certain cable exercises that can help target some of the harder to reach muscle groups that are so easily injured.  There are several variations of lunges that I also prefer to help engage inner thigh muscles.  Each muscle group must be utilized during a session to give a goalie his best defense at warding off the dreaded groin injury.

As I continue to learn this sport, I am in awe of the athleticism that is required.  Even as I watch the youngest on the ice, I appreciate the fact that I could never be even a mediocre hockey player.  To achieve professional level astounds me.  I congratulate you all who have.  As a trainer,  I truly enjoy learning and improving  hockey specific training…especially goalie specific.  I really love talking to coaches and players and understanding their needs.  I must say that I do smile when I, of all people, can show a coach or a player a new move and they realize the value of that move.  I always enjoy exchanging ideas and thoughts with those coaches and players and working together on ways to improve their longevity in this sometimes brutal sport.  Learning from those who actually play, helps me as a trainer to gain more insight into their off-ice needs.

It is my hope that you understand the importance of core conditioning.  A strong core is vital to your performance as a goalie.  Even though I’m just a hockey mom from Mississippi and at first glance, an unlikely source, I am always happy to help any way that I can.  Until then, Bonjour Y’all!

Cynthia King – NFPT Certified Personal Trainer/NFPT Certified Advanced Weight Training Specialist

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Out of the Mouths of Babes

In most instances, we use that expression — “out of the mouths of babes”– in reference to young kids saying the darnedest things.  In this case, however, the enclosed video was sent me by an adult lady friend I’ve met through Facebook.  Much like we’d envision young kids, however, my friend is purely a casual hockey fan, but, as you’ll discover, a pretty insightful one.

With that, she’s going to help me reinforce a couple of principles I’ve stated over and over again within these pages.

– Dennis Chighisola

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Our Facebook dialogue began with my friend asking me if I’d seen the penaltyshot goal scored by a member of her favorite team, the Montreal Canadiens.  No, I hadn’t caught Lars Eller’s sensational move, but CoachChic.com members have to know that I’m always dying to see any kind of new and exciting offensive play.

Once you watch this video, we’re going to discuss it on two levels — one from a quick philosophical perspective, and the other from a fairly close look at what really went into Eller’s play working.  (Oh, as my lady friend said, “Look at this shot… amazing !!!!”)

Okay, so here’s where that “out of the mouths of babes” thing comes into play.  For, my friend followed the sending of that video with the observation that, “…that is exactly what the HABS need… there’s not enough of twist like that with the hockey stick.”  Ya, her terminology isn’t quite the same as we’d use to describe the move — or the difference in Eller’s approach to many other players.  But, at the same time, I think you’re sensing exactly what she was trying to say.

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.

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.

 

 

 

Transitioning from In-line Hockey to Ice Hockey

I say it often enough, that I love my work in hockey, especially because of the great people it allows me to meet.  Then, since the day I set foot (or fingers) onto Twitter, I’ve said pretty much the same thing:  that I’ve met some remarkable people through social media.

Carole Lockwood Taylor, of Tyler, Texas, is such a find for me, a really nice lady I happened to meet through Facebook.   More interesting, though, is the way Carole and I really got to know one another.  More fascinating still, is her connection with our game, ice hockey.

– Dennis Chighisola

Transitioning from In-line Hockey to Ice Hockey

Over a week or so, I’d noticed that a lady named Carole had “Liked” my different Facebook posts, and she’d even made some brief comments on a few rather general observations or comments I’d made.  What really got my attention, however, was the day she added her feelings on a video I’d posted, this highlighting my summertime Mite & Squirt (primarily off-ice) Hockey School.  I mean, after evidently watching it, Carole said about my video message, “THIS IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE !!!”

Huh?  Why in the world would a young lady from Texas be telling me so absolutely that the principles I’d noted in the video — about how in-line skating can help hockey players — were true?

You have to know that I wrote right back to Carole and asked if she was involved in hockey, or if she was a hockey mom.  And she quickly responded, “Being a former Inline Speed Skating Coach, I can tell you THIS IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE !!!”

We went back and forth from there, and I at some point let her know that I kinda pioneered the use of in-lines for ice hockey players here in my home area, and that I’d seen the miracles those efforts had produced.

The real shocker came in a later message from Carole, however…

My son won many awards, even at Nationals, speed skating on inline skates…  Then some coach called me and asked if Jeff could play on an inline hockey team…  he could out skate anyone, keep his head up, and all he had to learn was the finesse  of stick handling.  WHICH HE DID.   In the driveway, in the house, in the street…  he slept with the stick and puck.  He would play 4 age divisions at Inline Hockey tournaments…  12u,14u,16u,18u adult, when he was 12 years old.  That continued until he was 18 and now coaches atoms, mites, bantams, and the Pro Inline team he is on.  He tried out for and made an Elite AAA Ice Team from Houston when he was 13, having only been on the ice for the first time about 4 hours prior. I would drive him to practice in Houston from Tyler (4 hours one way)…

Carole went on to say that the extreme costs and some personal matters ultimately ended those long trips.  However, she finished with an update on her son, Jeff, in that “… he lives in Houston doing what he loves!!!

Now, I know there’s a danger that some readers will scan that first paragraph and miss what truly took place.  Oh, for sure, Carole’s son was obviously unique in his desires to do well in hockey, and he was also pretty lucky to have a mom like her.  At the same time, the things he accomplished would seem pretty unrealistic to anyone who doesn’t believe that in-line training can — and surely does — transfer to the ice.

Then, while Carole ultimately thanked me… “for pioneering the way for inline skaters transitioning to ice,” I think my CoachChic.com friends might find it even more interesting how I actually lucked into the earliest stages of in-line training.

Actually, my son was given the first pair of in-line skates I’d ever seen — I think by a college coach or a local pro scout.  They were an Erect-a-set (if that’s how it was spelled) kind of contraption, with an ugly frame, nuts, bolts and wheels that had to be riveted onto the bottom of hockey boots.  Genius that I was(n’t), I never paid much attention to those skates, except to think that they might be useful for conditioning during the summer months.

Next, a young lady named Nancilee entered the picture…  In fact, she’s become famous in many of my writings, mainly because she was the inspiration for my invention, the Skater’s Rhythm-bar.

Telling the short version of the story here, a 21-year old Nancilee called my office to see if I would give her private lessons and take her from an absolute beginner to making a local ladies’ hockey team a few months down the road.  Hmmmmm…

Hardly looking forward to our first meeting, Nancilee in advance had told me that she’d never been on the ice before.  (Ugh!)  Yet, she left the doorway onto the ice that first day and promptly twirled a quick loop around the rink surface.  Whaaaat?  ???

Scratching my head, I called her in, and Nancilee almost ran over me.    Explaining it all — including her ability to stride — as well as her inability to stop, she simply giggled, “I in-line a lot!”

Yup, that was my REAL indoctrination to in-line skating.  And, man, did my mind race from that day forward…  I mean, I’d seen for myself that someone could train exclusively off the ice and at least fairly well be able to skate on the ice.  So, what if a combination of wheels and blades could be used to better train my hockey students?  Hmmmmm…

By now, most long-time members know about my studies back in the old USSR.  That’s where I learned about the true value of off-ice training.  But that’s also where I discovered that the old Soviets HAD to train away from the ice because of their drastic shortage of indoor rinks.  The more I thought about that, though, the more I realized that most North American amateurs have nearly the same problem.  Ya, it’s hard to make headway as a youth player in our game if we’re not able to practice regularly.  For sure, off-ice training — or dryland — can help immensely with that.  But, then, how about being able to actually skate without the need for costly or hard-to-get ice-time?

Well, sadly, the so-called in-line craze ultimately subsided in many parts of North America.  However, it’s my understanding that roller hockey is alive and well in many southern and western areas of the US.  In fact, a number of recent NHL Draft choices over the past few years have grown-up in California, and they’re on record as having spent a great deal of time in their formative years on wheels.

So, I’m not saying that in-line training is dead, by any means.  I know if I wanted to hold a roller practice with my ice hockey players this weekend, I could be pretty sure they all have a set of in-lines at home.  And one of the reasons I hold that little guys and gals hockey school each summer is for all the reasons Carole and I have mentioned to this point.  In the case of those little ones — and their young parents, however, I want to be sure I’m starting them off right, and making sure they appreciate the benefits of in-line training, and how much that actually does transfer to their on-ice game.

*

PS:  Over the last 2-ish years, I’ve become similarly fascinated by another cross-over sport called floorball.  No, that game doesn’t involve skating, so it’s not going to totally make slideboards, wheels and ice blades obsolete.  However, floorball does promise to help develop a number of other important hockey qualities.  So, who knows…  Maybe I’ll someday soon pioneer yet another great way to train without the need for costly ice-time.

*

PPS:  For those wondering about my occasional mention of the Skater’s Rhythm-bar, I’d like you to know that I’ve been working for months on how to get you all the information you’ll need to make your own.  It’s not an easy process for me, so please be patient.   “Like” this page if you want to be alerted when it’s ready:  Perfecting the Forward Skating Stride

Helping A New “Hockey” Mom

We can thank Natalie C for the following question, submitted via our Ask The Coach box up above.

And a good question it is, since it’s one that arises throughout the winter as I deal with my own Learn-to-skate/Learn-to-play clinics.

– Dennis Chighisola

Helping A New “Hockey” Mom

Just so you know, I placed the term Hockey in quotation marks because this is probably more about learning to skate — and a lot of other things — than about really playing the game. With that, let’s deal with Natalie’s question in small parts, with hers being indented as follows:

I need some advice about my 4 year old son.  At 3 we started skating lessons for him.  He really didn’t get much out of these, except learning how to get up from falling.

If there’s anything I can get bummed about, it’s that a mistake may be made before I can really do anything about it.  And in this regard, I’d like everyone to know that the two levels of my program run back-to-back, and I control the movement of each student from level to level.  It might surprise readers that I have only a few physical requirements when it comes to moving a youngster up to my Learn-to-play group.  On the other hand, I make absolutely sure that a little one is mentally up to the new challenges before a promotion is in order.  As a matter of fact, I may even let a borderline kid stay in the Learn-to-skate group for a few more weeks after I think he or she is ready to move, but let him or her stay for a few minutes into the next group as a way of testing things and letting him or her get their feet wet.  Not so surprisingly, perhaps, I’ve had better luck with kids I’ve held back a few extra weeks than with those I’ve moved up too hastily.

He is 4 1/2 now and he started Ice Mites.  Looking at all the kids he is probably below average.  He doesn’t need a chair, but he barely moves!  He just won’t even try!  After 30min. of the lesson he moves his way to the door and wants to be done.  He’s been told how to hold his stick many times but won’t hold it the right way for more than a couple seconds.

I think Natalie’s comments here pretty much support what I hinted at above.  For sure, the little guy seems as though he could have used another season (or part-season) back in the basic skating clinic. She also brings into this discussion the age issue, which is something that really should be highlighted here.  So, with that, I’m pasting in a piece from the FAQ section of my Learn-to website…

- About player ages… A lot of new parents wonder about the proper ages for these programs, to which Coach Chic usually responds, “There probably really aren’t any.”  In most instances it has a lot more to do with a youngster’s personality.  In other words, a daring 2 1/2-year old might do better than a 9-year old who won’t let go of the boards.  So again, it usually has a lot more to do with whether a child will come out onto the ice — and just give things a try, versus there being a set age limit.

That piece was actually written for parents who were considering entering their very young one into the clinic.  However, the concept — of focusing more on personality than age — is very appropriate to the discussion at hand.  And this should at least help Natalie appreciate why a lot of 4-year olds in her son’s clinic approach the lessons very differently. It’s quite likely that Natalie’s little guy is less mature than some of the others in his hockey group, but I’m not saying that as a bad thing at all.  (It’s conceivable that some of his more aggressive on-ice friends will have issues later in a classroom environment.)

When they bring the nets out he wants to be the goalie. I think it’s just a way for him to stand and not try.  He says he likes it, but it sure doesn’t seem that way.

This could very well be a good thing.  I mean, it seems like the tyke is “into it”, at least somewhat; it’s just that he’s a bit overwhelmed by the hockey group right now.

So, as a parent, how do I handle this??  I’ve been told he’s just too young, but there are plenty of 4 yr olds zipping around out there.  Maybe he’s just not ready?

There’s not a lot more to be said in this area right now.  However, I may have more positive suggestions to make in awhile.

Fine, but he should learn to honor a commitment.  I am just getting way too stressed and frustrated about this.  I know that’s not right.

  Oh, I am not at all teasing about Natalie’s pain, or the fact that she’s getting stressed over all this.  Actually, I was a 20-something and 30-something hockey parent a kzillion years ago, and I was a jerk.

I do think it nice that Natalie wants her son to ultimately learn to honor a commitment — emphasis on “ultimately”.  At 4-years old, it’s not really his commitment yet.  However, I will suggest that she keep that philosophy in mind for a few years down the road, and I’ll further suggest that coaches like me will love her and her son for that type of sentiment.

I feel like it will be more fun for him once he really starts to skate well, but that’s not going to happen if he doesn’t try.

Okay, now for some positive advice… That thing about Natalie’s son being too quickly rushed out of the skating clinic and into the hockey one is water over the dam.  It’s done, we have to somewhat forget about it, but we sure do have to make some amends.

Only Natalie would know whether withdrawing the boy from his current clinic would be right.  I am thinking NOT.  And that brings me to the suggestion to blend in some supplemental opportunities for the youngster to play catch-up.  Here are a few things that come to mind:

1) Another go-round in a learn-to-skate clinic wouldn’t hurt.  Actually, it’s possible — at a year older — the boy would do quite well with that kind of instruction, he’d probably blow through some of the progressions, and likely gain some needed confidence.

2) My own boy got to play some minor league pro hockey, and I think back to the things we did as a family that just may have helped him as much as all the formal instruction he received.  In that regard, I’m talking about some time on nearby ponds, and the times we’d go as a family to a local rink for public skating sessions.  In both instances, there was no pressure, and the chance to kinda free-wheel-it.  Best of all were the public skating sessions when my son and some other 5- or 6-year old buddies would chase each other in and out of the crowd.  If you folks get my drift here, I’m talking about fun, no pressures, and the chance to actually gain confidence.

3) Every week before my Learn-to-skate kids go onto the ice, we spend about 10-minutes in the lockerroom doing what I call SkateDrills.  I’ve made a science out of that kind of training with my oldest students and players, but with the little ones this short session is a chance to rehearse some of the things we’ll later do on the ice.  And, make no mistake about it:  learning to get up and down, march, jog and jump with the skates on has absolutely nothing to do with ice.  No, it’s about handling the body, and handling the body over a pair of thin stilts.  That said, I’m suggesting that Natalie find a place at home where her son could wear his skates for something like 10-minutes per day, and perhaps she could allow him or encourage him to try some of the tricks I just mentioned.

Are there kids who acted this way when his age and turned out to be great hockey players?  Please tell me what to do?  I’m desperate for some advice on how to handle this.

Thanks Name     Natalie C

A big right back at ya, Natalie, plus some good news… I make it a big deal over on my Learn-to website about the fact that my son’s son was a “snow eater” during his first winter in my program (at about 4-years old).  Truthfully, I didn’t care if he became a hockey player, but I did want him to learn to skate, to swim, etc.  Truth also be known, we had to sometimes bribe him with doughnuts to keep him on the ice.  In a sec, I’m going to direct Natalie and others to see a clip of how well my grandson ultimately developed.

In the meantime, here’s one last, super-important point… Perhaps the one term I’ve used here more than any other is “confidence”.  Honest to God, one can’t do anything well without it, and it’s my main underlying aim as I work with every one of my students or players — no matter their age.  And I’m suggesting that Natalie do the very same for her little guy.  In most instances, holding a youngster back until he’s mastered a given skill is the best way to instill confidence.  For, with that, the youngster increasingly dares to take on new challenges.

Okay, thanks again for that awesome question, Natalie!  Take heart; there’s plenty of hope for your son if you just go slowly with him for a time.  Then, look for the first video on my Learn-to Home Page, to see a slightly older boy feeling pretty good about himself.

Goalers as Part of a Team System

I’ve said it numerous times here before, in that I’m in no way a goaltending specialist.  No, I have to leave that kind of stuff to guys like Todd Jacobson.

At the same time, I’m kind of a “movement specialist”, and I’ve also coached hockey teams for about 40-years.

So, it’s in the latter capacity that I feel the need to share the following.

– Dennis Chighisola

Goalers as Part of a Team System

In the modern day game of hockey, coaches often refer to team play as “Six on the attack, six in defense of our net!”

In other words, all six players — from our goaltender to defensemen to forwards — have to be involved in moving the puck down-ice, and all six players have to band together to defend our goal.

In most instances, that expression is probably used to motivate skaters — for example, to let our forwards know how important they are to coming back and helping the D and their goalie in their own zone.  At the same time, I don’t think it’s used often enough to remind our netminders of just how important they are in numerous aspects of their team’s playing system.

“Six on the attack!”

For sure, today’s game is FAR different from its earliest days when goalers stayed at home and mostly worried about minding their net.  For a good decade or more, advanced netminders have roamed far from the safety of their crease to gather in loose pucks, and to even engage further in their team’s offense.

Really strong skating goalies can act almost like third defensemen on a penalty kill, and I’ve seen many a young youth hockey goalers become good enough with the puck to fire long, breakaway passes to teammates up-ice.

Even if a young goaltender isn’t confident enough to roam far or fire long passes, he or she should be adept at helping the team on breakouts.   What I’m getting at here is that retreating defensemen have lots to worry about as they attempt to pick-up a dumped-in puck.

With enemy forecheckers fast coming, the D can be helped by the goaler communicating things like, “Plenty of time!  Plenty of time!” or “On you!  On you!  On you!”

As importantly, a retreating defenseman can be helped immensely if he or she doesn’t have to dig the puck off the boards or net, or deal with accumulated snow.  So, as shown in my video on “(Teaching and Troubleshooting) Basic Breakouts“, I ask my goalies to “tee-up” the puck about a stick’s length off a post and just a hair behind the goal line.  This not only makes the puck easy for a D to grab, but it also allows him or her to take an exit route of choice.  (Again, this is covered in greater depth in my video on breakouts.)

Then, before leaving this section, I’d like to suggest that there can be more ways a goaler can help his or her team, especially when it comes to communicating with nearby teammates.

“Six in defense of our net!”

It goes without saying, that a goaltender is hugely responsible for defending the net.  What’s not often considered at the lower levels of our game is the goalie’s need to be incorporated into the numerous parts of a team’s defensive game.

Now, I don’t want to turn this particular entry into an X’s and O’s session.  However, as an example, I work frequently on combining my goaltenders and defensemen in the defense of a 2 against 1 attack.   My team’s aim, in the end, is to achieve two 1 on 1′s, with my netminder handling the shooter, and the D taking away the open man.

And there are, quite obviously, other areas of our defensive game where the coordination of goalers and skaters can help quite a lot, this probably depending on a given team’s age and experience level.

In closing, I feel the need to suggest that all the above really needs to become “a mentality” or “mindset” for a goaltender.  In other words, he or she has to look beyond just his or her own netminding responsibilities, and see himself or herself as a part of the team — both offensively and defensively.  And, I’ll further suggest that, the earlier this takes place, the better.

Adding Game-like Pressure to Hockey Drills

As happens often between my two teams, I found it easier to shoot the below video in one of my AA Mite practices.  However, as I’ll explain later, the demonstrated drill can easily be adapted for my AAA Bantams and older players.

As for the drill, I tend to teach basics first, but then I look to make the next progressions of the same drill closer and closer to the real game action.  In other words, I feel we coaches have to prepare our players well for the challenges they really face out there in the heat of battle.

With that, let’s use the following simple drill as an example.

– Dennis Chighisola

Adding Game-like Pressure to Hockey Drills

At one time or another, I think all of us coaches send our skaters on goal for mock breakaways, or we hold a shoot-out competition for fun at the end of a practice.  That’s okay, I guess, considering that players need some time to practice their moves, while our goaltenders also need the chance to practice defending in those situations.

Is the typical breakaway drill like a real game, though?  I tend to think not.  The attackers usually take all sorts of liberties, they move to the net too slowly, and I could probably think of a handful of other things that are wrong with that kind of drilling.  And, hey, it’s also rather unfair to our goalers if the skaters can get away with things they can’t do in a game.

In reality, attackers don’t have much time when it comes to working around the net.  As I’ve said often within these pages, they don’t usually get the chance to stand prettily to make their play.

No, real game conditions force players to deal with all sorts of pressure when they have the puck.  And, when it comes to breakaways, they’re likely worrying about defenders breathing down their necks, or even someone almost mauling them as they try to make a play on-goal.

With that, take a look at what my assistant coaches and I are doing with our AA Mite skaters during some recent practices (apologies for the few flickers in the video)…

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Now, I’m thinking that this form of drilling is going to pay-off big time later in our season (and I think we coaches will be able to even increase the pressure as time goes along).   This video was taken on only our second attempts at the drill, so my little guys haven’t totally solved the problems yet.  They will, however, and that’s when they’re going to know how to go to the net with some toughness and some purpose.  (To be honest, I can’t see our opponents progressing if they’re not practicing under similar conditions.)

Okay, I said at the start that this drill is good for just about all levels.  Well, I’ve found it to be so, having used it previously with my high school teams and my college players.  Here’s how things had to be adjusted, however…

In the above video, it’s obvious that we coaches can act as the chasers (and, ya, I take my turn in there, too).  Just as obviously, though, there comes a time when the coaches can’t keep up with the attackers.  No problem.

What I’ve done with my older guys is to have teammates act as chasers.

If there’s a problem with that, some ground rules have to be set, or a pretty good explanation has to precede the drilling.  And in this regard, I’ll usually say something like, “Listen, you don’t want to hurt a teammate.  At the same time, you want to help him get better.  So, aggravate him as much as you can, but use your head.”

Lastly, let me emphasize something I mentioned earlier, in that some drills allow our players to cheat.  And, it’s often our drill selection that causes players to be lazy or not really concentrate.  That in mind, I’m only using the shown drill as an example of how a very basic drill can be made far more game related.

 

 

Using an Agility Ladder for Hockey Quickness

I’m sure CoachChic.com members now believe deeply in the benefits of off-ice training, as well as the great positive transfer of skills that can take place from dryland to the ice.

In preface to this entry, I’d like you to watch (or review) the video on Sprint Training for Hockey Skating Speed, because it provides some great background, and because there is an overlap in the drills I incorporate in both sprint training and agility ladder work.

With that, there isn’t much need for me to say more in type — the two videos that follow will explain everything.

– Dennis Chighisola

Using an Agility Ladder for Hockey Quickness

 

Video 1 — Introduction…

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Video 2 — Ladder Training – Coach Chic Style

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From there, there’s nothing to it but to do it!

Vapor Strobe Training

I’m creating this entry for a lot of reasons…

First, I didn’t find the following information; actually, a good friend who knows my unique interests sent me the initial link, which led me to many more interesting pages on this subject.

Secondly, the device demonstrated in this post — and the scientific thinking behind it — is pretty typical of the stuff I like to get into.  Do I tend to run ahead of the curve?  Ya, I think so.

Lastly, although I like to make sure all the basic hockey concepts are covered within these pages, I have an equal need to keep you on the cutting edge.

With that, get a load of the device and theory shown below.

– Dennis Chighisola

Vapor Strobe Training

Let’s begin with a video that ought to really get you thinking…

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What do you think?  Is Nike onto something here?  You bet!  Just common sense says it’ll work to enhance a number of athletic qualities — for goaltenders and for skaters.

If you’re interested in buying your own strobe glasses, they’re easy to locate through a Google search.  I think the ones I found for sale were about $280.   (For the time being — at that price, they’re on my wish list — LOL!)

Urging members to purchase these is not my point here, however.  What I do want to do is expand your thinking, or open your mind to what’s out there.

I also want to suggest to you that the competition will soon be using these and other pretty sophisticated gear and training methods to jump ahead of you, your child or your team.  That’s the way it’s best over recent years — everyone seeking just the slightest edge.

With that, I’ll leave you with a couple of videos I located over at YouTube.com, these showing the strobe glasses in use…

Jump Rope Training For Hockey

You may think I’ve said this too often, but I firmly believe that social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and Google+ have connected me with some of the best and brightest in the world.  That’s where I discovered most of the special guest writers here within CoachChic.com, and Facebook is where Dom Browne and I recently met.

As you’ll soon discover, Dom is a very bright young guy, and I can’t thank him enough for agreeing to share his study on the benefits of jump rope workouts for “hockey” players.

Okay, why did I use those quotation marks up above?  It’s because Dom’s study was done with and for in-line hockey players.  However, if you trust this old coach, you’ll appreciate that most skating techniques are identical, be they on wheels or blades.

So, enjoy, CoachChic.com members, and let’s thank Dom once again for his really high level contribution.

– Dennis Chighisola

Jump Rope Training For Hockey

By Dom Browne

I often get asked by hockey players I coach the best way to improve their speed. When I ask them what exercises they do I get the same response; “squats, lunges and deadlifts”, all of which are very good exercises and are fundamental for building strength in the legs. However, when I suggest jump rope training, I get the same reply; “Skipping?” I will explain the reason for my answer, using the study carried out for my dissertation as reference.

There are several different facets involved in skating and many skills are needed for each different movement. The forward start, crossover start, forward skate, crossover, pivot, backward start, backward skate, backward crossover, two foot parallel stop, one foot stop, backward stop and t-stop are the main skills involved in skating during a inline hockey game. During a game, players incorporate each of these to move around the rink and to gain a positional advantage over an opponent. With all these different movements being demonstrated in a game, it is necessary for the players to be agile… the pace of the game is also relatively high compared with other team sports such as soccer, rugby and field hockey, so players need to be fast and have extremely good acceleration, especially at higher levels.

Speed, agility and power are important components of sport performance. Acceleration and speed could be considered the power components of skating, they are consistently predicted by off-ice power tests such as vertical jump and the 40 yard dash. Although jumping, running and skating are biomechanically different, it is the power component of each movement that is very similar. Power is the amount of work done in a given time, the players skate very fast for short periods of time, giving a high power output. Hockey also involves significant balance or stability challenges because of the small surface area in contact with a reasonably low friction surface. An individual may be capable of sprinting at 27 or more miles per hour, but lack the explosive power to accelerate rapidly or to change direction rapidly.

Research investigating the effects of plyometrics on speed in ice hockey players is somewhat limited. Rimmer and Sleivert (2000) conducted an eight-week study to determine the effects of a sprint-specific plyometrics program on sprint performance. Results showed that the plyometric group significantly reduced both their 10m and 40m sprint times. Polhemius and Osina (1980) investigated the effects of weighted plyometric exercises had on conventional sprint training practices in university level track athletes. Pre and post measures of 40 metre sprint times revealed that those who performed plyometric exercises, three times per week for six weeks in addition to their conventional training programs, decreased their 40m sprint times. In both studies, plyometric training was assumed to have resulted in an improved acceleration phase due to a specificity training response, where ground contact times decreased and force production rates increase. It is reasonable to suggest that as ground contact times and stride force production rates are also critical components in skating at top speed, plyometric training may provide similar benefits to skaters as for sprinters. If players are able to decrease contact time with the ice while improving stride force production, the result is likely to be increased skating speed and, therefore, improvement on overall performance.

Plyometrics is very similar to rope jump training in terms of the type of load imposed upon the body. The main objective of the jump rope exercises is to convert elastic energy generated by both the force of gravity and body mass during eccentric or lengthening muscle contraction into an opposite force during the concentric or shortening contraction. A lengthening or eccentric contraction followed by a concentric contraction utilizes the elastic energy stored in that muscle during the stretching phase. When released this elastic energy can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency of the muscle contraction resulting in greater power output (Koutedakis, 1989). Muscle spindles located within the muscles react to sudden stretch by sending signals to the spinal cord, resulting in muscular contraction to resist the sudden stretch.

Buddy Lee is the official jump rope conditioning consultant to 25 U.S. Olympic teams and has published books explaining and discussing the use of jump rope training in sports. The U.S. Figure skating association made Lee’s jump rope training their number one off-ice conditioning technique for all levels of skaters. Lee (2003) states that rope jumping can be used to increase the aerobic capacity of an athlete when used for 10 minutes or longer, but the greatest benefits of jump rope training can be achieved when used to enhance the anaerobic energy system. This is done by using the training in short explosive cycles of 30 seconds, improving speed, agility, quickness and explosiveness, all of which are important in sports that require explosiveness and quick acceleration.

In 2007 I carried out research into the affect of jump rope training on inline hockey players of varying ages. The four timed tests carried out were the same as those used by Bracko (2001); agility cornering S-turn, 6.10m acceleration, 47.85m speed and 15.20m full speed. The control group undertook a simple 6-week training programme involving simple weight lifting based exercises focusing on the major muscle groups used in skating (quadriceps, leg adductors, hamstrings and rectus abdominus) along with some other basic muscular strength exercises. The experimental group also carried out this weekly schedule, but also a 30-40 minute jump rope training programme was carried out four times per week.

Figure 1. Skating tests: (a) agility cornering S turn, (b) 6.10m acceleration,
(c) 47.85m speed, (d) 15.20m full speed. Adapted from Bracko (2001).

Jump rope training at it’s best

At the end of the 6-week training programme, the experimental group showed marked improvements in their times for all four tested variables. The jump rope training improved agility by 2.95%, acceleration by 13.23%, speed by 3.17% and full speed by 11.85%. All of the improvements were significant. This indicates that jump rope training has a positive effect on speed and agility in roller hockey players.

An example of the jump rope training plan that can be used in my study can be found at the bottom of this page:  Jump Rope Training for Hockey

See other works by Dom Browne:  YGH Clinics

 

The Goaler’s Dance

I have been saving this video for the longest time.

In my estimation, it’s revolutionary.

With that, there really isn’t much for me to say in print form, because the history to this unique type of drilling is spelled out in the video — how I arrived at the idea, how Todd Jacobson finally took the proverbial bull by the horns, and so forth.  There are even several versions of this goalie’s exercise routine included, as well as an in-line application.

– Dennis Chighisola

The Goaler’s Dance

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As always, Todd and I really appreciate your questions and feedback!

Predicting Hockey Stardom

My Twitter friend Joe C (who goes by @Emptynet62) sent me a link this morning to a video that highlights something we’ve all probably seen countless times.

I took the link Joe provided, sat back and watched, then found my mind racing with lots of random thoughts.  Perhaps, though, you should watch the same video before I get into all that.

– Dennis Chighisola

Predicting Hockey Stardom

To begin, my feeling is that the cute little guy featured in that piece is awesome.  And I mean that in many ways — from his poise on camera to the way he seemingly handles himself on the ice.

I also want to reaffirm something you should have caught me saying over and over within these pages, in that a certain “mentality” is required in order for a player to be a dangerous offensive threat.  The move he made in that video more than hints at this little guy having that kind of mindset.  But so are there a number of other cues I gathered from his brief interview.

The dad also hinted at this in his mention of a backyard rink.  Ya, that’s the kind of atmosphere where creativity is fostered.  You know what I mean — where a kid can just fiddle and fiddle and fiddle with a puck.

All those established, I now feel the need to switch about 180-degrees in order to deal with that “Predicting Hockey Stardom” issue.  Ya, predicting…

Well, would you believe that NHL clubs aren’t thrilled with having to make decisions on teenage players?  That only came about after Wayne Gretzky’s representatives began legal wranglings when he was a teen, these basically suggesting the NHL was depriving the soon to be Great One from making a living by not considering younger players than they had been drafting.  My point:  National Hockey League teams would much rather make their decisions based on far more data, and the amount of data increases greatly with each year they get to see and evaluate a player.  Said yet another way, practically anyone could better judge a player’s pro readiness at age 20 or 21, rather than at 18-years of age.

I’ve mixed plenty with NHL scouts through the years.  And, while most I’ve met have been pretty savvy guys, I know that they know their evaluations are not part of an exact science.  Anything but, since there are as many player intangibles to be guessed at as there are seeming obvious physical qualities.

And that brings me back to 9-year old Oliver, who isn’t 21, 20, or even 18-years of age.  Just how many things can change for that young man in the next 9-years or so?  Ha, trying to list them here just might blow this site’s server.

Just on the physical side, injury or illness could shortcut his progression, and so could his fortunes change depending on whether he matures to be 5′ 3″ or 6′ 5″.  So could the speed of his movements ultimately help or hamper the boy’s worthiness to play pro.

As for those so-called intangibles, let me at least mention a few…  Probably Number One on that list would be Oliver’s eventual coachability.  And I think a very close second will be his willingness to work (listen to my short audio, “A Lot Of Things Change As A Player Gets Older“, for more on this).  And, slightly related to the previous point, I’ll suggest that kids often do change their priorities as they get older — think cars, girls, jobs.

A given class of future recruits changes from year to year also.  In other words, while someone may have had young Oliver at the top of their list last year, a kid named Walter from Alaska might claim that spot now, and a young Russian boy named Igor could grab it the next.

Summing up this part — while that has to seem like a lot of negatives, I’ll suggest that that isn’t my intent.  All I’ve attempted to do is be a little realistic.  And I’m trying to just point out the near futility in trying to project talent too many years in advance.

That out of the way, though, let me suggest that Oliver has several things working in his favor.

As I mentioned earlier, he seems to have the right mentality.  And this, in turn, tends to bring many successes, which should only encourage him to work all the more (in other words, it snowballs — from a want to work to successes to a want to work more, etc).

Oliver’s dad — if he’s not overbearing, also seems a huge asset.  Of course, some might think his college playing experiences may help, while I’m not so sure about that.  However, I suspect the dad’s development within the Swedish hockey system may help him be a little bit more creative in comparison to a lot of North American hockey dads.

Then, of course, there’s that backyard rink.  Ya, I love that idea, and I count it as a biggie in Oliver’s favor.

 

Rope Skipping Benefits for Hockey Players

This might be a topic I don’t need to address with most members.  Still, I don’t like to ever leave any important point unsaid.

Make no mistake:  rope skipping is beneficial to just about every athlete, and it can help a hockey player in a number of extra ways.

– Dennis Chighisola

Rope Skipping Benefits for Hockey Players

I think it best that I show you a very short video before we get into a discussion on the benefits of rope skipping, this to act as sort of a frame of reference…

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You ought to know that my AAA Bantams arrived at that same rink parking lot right after my young Mites left.  And, although I may have presented and run the drills just a tad differently, my older guys did the same rope skipping sequences.

So, basically, both groups began with their individual skipping in place, I had all the kids jog across the parking lot — forward and backwards — as they skipped, they next tried jumping a long rope swung by two teammates, and they ultimately even tried holding their sticks in a hockey posture as they jumped.

Okay, so about that video, and the benefits of rope skipping…

I hope you recognized that those little guys are still growing into their bodies, and they’re only gradually gaining real coordination.  So, I’d like you to appreciate how much the simple act of rope skipping is forcing them to really handle their entire bodies.   If we think about it, just twirling the individual rope calls into play an athlete’s fingers, hands, wrists and arms.  And, once the rope gets moving, he or she has to coordinate the rest of the body with a jump.

One can’t jump at just any old time, so timing is an important part of this exercise.  Actually, timing will be crucial in their game as my kids mature.  If you can picture it, clumsier skaters tend to miss-time a lot of things, while the better skilled ones do almost everything at precisely the right moment.

Of course, there will ultimately be some other benefits to skipping rope, including a little bit of strength and a lot of endurance (the type of conditioning to be determined by the intensity and duration of each bout).

Now, I could have just as easily shown you some clips of my older guys skipping.  However, I believe extremes make better examples.  I mean, the above video shows a group of very young human beings as they struggle with a new physical problem.  And watching them tends to exaggerate each of the challenges they face — as in coordination, timing, etc.

With that, I’d like you to appreciate that there is a learning curve to everything, including athleticism.  So is there a learning curve to hockey specific skills — like skating, puckhandling, passing, receiving, shooting, and all the rest.  And, make no mistake about it:  the better athlete has the chance to be the better hockey player.

Man, I can’t emphasize that point enough.  Much has been written within this website about the so-called “failed experiment”, whereby, during a period in North American hockey history, overall athleticism was neglected in favor of sport-specific training.  That period produced less creative players, players who couldn’t handle their bodies well in 1 on 1 match-ups, and players who were more prone to injury.  (My personal opinion is that that period also opened the door for far more athletic European players to make their marks in the game.)

Of course, I’m a hockey coach, and I’m not about to abandon hockey-specific training.  It’s just that the ideal is to begin with an “athlete”, and then build from there.

Over the years, I’ve also found numerous ways to combine rope skipping with hockey training.  Or, said another way, I like to keep building on my players’ basic rope skipping abilities with all the more difficult challenges.

The latter in mind, consider that we hockey types play on blades that are rounded on the bottom, and a great deal of our mobility on the ice is based on our ability to handle our body-weight over those rounded blades.  Just jumping while in skates enhances our balance, while skipping rope calls into play all the previously described challenges and ultimate benefits.  What also happens with the rope skipping version of jumping is that a player’s landings are almost all unpredictable.  There’s a lot going on as the body twists and deals with the rope in mid-air, so that the landings can be on one foot or the other, or on absolutely every part of a skate’s blade.  Or, as I can joke at time, “It’s a new thrill every time a player lands!” 

There is also much said within this site about a hockey player needing to deal with lots of other problems as he or she handles the puck.  And that’s why I ultimately took long rope jumping to a new level.  I mean, as partners twirl the long rope, my more advanced players must dribble a ball (off-ice) or a puck (on-ice).  Imagine the challenge:  timing the jumps with the dribbles, keeping the stick from tangling in the rope, and then also dealing with all the odd ways one can land.  Ya, I’d call that a challenge, and I’d also suggest it very nearly matches the kinds of challenges a player faces in real game action.

In closing, a few months ago, I gave members of both my teams homework assignments (with the parents of my younger kids asked to help their little ones).  I wanted them to get a head start on skipping (among other things), just so we could have the feeling-out stage out of the way before we met as teams.  Of course, human nature being what it is, some kids did, some didn’t, and it was obvious the other night.  No matter, I think patience is one of THE most important virtues a coach can have.  Anyway, the important thing is that my kids are on their way.  Now all I want is for them to just keep growing — in overall athleticism, and then in hockey-specific skills.

Balance in Hockey’s Forward Skating Stride

As you may know, I resurrected my Skater’s Rhythm-bar after having kept it slightly hidden for a few years.  (In other words, I’ve only been using it lately behind closed doors and with special students.)

Two things made me pull those R-bars out of mothballs, however:

1) a former student and long-time pro player reminded me recently just how awesome that device is;

2) I’d noticed that a lot of my youngest students — both in the ADM program and in my own Learn-to clinics — were really flailing their arms and legs, and getting almost nothing for their efforts.

Anyway, I finally advertised a short course which has run for the past 5-weeks.  And I thought I’d show you a few things that are almost always evident whenever I get into the issue of balance in the forward stride.

– Dennis Chighisola

Balance in Hockey’s Forward Skating Stride

I shot the following video on the first night my students and I gathered.  I wanted to expose all the worst things that can be observed at a time like this (and I’ll explain more in awhile what I mean by “a time like this”).

Among the things I hope you’ll spot…

The hockey stick is terribly inhibiting to any skater, and especially so to a relative beginner.  So, see if you can spot instances where a youngster’s stick hand moves through a very short, abrupt pattern, while the free hand travels through a relatively full range of motion.

On occasion, you might notice a player pumping the stick hand forward-to-backward while the free hand moves side-to-side.  (Talk about wrestling within oneself, and really expending a lot of energy to get almost nowhere!)

I hope you’ll also notice how a youngster will sometimes restrict his hand, arm and shoulder movements to only a slight side-to-side action.  And, calling into play the law of equal and opposite reactions, it’s important for us to know that such upper boy movements translate to equally abrupt skate thrusts to each side.

As for that thing about “a time like this”, well…  Any “Before” shot (in a “Before and After” sequence) has to include the worst possible conditions, just so we ultimately get to see the extremes.  And, in this case, the kids haven’t worked with my Skater’s Rhythm-bar yet, and THEY ARE FORCED HERE TO SKATE WHILE CARRYING THEIR STICKS.  Ya, the sticks do cause a problem, as you should see.

Okay, so let’s take a look…

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Actually, there were a couple of decent arm pumps within that footage, but there were also a ton of other mechanical problems I’ll deal with at another time.  Hopefully you have seen the things I mentioned above, though.  And, while I might apply a lot of science to the actual analysis of a player’s skating motion, I’m sure you realize now how easily the naked eye (or a very simply shot video) can expose a lot.

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Now, it’s been about a month since my kids have trained with the Skater’s Rhythm-bar, as well as spent plenty of time skating without a stick.  So, take a look at how they’ve come along (I’ll add some further comments later)…

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Man, I’m getting such a great feeling, just watching that footage…   I’m sure you’ll admit that the kids look FAR better than in the first video-taping.  They are traveling much better, they’re more at ease in their movements, their left and right hands (and arms and shoulders) are moving through similar patterns, and aaaaaaah…

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Down the road, I think I’m going to release a program that tells coaches, parents and older players how to make and use their own Skater’s Rhythm-bar.  (I used to sell the R-bar and an accompanying hard copy training manual, but I don’t think that’s really necessary in this day and age.)

Really, though, a lot can be accomplished towards the desired end without a Rhythm-bar.   I mean, I have all of my players (goalies included) train for brief times by striding without a stick.  And, while you might be thinking of beginners here, I am going to suggest that the most advanced players will benefit from this sort of training.

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Okay, questions or Comments?  Let’s get a conversation going!

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Really, this entry was at least partly inspired by my previous post in this category — which included Dr Norris’ pretty intriguing comments on USA Hockey’s new ADM program.

At the same time, I’m hoping that by now my CoachChic.com friends have come to trust me as I search high and low for information that can put them far ahead of others.

So, with that, the following video should prove both entertaining and humorous.  You might even see a little of yourself or a child as you watch and listen.  Truly, though, Sir Ken Robinson’s line of thinking has much to do with the way I happen to view young, developing hockey players.  I’ll save my own thoughts until after you’ve had a chance to see the video, however.

– Dennis Chighisola

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Okay, I’m hoping by now you’ve gotten the sense that creativity can be stifled within our educational institutions.  That established, however, I wonder if you’ve ever considered the possibility that a rather old sport — with so much tradition — can also squelch unique spirits and ingenuity.  Huh?

Just think…  If it wasn’t for the stubbornness of a Jacques Plante, goaltenders nowadays might still be facing ferocious shots without a mask.  One has to wonder if Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion was at all deterred along the way as he experimented with his new offensive weapon, the slapshot.  And, we have to really think about the chance that an overbearing hockey coach way back in their earliest years could have totally discouraged the creativity of a Gretzky, a Lemieux, or an Ovechkin.

As for me, I’ll share this brief story…  A few years back, I tried a highly skilled little guy on the powerplay with some slightly older players.  Right off, that little guy started freelancing with our plays, which just as immediately drew some concerns from one of my assistant coaches.  I kinda chuckled at that, as I whispered to my assistant, “That’s what I’ve been looking for all along!”  Our plays weren’t meant to be regimented; they were just ideas for what we could do in various circumstances.

Oh, you or I might not be coaching a future Great One.  But, then, who knows.?  The point I’m trying to really make here is that our sport needs creativity.  So, we ought to think twice before making all of our youngest players conform to every old standard.

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PS:  Addressing this issue just now with a Facebook friend, I was reminded of something I’ve always felt…  Ya know, when we have a roster full of good, hard working people, we always long for that one unique player who can seemingly pull rabbits out of a hat.  (I think you know what I mean:  a real magician when the chips are on the line.)  The sad part comes when some coaches get that one special player, beat on him or her for being creative, and seemingly try to turn him or her into an ordinary one.

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Oh, boy, I know I’ve caused you to think more than a little on this one.
So, would you mind offering those thoughts?  I’d love to hear them!

 

Dr Steve Norris Speaks on the ADM Hockey Program

We have CoachChic.com member, Tim Taylor, to thank for locating this VERY informative video.

Dr Norris isn’t introduced until about the 23-minute mark of the video, so you might want to fast-forward to that point.  Also, the audio doesn’t improve until after awhile but, it does ultimately improve.

As for the information in this video, I think long-time members will discover that a lot of its content has been covered within this site.  Norris’ version, however, is an even better, more condensed approach to a lot of what you’ll find under Highlight Reel Skills.

Anyway, find a time when you’re not distracted, turn-up your speakers (or headphones), and enjoy!

– Dennis Chighisola

Dr Steve Norris Speaks on the ADM Hockey Program

With summer right around the corner, are you being S.M.A.R.T. ?

It’s interesting that my friend, Bruce Turpin, should publish on the following topic at this time.  After all, it’s pretty much been my mantra here for several weeks.

Anyway, I don’t want to spoil things by getting into that now; Bruce will do the job even better than I.

Then, just so you know, Coach Turpin knows his stuff.  He holds a Masters Degree in Physical Education, and he’s one of the best to ever work within my hockey school staff.  So, enjoy, and especially learn from a very bright man.

– Dennis Chighisola

With summer right around the corner, are you being S.M.A.R.T. ?

Summer is quickly approaching! Do you have a plan? Do not miss out on a great opportunity to prepare yourself for next hockey season. You have 10-12 weeks from the end of the school year to the start of a new one, leaving plenty of time to work on developing your game (both physically and mentally). Will you use this time wisely? Do you know how to use this time wisely?

Can you tell me what are you doing today to become a better player (or a better person)?

The above is a pretty robust question if you don’t have an understanding of where you are and where you want to go (ie. what you want to accomplish). How will you know if you ever get there? How will you even know how to get there?

As your summer gets underway, what paths will you take? If you haven’t begun to do so, you need to start thinking about what you want to accomplish this summer and what you want to accomplish next season. Not only thinking about it, but writing it down in the form of clear, concise goals. These written goals will help guide you toward your destination and in times of difficulty can be used to re-focus your efforts and get you back on track.

Your goals should be straightforward and focus on what you want to happen. As you go about creating your goals, you should incorporate the SMART model for goal-setting.

S — Specific: think about what you want to accomplish, why you want to accomplish it, and how you are going to accomplish it

M — Measurable: you need to be able to gauge your progress

A — Attainable: you need to set goals that you can achieve, nothing to easy, nothing too hard, but they need to be outside your comfort zone

R — Realistic: can you realistically achieve this goal (within the availability of your resources, knowledge and time)

T — Timely: have you set a time frame and end point for this goal

Goal-setting can be a powerful tool if used appropriately and consistently. Every college coach I worked with last summer conveyed the importance of goal-setting within their own programs. They stressed the need to accomplish this, not only on a team basis, but on an individual-player basis as well.  Some of the many benefits derived from the goal-setting process include providing you with something to strive for, motivating you to take action, creating benchmarks for success, and building up your self-esteem.

I encourage you to take time to think about what you want to accomplish this summer, why you want to accomplish it, and how you will go about accomplishing it. Remember to create clear and concise goals following the SMART protocol;  create daily or weekly goals that can be used as stepping-stones along the pathway towards your overall (or long-term) goals; set goals that are attainable, but outside your comfort zone, as they will feel much more rewarding and satisfying when they are achieved.

Let me finish this post, by re-asking the following questions:

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TODAY TO BECOME A BETTER PLAYER
and ARE YOU BEING S.M.A.R.T. ABOUT IT?

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Bruce Turpin just began a blog you might want to follow…  Functional Training for Hockey

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If you have questions or Comments — on this topic, or for Bruce, please leave them below.

Periodization in Hockey Strength Training

So much has changed in the science of strength training over recent years, with new terminology cropping up all the time.  Truthfully, if you grew-up playing hockey (or any other sport) during the ’60s, ’70s or ’80s, it’s best that you forget all you learned back then, and stay tuned here at CoachChic.com.  (Topnotch specialists — like Scott Umberger and Jason Price — and I are sure to keep you abreast of the very latest in scientific developments.  In fact, Scott and I have already done several in depth posts on the subject of “periodization”.)

– Dennis Chighisola

Periodization in Hockey Strength Training

Let me begin by once again providing you an oversimplification of this term…

Appreciate that our bodies adapt to training over a span of time.  And, as a body gets used to the training, that training tends to have less and less impact.  In other words, gains stall, or the athlete hits a plateau.  It should make further sense that some staleness (or boredom) can also result from sticking to the same routine for very long (and this goes for any sort of training, not just strength related).

Personally, I’d learned this in my younger years as I engaged in strength training, ultimately reading that the best way to avoid plateaus was to occasionally — or, should I say “periodically” — change my training routine.  Back then, the idea was to rotate exercises that worked similar muscles or muscle groups, thereby forcing the body to continually adapt to new conditions.

I said that was an oversimplification, because modern day periodization has been taken to whole new level.

Okay, so what got me going on this topic is the release of a new hockey readiness program being offered by my buddy, Jeremy Weiss.  (Jeremy and I have known each other for a few years now, we come from similar Phys Ed backgrounds, and we’ve shared a lot of ideas when it comes to hockey training.)

Now, as many of us start to turn our attentions toward off-season training, Jeremy will ultimately offer a special program aimed at helping hockey players work at home without the need for costly ice (and you ought to know how strongly I feel about that).  You don’t have to purchase his program, however, to have access to several awesome videos…

The first video has just been released, and it deals with the above noted strength-training concept called periodization.   (As Jeremy describes it, “Periodization is a really effective way to keep consistent strength gains and to avoid plateaus.”)

Okay, here goes, on periodization…

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Some time has passed since the above post, and all of the introductory videos have been taken down.  However, I’ve grabbed them for you, with the ones on cardio training for hockey and  nutrition to follow…

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At this point, Jeremy has a new video posted on his site, this one explaining the off-season training program he’s offering.  Actually, I thought it would be extremely expensive but it’s not.  So, if you can’t get this old coach, Scott Umberger or Jason Price to train you live, Jeremy provides a different option by helping you train at home…

Click here to view more details

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Please let me know what you think about those free videos, and about the idea of me sharing such within the CoachChic.com website.

Spotting the Real Goal-scorer Early

A lot of folks ask me if I believe I can spot a hockey player early-on who might ultimately make it to our game’s highest levels.  I answer honestly, suggesting that no one can tell during a player’s first years — if he or she will still be in love with the game later, if he or she will have the right work ethic, or if injuries might ultimately get in his or her way.  That established, however, I can tell you about one thing I’ve learned to recognize in even the youngest players…

– Dennis Chighisola

Spotting the Real Goal-scorer Early

Actually, I didn’t realize what I was seeing at first, as I observed my grandson playing and practicing at about 5-years old.  At the time, I thought he was just a real pain in the butt. 

Now, long-time CoachChic.com members have probably seen some highlight reel footage of my young buddy, Anthony Chighisola.  If you haven’t, just let me say that he has probably led every team in scoring he’s played for — from Mites right through to his current college team.  In fact, putting a puck in a net seems almost a compulsion with him.  Ya, I said it’s almost a compulsion, which brings me back to that thing about seeming like a real pain in the butt…

You see, even going back to beginner clinics, I noticed that Anthony would never end an attacking drill until he’d put a puck in a net.  And, I’m talking about him taking this to an extreme.  All the other little 5-year old knobheads seemed to be doing the drills right — skating towards the net, making a move or taking a shot, and then going to a line right after.  Not Tony C, however.  I’ve already said it:  that he wouldn’t go back to a line until he finished the drill by putting a puck in the net.  Sometimes it wasn’t even the puck he’d carried towards the goal; naw, it didn’t matter which one he finished with, so long as he tucked something away.

Now, about 15-years later I’m coaching an 8-year old team and I’m noticing I have another pain in the butt on my hands.  I mean, this youngster is just as compulsive about putting biscuits in the basket as Anthony ever way, almost to the point of driving me nuts in some drills.  Hey, I’m trying to keep attack plays moving at a good pace, and that little guy is not getting out of the way until he’s put a puck in the net.  (Grrrrrrrrrrr…)

Oh, but wait…  After all these years, I’ve come to realize that THIS young forward — much like Tony Chic — is most likely going to be the best attacker on every team he’ll ever play for.   Again, it’s a compulsion that he puts pucks in the backs of nets, and it doesn’t matter if we’re talking about games or practices.  In fact, I’m going to suggest that his scoring in the games is a direct result of his need to finish attack plays in our practices.

As an aside, I hope you can picture what I was seeing many years ago, with Anthony constantly going back to a net because his original attack didn’t result in a goal.  And, what made me think he was such a pain in the butt is that sometimes his second and third and fourth and fifth swipes at a puck didn’t go in.  So he’d stay right there, and continue whacking at a puck until he ultimately deposited it where he felt it belonged.

Same thing with my current budding sniper.  I mean, neither will he leave the dawgoned goal-mouth until he’s completed his mission.

All that said, I guess we both know that those two aren’t really pains at all.  In fact, even though they might foul-up the timing of some drills, they should be the models for all other young players.

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Just wondering…  Have you ever had (or observed) a player like I’ve just described?  I’d love to hear more about him or her.

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Talk about precious!  Craig Shaw mentioned this video in a Comment below, and I just couldn’t resist showing it to everyone.  Awesome (and an awesome penalty shot goal by young Sammy Shaw near the end)!

Great Hockey Plays Come From Practice!

I have my grandson, Anthony Chic, to thank for pointing me towards the following video.  And, as soon as I saw it I recognized a “teaching moment” I just had to share with you.

– Dennis Chighisola

Great Hockey Plays Come From Practice!

Before getting further into this topic, I’d like you to view the following video (it’s short and fun to watch)….

Ya, as my title suggests, that was no accident — that the highly skilled forward reacted so quickly and batted that puck towards the goal.  As the color commentator said, it required “magnificent hand-eye coordination”.

Long ago I posted a drill that specifically enhances this skills (please see “Bunting the Hockey Puck“).

However, I’ll offer here that real stick and eye coordination comes from players sort of freelancing with a puck — or especially with a quick reacting ball.

If you can appreciate it, plays like that shown in the video can’t usually be planned.  No, the situation just occurs — in an instant, and a player either reacts properly or doesn’t.  And such (positive) reactions quickly revert back to hundreds if not thousands of times when a player dealt with pucks or balls in the air.

So, I’m talking about some of the tricks that have been posted within CoachChic.com — when it comes to floorball moves, my kids jumping a long rope while dribbling a ball or puck, and the many videos I’ve included that depict pro players performing some pretty nifty moves by keeping a puck or ball in the air with their sticks.

No, it’s no accident when a player reacts as shown in that video.  I mean, all the hours a player spends just fiddling and being creative with a puck or ball surely will pay-off sometime down the road.

A Hockey Goal-scoring Revelation

I’m kinda chuckling to myself about this title, and this topic.  I mean, I’ve been coaching hockey for over 40-years, which ought to suggest that I’ve just about seen it all by now, and I’ve pretty firmly established all of our game’s playing principles.  Ah, so one would think. 

In reality, however, I never stop learning, and I never stop making adjustments to the way I teach or coach.  And, with that, let me tell you about my latest revelation, this having to do with introducing young players to breakaway goal-scoring techniques.

– Dennis Chighisola

A Hockey Goal-scoring Revelation

To provide a little background to this story, members might read my entry and watch the video I provided in “Scoring on Breakaways or Shootouts“.

Then, because that particular post was part of a *Gift I was offering that month, I also shared a few additional tips beyond the main entry.  And, among those tips was the suggestion that most advanced level attackers like to carry the puck off to the sides of their bodies — in a shooting posture — as they moved in on the goaltender.  Ya, their thinking is that this somewhat freezes a goalie, while an attacker knows he can shift the puck at any instant to either shoot or deke (according to what the goaler shows).

I also have to draw the parent or coach of a young skater to yet another video that should provide even more background to what I’m about to propose, this being the one on “Creating the Early Goal-scorer“.  For, within that post I hammered away at the idea of focusing all our attentions on whatever will help a young player be successful at his or her current level of play.

Okay, so with those ideas as a backdrop, picture me standing on the ice a few weeks ago and watching little one after little one attack a beginner goalie…  What I was seeing is that the rather new netminder basically stood in the middle of his crease and hardly did anything but put his stick in front of the puck.  And, because most of my really new skaters haven’t yet mastered hitting open strings with lifted shots, nearly every one of them hit the goalie — right where he liked the shot — dead-center on his stick.  Hmmmmmm…

By now, of course, you know that I’m an inquisitive type, and I like to really get at the root of what’s happening.  And, what I saw was that 1) most of my young attackers were carrying the puck off to their sides in readiness to shoot, and 2) the goalie was basically just putting his stick in front of where the skater held the puck.  So, one after another it was Splat!  Splat!  And Splat!  In other words, my little guys were just hitting that goalie’s stick, time after time after time.

Enter that idea about helping a player be successful at his or her current level…  Ya, the idea of their holding the puck off to their sides wasn’t working — at their level.  No, instead this technique was playing right into the equally young goalie’s hands, mainly because he wasn’t old enough or experienced enough to take THAT kind of fake.  (The reason that kind of posture works against older goaltenders is because they are experienced, and because they are doing their own thinking and reading of the play as an attacker approaches.)

Anyway, once all this stuff started to register with me, I called a halt to the drill, I left the goaler with his own coach, and I gathered all of my little attackers in another area of the ice.  And, what I showed them was the idea of carrying the puck out-front and in the middle of their bodies.  From there, I had them practice making side to side movements with the puck — ultimately making a rather large deke towards one side of the net, and then tucking the puck into the opposite side.

Once we went back to attacking a live goalie, the idea worked for those kids who got the hang of the new move (while the slightly younger and less experienced kids still tended to shoot into the goaler’s stick).  More practice is what the kids now need, of course, and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing lately — off the ice, on the ice, sometimes against my plastic simulated goalie, and sometimes against a live one.

My main point (or points) to all this, though, is that we really must study what’s happening with our players, and we have to find the best ways to help them be successful where they are at the moment.

Then, just in case you’re questioning my idea of initially teaching something wrongly, I’d like you to consider this…  My belief is that a number of my little guys are going to soon catch fire with the new move, and they are going to start pouring pucks into rival nets.  On the other hand, those kids who continue to attack in the big guys’ posture are likely to get stuff more often than not.  I’ll further suggest that the ones who are filling nets pretty soon will gain a huge boost in confidence, and that it will be plenty easy to show them the other way of attacking when the time is right.

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Okay, so here I go with what some might consider a controversial approach.  So, want to argue, or at least share a different thought on this subject?  You know I love it when members get involved!

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.

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 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?

A Pro Hockey Player’s Shooting Accuracy

This post should have really been titled “The Chicken or Egg Question”.  That said, you’ll have to read further to find out why.  Along the way, you ought to get a kick out of the great Ovechkin’s shooting accuracy.

– Dennis Chighisola

A Pro Hockey Player’s Shooting Accuracy

I think it best that you first be entertained by this ESPN video featuring the guy I call “The Great 8″.  On the other side I’ll have a question for you, then what I believe is the answer…

Okay, about that chicken versus the egg suggestion…

I mean, which do you think comes first — that a guy achieves pro status because he can shoot pinpoint lasers, or does a pro have more free time than us amateurs and thusly gets to practice more than the rest of us?

Well, my guess is that a lot of folks were thinking the latter as they were watching that exhibition, figuring Ovechkin has had plenty of time to practice during a his so many years in elite level hockey.  And, I’d tend to agree — to a point.

Really, I believe great players practiced and practiced their basic skills countless times on their way up the hockey ladder.  So, I’d be willing to bet that OV could shoot better than most mortals long before he arrived on the international scene.  Thereafter, my guess is that he’s kept at it, firing thousands more pucks in order to keep himself near the top of the hockey heap.

Okay, so why did I even bring-up this subject?  It’s because I’d truly like to see young players practice this kind of skill as often as they can.  There’s nothing wrong (and everything right) about a 7- or 8-year old attempting to hit targets in the basement or driveway, and it’s surely a great idea that Squirts/Atoms, Pee Wees and Bantams keep getting better and better.  Then, who knows…  Maybe someone reading this entry will make the big-time, and from then on have plenty of time to improve all the more.

(Oh, by the way…  I’d like everyone — and especially young players — to notice where Ovechkin looks as he shoots.  Ya, he may look down to grab a puck, but his eyes are up and on his target every single time he pulls the trigger.  I raise this point because a lot of young players — and even older ones — think they’re looking up as they shoot.  But, when I’m watching, I catch far too many of ‘em looking downward.)

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Then, just so the other half of my friends don’t get upset — …  Here’s a great video featuring Sid The Kid more than matching Ovechkin’s shooting demonstration…

Land Paddling for Hockey Core Strength?

Ha…  Over my 40-years in our game, I’ve gotten used to people calling me a little sick.  Or, when they want to put it a little nicer, they dub this old coach “The Nutty Professor”. 

If anything, though, I take those as compliments.  Actually, I don’t think you’d appreciate either me or CoachChic.com if you didn’t know I was frequently thinking outside the proverbial box — for myself, and for you.  In fact, that outside-the-box kind of attitude is one reason this site’s content will always be different than any other.

Oh, and there surely IS something odd about my eyesight.  I mean, the weirdest things catch my attention, whether it’s browsing on-line or walking through the local Home Depot.  I can even spot an object in a pile of junk and say to myself, “Wow, I could make an awesome ______ out of that!”

Okay, having established that I’m a little “different”, and that the oddest things give me ideas for new ways to train (or kill) hockey players, I want you to get a load of my latest off-ice training idea.

– Dennis Chighisola

Land Paddling for Hockey Core Strength?

Spending some time on Facebook recently, I caught a smaller version of that picture (to the left) out of the corner of my eye.  Hey, an active guy in pretty good shape will get my attention, especially if he has some sort of different looking training device in his hands!  Hmmmmm…  A “Big Stick”?

Take a look at that thing, and it should be easy enough to figure what’s going on.  The guy in the pic is paddling, and it also appears as if he’s REALLY taxing his midsection.

I salted that idea away for awhile, thinking it would be easiest to use such a device during the summer months here in New England.  And I also thought that I’d be more apt to use it with older guys — like my high school and college hockey students.

Okay, that ad caught my eye again tonight over on Facebook, so I thought I’d share my thinking on the Big Stick with you.

I figured finding a video showing that device in action might help as a start. If there was a tricky thing to that, it was the fact that most Big Stick videos have evidently been produced for the surfing crowd, and heavily flavored by that sort of music and lingo.)  Interestingly, I noticed that there were a few folks from other, non-surfing or non-skating sports using the Big Stick as a means of cross-training.  Still — and again, pardon the surfing flavor, I think the following will give you a good fairly sense of how this device is used…

Now, right up front, I want you to know that most of the moves depicted in that video aren’t included in the ones I’ve been pondering.  No, the folks featured in that video are obvious surfers, and it seems to me that their primary concern is balancing on their boards, and they’re just using their Big Sticks to keep themselves going.  Or, I might suggest that they’re working on their surfing techniques while also getting a little torso and upper body work in.

Of course, it’s a long time until summer hits around these parts, so I still have plenty of time to think further on this new idea.  However, here are a couple of my immediate impressions:

- I just might use a slightly more stable “board” for my guys to travel upon.  I have 5 or 6 such devices in The MOTION Lab right now — they’re square, have four caster-like wheels under the corners, and they’re built fairly low to the ground.  And if those don’t work, I just might make my own — again, with the aim of having these be a little more stable, and not quite so much like surfing.  (Not that typical surfing movements would be bad for hockey players; it’s just that those kinds of movements wouldn’t be my main aim in using something like the Big Stick.)

- Ya, “something like the Big Stick”…  In other words, right now I can’t see that very long pole being what I’d want to use to cross-train a hockey player.  Nope.  What I’m envisioning right now is making something that’s a lot closer to a kayak paddle…

Of course, I’d have to arrive at the proper length to accommodate a player being able to paddle to both sides, I’d have to work on making a decent grip-area in the middle, and I’d also have to construct the ends in a way that would provide grip against a pavement (or whatever) and wear fairly well.

- Then, if I did use the above kayak paddle kind of design, I might have my players occasionally work from a squat (or something fairly close to that).

- Come to think of it, the midsection muscles might be taxed all the more if a player sat or knelt at times.

Can you envision a hockey player working at intervals similar to a typical shift — wrenching away, twisting and turning that midsection, and making those arms and shoulders bulge?  (Come to think of it, a guy’s hockey shot should be enhanced from those resisted twisting movements as well!)

Finally, while I know I’ve joked a little in the early going, I’m pretty serious about you and me looking at all sorts of gear options when we want some new cross-training effects.  And, like the Big Stick, a given device might be close to what we want, but not exactly.  If there’s any concern at all (other than safety), it’s that we should study the real challenges hockey players face, and then come as close as possible to matching the exercises to those hockey-specific movements.

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PLEASE be sure to leave a Comment.  I love interacting with you guys (and gals)!

A Great Hockey Skater Is Suddenly Falling?

Aaaaah, I love it when folks toss their hockey problems my way (even if I’m not sure I can answer them)! 

Okay, so I just received the following question (which might just be a huge challenge for me).  Please take a read…

– Dennis Chighisola

A Great Hockey Skater Is Suddenly Falling(?)

This actually came by way of a Comment, but I thought it worthy enough to address in its own post.  Here’s the question verbatim:

“my son plays in a novice select team is 8yrs old…a great skater..but is falling alot of late…..Why ??“

Hmmmmmm…  Why, indeed.

Quite obviously this is a difficult one to answer without being able to see the boy.  (I surely wouldn’t mind receiving a short video clip of the youngster, just so I might do a lot better than I’m going to right now.)

That said, the best I have to go on are the following assumptions:

1) dad says he’s a pretty good skater;

2) it sounds like the level the boy is playing is pretty decent;

3) it also sounds as if the youngster’s frequent falling is something that’s just started happening very recently.

The reason I wanted to state all that is because it probably at least makes it possible for us to discount the kid being an awful skater who ought to fall plenty anyway.

That established (I hope), my educated guess is that we have to look in two separate areas for an answer…

1) Equipment-wise, I’d look at the skates.  Has there been a change in these important pieces of gear — either in a switch to new or different blades, or is there something wrong with a recent skate sharpening?  (To be honest, I don’t think new boots would make a player fall, but something being drastically different about the blades or sharpening surely could.)  And, of course, it would be nice if it was that easy to resolve the boy’s problems — by just fixing a piece of gear, I mean.

2) After that, we obviously have to consider a physical problem of some sort, and this I’ll question on several fronts:

- if recent skating problems happened about the same time the boy joined the current (select?) team, it could be that many pretty talented opponents are causing him to have difficulties keeping-up (having to change directions quickly, etc);

- I don’t usually associate growth spurts with kids far younger than puberty, but a sudden change in one’s body can surely bring about some difficulties with fine motor skills;

- God forbid, but I very long ago had a really talented student of mine start having some similar problems, and this was later diagnosed as a very serious health issue.

Okay, that’s where I am right now — suggesting that the dad work his way through that short checklist, first starting with the possibility that the whole thing has to do with an equipment (or mainly a skate) issue.

I’d also invite him to work with me on this, so that we could go back and forth to troubleshoot things.  So, if you would, dad, let me know what you discover from going through that list, and even send me a short video clip if you can (I’ll provide advice if you don’t know how to do it).

Finally, I’m sure the dad won’t mind that I open this discussion to others.  Ya, I think it would be helpful if anyone else has an idea they think ought to be included in the checklist I’ve plotted so far.

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Oh, did I say I love questions?  You know I do!  And, I also love feedback or Comments from members, so please join-in!

“Borrowing” from Our Hockey Strengths

As you’ll soon see, there’s a good reason why I’m holding the following from public view.  Ya, this is definitely for members only!

You see, this post is a result of the Comments that came-in after I posted “Hockey Stick Measurement Help” (go see that if you haven’t already).

Yes, two awesome members — Craig and Jon — jumped into the fray with slightly contrasting views on what this old coach had to say.  So, as I replied to Jon, he’s now “… forcing me to share something I cringe to mention in front of young or developing players!” 

– Dennis Chighisola

“Borrowing” from Our Hockey Strengths

Okay, I (and any other conscientious hockey advisers) have to answer questions — at least initially — with the broadest audience in mind.  So, in my case, I’ll most often provide a pretty good “rule of thumb” when I answer your questions.  Said yet another way, the answer I’ll usually provide will help almost anyone in our game.

That would especially be the case when it comes to equipment — either in the various choices we might need to make, or how we might measure or doctor our gear.

Still, there IS the chance for a player to gain in an area of weakness, IF he or she has a certain strength that can be traded in exchange.

Here’s a short story that might best describe what I’m getting at here…

More than a generation ago, my son and future Olympic speed skating medalist Eric Flaim were best friends, and they attended my clinics together, went to my hockey schools for a lot of summers, and even played on my NEHI team together.  Actually, Eric eventually strayed from hockey to the other sport because I added a speed skating instructor to my camp staff who immediately saw some great innate qualities in that boy.

Anyway, that speed skating instructor — Steve — had some pretty good knowledge that could help my players (and I don’t doubt that he learned as much from interacting with us hockey guys).

Actually, at one point, Steve tried to work his magic with my son, owing to the fact that my guy possessed just about every desirable hockey quality EXCEPT FOR STRAIGHT-AHEAD SPEED.  What Steve suggested was that Mike try a different sort of skate sharpening, or a slight variation on the type speed skaters use.

As you ought to know, the hockey skate is ground to make a “hollow” down the length of a blade, which creates an extremely sharp edge on each side of the blade.  And, those sharp edges provide the hockey player his or her ability to make quick cuts or turns on the ice.

Steve and I had to put our heads together on this one, however, because his suggestion might have been considered a little drastic.  I mean, he was recommending that we reduce the edges on Mike’s skates, which would in turn produce less drag or friction as the skates glided on the ice.  (In other words, the blades would be sharpened flatter, or with less hollow.)  Hmmmmmmm…

Okay, so here’s the reasoning that went into all this — or the reason I suspected Steve’s idea would work…  Use see, Mike had unbelievable edge control and cutting ability.  So, we figured that — while he’d lose just a hair in that department, there was the likelihood that he’d gain quite a lot in his forward speed.  And, the overall combination — of slightly less cutting ability but more straight-ahead speed — would actually equal a plus in Mike’s game.

Mission accomplished!  As we’d surmised, Mike’s maneuverability hardly changed, while he gained considerable speed on the straight-aways, again owing to the decreased friction between his skates and the ice.

Now, before everyone reading this runs out and changes their skate sharpening methods, let me say again:  that Mike went into that affair with something to trade-off, or to “borrow” from.  He had elite-type edge control before the new sharpening, and the later adjustment didn’t even put him back in the pack as far as cutting abilities went.

Saying all that again, in a different way:  a player MUST have a strength from which to borrow, if he or she is going to make adjustments that aid in other areas.

All that said, let me now copy and paste something from Jon’s Comment:

“But what I REALLY wanted to mention was the Norwegian Hobbit Wizard that plays for Rangers, Mats Zuccarello.  Youtube him. In his debut game for the Rangers on the 23rd he made Tortorella laugh out loud in amazement when he scored on a shoot out goal. He is what you would call a stick handler.

He is 5ft 7 but his playing style warrants a really long stick. His forte is the corners and he can dangle and bedazzle anyone in there and make some inspired passes. With a really long stick. But he actually had to cut off 2 inches off the stick when he came from the European rinks to the North American rinks. I would assume that to mean that playing style matters when they are playing at that level. At my level I think it matters more that I learn to skate!

* After the fact, Jon was kind enough to email me a link to the Zuccarello shootout goal, so please see that below.

Now, without me really knowing this “Norwegian Hobbit Wizard”, let’s just go a little on what Jon has said…  Does it sound like this guy has a strength he might borrow from?  I’m guessing it’s so, since Jon describes him as “what you would call a stick handler.”  In other words, Zuccarello evidently handles the puck far better than most, and he might just be able to trade-off a hair on that skill for a little of something else.

Hmmmmm, that something else…  Right-off, I can tell you that a longer stick-shaft will give a player more force in his or her shot (yup, the longer lever arm does that).  And, in the case of Zuccarello — because he IS such a great puckhandler, I doubt he’s going to lose much of that skill as he goes to a longer stick.

Once again, however, I fear someone using the latter knowledge without thinking long and hard.  So, beware…

In my estimation, puckcontrol comes before shooting.  And, man, can I give you some examples of that!

Over the years, I’ve had quite a few big, strong high school and college guys who looked like they could be an asset on my powerplay point.  I mean, during tryouts or in practice, they would shoot absolute lasers from the point positions.  If there was a problem, it came in the games, when they could hardly ever get-off a shot.

Why so?  Well, you’ll have to trust me on this one, I guess, but my feeling was that they were awful puckhandlers, and that they could hardly ever deal with the puck and get themselves set to rip a shot.  Just the slight slowness they demonstrated with handling the puck gave opponents the chances to get right in their face.

I got these guys late, of course, and it was a little late for me to change their sticks and teach them to stickhandle the way it would be required to play the way I’d have liked for our powerplay.

As I hope you can see, I fear anyone putting the cart before the horse when it comes to the trade-offs I’ve mentioned above.  In fact, that last example might give you an indication of what might happen to a player if he or she goes with a long stick early-on, and never masters the art of puckhandling.

Then, I want to return to Jon’s mention about Zuccarello being good in the corners, etc…  I’m not sure there’s a connection between that guy’s stick length and his extra abilities in the corners, and I would even think there isn’t (unless I hear it right from the horse’s mouth).  That said, I will leave you with a slightly connected story…

Lots of years ago, I had a certain guest instructor in my hockey school.  He was a member of the most famous line on the “Big Bad Bruins” of the ’70s, and a household name among most hockey fans.  If I had to add one more thing to that, I’d probably be safe in saying that he wasn’t the big scorer on that line.

Anyway, in a classroom session one day at camp, our guest spent quite a bit of time talking about equipment, how the Bruins’ trainers doctored it at times for the players, and so forth.

When the subject of his skates arose, I mentioned that I wasn’t crazy about his plastic molded ones, having analyzed different skaters wearing them.

Surprisingly, he agreed with me, and he went on to explain how his job wasn’t to be stylish (like his two mates).  No, his job included more corner work and controlling the puck with his feet.  So the extra thick plastic boots tended to protect him and to make that part of his job a little easier.

Okay, so why did I mention that story?  It’s because we fans watch the games from long distance, and we really haven’t a clue why some of our heroes do the things they do.  Some of those guys have really good reasons — and they might be right; there are yet others who think they’re gaining from doing something odd with their gear, and they are terribly (and scientifically) wrong.  So again, beware of copying your favorite players.  Many of them are actually stars despite the odd things they do!

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Here’s that Zuccarello shootout goals (enjoy)…

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Oh, boy, I can just imagine the Comments coming in on this one
(although you know I’ll love ‘em)!

The Flex of a Hockey Stick

I got psyched when I saw a replay of Eric Fehr’s second goal in the 2011 Winter Classic.  I mean, I immediately thought to myself, I just have to show my CoachChic.com friends that one!

– Dennis Chighisola

The Flex of a Hockey Stick

Actually, not much can be seen in the first few views of that goal.  However, the very last part of the following video — or the very last slow-motion replay — shows exactly what I’d like you to see.

From the side view, we can see Fehr’s stick bending — like big-time.  But, please take a look for yourself before I get further into this subject…

Now, let me tell you the significance of the flex in a player’s hockey stick…

In so doing, I’d like you to first consider holding a 2″ x 4″ board, and then use it to propel a hockey puck with lots of force.  Not possible you say?

Well, part of the problem might be that the board would be kinda heavy, and it would be pretty difficult to wrist it through a really quick sweeping motion.  (And, that in itself should suggest the need for lightness when we select a hockey stick.)

Yet another problem we’d encounter with the board is that it has no flex.  Ah, yes, the flex…

If you can envision Fehr’s shot again, recall the way he leaned on his stick, causing it to bend considerably.  In a way, he’s “loading” the stick, and he’s going to ultimately gain almost a slingshot effect as the stick uncoils and sends the puck towards its target.  And, it’s that uncoiling of a stick that really gives a shot its force.  (Fehr’s shot in the video is a wrister, or sweepshot.  However, the flexing of the shaft and its later uncoiling is what really helps make a slapshot so forceful.)

As it so happened, I was watching the Winter Classic on my computer last night, just so I could get some other PC work done at the same time.  I was also going back and forth with a few hockey friends on Twitter and Facebook, discussing the aforementioned stick flex.

One good friend asked me for stick selection advice as it would pertain to his 7-year old daughter.  So, confined to just 140 characters at a time (as is necessary on Twitter), I tried to tell him to have his little girl test a bunch of sticks in the local pro shop.  I also mentioned that a lot of kids pick sticks based solely on how they look.  So, my friend would have to be smarter than that, urging his daughter to find a stick that is small enough for her little hands, and whippy enough for her to flex as she shoots.  Then, I reminded him of one more important consideration, in that a stick loses its flexibility as it is shortened.  In other words, take this into account if you find a good stick but you know it’s going to have to be cut after the purchase.

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.

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.

How Indoor Rink Ice Is Made

Okay, so you figure this topic isn’t quite up to the kind of stuff we normally deal with here at CoachChic.com?  Well, I’m personally an inquisitive rascal, and I want to know absolutely everything about my sport — from how things are made to how they’re best maintained.  Only then can I make “educated” decisions when it comes to the seemingly more important stuff.

Of course, you can explore the Internet on your own to find information like the following.  At the same time, you should know that I’m always looking for you, and attempting to locate information I feel you’d gain from.

That said, although I’ve watched countless new ice surfaces being put down, I actually learned a couple of interesting things about ice making from the following video.  So, thanks to YouTube.com and the Discovery / Science Channel, I hope you enjoy…

– Dennis Chighisola

How Indoor Rink Ice Is Made

Two Hands or One on the Hockey Stick

This just happens to be another of those frequently asked questions — about when or IF a player should hold his or her hockey stick in one or two hands.  So, always aiming to please, here’s my recommendation…

– Dennis Chighisola

Two Hands or One on the Hockey Stick

The short answer to part of that question is that, a player absolutely has to control his or her stick in two hands at certain times, and then in one hand at certain other times!

Given that, I always separate the rest of this question into two parts — as in when a player is on offense, and when he or she is on defense.

Stick Grips While On Defense

When our opponents control the puck and we’re away from the opposition puckhandler, there are generally two things we can do…

In one instance we may be matched with an open opponent, which calls for us to control his or her body and stick to prevent a pass from connecting.

At yet other times we may be positioned to intercept a pass between the opposition puckhandler and his or her open teammate.

In both instances, it’s obviously necessary for the defender to have both hands on the hockey stick.

When our opponents control the puck and we’re responsible for dealing with the puckcarrier, I feel it can be hugely beneficial to use one hand on the stick for a period of time…

Whether we’re in a body-checking or non-checking game, it’s necessary for a defensive player to veer the puckcarrier in a given direction (usually towards the outside, towards the boards, or generally towards an area where he or she is easier to trap).  This steering is best down while approaching from an angle and also holding the stick in one hand — using it sort of like a steering tool.  Nowadays, however, with the new checking rules, I recommend that the defender switch to two hands as he or she closes-in on the puckcarrier.

By the way…  The use of one hand on the stick is also necessary as a backward skating defenseman plays an attacker in a 1 on 1 situation.

Stick Grips While On Offense

Any time an offensive player wants to be available for a pass, it’s obviously important for him or her to give a stick-target and to ultimately try to receive a pass while holding the stick in two hands.

That said, the rules change drastically for a puckhandler as he or she tries to deke an enemy defender.  Oh, for sure, an attacker can make some decent fakes with the stick held in two hands.  However, his or her reach — or the extent of his or her deke — is extremely limited with this sort of stick grip.  For that reason, you’ll see our game’s most dangerous attackers “dangle” the puck far outward with the stick held only in the top hand.  Then — if the defender takes the bait, the puck can be quickly pulled back a pretty long distance in the opposite direction.

In yet another 1 against 1 situation, it is often easier for a player to protect the puck by holding it far out and away from a nearby defender (as in the above photo).

So, as I hope you’ll appreciate, there are different times during the game action when it’s advantageous for a hockey player to hold his or her stick in either one hand or two.

Mario Lemieux Attacks the Open Triangle

Thanks to YouTube and a Facebook friend, the following video shows a great example of attacking one of the defender’s open triangles.

Especially helpful in this video is the fact that so many views are provided, as well as some nice slow-motion replay.  In other words, it gives us the chance to really study the way Lemieux beat the backward skating defenseman.

– Dennis Chighisola

Mario Lemieux Attacks the Open Triangle

Given the chance to watch that a number of times, I noticed that Lemieux does something we ought to study again…

I mean, I am forever suggesting that the set-up of a move is as important as the move itself.

In this case, notice the huge fake Lemieux makes towards his left, dangling the puck far out that way, and making the defender believe he really is heading to the left.

Yes, only with that exaggerated deke is a slip of the puck through the defenseman’s legs going to work.

Also, if young players are watching this, I’d to point-out that Lemieux makes a beautiful pass to himself, angling the puck so that it arrives just where he needs to pick it up a split-second later.

Aaaah, man, I love the opportunities we have today to study and study some of hockey’s all-time greats.

Ropponen (Goalie) Recovery Drill

Hey, despite there already being thousands of great tidbits of hockey advice here, I’m not opposed to going outside CoachChic.com when it comes to finding help for you.  In other words, I hope to save you tons of time by doing the research for you.

As for this post, Jukka Ropponen is a noted Finnish goalie coach with plenty of great ideas when it comes to goaltender training.  And, a popular drill used by Ropponen to help a netminder move across his or her crease — or to recover from one side to the other — is the following…

– Dennis Chighisola

Ropponen (Goalie) Recovery Drill

Just click on the YouTube.com logo to see more drills by Ropponen.

Just a Few Reasons to Start a Floorball Program

With the help of others, I continue to study this exciting new sport.

I was fortunate to find the following video, which is an interview with an elementary school principal.

As my title suggests, it offers some valid reasons why floorball might be a better choice than floor hockey or street hockey.  However, I like some of the insight offered (between the lines) about equipment options and the way the game is played.

– Dennis Chighisola

Just a Few Reasons to Start a Floorball Program

Another Introduction to Floorball

I have our friend Michael Borg to thank for the following video.  And, as you’ll see, there’s some added information offered in this one…

– Dennis Chighisola

Another Introduction to Floorball

Visualization Tips for Hockey

Most long-time members should know my strong belief in “visualization” or “mental imagery”.  In fact, while most hockey folks put the majority of their eggs into their on-ice skills basket, Shaun Goodsell and I are forever urging our CoachChic.com friends to pay just as much attention to enhancing their mental skills.

I think long-time members will also recall my love for several social media sites.  Yes, Twitter and Facebook are where I’ve met some of the best and brightest advisers one could ever find, and those sites are where a lot of my current day friends reside.

Such is the case with a new on-line friend, Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter.  She’s a Sports Psychology Expert, and I’ll tell you a little more about her once you’ve had the chance to see her special video.

– Dennis Chighisola

Visualization-Performance Coaching Tips for Sports

Okay, after many years of espousing the virtues of mental imagery, I finally came across someone who explains pretty well the techniques we might use when planning our own visualization sessions.  So, have a look and listen to what Dr JoAnn has to offer…

Now, since I’m guessing mostly adults will watch that video, I’m wondering if any of you got the feeling those methods would work in areas beyond sport, or beyond hockey.  I mean, how about in our work?  Actually, how about in our personal lifestyles?

Yup, that’s powerful stuff, and I’ll suggest it will work anywhere IF we follow The Good Doctor’s advice!

Okay, Dr JoAnn can be found all around the Internet.  However, besides looking into some of her other YouTube videos, here are some other ways you might follow her awesome advice…

Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter
Sports Psychology Expert

PerformingEdgeCoach.com

Twitter
Facebook

Our good friend Ravi made an unbelievable contribution in a Comment (below), providing us all a link to a video showing Mike Cammalleri using visualization in his own way.  That video was so good (as was the narration by Don Cherry) that I thought I’d embed it right here within this post just to make it easier for members to see.  Thanks again, Ravi!

– Dennis Chighisola

By the way, folks…  The “Bobby” Don Cherry is talking about in that video is none other than the great Bobby Orr.  So, Cherry is saying that Orr used similar visualization methods, but he’d practice his in the lockerroom long before games.  Wow!

Simplified Floorball Rules

I just ran across this collection of floorball rules.  I have a feeling they are an over-simplified version, and that they’ve been doctored by various authors across the Internet.  That pretty much explains why I’m not sure who to attribute these to (although it does say down below that they were “prepared by the Ontario Floorball/Inihockey Federation”).

Anyway, I think they’ll prove helpful for all of us who are new to this seemingly great sport, and they just might give us a place to start if we’re considering organizing a team or a league of our own.

– Dennis Chighisola

Simplified Floorball Rules

Prepared by the Ontario Floorball/Unihockey Federation

1. Games can be played with three to five players and a goalie on the court for each team. The goalie may be substituted for an additional player if desired. For an official game, five players and a goalie for each team is required.

2. No catching ball or hands on ball, except for goalie, infraction results in a 2 min penalty.

3. No foot passes to another player, infraction results in a possession change, but players may kick the ball once onto their own stick.

4. No jumping (one foot must be on the ground when receiving the ball), infraction results in a free hit.

5. Players may not go down on two knees to make plays or block shots. Only the goalie may play from their knees, infraction results in a 2 min penalty.

6. Ball must be received on a stick below knee level, infraction results in a possession change. If contact is made with the ball above the knee, infraction results in a 2 min penalty.

7. Sticks must stay below waist level when shooting with a similar follow through allowed. Stick above waist on a shot will result in a 2 min penalty.

8. No stick checking, lifting, or slashing. A minor infraction results in a possession change, an infraction in a scoring position or repeated infraction results in a 2 min penalty.

9. No holding of stick, players, or shirt or general interference, infraction will result in a 2 min penalty.

10. No playing your stick between another player’s legs. Results in a possession change.

11. No body contact with the exception of incidental shoulder contact, infractions will result in a 2 min penalty.

12. No playing the ball with the head – infraction results in a 2 min penalty.

13. Face-offs: Face offs will be used to start the game at the beginning of each period and to re-start after each goal or if the ball is damaged. For a face-off, stick blade must be on the ground and perpendicular to centerline, feet parallel to centerline ball and the middle of the two players’ sticks. Players cannot reverse their grip or hold the stick below the face-off line. Play starts with a whistle blow.

14. Possession changes: Occurs in the situations cited above. Ball is played as a direct free shot similar to a soccer free kick, where the offending players must be 3 meters away and the ball must be shot or played to another player upon the officials whistle blow with a solid hit – not a sweeping motion.

15. Substitutions may occur at anytime.

16. Repeated infractions result in a 2 min penalty.

***

Floorball Rule Clarifications

To help us all better understand floorball, I am going to ask a number of current coaches (or otherwise experienced people) to clarify each of the 16 points shown above.  So, keep checking back, as these should be added every day or so.

Great Hockey Conditioning Ideas – Part 5

At the end of the last post in this section — in Part 4, I mentioned that I was thinking about giving my guys a little break from a routine that they’ve been doing for quite awhile.  Oh, I’ve made plenty of subtle changes as we’ve gone along, just to help avoid boredom, and to cover all the bases when it comes to hockey conditioning.  However, what I really planned to do very soon was something kind of off the wall, or something that represented a MAJOR difference in what we’d been doing.

I also said previously that I’d likely pull something out of my hat when it was needed, this a reference to how I can get pretty creative when I need to.

Well, I decided to make those changes sooner than later, and last night ended-up being the night!

– Dennis Chighisola

Great Hockey Conditioning Ideas – Part 5

Now, what I’d really like my hockey friends to know is that I had two major aims as I headed into last night’s training session in The MOTION Lab…

First, there was that mental break I intimated above.  I mean, it was time that my guys came to the Lab to do something totally different, or something a lot different from what they expected.

Secondly, I wanted to shock my players’ systems more than a little.  You see, one’s body tends to get used to a certain kind of training over time.  And, while that’s good — as in the body adapting to get stronger, more efficient, whatever, the body also adapts such that the same-old, same-old kind of training has less and less effect.  So again, my second aim was to give my guys the kind of physical workout that was really a lot different than they’d been doing for quite some time.

A major difference in last night’s (off the wall?) training was going to be the pace.  In other words, rather than doing very intense “simulated shift training” — for 20- or 30- or 60-seconds, I thought I’d have my players go at a rather moderate pace for a very long stretch — as in about 40-minutes.

If there was any consistency to what we’d do, it would be to keep focusing on the legs and core muscles.

So, with all that said, take a look at some video I shot last night, and then I’ll mention a few more things right after…

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Well, what do you think?  Is that routine quite different from the ones I’ve been showing you for the past few months?  And, do you think — going nearly non-stop for 40-ish minutes — really DID tax the guys’ legs and midsection?  Ha!

A funny thing, though…  One of the dads who watched a session last night commented that, “You’re going kind of easy on them, aren’t you?”  Oh, man, I’m guessing those kids were pretty sore puppies this morning as they attempted to climb out of bed! 

Just as a recap…

The first drill you saw showed the guys skipping with a fairly heavy weighted jump rope.  That was near the end of our warm-ups, which included skipping a light rope, and doing some exercises that simulated the skating movement.

Next, you saw them doing a REALLY tough core exercise I call “Stepping Stones”, whereby each player balances on two objects (bricks in this case), and they move forward by balancing on one “stone” while bending and placing the other one slightly ahead.  The boys did this exercise for about 20-minutes straight (think about that).  However, I kept variety in there — and added some new challenges — by having them carry a stick or a weight, and sometimes exchange the variously sized weights as they moved.  And, as I always do when the kids question my next directive, I just advised them to, “Deal with it!”  Ya, a lot of what my kids do involves solving problems.

More balance and midsection work was the aim of that stickhandling drill atop the two crossed sticks (or described in another video as part of my “Chopped Stix“).

The remainder of our Lab time had the players rotating through stations that included those (for a lack of better name) “air pillows” and the mini-trampoline.  Here, too, the challenge was changed from time to time — over 15-minutes time, with several variations shown in the video.

Then, of course, we did a little cooldown followed by some static stretching.

Again, if you take another look at that video, you’ll see the kids’ legs and torso really being worked.  At the same time, I didn’t allow an exceptional amount of stress.  In other words, I didn’t have them jumping and pounding (except on the very forgiving mini-tramp), but instead I had them do tons of balancing — and really wrestling — over one leg at a time.

You should know that I constantly looked for ways to break the monotony of a given drill.  For example, while I knew we would be going for a very long time on those Stepping Stones, I kept distracting the guys by adding some weird new challenge.  And, while the focus of the last few drills was to have my players balance on the air pillows and hop on the mini-tramp, I kept their mind partly off the pain they must have been feeling at the time by having them dribble a ball.

Now, as for the future…  Two nights after the above described workout, we will go to our usual Thursday night in-line training session.  As you saw in a previous video, we’ve usually done some sprint and agility work there, plus a shorter but usually more intense version of what we did in The MOTION Lab.  However, I can tell you right now that I’m going to change things quite a bit for tomorrow night.  Oh, I’m not sure what we’ll do just yet, but something off the wall is sure to come to me… 

Hockey Specific Core Strength

I know I’ve mentioned (and shown) these two exercises long ago.  However, I wanted to address them in a slightly different context, this time as part of a hockey player’s core strength development.

– Dennis Chighisola

Hockey Specific Core Strength

As a preface to the following video, I’d like to explain a little bit about my aims in the two upcoming drills…

First, a player seldom gets the chance to stand prettily to take a shot in a game.  No, more often he or she has to pull the trigger in some sort of off-balance posture or while being mauled by a rival player.  So, any time I can, I take away some sort of advantage as I have my kids practice their shooting.  For example, I might make them shoot while balanced on only one leg, while seated, or while down on one or both knees.

Secondly, I also find that a lot of defensemen send rather weak or slow passes up-ice, especially when they’re in an unbalanced position or when they’re moving backwards.  (Trying to pass the puck while skating backwards IS rather difficult, or it’s rather difficult to get good force behind the puck.)  So, like the example for gaining shooting strength, I have my “D” frequently make hard passes from unusual postures.

Now, before going more into this, I’d like you to see two short video clips…

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I guess we could call those movements “drills”.  Still, I happen to be looking at these as “exercises”, not unlike an athlete moving a bar loaded with plates.

I mean, did you hear me prodding my guys to really sling the puck or the tire with as much force as possible?  Just picture either movement, if you will, or how it feels to really fire the puck or the tire.  For, if you do, I think you’ll appreciate just how much each action wrenches the player’s midsection or core area.

Great Hockey Conditioning Ideas – Part 4

As promised, I’m going to show you more in this area of off-ice conditioning.  And I especially want to show how so many of the earliest exercises can be adapted to suit numerous and varied situations.  So, here goes…

– Dennis Chighisola

Great Hockey Conditioning Ideas – Part 4

If I haven’t mentioned this previously, my High School Prep guys are now doing off-ice conditioning twice per week — or ever since we switched from our summer schedule to our fall one (right after the American Labor Day).  In my mind the spring and summer is about slowly improving skills and slowly rounding into shape, while the fall is a time for really gearing-up.

For sure, I’ve wanted to keep some consistency from session to session.  At the same time, boredom is always a huge danger if we keep doing the same-old, same-old stuff.

You’ve previously seen a video (“A Great Hockey Conditioning Routine“) showing a basic idea of how we undertake shift simulations in The MOTION Lab.  Oh, I change that routine a little every week or so — rotating different exercises in and out, as well as altering the length of time my guys do each one.  Still, there is some consistency there.

With that, I arranged our weekly schedule so that my players had a night off before I brought them to our local roller hockey rink.  (In effect, they had close to 48-hours of rest time before having to go hard again.)

Now, as I said above, there had to be some consistency from one off-ice training session to the other.  So, I’ve constantly used a handful of the same Lab exercises — or a slight variation — 2-nights later at the roller rink.  Still, I also said I wanted to avoid boredom, and this prompted me to add new wrinkles to the in-line floor routine.

More recently, what I’ve done is have the players go for a longer time and through a string of exercises — one right after the other, to come even closer to the challenges of a typical on-ice shift.  Like in The MOTION Lab, we’ve gone for 20- or 30-seconds most nights.  However, more recently I’ve extended that time to a number of 1-minute simulated shifts.

The following video shows a group of 4-players rotating through four different stations.  So, what you’ll see is a player repeatedly tumbling so many times, another doing straddle hops up onto a low bench, another doing a variation of Turkish up-downs, and another player hopping laterally over a high bench. And as you’ll see, the guys rotate to the next station after completing the prescribed reps at one.  I’ve then added more stress to this circuit, telling my guys that they have to sprint to the rink’s near blue line when they’ve completed all four stations.  In other words, the winner was the one who crossed that line first.

Okay, I’d like you to see that video so that I might add some other comments right after…

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First, I think you have to love those players for the way they’re pushing themselves.  I mean that; they are really pushing themselves, and I’ve had to say little to motivate them.

As always, I wanted to stay with the one:two work:rest ratio.  So, I had an assistant coach (shown in the video as a red blur by the net) timing the each simulated shift.  And, once he knew how long the kids had worked, he gave them twice that time to rest.

You ought to know that I was guessing a bit when I set the number of repetitions per exercise, hoping that the completion of all four stations — plus the sprint for the blue line — would come fairly close to 1-minute.  And, as luck would have it, we were right around that each time the kids performed their routine.

In fact, while each shift fluctuated within a few seconds of a minute, my players actually cut their time by a little on the very last shift.  And that is telling me that they are rounding into unbelievable shape.

As sort of a PS here…  I am thinking that my guys are about ready for a little break in all this, just to further short-circuit any chances of boredom.  I’m not exactly sure what I’ll pull out of my hat yet.  But, I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as I arrive at something. 

– Dennis Chighisola

VICTORIA MUSSELS LAUNCH FLOORBALL CLUB

Over coming weeks and months, I sense we’re going to hear a lot of stories about how new North America-based floorball clubs are being formed.  That ought to be a really good thing, because I also sense that a lot of us readers (me included) are going to want some ideas, some advice, and some inspiration.

Thankfully, Craig Shaw has been a very active member here at CoachChic.com, adding numerous great Comments and even authoring a previous article for us.

With that, I knew that Craig was experimenting with the idea of getting a floorball program going in his area, so I asked him if he might let us know how things have gone so far.

– Dennis Chighisola

THE VICTORIA MUSSELS FLOORBALL CLUB IS LAUNCHED
By Craig Shaw

During the past year, the idea of floorball has been gradually making its way into my consciousness.

As hockey-mad young boys growing up on the balmy west coast of Canada, playing ice hockey outside was usually not an option for my friends and me.  Our parents thought that we were crazy, but we yearned for the cold, dry winters found in places like Saskatchewan.  Indoor ice was in short supply. As necessity is the mother of invention, we found other ways to play hockey any way we could: street hockey, field hockey, floor hockey, ball hockey (orange ball in a rink without the ice), basement hockey, attic mini-hockey, table hockey, kitchen hockey and roller hockey (back in 1979, there were four of us who skated for hours on our rollerblades … ordered them from a Hockey News ad … people had never seen such things)!  Some of my fondest memories of hockey are not ice hockey, but the wide-open, fast-paced games that we played that had their roots in ice hockey.  If we had floorball, I’m sure it would have been our favourite variation of our national winter game.

Flash forward thirty years: my five-year-old son is not only hockey-mad, but he is sports-mad.  During the past year, I have coached him in ice hockey, t-ball, field hockey, lacrosse and soccer.  As you can imagine, I talk to a lot of parents.  Many of these parents are hesitant to enroll their children in hockey for the usual reasons: cost, early mornings, crazy parents and injuries.  But their children adore hockey and hockey is a big part of Canadian culture….  Enter floorball.

While surfing the net looking for field hockey drills, I happened across floorball.  A local sports store owner mentioned it to me several months earlier, but I did not think much of it.  After researching floorball on Wikipedia and watching videos on the net, I became a bit of a convert without ever actually holding a floorball stick!

I decided to invite similarly sports-mad five and six-year-olds to a local gym once a week for 20 weeks to play floorball.  I had no trouble finding interested families.  Of the eleven players, six have played organized ice hockey and the others have played organized sport of one type or another.  We booked the gym, ordered the sticks and balls and named the team “The Victoria Mussels.”  Being a fan of Long Term Athlete Development, I modeled the practice sessions very similarly to the American Development Model  (www.admkids.com).  There would be no goalies as the players would shoot on mini-nets.  There would be no formal games, but plenty of informal three-on-three competitions without keeping score.  These 10-15 minute games would be inserted in between 10-15 minute skill sessions.   There are no uniforms, but I did invest in some pinnies.  The players were all asked to wear the protective glasses worn by squash players.

We have had four sessions now and the kids and parents love it!  It is fun, safe and accessible.  Even the less-athletic players love it.  The word is spreading and other players are asking to join.

I believe that the light weight of the stick and ball promotes fine motor control and ‘softer hands’ for ice hockey.  I have been playing a lot of floorball in our kitchen with our son and feel that my ice hockey puckhandling has never been better.  I played one afternoon with some university players, a few being experienced floorball players from Europe.  Not only was it a great workout and a lot of fun, but the speed at which the ball travelled from stick to stick promoted very quick decision-making and hand-eye coordination.

As someone who has been obsessed with ice hockey for three decades, I didn’t expect to find a new, arguably better, version of the game I love.  I suspect there will be many hot, sweaty nights running around after a little white high-end wiffle ball in the future!

By the way…  If you noticed Craig using a few scientific terms, it’s because his background is in the sciences — ya, he REALLY knows his stuff when it comes to motor learning and such.  It should also be helpful for you to know that he played ice hockey to a fairly high level, so it’s likely he knows which athletic traits best transfer from floorball to ice hockey.

Do you have a story about how floorball is being organized in your area?  I know we’d all love to hear it.

A VERY Different Approach to Hockey Goaltending

A lot of local customers through the years have dubbed me “The Nutty Professor”.    Hey, I can buy that, and I take it as a compliment, knowing full well that their intent is to suggest that I dare to think outside the proverbial box.

To be perfectly honest with you, I am forever looking for an edge for the players in my charge, be it a big or small one.  So, I quite often see things others don’t.

– Dennis Chighisola

A VERY Different Approach to Hockey Goaltending

Now, a recent theme here the past few days has been the fastest growing sport in the world, floorball.  And, while much has already been said about the benefits that sport’s skills bring to ice hockey for skaters, no one has yet to suggest that floorball practice and playing might also greatly enhance an ice hockey goalie’s game.

So, I’d like you to take a look at the following video and let me know what you think.  Keep an open mind, if you will, much like The Nutty Professor might.  And then let me know what you think in a Comment — either with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.  Again, though, keep that open mind…

Having seen that, might you envision how a goalie’s hands would be quickened, how his or her angles would be reinforced, how the leg movements would be sped-up, and even how much gut wrenching there would be (for enhanced core strength)?

Oh, I am not saying that a goaler should abandon on-ice work; what I am suggesting is that the combination of both kinds of practices could make a netminder really, really awesome!

An Open Letter to Hockey Canada (Floorball)

Today, October 1, 2010, brings a new and exciting category to CoachChic.com.

I’d like to think that I’ve pioneered a number of truly helpful alternative hockey training methods over my 40-years in our game, beginning way back in the 1970s with some unique hockey skills training sessions, later showing all those in (at least) the New England area new concepts in Soviet style off-ice training, and still later promoting the benefits of in-line workouts.

So, sensing I know something hot and hugely beneficial when I see it, today gives me great pleasure to begin spreading the word about floorball.  And, no one could help me do that better than my good friend, Greg Beaudin.

– Dennis Chighisola

An Open Letter to the North American Hockey Community

By Greg Beaudin

Introduction

Five Years ago, I learned about Floorball from Hockey Legend Borje Salming.  At that time, I picked up a Floorball stick and felt the future of Hockey in my hands.

Some observations:
When introducing Floorball to new people, as I have done so many times, a common first reaction is to dismiss aspects of the game; The Stick is too short, The Ball is too light, The goalies have no stick?, But where is the ice? I would say a typical Canadian reaction to learning about Floorball is to pick it apart.  Maybe that’s why we are the best Hockey Nation in the World, I don’t know, we are sensitive about our brand of hockey, and so we should be.

The key points get blurted out, affordability, accessibility, easy to play, a sport for everyone, the soccer of Hockeys, all you need is a stick and ball, it’s fast, fun, and safe, no hacking and whacking, adaptable, global, an Olympic provisional sport, professional leagues in Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, The Russian Olympic Hockey team used Floorball to get ready for Vancouver, NHL stars like the Sedins, Sellanne, Gaborik, the Hossa brothers all played Floorball growing up and many still play in the Summers…blah, blah, blah….the points come out, in staccato like fashion, and the words become just that — words.

And then, we take a shot… and it rips top shelf with a flick of the wrist.  Then we stickhandle and feel, and tap, bounce and twirl, adjust, and shoot, and attempt to corral the ball, at first mostly getting air.  For Canadians, this is not the Floor Hockey stick of the past, the one we all grew up with, it’s something new, fresh, cool, hip, ergonomic, familiar yet distant — It’s a Floorball stick, a “euro thing” that permeates through the hockey communities of Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, The Czech Republic and beyond.

…there is something about a Floorball stick, a certain magic to it.

Canada does have a national federation that belongs to the International Floorball Federation, it’s called Floorball Canada.  There are Provincial organizations, leagues, Hockey Academies, Hockey Schools, Elementary Schools, Secondary Schools, Indepedent Schools, Universities, Private Clubs, Corporate sport groups.  There is a National Championship, and a few big tournaments that take place every year.

Canada is becoming a Floorball nation, and it’s happening, virtually under the radar, with no funding, no corporate support, and very little media recognition.  We need to talk about this, we must discuss why Floorball is succeeding wherever it goes, and why our Hockey Canada Skills Academy talent, AAA girls and boys, across the country, are honing their skills in school gyms and local rec centers with Floorball.

Recently, I conducted two week long Floorball Camps where parents would approach me afterwards and say that they preferred Floorball to Hockey, citing violence, the cost, and the early morning practices.  The smiles, the sweat, the drills, the games, the growth that their kids displayed just validated to them that there could be an alternative to Hockey, that is technically Hockey without the skates and the smelly bags.

Many Parents feel mixed emotions about floorball because they played Hockey growing up and it shaped them as people like nothing else could, and although they want their own kids to learn about Team, Hard work, Dedication to Sport, Canadian culture and all of the wonderful things that Hockey brought them, they see so much madness connected to the game now.  They crave the simpler times of Hockey, where it just happened without all of the big expense and the big fuss…and enter Floorball.   Floorball is going to provide tens of thousands of Canadians an opportunity to “feel” Hockey and the sensations of scoring a big time goal and making a poetic pass.

No matter how much doubt and scrutiny you throw at the stick and the sport of Floorball, as it relates to Hockey, it counters back with an explanation, a smart take, a scientific observation, and a model of proof from blossoming Hockey communities like Gothenburg, Helsinki or Zurich.

For here is a version of indoor hockey that requires minimal equipment- a stick and a ball.  It is played as a team game, it is very high tempo, high scoring, high energy, physical but safe, it’s easy to learn yet develops amazing skills.

Floorball should be in every school in Canada.  Floorball is currently being utilized as an off-ice training system for Hockey Canada Skills Academies, coast to coast.  Do your homework people, You will see!  Floorball has arrived in Canada but needs a helping hand, as Floorball is a Sport for Everyone.

I remember reading the summary from the last Hockey Summit in 1999, and am happy to see the 11 recommendations come forward in a real way to develop Hockey players and enrich the Hockey experience.

I have personally witnessed thousands of smiles of bewilderment, as Young Canadians, New Canadians, Old Canadians, Disabled Canadians, pick up a Floorball stick for the first time.  At first play, the ball is bouncing everywhere and you can see the power shift from the hockey players to the newbies. from the hack and whackers to the runners and the thinkers….it’s a mind shift that provides agility and skill to the Hockey player that already has the strength and force, and it’s empowering to an athlete who has never skated, and now can “snipe” one from 30 feet at 90km+/hr.

Floorball is an exhilarating game.  It speaks to everyone.  It enhances skills in a Young Hockey player and it brings skilled players into Hockey.

Canada has the infrastructure, the will and the desire to breed Hockey talent like no other nation.  You will see Floorball as a solution at every school, rec center, sport club, minor hockey program, skills development center, high-performance academy, Olympic training program, and corporate fitness programs.     Floorball is an important component of the Player Development matrix. It is also a potential gateway sport to assist many Hockey enthusiasts who are a bit hesitant to enter the world of Hockey participation.  I have had many discussions with families that are using Floorball to hedge their bets that their children will one day wish to play Ice Hockey.  So, by developing Hockey Smarts and Skills through Floorball, a young player can join-in on Ice Hockey years down the road, if the interest and/or passion is brimming.

Yes, Floorball is a global sport and it is used by Professsional Hockey players to maintain fitness and enhance skills.  At the Top level, Floorball is vying for a permanent spot in the Summer Olympics.  Universities dole out scholarships, and there is even opportunity for elite players to advance to Professional levels.  However, this is not why I write this letter to you…

This letter is a call to action, it’s to initiate discussion about Floorball and other types of off-ice Hockey.  As a nation, it’s like we are still skiing on wooden skis, when other countries have switched over to high tech parabolic ones or playing Tennis with “Bjorn Borg woodies” whilst there are oversized carbon graphite ones.

Author Profile:

Greg Beaudin is the founder of Modern Hockey, a forward thinking Hockey company with deep roots in Ice Hockey and Floorball.  Modern Hockey has worked with dozens of Hockey Canada Skills Academies to develop their Floorball cross-training programs.  Greg is the son of the “Original Jet” Norm Beaudin, and grew up in a household where Finnish, Swedish and Swiss Hockey was always highly respected.  Like the Oilers of the ‘eighties, Greg’s hockey philosophies were also shaped by the formidable International elements of the Winnipeg Jets of the seventies.  It is this base knowledge that brings Modern Hockey to Floorball and why the push is on to grow Floorball in Canada.

To visit Greg’s site:  ModernHockey.com

Oh, and just in case you’re wondering if floorball could help some of your hockey play (and your overall athleticism), take a look…

Great Hockey Conditioning Ideas – Part 3

Great Hockey Conditioning Ideas – Part 3
By Dennis Chighisola

This is really just going to be a short post for a couple of reasons.

First, I’ve already shown you the basic exercises we’re using to get my high school guys ready for their coming team tryouts.

Secondly, I’ve also shown you how it all works — like stringing the exercises together and pacing them to simulate on-ice shifts.

That said, I highly recommend you quickly review the short video I prepared for Great Hockey Conditioning Ideas – Part 2, just so we’ll be on the same page as I introduce a couple of upgrades or recent adjustments I’ve made to that routine.

1)  One thing you ought to know is that it’s important to spread certain kinds of training over the course of  a week.  For example, I help these high schoolers with their skills and situational stuff on Monday nights — and I go easily on conditioning, just because I know my boys are going to get a real whipping the next night.  Then, after that Tuesday night whipping in The Motion Lab, they get a night off to rest before we go fairly hard on the roller floor in Lakeville, MA.  (That session at the roller rink actually includes some sprint training and part of the conditioning routine we do in the Lab, these done before we put on the in-lines.)  We’ve had some weekend ice over the early fall, which has allowed us to do things similarly to Monday nights.  However, during some future weeks — when we won’t skate on either Saturday or Sunday, I’ll make some adjustments to what we do on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

2)  By the way…  Some consistency is good, while change is also good.  What I’m getting at is that one’s body starts to adapt to a certain training routine, and actually gets accustomed to it.  (That’s the idea of working hard and forcing the body to adapt to the new challenges.)  The problem arises when getting used to an exercise makes that exercise easy to perform.  So, an occasional change in the way practices are spread over time and paced can provide a new and even greater challenge.  Remember:  the main thing is to force the body to constantly adapt and grow — in skills, speed, strength, conditioning, and more…

3)  Building on what we’ve been doing all along, I substituted sandbags last night (in place of their hockey sticks) as my guys did the various kinds of jumps (shown in the video) — onto and over a lower box than we’d previously used with a lighter load.  Both the change in load and the change in height will provide my guys new challenges.

4)  I’ve recently adapted a kettlebell type of exercise and placed it near the end of the guys’ Lab routine.  And, I can tell that this is a real killer for them, especially in their legs.  I tend to call this kind of exercise a “finisher”.  In other words, once they’ve done that, there isn’t much more they can give.

5) Last night, for the first time this training season, we went to 20-second shifts.  (Most previous routines had the kids working for 10- or 15-seconds, with twice as long to rest.)  And, despite the fact that my players were definitely cooked by the end of about 40-minutes, I can tell they are in unbelievable shape.  In fact, I complimented each group last night, suggesting that they’d probably just worked the equivalent of two periods at a pace that is far beyond what most guys would actually skate in a game.

6) I’d like to insert a belief that I’ve shared in numerous other ways here, including in my “Food for Hockey Thought” video, suggesting that quite often we can do a better job training off the ice than we can on it.  For example…  On-ice sprints get pretty old with players, and there’s ultimately the chance that they’ll start to cut corners in their on-ice efforts.  On the other hand, I tend not to see as much coasting when we’re doing a routine similar to the one I’m now discussing.

7)  Okay, those who came to this post via the Goalies link have to be wondering at this point when I’m ever going to get to them.  Sooooo…

Well, over the spring and summer months, Todd Jacobson has always handled our goalers — on the ice, at the in-line facility, and up in The Motion Lab.  And his work with them during those times was almost always position-specific.  However, this year I’ve had our high school netminder join a regular (typically for skaters) training group FOR VERY GOOD REASON.  So, if you can envision some of the drills you saw my skaters doing in that video, imagine how helpful they can be for a goaltender.  Yes, our guy is in unbelievable shape, and I think we can owe it all to this kind of training.

Then, last night, as a group was doing their jumps up onto a box while holding a sandbag in their arms, I decided to have our goalie do a different exercise for his third and final set…  What I had him do was quick ups and downs from his butterfly stance with a sandbag clutched to his chest.  Man, I know it was a killer for him, but he did it awesomely, and in great spirit.  Thereafter, because we do four different types of exercises using a box, he went off to the side and did his special exercise for each third set.

Finally, I’m kinda bummed that I didn’t shoot any video last night — especially showing that goaler exercise and the one that’s kinda like a kettlebell movement.  However, I will try to get some for you next week.

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As always, your Comments mean a lot to me and to other members.

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Update

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I had to miss a recent High School Prep on-ice hockey practice, so I setup my assistant coaches to run something close to a 3 on 3 one-zone game.  I had two reasons for doing this:

First, at this time of year high players have all sorts of problems when it comes to practice attendance — from the latest flu bug to school functions to church commitments.  So, I figured that working low numbers of players at a time would make things easier to administer if we happened to have guys missing from that specific practice.

Secondly — and the real reason I wanted to do this, “small game” contests tend to really push the players.  I mean, they don’t like to be beaten, so they really do push themselves.

Anyway, the word back from my top assistant was that the guys didn’t even seem to be tired at the end of the hour+ skate.    I have to love that.  And, with still two full months to go before my kids go off to their high school hockey tryouts, I just know they’re going to be lean and mean when they do leave.

Hockey’s High Flip Passes

This is just a short post, but I took a little video during my high school team’s recent practice, and I thought I’d not only show you a specific drill, but I also wanted to tell you about my reason’s for doing it.

– Dennis Chighisola

Hockey’s High Flip Passes

Just so you know, most of the drills I use with my players — from the very beginners through to my oldest guys — are ones that I’ve deemed necessary to their development.  In other words, I may have noticed a flaw in their game, and I’ll come-up with something that should help.  (Sometimes it’s just the needs of a single player that cause me to do this, but even catering to the needs of one kid will usually end-up helping quite a few others.)

Yet at other times, there are little extra skills I want to get into my players’ games.  Often they’re things that most other coaches don’t even think about.  But, as I told a few of my guys the other night (while doing a different drill), ‘This just broadens your effectiveness.”  In other words, the new trick or skill might not necessarily be all that noticeable in a game — to the fans.  But a coach is very likely to appreciate one of my guys because he has a knack for doing the “little things” that help win games.

Okay, so what did I have my guys trying the other day?  It was the high flip pass that can be used to sail a puck up and over some oncoming opponents.

As you’ll see in the following video, I sorta just gave my high school players some rough guidelines, and then I allowed them to experiment.  In this case, we were at our roller rink facility which has a high wall along one side.  And, conveniently painted on that wall is a long red line that’s probably about 6- or 7-feet above the floor, and it acted as a spot for my guys to aim.  So again, I told my kids to take their time and get a feel for the movement.  That’s all I can expect in their first go at it…

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You may have noticed that the young fellow featured at the beginning and end of that clip has fairly soft hands.  Not that the other guys don’t, but it’s pretty pronounced in that one boy.

And that brings me to another point, in that a lot of the drills we do with one purpose in mind also aid the development of another skill (or several others).

More than anything, though, I want to emphasize three other points…

First, if you hadn’t already, you now realize that a skill like this one is pretty handy.  Oh, as I suggested before, it’s not a necessity, by any means.  But it sure is good to have within your bag of tricks.

Secondly, I hope you noticed one of our goaltenders working on the very same skill.  I know lots of other coaches would exclude him or her from this kind of stuff, but not me.  I want my netminders to (within reason) have the same skating, puckhandling, passing and shooting capabilities as my skaters.

Third — and really most importantly, I’m using this post to lobby for a little built-in practice time where your skaters can just relax and experiment with a given skill.  Oh, I’m as driven as any coach to run fast-paced practices, and to do lots of stuff with discipline.  However, today’s kids — at least from my point of view — lack the chance to freelance and experiment like a lot of earlier generations did on local ponds and rivers.

Lastly, while our off-ice facility is a great place for the guys’ first tries at a new skill, you can be sure we’ll take this drill to the ice shortly, and probably at some point even have the players try to execute the skill under some game like pressure.

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As always, I love (and greatly appreciate) your Comments.  Just use the box below.

More on Solving Hockey Problems

As I do sort of a sequel to an earlier post (“Solving Hockey Training Problems”), I’m almost thinking that a kzillion other articles and videos could have been titled almost the same.  After all, what I’ve done for years is to mainly troubleshoot — for the sake of my players, my students, their parents and a lot of other coaches.  And, chances are good that you also have to do tons of problem solving if you’re a hockey player, parent or coach.

That said, let me share what got me going on my current rant…

– Dennis Chighisola

More on Solving Hockey Problems

Last week I corresponded with a member who was having some ankle and hip problems.  I made sure I told that young lady player that I’m not a doctor, and that my ideas and experiences should not replace her seeking professional medical advice.

That out of the way, I did share with her my thoughts based on about 40-years of experience in such matters.

My first question — again based on experience — was to see if she’d made any recent changes — especially when it came to her skates or any other gear she wears on the lower extremities.  Her first answer was, “No.”  However, given a brief time, she did say that her latest skate sharpening was not to her liking, and that it made her feel uncomfortable on the ice.  Hmmmmmm…

Now again, I am not a doctor.  However, think this through with me…

If a piece of gear feels the least bit uncomfortable, a hockey player is very likely to compensate in some way.  In this member’s case, I suspect she may have started skating just a tad differently, which might have caused some soreness somewhere.  Yes, somewhere, because I’ve seen a change in posture suddenly cause awful back problems, and pain in several other places.  So, what’s the chance her way of compensating had her over-stressing her feet and ankles?  Could be, huh?

With that, I might further guess that her sore ankles caused her to skate even more differently, with that resulting in some pain in her hips.

Now, this stuff is still all a guess; it’s just that it’s a fairly educated one.  (I don’t know if you’ve read through the years how some Major League Baseball pitchers have had their careers ended because a foot or leg injury caused them to throw differently and to ultimately over-stress their pitching arms.  But, it is so.)

All this said, today’s post IS NOT really about our young friend’s aches and pains.  What it IS about is our need to gather as many experiences and bits of knowledge as possible, in order to be able to troubleshoot any difficulty that might come along.

  I used to get teased by a friend who liked to say that I “know too many facts”.  That discussion ended, however, when I ran across an article whereby it was stated that (and I paraphrase), “Common sense stems from being able to piece together numerous random facts.”

That in mind, you can imagine how helpful it can be for anyone in hockey to know not only the sciences, skills, tactics and strategies, but also the way equipment should be measured, how skates and sticks should be adapted to the individual, and so much more.

Actually, I learned how to sharpen skates in my earliest years in the game, and I studied all I could about the characteristics of a skate radius.  I picked the brains of my friends in the local pro shops, and I’ve even asked a lot of questions of the Zamboni operators.  Beyond my Physical Education Degree studies, I even took extra sports medicine courses outside of my formal education.  And I’ve forgotten where else I’ve stuck my nose in, just trying to gain more and more “random facts”.

Okay, so the reason I’m saying all this…  First, I’m hoping that a lot of the “little things” you need to know are already somewhere within the near 400 posts contained here.  I’m also suggesting each member nose around as I have, asking questions wherever and whenever there’s a chance to gather a deeper understanding of our game and a player’s needs.  Then, of course, I truly want you to put me to the test, and to ask me absolutely anything you’d like.  Hey, I said I truly want you to.

A Great Hockey Conditioning Routine

Great Hockey Conditioning Ideas – Part 2
By Dennis Chighisola

I think it’s important to mention a few things before actually showing you what we’ve been up to.

1. In order for this program to help my players, each exercise and its method of execution is going to have to be as close to their on-ice needs as possible.
2. My kids struggled a number of times when they were working at something that required fine motor skills — like the rope skipping.  So I advised them not to get frustrated…  I told them that their fine motor skills are the first to abandon them as they tire, and that they’ll be less and less affected by that as their conditioning improves.  (By the way, the fine motor skills involved in their game play would include eyesight, stickhandling, and their passing and shooting accuracy.  Ya, maybe a goaltender wouldn’t focus on a speeding puck as well as he’d like, and perhaps a skater might flub the puck or miss on a shot he’d otherwise nail.)
3. At one point during the upcoming video, you’ll hear me tell a player to “Keep going!”  Yes, I explain to my guys that they are forming habits of all kinds during their practices — even up in The MOTION Lab, so I advise them to keep teaching themselves to not stop and sulk for even an instant whenever they experience a problem — in a game or in a practice.

Okay, so what I’ve done is to design almost a simulated game for my high school guys.  Oh, they’re not going to be playing, but they are going to condition themselves in game-like fashion.

During our first week of doing this sort of thing, I told my guys to go fairly easy with the exercises.  “Hey,” I promised them, “by Thanksgiving you’ll be able to skate rings around everyone else!”

Following some exercises that doubled as warm-ups, they enhanced their footwork or puckhandling with some of the drills seen in the video, “A Sneak Peek at My HS Prep Hockey Team’s Training“).

Warm-up accomplished, I started my guys with 7 exercises that were really going to tax them.

Rope Skip with Lateral hops – A player skips the rope at a good pace while also hopping from side to side.

Front Jumps to Box - Keeping their sticks low (when they have them) and holding a decent posture, each player jumps forward and up onto the box, back down, and so forth.

Lateral Jumps to Box – Like above, a player hops up onto the box, but from side to side (which simulates the push-off during skating).

Straddle Hops to Box – Again, a player hops up onto the box, but while performing straddle hops (which also includes some later pushing).

Continuous Rolls – This one is a real killer, as a player executes roll after forward roll.  Players usually become a little dizzy at the end of their turn (to which I’ll often say, “Good, now the game will be easy for you!”)

Coach Chic’s Up/Downs – Similar to the popular exercise known as Turkish Up/Downs, my version has a player holding a weight (and sometimes two weights or a sandbag) in both hands.  In this way I get what I want, which is for the player to get up and go down without the use of his hands.

Sit-ups & Dribble — I wanted my guys to do some sit-ups during this routine, but I thought I’d also get their minds off the core work while also improving their puckhandling.  So, as you’ll see in the video, my guy is dribbling a ball as he does quick sit-ups.

Following that pretty tough workout, the guys cool and do static stretching in hopes they’ll bounce-back quickly.

Okay, here are some video clips of that training I’ve strung together.  I’ll have some further comments to add at the end, as well as an even better description of how I run things…

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(I hate to say it but, it’s pretty noticeable who is and who isn’t in shape at the start, just by observing the pace they work at.  Still, we do have several months to bring everyone along.)

Now, how did I arrive at those particular drills?  Really, what I was looking for were exercises that challenged the whole body.  So, while a number of them are hockey specific, I’m sure my members could come-up with a number of other really challenging movements that involve a player’s total body.

Then, as far as operation goes…

- My kids report to The MOTION Lab in small groups.  No matter, everything is based on us having three playing units in a game.  So, we simulate that same work:rest ratio — or, X-seconds work followed by 2X-seconds rest.  (On a night when we had only two players, we’d just pretend a third guy was there so we could keep the same 1:2 work:rest ratio.)

- I usually had a team dad watching the clock and calling out for the kids to “Change!” (so I could keep focused on the work area).  The players knew they had to make changes quickly — on-the-fly, and you can hear me in the video at least once pushing a youngster to hurry on the twitch.

- I think we may have begun with 10-second shifts during the first weeks.  However, I’ve gradually increased the work times to 15-seconds and then 20-seconds.  The most we’ll probably ever do these drills will be 30-seconds, although I’m not sure that’s necessary.

- To get a decent workout, we usually did two sets of each exercise (but that could be increased if we wanted come even closer to real game length).

- Most of the above drills could be made even more taxing by adding weights or increasing the existing weight.  So, we could actually adjust both the time and resistance for a given movement and get a totally different training effect.  (I likely would lessen the length of a drill if I was going to add more weight.)

- We only do the Lab workouts once per week…

- Of course, this stuff has to blend with our other training sessions — at our other off-ice facility and during our on-ice practices.  So, the accompanying photo shows how a full team can be spread in an open area to do similar drills timed in similar fashion.

- As you may have gathered from some of my other writings, I’m not really a big fan of traditional type aerobic workouts.  What I do try to get is an aerobic training effect in all my practices — off-ice or on-ice.  For example the routine you just watched — although mainly focusing on anaerobic shift work — actually has a cumulative effect.  In other words, the players in that video are aiding their aerobic capacity (and more hockey related) because they stay going for nearly 45-minutes per session.  And I look to do the same on the ice, pushing my players at a fairly rapid pace, from drill to drill to drill, with all that work adding-up over nearly an hour.

Finally, when I mentioned “youngster” up there somewhere, it reminded me to caution you about subjecting a young body (and even a youngster’s psyche) to a routine like this.

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Hey, you know I love your Comments, observations and questions.  Just use the box down below to join me and other in a great hockey conversation!

A Sneak Peek at My HS Prep Hockey Team’s Training

Members can expect that I’ll slowly but surely explain each of the different drills you’ll see highlighted in this hockey video.  As I like to do, I’ll let you know WHY I’m having my kids do a given drill (or form of drilling), and I’ll usually also let you know the important teaching points that go along with each drill.  For the time being though, let me just entertain you a bit with a sneak peek at what we’ve been doing so far…

– Dennis Chighisola

Puckhandling Is A Mentality! (One “Sick” Goal!)

Every time I get to talking about puckhandling with someone, I almost always find the need to suggest that “it’s a mentality”.  Said maybe another way — that’ll help you better understand, I should probably say that it’s a “mindset”.

And, while the majority of hockey people might feel the fancy dangler is just a natural — or that he or she was born with that ability, I’m here to tell you that I know I can teach it.

Okay, before offering much more, let’s have a look at one “sick” goal by Jarod Palmer.  After that, I’ll catch you on the other side.

– Dennis Chighisola

Puckhandling Is A Mentality!

Jarod Palmer Sick Shootout Goal (July 18 2010)

Okay, I’m a little old to have the word “sick” in my vocabulary — at least in the above context.  But if ever there was a play that deserved some wild adjective, that surely was IT!

About my title theme, though — that puckhandling is a mentality…

Well, as I watched that play a number of times, all I could think about was the creativity that went into arriving at such an idea.  Just think about that yourself.  And, think about the mentality that Palmer (and any other slick puckhandler) has to have in order to think-up at such an idea.  Unbelievable.

By the way, I don’t know if you noticed how believable young Mr Palmer was as he took that fake shot.  And, did you even hear the supposed shot?  Actually, that might be one of the most remarkable things about that play.  Then, although it was difficult to detect, even in slow-motion, I think Palmer also kicked the puck from behind with his left skate.  And he did that without ever looking downward and giving the goaler a hint that he hadn’t really shot.

Of course, I’m all about teaching, as well as sharing with you all that I know about the teaching process.  So, I’m going to suggest these two things for anyone who wants to become a dangler, or anyone who wants to encourage a player to become slick with the puck…

For sure, disciplined drills form the foundation for good puckhandling.  So, a player should absolutely master all the basic moves.

Along with the discipline, however, there has to be some creative time.  In other words, a player should just hot dog with the puck for awhile — just fiddling and diddling, and having some fun.  In my clinics, I’ll usually encourage my students or players to just “Go nuts!”  For, this is where the mentality or the mindset begins.

Again, although that goal by Jarod Palmer surely was sick (LOL), I’m even more fascinated by the creativity that young athlete surely had in devising such a move.

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Todd Jacobson (our CoachChic.com goalie coach) just sent me a link to the following video.  And, as I was watching and shaking my head, I was also telling myself that, “That is just another example of great puckhandling stemming from a special kind of mentality!”  Here you go…

Troubles with Hockey Passing & Receiving

At the end of every week, our friend, Jerry Z, usually sends me an email update on his roller hockey goings on.  And, this week was no exception.

What I especially like about these is that Jerry’s reports very frequently point to a few things that are fairly prevalent in my line of work:

1) that I’m obviously dealing with an intelligent guy;

2) that he often shows me some remarkable insight; and,

3) that he is quite often wrong. 

Actually, that last one wasn’t really a swipe at Jerry at all.  More often the incorrect stuff he relays to me comes from various guys Jerry skates with.  Wives’ tales I’m talking about here, or the kind of advice we could all do without.

Anyway, before I get too carried away, I think I’d better get into the topic at hand…

– Dennis Chighisola

Troubles with Hockey Passing & Receiving

To begin, here’s a quick piece from Jerry Z’s latest email, these few sentences taken from an account of his second of two games this past week…

“…on Saturday, I was working with another guy before the game to help corral passes with the puck. It’s getting better, I’m starting to understand the muscle memory it takes to cradle the puck as it comes to you.”

Now, this isn’t one of those wives’ tales at all.  In fact, Jerry is pretty much right — in that most sports movements involve muscle memory (of either the good or the bad variety), and that a player has to use soft hands in gathering-in a firm pass.

As a quick aside, I need to share with members the fact that there have been some changes in Jerry’s activities of late.  What I’m getting at is that he played on a rather small roller hockey court when I first started working with him, while he’s more recently started playing on a surface that is pretty close to the size of an ice hockey rink.

Of course, skating is going to become a far greater factor on the larger floor than it was in the little bandbox.  However, Jerry is also discovering that there is also a huge difference in his moving from playing with a ball to playing with a puck.

And it’s the latter part — about the difference between playing with a ball or a puck — that I want to make clear from the start…

You see, almost no strength or leverage is needed to either catch or propel a very light ball.  Let me say that again:  one could stand in the worst possible posture and still stop or fire a lightweight ball.  However, it takes a bit more strength and more stability to handle a slightly heavier puck.

That said, if you think I want to talk about skating tonight, you’re correct.  For, in almost every instance, the inexperienced skater tends to stand upright.  And, while he or she might get away with handling a ball from that posture, they’re going to have some difficulty once a heavier puck is introduced.  (Oh, Jerry has come quite a ways in the time we’ve worked together.  However, he still does skate fairly upright.)

At this point, I know that someone out there is going to be scratching his or her head, thinking that there isn’t that much difference in weight between a ball and a puck.  And, although that might be so, I guess what I’m really getting at is the combination of weight and the force at which a given object travels that really spells the difference.  In other words, either passed or shot pucks have to be sent with a considerable amount of force to be effective.  And, on the receiving end, a player has to deal with the heavier puck arriving pretty forcefully.

Okay, Jerry mentioned the need to catch the puck with soft hands as it arrives.  Still, despite the fact that I spend lots of time drilling my players on such passing and receiving technique, I’m going to suggest right now that there’s something else that’s causing Jerry’s passing and receiving woes.

Pardon this brag for a moment, folks, but I’m about to explain a trait that tends to separate me from a lot of other skills coaches…

You see, I accept the textbook stuff and the long established understandings of our game, at least for the most part.  However, I hardly ever stop there.  Naw, I’m forever looking for underlying causes of problems, and I quite often find them (far from where others would even think to look).  That describes a lot of what you’ll find here within the hundreds of pages in CoachChic.com (or, at least I hope so).

And that little sidebar brings me to something I discovered at one of my summer hockey schools probably 20-plus years ago…

I happened to notice that even some of my older players were struggling with their passing and receiving, and even in some very simple drills.  So, I pulled out my camcorder that day, and I taped numerous pairs of players moving down the ice and executing passes that were only about 5′ or 6′ long.

Later that night, I studied and studied those pairs, and I especially ran and re-ran the segments where a pass was flubbed, it missed its mark, and for whatever reason the puck began flipping and rolling.

In every single case where those things occurred, I finally found a common condition.  And, while you won’t believe me — until I explain it, the poor passes or catches almost always stemmed from a single skating problem.

As a preface to what I want to really tell you, let me first explain that a player’s “give” with the stick — or his cushioning of the incoming puck — calls for a considerable reach with the stick-blade at the start.  In other words, he or she has to reach a ways outward towards the puck at first, “give” with the pass next, and then continue that “give” beyond the midpoint of his or her body.  (Can you picture this?)

And the same thing goes for a decent pass, in that the player has to pull the puck off towards one side before he or she begins a long sweeping motion that also extends beyond the middle of his or her body.  In fact, just as in shooting, the longer the follow-through, the better ones accuracy.

Now, do you see where I’m going with this?  For, what countless hockey school video clips showed me was that the poorer passers and receivers weren’t able to reach very far outside their centers of gravity (or they at least weren’t very comfortable in doing so).

By the way…  Some of the kids I’d video-taped were pretty decent teenage players.  Yet, they still seemed uncomfortable as I’ve just described.  And the point I want to make here is that all things are relative.  I mean, Jerry can be having his passing and receiving problems as a fairly inexperienced player, but so can far more experienced guys who might not have had the right kind of training.  Sure, the latter guys can likely motor around the rink.  But, extending their hands and arms outside the center of gravity is quite another matter.  (Maybe you can appreciate now why I spend so much time developing athleticism in my players.)

Oh, yes, one other thing when it comes to not daring to reach far outward…  What I discovered within that video footage was that all the bouncing and rolling pucks resulted from the same problem, whether it was in the act of making or trying to catch a pass.

For, what happened is that a passer who didn’t dare to reach very far would chop at the puck with a very short motion.  And, when it came to catching a pass, that kind of player would brace himself with the stick held stiffly at mid-body.

In both instances — from either the stiff catch or the chopping send-off, the puck would bounce, wobble or roll immediately after contact.

And this all brings me back to my buddy, Jerry Z.  Oh, for sure he should continue working on “cradling” his catches.  However, I’m hoping this piece will give him further insight into the REAL problem.  Yup, improved skating is going to help his game in numerous ways, including his passing and receiving.

PS:  I recently suggested that Jerry spend more time working on his puckhandling.  Why — when his skating needs work, as does his passing game, his shooting, his defending, etc?  Well, my feeling is that extra puck work will actually get him chasing the puck or ball, and thusly get him moving more on this skates.  Then, from my Building Blocks view of our game’s skills, you might recall that I see puckhandling as a prerequisite to better passing, receiving and shooting.

Great Hockey Conditioning Ideas – Part 1

(Part 2 of this special subject was added on August 28, 2010.  However, more on this will be explained at the end of this article.)

Yes, I’m an old(er) coach.  Still, I’ve hardly ever been stuck in the dark ages.  In fact, while I never want to abandon any training ideas that are working well, you can almost be sure that I’ll make some changes to my teaching approach, even if they are only subtle (or hardly noticeable).

Such is the case as I ready my High School Prep guys for their coming season.  For, although conditioning has always been a priority when working with them — so they can enter their tryouts skating rings around everyone else, I’ve decided to pick it up a notch (or two or three) as we approach this coming season.

– Dennis Chighisola

Great Hockey Conditioning Ideas - Part 1

Before getting into this subject too deeply, I want to suggest that there are almost always some other lessons to be shared within a given area of training, without these having to necessarily be connected to that training.

Three great “teaching moments”, as I like to call them, arose during the taping of the following video, two of them coincidentally happening when a player faltered with his jump rope.  But, let me explain…

1. At one point, I sensed that a kid was getting kind of frustrated as he got tangled in his rope.  So, wanting to encourage him, I stopped things and took the time to comfort him and the other kids with, “It’s not your fault.” And I went on to explain that, “Your fine motor skills will be the first to abandon you as you tire — things like your eyesight, your stickhandling, your shooting and passing accuracy…  And, yes, even your ability to deal with that rope.”  Of course, I also encouraged him and the others with the thought that everything will be easier as our training takes hold.
2. At yet another time, a different young guy tripped on his rope and paused for awhile.  Hmmmmmm…  So, what better time to address that issue?  I mean, habits are being formed every second of our training, and it was important to convey that to my players.  And, that goes for the way they respond to adversity.  So, I suggested that they wouldn’t want to teach themselves to stop and sulk — even for an instant — should they have a difficulty in their games.  No, we’re talking critical mini-seconds here, as in a player recovering quickly enough to help his (or her) team on the attack or on defense.
3. Then, yet another slight problem arose on a very different drill (I’ll explain in a few days), this providing us another great teaching moment…  You see, my kids were executing repetitive forward rolls, and by the end of each string of tumbles, the player was staggering pretty good (not unlike being spun around numerous times).  Actually, having asked one kid if he felt dizzy, my reply to his nod was, “Good!”    Of course, I explained to him and the group that they actually experience similar conditions in a game.  Oh, maybe not quite so severely, but they do get tangled or spun or tripped-up or stung during their games, and my feeling is that they’ll recover quicker if they can endure even tougher challenges in our practices.

Now, I want this particular topic to be at least a two-parter.  So, I’m going to begin things by telling you only a little about it, I’m going to point you towards that video, and then I’m going to toss a little quiz your way.  (We did this with an earlier post of mine, and it worked well by getting numerous members involved.)  A few days from now, I’ll answer questions, address your Comments or opinions, and I’ll also explain the entire concept of this routine.

Now, the following video shows a couple of my high school kids skipping rope.  A little differently from normal, I’ve asked them to do these things:

• only go for 15-seconds (at which time another player will jump-in for his 15-seconds of work, and so on);
• jump laterally, rather than the customary rope skipping in-place way;
• during your 15-seconds, alternate the intensity, from a slow pace to a really frantic one.

Okay, so take a look at the video, and I’ll then toss a few questions your way…

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Not bad, huh?  And, as you might guess, it’s a heck of a workout.

Oh, if you can take a look at that footage again, you might notice that each boy — maybe one more than the other — is having difficulty changing his pace — I mean, from slow to helter-skelter.  And you might want to know that I find too many players having the same difficulty when they’re on the attack and trying to disrupt a defender’s timing of the rush.

Anyway, with that, let me pose a few questions that I hope will prove a good lead-in to the second part of this discussion.  Mainly…

1. Why do you think I’ve asked my kids to rotate (actually, they will be rotating in threes)?
2. Why the specific 15-second timing of this work?
3. Why have I asked the kids to jump laterally?
4. Why have I asked the guys to alternate their pace?

Okay, the ball (errrrrrr… the puck) is in your court.  So, let’s have as many as possible jump-in, and let’s get talking about hockey-specific conditioning!

I can’t thank my CoachChic.com friends enough for contributing their ideas and Comments on this topic.  I know I didn’t give you a lot of information to work with, and I may have even tricked you a bit.  However, I hope I also spurred your interest.

That said, Great Hockey Conditioning Ideas – Part 2 is now posted (as of 8/28/10).  Here’s a link:   A Great Hockey Conditioning Routine

WHAT THE BLEEP IS FLOORBALL?

One of the most exciting parts of my job is the chance I get to meet so many great hockey people — from the parents of my little Learn-to-skate kids to my fellow CoachChic.com members to some awesome professionals (many of whom have contributed to these pages).

Consequently, I’m as excited to have Greg Beaudin share with us some very interesting information on a recent hot topic here, floorball.

As you’ll discover, Greg knows his stuff.  So, here he is, answering a question many of you may have asked of late (but not necessarily in such a colorful way). 

– Dennis Chighisola

WHAT THE BLEEP IS FLOORBALL?
By Greg Beaudin

http://www.modernhockey.com
cell: 778.385.7825
skype: modernice
greg@modernhockey.com

Innebandy(Swedish), SaliBandy(Finnish), Unihockey(Swiss/German) and Floorball are all the same sport, just different names to reflect regionality. The International Sport Governing Body is known as the International Floorball Federation and the IOC recognizes “FLOORBALL” as the parent term to describe the sport.  The Canadian Federation is simply known as “Floorball Canada” (FC) and in the US, they are known as the US Floorball Association(USFbA)

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More on Floorball & Hockey

I love that Craig Shaw got me going on this topic (see our earlier exchanges), and he also inspired the post I ultimately did on “Exploring the Benefits of Floorball“.

With that, here’s …

– Dennis Chighisola

More on Floorball & Hockey

As every long-time member knows, I’m always looking for ways to help my players.  However, there’s more to that short statement than one might believe.

For sure, I’m always looking for ways to help my players take their games to new levels.  (Of course, that was a given.)

At the same time, I’m forever searching for ways to help my players become truly unique.  And, that one just might need a bit more explaining…

What I’m getting at is that I’d like my guys to ultimately be able to do things that no one else can do.   Hey, I’m guessing Bobby Orr developed a lot of his never-before-seen moves out on the river in Parry Sound, Ontario.  I sure would like to know when the likes of a Boom Boom Geffrion got the idea to blast the first known slapshots.  And, I’d love to know who the player was — or what the circumstances were — that initiated things like the stickhandling move called the toe-over pull.

Ya, my hope is that by virtue of my players training differently — or doing some things that are quite beyond what others might do, they could just bring to the game an equivalent of the toe-pull, spinarama, or slapshot.

Oh, I’m not aiming to create the next Orr or Geffrion.  But, I think it is possible to encourage players to be unique in some ways.

Anyway, those who venture to my blog, Coach Chic’s Hockey Diary, might know that I’m really into a couple of social media sites, Twitter and Facebook.  Well, don’t you know that I was wondering around Facebook earlier today and laughed out loud when I came across a group devoted solely to Floorball (<= check it out)!

I doubt the owners of that page would mind if I copied and pasted some of the introduction from there.  So, here goes…

Floorball, a type of floor hockey, is an indoor team sport which was developed in the 1970s. It is a fast paced sport, with limited physical contact allowed. Floorball is most popular in areas where the sport has developed the longest, such as the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland. The game is played indoors on a gym floor, making it a year-round sport at the amateur and professional levels. There are professional leagues, such as Finland‘s Salibandyliiga and Sweden‘s Svenska Superligan.

While there are 49 members of the International Floorball Federation (IFF), the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland have finished in most of the coveted 1st, 2nd and 3rd places at the Floorball World Championships.

In addition to those four countries, floorball is gaining popularity in countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore and the United States.

Yes, evidently, that sport is gaining popularity in Craig’s country (Canada) and mine (the United States).  A quick search on Google showed the following US based programs…

• Austin Floorball Club – Austin, Texas.
• Caltech Floorball Club – Located in California.
• EBC Floor Hockey – Located in Michigan.
• Innebandy Chicago – Floorball league located in Illinois.
• MIT Floorball Club – in Massachusetts.
• NYC Floorball – New York City.
• Triangle Floorball Club – Raleigh, North Carolina.
• The Valhalla Warriors – In Mountain View, California.

I find it interesting that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is only about 30-miles away from me, in Boston, MA.  (Ironically, I used to provide hockey skill instructions to the MIT Women’s Hockey Team.)

Okay, so you want to know about my fascination with that sport (and Craig’s)?  Just have a look at another stick-skills demonstration borrowed from YouTube.com…

Now, having seen that (and the video I showed you in the previous post), does it remind you of the college goal that had the hockey world abuzz several years ago — I mean the one where the player held the puck on his blade just before slinging it over the unsuspecting goaltender’s shoulder?  And, that’s what I was getting at up above, when I said I’d like my players to be creative like that, and possibly even come-up with a new and surprising move like that one.

Finally (if there ever can be a finally on this type of topic), I’m going to suggest a few things — to Craig and all my other CoachChic.com friends…

• If I had a very young player at home, I might be inclined to seek a league for him or her, or maybe even start one.
• If you have an older youth player (or if you’re an adult player), I’d probably gather a number of those videos available over on YouTube.com, and see if the creative juices start flowing from watching those.
• If you work with a number of different age groups, as I do, I’d probably suggest the second approach.  Ya, that’s what I think I’m going to do — I’ll collect a few of those stickhandling videos and post them to each team’s site, and then prod my players to copy some of those moves.

PS:  As an afterthought, I just did a quick Internet search for “floorball equipment”, and I grabbed the first site with a recognizable name.  (Actually, Craig, I noticed a site located out your way, in British Columbia.)  And, I was surprised that the gear seems easily available and rather inexpensive…  Floorball Equipment That’s just a sample site, though, and I’ll bet you can get even better buys with a little more searching.

Exploring the Benefits of Floorball

Let me begin by thanking a really active member of CoachChic.com, Craig Shaw, for reminding me about this truly fascinating sport.  And, yes — to two things:

1) I’ve actually known about this game for a number of years;
2) “floorball” truly is a “sport” (as you’re about to see)!

Exploring the Benefits of Floorball

To be honest, the term “floorball” didn’t really strike a chord with me — until I looked it up.  (Actually, I think most of the print and narration was in every language BUT English when I long ago ran across that game.)

Of course, I’m sure Craig would believe anything about this old coach by now — like, the further something is from tradition, the more likely I’ve explored it. 

That said, you just have to take a look at the following video to realize that floorball is NOT your typical street hockey game played in a gym.  As a matter of fact, the following is from the World Floorball Championships (yes, “WORLD Championships”).  But, take a look before I go on further…

Aha, I hope you found that game as interesting as I did when I first stumbled upon it (probably 6- or 7-years ago).

By the way…  It appears to me that floorball playing nations are as passionate (or maybe as nuts) about their sport as many soccer-serious countries are about their game.  And, if you don’t believe me, I think you’ll get a kick out of all the trash talking going on in the Comments area for that video over at YouTube.com.

Back to my initially discovering the game, though…  You should know that it wasn’t the sport itself that caught my fancy…  Naw, the skills exhibited by some of the floorball players was what really got me thinking.  So, take a look at just one example of what I mean…

Now, most long-time friends know that my grandson, Anthony Chic, is somewhat the magician with a puck (or ball).  But, the day I discovered a batch of videos like the above one, I asked him if he could do those tricks.  “No way!  That’s impossible!” was his reply.

Really, I was only teasing Tony C.   From what I can gather, the floorball stick is lighter than our ice hockey sticks, it’s obviously shorter, I know that the blade has holes in it — probably to allow air to flow through, and I sense that the ball is considerably lighter than what a North American kid would typically fiddle with.

Finally, Craig asked if I thought floorball skills would help an ice hockey player.  Ha!  I would say, “Absolutely!”  (Hey, Craig, why do you think I long ago burned a whole bunch of videos like those above to CD, and added them to my New England Hockey Institute library?)

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Well, what do you think, folks?  Please leave a Comment below and let me know!

Underlying Problems in Hockey Passing

The following was initiated by a conversation I had with one of my long-time advanced students.  That’s as much as I really want to say about him, because to go more into it would likely embarrass many of his teammates.  Of course, that’s not my aim here at CoachChic.com; what my aim IS, though, is to share certain things with my hockey friends that can change their game — A LOT.

– Dennis Chighisola

Underlying Problems in Hockey Passing

Now, I want to re-establish the fact that the above conversation centered around older guys who play an advanced game, or even what most folks would consider an elite level.  <= THAT, I’ll suggest, is going to be an important point for all members to consider as I move along here.

What arose in our brief talk was the fact that a lot of concessions evidently had to be made for my young friend’s numerous teammates who could not catch passes.  Ya, you read that correctly; most of them can’t easily handle a pass so they can quickly get-on to the next thing they have to do (like shoot or whatever).

As an aside, our conversation also included a little about passing — as in most of those guys not being able to thread a firm, flat pass right onto a teammate’s stick-blade.

That said, I eventually had to add my own two cents worth…  What I need to share — with anyone who will listen — is that there are always underlying reasons for the problems older players experience.

As yet another aside, let me point-out that NHL players have their own skill deficiencies.  That’s why there’s a difference between any pro roster’s top player and the guy or two who is just hanging-on.

In just about every case, the shortcomings of older players have to do with how they were raised in the game.  And that’s what I told my young friend…  In his case, I said that his teammates as far back as in Mites, Squirts and Pee Wees were instructed on the tactical aspects of passing — like, “Don’t hog the puck!” or, “Head-man it as quickly as you can!”

Very seldom do I see youth coaches actually take the time to instruct their players on the “skills of passing and receiving”.  (Actually, the young player I was talking with had to think a bit about that one, because he was fortunate enough to be under my tutelage during those critical skill building years.)

Like so many other individual skills, proper passing and receiving techniques have to be second-nature, or instinctive.  And that means learning them as early as possible, mastering them, and then constantly refreshing them.  (Okay, it might not be as easy as that when it comes to the passing game, because a properly instructed player would best be raised in accordance with the conditions I describe in my Building Blocks Approach to Skills.)

If there’s one huge mistake I see made at our game’s developmental levels, it’s the notion — among parents and coaches, that, “A kid will get it sooner or later.”  And, I’m here (as your trusted adviser?) to tell you it ain’t going to happen.  What will happen is that a player who has had certain skills glossed-over will ultimately learn how to hide those shortcomings.  Oh, sometimes they get him or her cut from a team at some point; sometimes the player just keeps surviving — even at the NHL level.  But, make no mistake about it:  that kind of player IS going to suffer, and he or she is going to spend plenty of frustrating nights out on the ice.  (Come to think of it, so are a lot of teammates going to be frustrated at that player’s lack of skill.)

Okay, so what to do about all this…

- I think we really do need a change in attitude among lower level youth coaches and parents.  Please — from this point forward, know that the little things do matter, and please don’t fall back on that old “A kid will get it sooner or later.”  The chances for that aren’t very good.

- I had thought to make a new video for you on this subject, but I quickly realized I’d already covered most of what needs to be known when it comes to passing and receiving.  So, as soon as you get the chance, I’ll suggest you go here:  Passing & Receiving.  Scroll down to the bottom of that page and work your way upward.  Again, you’ll find a ton of information there — for the player, coach and parent.  And, who knows?  You just might take care of the underlying problems in your youngsters’ passing game before it’s too late.

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As always, I love (and rely upon) your Comments!

“Specialized” Hockey Training

Most of you know about the 6-part video series that’s – at least for now — available here through CoachChic.com.  If you don’t, it’s free to members and non-members alike, and the series (“You Don’t Need Ice!”) is mainly about the things a hockey player, coach or parent might do to make better use of the spring and summer off-season months.

Anyway, I’ve asked for those viewing the series to fire questions my way should they have them.  (Hey, that’s part of my job here – to clarify things, huh?)

With that, the first question to arrive is a really great one, compliments of our friend and roller hockey player, Jerry Z!

– Dennis Chighisola

“Specialize” Hockey Training

Now, here’s that question from Jerry:

“In one of your first episodes of the You Don’t Need Ice series, you said specialization has brought about a generation of pretty good robots. I’m wondering if you can expand on that. When did the generation start. Why and how did it start? Do you see hope for the future on seeing more complete athletes?  Or do you feel that the current generation of robots will raise more robots and it’s an irreversible pattern?”

Did I say that was a great question (or questions)?

To begin, I’m going to suggest that “specialization” is a personal thing.  In other words, I think the choice of participating solely in our sport (to exclude all others) wasn’t some planned plot by the hockey powers that be.  Naw, instead I think individual players (or parents of players) ultimately felt that hockey was their best sport, and they decided at some point to just concentrate on that.

I’ll also suggest that the onset of specialization is regionally based, or that it has been influenced by the hockey climate in a give area.  For example, during the time of my youth, my dad and I probably couldn’t have chosen to only focus on hockey, primarily because there weren’t enough year-round opportunities to play and practice.  (Come to think of it, before the coming of sports domes and the like, there probably wasn’t a prayer of working at soccer or baseball or a number of other sports over an extended period.)  Here in New England, the chance to specialize in ice hockey probably began with the so-called “Bobby Orr Era”, during a time when numerous rinks sprouted-up.  And, with those new rinks came the need for rink owners/managers to fill their facilities with year-round playing and training programs.  Suddenly, kids and parents at least had the option to devote a great deal more time to hockey.  And, a lot of them began doing just that.

Again, I’m suggesting that the decisions were personal.  BUT, players have also been encouraged – and sometimes pushed – to specialize (by well meaning coaches, recruiters, and countless others).  You might imagine the pressures that exist within a hockey hotbed, especially if a young player wants to crack a desirable lineup.  At the same time, a player (or parent) might ultimately believe that he (and today, she) has the best chance of “making it” in hockey, and thusly drops-out of other sports.

Now, before going more into this topic, let me share with you the fact that there is at least some benefit to getting plenty of hockey practice.  Envision, for example, the differences between a very inexperienced player and a very experienced one.  Not to mention all the other skills, I’m sure you can picture how the skating motion is not very comfortable for a beginner, while the long-time skater can usually move around in effortless fashion.  And other parts of the game become instinctive to the accomplished player, as well.

That said, perhaps I should now explain what I mean by the “robot-like player”…  In a way, I guess I’m describing one who can execute all the typical hockey movements – and perhaps fairly well, while at the same time not being able to handle his or her body in a really athletic way.  (That last one IS rather hard to define in print.  But, maybe you can envision a truly acrobatic player twisting his or her body while in full-stride in order to avoid a body-check, or his or her skipping and jumping through and over a maze of bodies and sticks while controlling a puck.)  In a way, I think the reason it’s hard to define the non-robot-like player is because he or she IS non-definable.  I mean, he or she can just do things with his or her body that we can’t predict until there is a need to do something wild or imaginable.

At this point, let me combine the two previous paragraph topics – as in the need for some specializing, and what I (and many others) believe is the danger in specialization.

As an example, many old Eastern Block nations do ultimately offer specialized training to their players.  The difference is that they also include gymnastics work and so many other training areas that help encourage great athleticism.  (As a matter of fact, so do my local players gain the benefit of specialized hockey training mixed with lots of outside-the-box athletic work.)

Here in North American, however, most youth organizations mostly train on the ice (as in specializing).  And, if they do engage in off-ice training, it’s very likely for strength development or dryland exercises of a traditional nature (which pretty much entails more specialization).

Now, one other usual drawback to specialization in North American fashion is the dependency on more games for more ice-time.  I could go on about the fallacy of this but, to mention just a few problems:  players generally sit for two-thirds of their game-time, only the best players usually get to handle the puck and act creatively, and – most importantly — there is absolutely no chance for the repetitive practice of necessary skills.  In fact, I’ll suggest that players only do in games what they feel most comfortable doing, which means they haven’t likely expanded their abilities one iota by game’s end.

European hockey organizations, on the other hand, know the value of a high practice-to-game ratio, and they’re known to stick to something akin to a 3:1 or 4:1 scheme.  They also break a year down into four very distinct types of training, taking special care to do certain things for the weeks right after a season ends, and to do other things during the summer months.  And, although it’s a bit more complicated than this, I can tell you that their players engage in soccer, basketball or other sports during that span, and they also dedicate a large block of time to gymnastics and other means of developing athleticism.

Okay, so what’s a North American kid, parent or coach to do – especially since the typical youth organization doesn’t offer what I’ve just described above?  It’s all mainly explained in my “You Don’t Need Ice!” series – to include some involvement with other sports, plus some experimentation with rope skipping, tumbling and other whole body challenges.  Perhaps best of all, almost everything I suggest in that series can be done for little or no cost.

Finally, I like that Jerry asks about the future – and whether I see hope or not.    Yes, I do see hope, although it’ll always be a battle, maybe even a never ending one.  I sense that going with the youth hockey flow – or giving-in to coach or organizational pressures – is an easy way out, and it’s far too often taken for that very reason.  The well meaning guy sitting next to you in the bleachers can also contribute to this, what with his always saying, “Oh, you just have to bring your kid to such-and-such if you want him (or her) to get better!”  (Maybe that’s good advice, and maybe it isn’t.  But, my advice is to ultimately think for yourself.)  Education – or spreading the word – seems the only way to at least gradually overcome such temptations (and that’s part of the reason I hope to always be here for you).

Phew!  (Jerry sure did make me work hard on this one.  But, you know I’m loving it!)

PS:  For his efforts, Jerry is going to receive a gift I’ve almost completed (“__ Things You Can Do to Improve Your Game”).  And I’ll soon be announcing to everyone how that free gift can be attained.

Hockey’s “FUNdamentals”

Krejci Goal Shows Great Patience

Aaaaah, finally I found a sample of a quality I’ve long felt is the mark of a great goal-scorer.  I’m talking about patience — or coolness — with the puck, and it’s something demonstrated by every outstanding playmaker and finisher.

But, let’s take a look at this Stanley Cup goal by David Krejci before going on…

Now, I’m kinda bummed that this video didn’t run a little longer for you, because as I watched the live broadcast yesterday, I believe the color commentator stayed on the topic of patience for a little while longer.

Of course, some of you might be wanting to ask me how a player can develop that kind of coolness with the puck.

Well, I’m going to suggest that this trait mainly stems from plenty of work with a puck (or ball) — as in puckhandling, puckhandling, puckhandling, until a player can handle that biscuit in his or her sleep.

I might also recommend that players practice plenty of “asymmetric puckhandling”.  In other words, because there’s an awful lot of craziness going on around a puckhandler, he or she should prepare for that in advance by dribbling and dealing with some other physical challenge at the same time.

Going back to the Incredible Stickhandling series of videos would be a great start.  And, since this IS the off-season, I’d suggest staying away from the ice for awhile, instead trying all those tricks off the ice with a stick and lively ball.

Then, in order to get the asymmetric part in there, a player could mix his or her puck tricks with some hopping (on one or both feet), and rising up and down to and from the knees.  Really, though, there’s no prescribed second challenge, as far as I’m concerned.  In other words, a player (parent or coach) should just use his or her imagination.  Remember:  getting better is all in the doing!

Guarding Against Obesity

Two of my all-time favorite Twitter friends are responsible for the following video.

First, Mike Mahony hosts an awesome site called The Muscle Building Fat Burning Video Blog, where he promises to help regular folks (like you and me) cut through all the information overload we might be getting from all the so-called fitness experts out there today.

Secondly, this post features the star of a previous CoachChic.com entry (“A Different Kind of Hockey Warm-ups“), Maryse Senecal.

Actually, the two, both Maryse and Mike, worked together to put this video together, and I’m extremely grateful that they’ve allowed me to show it to my CoachChic.com members.

– Dennis Chighisola

Guarding Against Obesity

Okay, while obesity might not be a problem for many hockey players, we all know that it surely is within the general population — in Maryse’s native Canada, and across the United States.

So, when I had a chance to see the following video over on Mike’s site, I thought it a good idea to share it with my friends here.

In particular, I really like Maryse’s common sense approach to things.  But, you judge for yourself…

If you get the chance, visit Maryse Senecal‘s site over at Myo-Precision for tons more health tips!

And, get to know Michael Mahony on his site, Fitness Expose for lots more fitness tips.

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Hey, do the old coach a favor, and cheer-on our two contributors, huh — especially Maryse, who still thinks she’s everything but awesome in front of a camera!

“You Don’t Need Ice!” Video Series

Just in time for the hockey off-season…

A FREE Video Series

“You Don’t Need Ice!”

As always, it’s about the SCIENCES and it’s about getting real RESULTS!

A series of 6 videos aimed at providing players, coaches and parents — from all levels — numerous (and even little known) ideas for jumping ahead of others during the spring and summer months.

This Note from Coach Chic:

I’m going to send you to a sign-up form where I’ll ask a few questions aimed at helping me to get to know you better (hoping you don’t mind).

Thereafter you’ll receive a number of emails — every few days, this so you have plenty of time to digest the videos and other advice.

Hoping you enjoy it,

Dennis Chighisola

Click the puck to sign-up for this awesome special gift!

Crosby Sets Up Letang

  In the record books, Kris Letang is going to get credit for a huge game-winning goal.  (I mean, eons from now, it’ll just be an entry in the game’s stats:   Pittsburgh goal – K Letang, Assist – S Crosby.)  And, I must admit that Letang’s really quick snapshot was a beauty.  At the same time, I think everyone watching that game would likely credit Sidney Crosby for making that goal possible.

Now, as far as I’m concerned, there are a lot of lessons to be learned from Crosby’s moves.  But, let’s take a look at the play, compliments of YouTube.com and the NHL…

Now, first I’d like to address the physical side of this play.  For, there’s little doubt that unbelievable skating and puckhandling skills went into Crosby’s ultimately getting a teammate open for the shot…

Long time members might recognize the skating skills demonstrated by Crosby as being very much like those that can be developed in my various “Must-do Skating Drills“, and especially in the games of tags I’m always recommending.

And, the general puckhandling skills are just like those I like to see enhanced through my “Incredible Stickhandling” course, and in games of 1 against 1 keepaway.

Then, I’d like you to do me a favor and watch that video one more time.  This time, however, make note of how many times Crosby extends his reach — so as to really protect the puck — with just one hand on the stick.  No way his man can reach in and get to the puck when he’s doing that.

Upon returning, I hope you’ve noticed the way an advanced puckhandler needs to handle the puck with one hand.  (You might later take a browse through another of my posts, this entitled “Troubleshooting the Tight Turn“, to get a lot more insight into this and other related skills.)

If any of my long time students (or Team NEHI players) have watched Crosby’s play, they’re probably chuckling to themselves, saying, “Hey, I can do all that stuff!”  Ya, my guys practice all of those skills — from the games of tag, to the games of keepaway, to learning to protect the puck, and even dribbling around on one knee, two knees, or on their bellies and butts.

And, the above comment — about my kids feeling they can do all those things — brings me to another part of this play that most coaches and parents will surely overlook…

You know, I always had a suspicion that someone like Wayne Gretzky was lucky to emerge from youth hockey to become the player he ultimately was.  (Did I get your attention with that one?).  My reason for saying that is because an awful lot of kids with superior talents get beaten down at the younger levels — they’re called “puck hogs” or whatever, and they’re subjected to all sorts of jealous attacks (mostly from parents of kids with about half the talent).  The fact is (at least to me), those highly skilled players are the models for which all the others should try to emulate.

Youth coaches also usually want every kid to unload the puck when THEY believe the time is right time.  The ironic thing is that Crosby (like lots of other highly skilled players) most likely had it in his mind all the while that he was going to set-up a teammate — in the end, and when the time was really right.  And, to that, I’ll add that we coaches (and the fans in the stands) have to be a little more trusting with the Crosby types (as the Pens’ coach obviously is).

Now, a 2-years ago, I had a very experienced assistant coach whisper to me his concerns that a certain forward on our junior high school team was creating his own plays during powerplay practice.  My reply, “Listen, we have structure in our powerplay for the sake of teaching, and for the sake of our average players.  And we give them plays just so they have a sense of some possibilities.”  I went on to explain that most teams die for a little guy like we were watching.  That youngster’s mind saw the game in a totally different way than most of his teammates, and he saw things that mere mortals never would.  So, I wasn’t about to squash that kind of creativity.  Oh, I’d still help the kid with his decision making, and encourage him to still be a good team player.  But, I wasn’t doing any of that to the point of turning him into a robot.

As a matter of fact, I’ve written elsewhere here that most teams (or at least most coaches) die to have a game-breaker floating around the ice when the chips are really on the line.  And, that’s what a guy like Crosby represents.  He can — and did — fabricate a scoring opportunity when there probably wasn’t otherwise going to be one.

If you sense what I’ve been REALLY getting at, though, it’s that all things are relative at the given levels of hockey, and that those game breaking kinds of players exist in our midst, from Mites to Midgets.  For sure, we have to help them learn to think the game rightly, and we want them to be good team players.  However, I’ll also suggest that we be careful about tampering with whatever it is that makes them different than most of our other players.  After all, robots and mere mortals are easy to come by; game breakers are quite another thing.

Women’s Hockey and That Next Step

Women’s Hockey and That Next Step
By Todd Jacobson

I’ve been coaching women’s high school varsity hockey now for seven seasons, and in those seven seasons I’ve seen a game grow by leaps and bounds.

The first season I coached a team I spent a lot of time going out and watching the “good” teams of that time. I noticed almost the same thing with all the top level teams, and I came to one conclusion:  one goal scorer, one decent defenseman and an above average goalie gave you a shot at winning a state championship.

Now, seven years later, what I notice is that you need depth at every position. You need a goal scorer on your top two lines, you need good puck handling playmakers on those lines, as well as what I call a “pest”.  (A “pest” is a player who just loves to skate hard and cause havoc on the forecheck, that allowing the other players to put the puck in the net.) You need a third line of kids who will work hard defensively every time they hit the ice. Anything they get offensively is a positive, but mainly their job is to keep the opponents off the board and giving the top lines the chance to rest. On defense you need solid defensive defensemen, you need playmaking or rushing defensemen as well (and having 5 of them would be nice). A solid goaltender is what every team in the state tournament has. A decent backup is good to have as well. When a team has this type depth and skill at each position they can be considered a contender.

What am I getting at with all the info provided in the previous paragraph?  Depth is happening on every team.  Actually, even the weaker teams have depth. The talent pool for women’s hockey is getting deeper, which means more competition for spots on a roster. Players who would have been varsity second liners seven years ago are now honing their trade on the JV rosters across the state.

I can say that women’s high school hockey is where the boys’ sport was 30 years ago, in the sense that the player pool is getting deeper and the players are more skilled.  Every player is now looking for an edge on the competition.  And the one thing that sticks out for me, when watching the teams around the state, is STRENGTH!  The best players I see, year in and year out, are all strong on their feet, strong while controlling the puck, strong while digging-in in front of the net, and strong while moving players in front of the goal.

Thirty years ago the men were starting to lift weights and hit the gyms at their schools. Strength became more evident in the best players, and more evident when separating players in a tryout. So, I find some truth in the statement, “Only the strong survive.”  In fact, the farther you go up the playing ladder, the stronger the players are.

If you watched any of the recent Olympic women’s hockey, every player was strong, every player could shoot. I must have seen three or four segments of USA women’s Olympic coach Mark Johnson’s off ice and weight room regiment. These women trained more and trained harder in the gym than they did on the ice.

Watching the women’s Division I college championship this past weekend, you could see the same thing, strength.

So, if you want to play at that next level, or you want to be a player who sticks out at the high school level, the gym and the weight room might be your best friend. I think that the weight room can make a good player better.  It just takes a little time, and the will power to stick with it.  With that, the results will definitely be evident.  Remember, the playing pool is getting deeper, which means that a little extra edge might make the difference in where you find yourself on next year’s depth chart.

Beginner Knee Touches

I promised last week that I’d provide a follow-up to the “Beginner Boards Bumps“, as soon as I could gather some video footage.  So, here goes…

– Dennis Chighisola

Beginner Knee Touches

Now, I’d like to share with you something I’ve noticed over a lot of years, in that some players topple over easily in games, while others seem to find a way to right themselves and continue moving onward.

I know, you’re not thinking that’s anything real earth-shaking.  However, let me explain that in another way…

I think a lot of kids just don’t know how to pull themselves back on-balance.  So, once they’re put just a little off-balance, they give-up.  And, that’s the learning experience I try to give my players — youngest to oldest — with a drill I call “Knee Touches”.

The photo to the right shows my beginner — Learn-to-skate — group performing that drill.  As with lots of other such drills, we practiced this for many weeks in a brief off-ice session just before we took to the ice.  (We practice lots of other introductory-type drills in that off-ice “SkateDrill” format, because the rubber flooring provides a slightly more stable surface for them to initially experiment upon.)  Before you click on the photo to see my little ones in action, understand that I’ve asked them to slowly touch alternate knees to the ice WITHOUT USING THEIR HANDS.  Of course, as you’ll see, the kids have varying success with that part of the drill. 

The next photo once again shows those Knee Touches, this time with my slightly more advanced group — the Learn-to-play kids, performing them.  Clicking on the thumbnail will show my little guys and gals in action.  As you watch, try to envision a youngster being put slightly off-balance during game action.  Like doing the drill, a player in a game really does have the choice between lazily falling or tightening his or her core muscles and rising back to action.  So, watch for that if you will, before going on.

Now, you may have sensed that this was coming, in that I am going to suggest that there is very often a mental component as a player wobbles.  In other words, while there is surely a lot of physical wrestling going on as a player teeters, I’m here to say that there are also some subconscious forces at play.

Please think about what I’m saying…  The little guy in the above photo may have been tripped-up or knocked off-balance in the game action.  As this happens, he surely will try to get back up.  However, besides the physical, there’s something going on inside him that involves a quick thought process.   Okay, click on the above photo to see the Knee Touch drill in slow-motion.

Finally, as you’ll recall, this brief series came about as I tried to troubleshoot a problem with my young Mighty Mites.  Ya, they’re only little guys, and they’re not all that experienced.  So, I figured I could give my kids a huge advantage if they could stay on their feet more often than their opponents.  Repetitive bumps again the boards gave them tons of experience in dealing with collisions, but I think that drill is more physical than anything else.  From there, having the kids constantly rise and lower themselves — and giving them the choice between falling or righting themselves — gets a little more into the mental side of this problem.  In a way, I think my kids get mentally tougher with this drill, or maybe they gain a sense that they actually do have a choice oftentimes between falling or getting quickly back into the action.

PS:  If our Learn-to-play and Mighty Mite seasons went much longer, I’d bring the older group to the next progression of this drill, which has the kids skating down one stretch of the rink and doing those Knee Touches while they’re moving.  Far down the road, this drill is combined with puckhandling.

 

 

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It’s quite possible you want to question me on this entry, particularly when it comes to my making such a big deal of out what I see as a mental component to falling or not.  That’s okay, though…  And I’d love to discuss that right here with you.

Beginner “Boards Bumps”

By Dennis Chighisola

A lot of this piece is really about troubleshooting, because it’s such a huge part of what we coaches and parents have to do for the sake of our young players.

Actually, I’m constantly on the lookout for problems in my kids’ games (no matter their age).  And, I’ve mentioned often to you how I’d make either mental notes (or more often, written ones) as I observed my young Mighty Mites at play.

Anyway, over one short stretch early in our season I noticed that those little guys needed more help with their stability.  Oh, they are only 4- to 7-years old, and they are just beginners, so they’re expected to take their spills (even if someone opens a door to allow a gust of wind to knock them down – ).

Still, there are cures for such things.  And, while I was able to fall back on a couple of my old standbys for this problem, I’d have invented something if it had to come to that.

Now, I’m going to save the other drill until I can get some footage to show you.  In the meantime, let me show you an introductory body-checking drill I call Boards Bumps.

To the right you can see my little guys moving very close to the boards.  They are actually coasting along and periodically bumping against the boards.  The idea is to allow them to gain the feel of bumping – or being bumped.  They’ll usually wobble a little with each bump, and they’ll sometimes even fall.  But again, the idea is to give them repetitive opportunities to “feel” the bumps, and to learn how to adjust to each.

A little at a time, they’ll learn to spread their skates slightly (for a wider base), and to sit a little lower (for a lower center of gravity).  We coaches will constantly remind them to do those things as they pass by, and we’ll also constantly remind them to keep two hands on their sticks with their sticks down on the ice.

You should know that there is/was a lead-up drill to the one you’re going to see here.  In that one, each player stood next to the boards, assumed a good strength posture, and then bumped the boards 5-times.  After resting for a few seconds, each player would then turn and bump the boards with his or her other shoulder.  And, on their own, the kids would continue to do that as we coaches moved among them to provide feedback.

As an FYI…  The above drill can be done off-ice and at home, in the event a parent wants to help his or her child behind the scenes.  There’s nothing better than to have your own young one (or older one) being the only player standing after an on-ice collision.

Okay, now that you have the gist of it, the next photo is linked to a video that will open in a new window.  Notice that the kids are just getting the hang of this – actually, all of them are at different levels right now, mainly because they vary so much in age.

Finally, I’d like to remind you again about our need to constantly troubleshoot the problems our kids are having.  And, if ever you have any difficulties solving a problem, well…  That’s why you have me here.

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Please DO add your Comments or questions below!

Speed Skating Versus Hockey Skating

Well, I find it pretty interesting how the Olympic Games spur extra interest in the various winter sports.  For sure, I’ll bet the excitement surrounding the ice hockey tournament has attracted a lot of viewers who probably don’t normally watch NHL games (live or on TV), and it will also likely bring a lot of young parents to all of a sudden look into skating or hockey lessons for their kids.

Hockey isn’t alone in benefiting from increased exposure, of course, and I’m sure sports like skiing, snowboarding, curling, figure skating and speed skating will also see a rise in new fans and new participants.

Oh, yes, speed skating…  I’ve noticed quite a boost in searches for information about that sport, and I’ve also noticed some of those searches link both speed skating and hockey skating.  As a matter of fact, here are a few questions I’ve seen in recent days:

• Why don’t speed skaters use their arms?
• Why do speed skaters pump with one arm?
• Are speed skaters faster than hockey players?
• Could speed skating training help a hockey player?

Of course, I’m not supposed to be an expert on speed skating.  However, I used to employ a speed skating coach to work in my summer hockey schools, and we spent quite a bit of time exchanging teaching and training ideas.  Oh, and our common student, Eric Flaim, ultimately made a name for himself in the long-blade sport, winning a Silver Medal in the ‘88 Olympics held in Calgary.  So, I will at least take a stab at those speed skating related questions.

– Dennis Chighisola

Speed Skating Versus Hockey Skating

Let me start by trying to get those first few questions out of the way…

1) I don’t know what games a questioner was watching if he or she thought figure skaters DON’T use their arms.  They surely do, but let me handle the rest of that in the next section.

2) Those who posed forms of the second question got it pretty much rightly, in that we’ll most often see speed skaters pumping just one arm (I’ll deal with no pumping a little later).

Now, I’ll have to ask my CoachChic.com friends if they’ve ever noticed that speed skaters pump a specific arm, not just any one.  I mean, they don’t pump the left arm because they’re left handed, whatever.  No, they mostly pump the outside arm – which is always the right one, this to aid in their mostly counterclockwise skating pattern.

I said “mostly” – in reference to the arm pumps, because there are times when they use both arms, and there are times when they don’t pump either.  And, I said they “mostly” skate counterclockwise because only the outdoor version of the sport has fairly long straight-aways, while the so-called short track event includes almost all turns to the skater’s left.  (In other words, the track is so short, that there are hardly any straight-aways.)

As an aside here, know that I really don’t get a chance to watch a lot of the various events.  However, there seem to be some huge (but perhaps not obvious) differences between the outdoor and indoor versions of this sport.

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In a way, I see the outdoor event on the huge track as an all-out sprint against the clock.  Skaters are staggered for most of the race and separated in their own lanes, so the only thing that makes sense to me is for a contestant to race at 100% against that clock.

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In contrast, it appears to me that an awful lot of strategy goes into the short track event.  I mean, skaters aren’t confined to lanes, and they consequently don’t always skate all-out as they attempt to outwit and out-maneuver their opponents.  My guess is that the lack of arm pumping – after the take-off – is due to the short-tracker’s need for more control and even greater streamlining than is required in the long track events.

Then, one more thing about the use of a skater’s arms (actually, those who study the biomechanics of skating would say that skaters use their shoulders in that motion)…  If you get the chance, please review the video I made for you about “Analyzing the Forward Stride”; there’s quite a bit explained there about arm (or shoulder) actions, as well as about the body’s need to stay in balance for the sake of energy efficiency and momentum.

When it comes to the take-off, I’ve said that there is hardly a difference when running or skating – with a brisk forward and backward pumping of the arms aiding greatly in getting either a hockey player or speed skater (or sprinter) quickly off the mark.  Once under way, however – or once we get beyond the take-off (within just a few steps), we shift to a “skating mode”, in which the skates push outward and the arms need to travel through a side-to-side motion to balance everything.

4) Okay, now for another question, as in, Will speed skating training help a hockey player?  Well, before tackling that, let’s take a look at an awesome YouTube.com video featuring TIME’s Sean Gregory as he learns how Apolo Ohno prepared for Vancouver (by the way, something like the “turnbuckle” or belt arrangement shown in the start of the video has been a staple in The MOTION Lab for a good 6- or 7-years, and I’m soon going to make these fairly inexpensive contraptions available to you in the CoachChic.com Hockey Store)…

So, do you want my honest opinion when it comes to the training shown in that video (of course, minus the specific short track on-ice stuff)?

I’d say that everything – from the belt training to the stairs workouts — would be awesome for a hockey player.  Actually, we use almost all of those methods with our hockey players in The MOTION Lab.

That said, I do need to add one caveat…  Don’t ever forget that our sport is not based solely upon a pretty, powerful stride.  No, hockey players need to shift gears, react in all directions, and oftentimes handle a puck as they’re moving.  Come to think of it, they also have to skate for their lives with opponents oftentimes trying to run over them!

3) Which brings me to the question I obviously avoided early-on.  For, I would be willing to bet on a speed skater if he or she was matched against a hockey player in a straight-ahead race, or a sprint in one direction around the rink.  Drop a puck, however, and all bets are off.  Ya, everything a speed skater does — from training to dressing — has to do with those two kinds of races.  As soon as lateral movements and stops, starts or cuts are required, my money is on the hockey player.

But again, much shown in that video would be good for an ice hockey player.

Finally, remember that I don’t see myself as an expert on speed skating.  So, I surely would appreciate hearing from those who might know a lot more about both versions of that sport.

PS:  TIME’s Sean Gregory actually has a series of videos available over on YouTube, and I’d highly recommend you view them.  And, if he has a great collection of those up-close studies for sale, I’d love to own them.

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Please give me your feedback on this one, huh?  And I’d like to hear from both hockey and speed skating folks!

Do NHL Players Tie Skates Differently?

I hate to do this but, I am going to reserve this information for members only, this for a very special reason.  You see, what I’m about to share is a little on the tricky side, and I suspect it could be misapplied if not truly understood.  Moreover, this topic gives me the chance to put yet another one of those so-called hockey wives tale to rest, hopefully, once and for all.

– Dennis Chighisola

Do NHL Players Tie Skates Differently?

This question actually came in an email I received about a week ago.  Unfortunately, the sender didn’t provide a name.  No matter, it is a very good question.

Now, it must have been a good 20-years ago (probably more), when my son returned home from his latest minor pro hockey season, and when he suggested I try something a little different.  What he asked was that I try skating without using the top eyelets in my skate-boots.  In other words, tie the skates normally, but stop the laces and tie the bow at the next-to-last hole.

Quite honestly, I think I showed a big question mark on my face when I heard that, but my son continued, “Try it, dad.  Wait until you feel how much flex you get in your ankles!”

So I did try it, and I quickly became a believer.  In fact, I’ve been tying my skates that way ever since, and I’ve been sharing that bit of advice with my older students and players, too.

Notice that I said “older” students and players there.  For, I really don’t recommend that approach until a player is pretty dawgoned strong, and until a player has TRULY mastered his or her skating.  Hence my reserving this information for those who are into the CoachChic.com way of thinking.  In other words:  everything in time, everything in proper sequence.  Or, as I’ve said countless times within these pages, “Never skip steps!”

As an aside here, going down an eyelet on a good player’s skate tying really does help him or her to achieve better ankle flexibility.  And, with that, I can see my players looking all the more – I don’t know, I guess “stylish” is the word.  From a skating analysis standpoint, the added flexibility allows a player to nicely snap the ankle at the very end of each thrust.

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Of course, my son had gotten that tip from some other guys he was playing a medium level pro with, so this was something that was obviously known within that level (and most likely higher).  So, when that email arrived in reference to NHL players tying their skates a little differently, it should make sense that I’d answer, “It’s pretty likely.”

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Slightly connected…  I know that some years ago I heard that Soviet players were sometimes practicing with their skates virtually untied.  (Whoa, that has to be a challenge!)  The idea in doing that, of course, would be to make practicing (MUCH) more difficult, so that skating in games — with a regular skate tying — would ultimately feel a lot easier.

Okay, so let me briefly switch to another slightly connected topic, that having to do with tying the skates of very young, or much less experienced skaters.  Actually, while this point was raised by one of my Mighty Mite parents the other day, it also gives me the chance to address that wives tale I mentioned earlier.

It seems that the dad’s son had just been called-up to play and practice on a Mite C level team, and the coach of that team recommended that the dad wrap tape around the boy’s ankles (to evidently gain better ankle support).  Hmmmmm, and ugh…

Now, I can be at least a little compassionate towards that youth coach.  After all, he doesn’t have the benefit of knowing the things my members do – about how to analyze a stride, or about the need for ankle flex in the skating movement.  And, he likely doesn’t realize how applying very much tape around the ankles could make a player skate in almost a robot fashion.  In other words, with the feet and lower legs pretty much fused together, it should make sense that the player is going to move rather rigidly.  (As an FYI…  I don’t mind a player making one or two wraps of tape around the top eyelets, this to keep the laces from coming undone.  Any attempt to lay the tape on heavily or very tightly, however, IS going to cause the aforementioned robot-like problem.)

Trust me, that I didn’t leave that Mighty Mite dad hanging.  Instead, I spent a short time observing the boy moving around the ice during our recent pre-game warm-ups.  And, based on my 40-ish years of studying such things, here are the possibilities I considered before even looking at that youngster:

1. I think the first challenge for a beginner skater is in learning to manipulate the thin steel blade that extends-out from each skate-boot.  Please think about what I’m saying here, in that the skater wears the boot snugly tied to his or her foot (which isn’t tough at all), but then he or she has to control the blade in order to really skate.  (Ever hear the expression “edge control”?)  Actually, good control of a skate’s blade takes unbelievable coordination of tiny muscles in the foot, with different combinations being required to glide, cut, stop, move forward, backwards, or whatever.
2. Appreciate that some beginners – and I’m mainly talking about very young kids here – are a little lazy.  I don’t mean this in a harsh way at all.  What I am suggesting is that some 5-year olds might actually try to conquer their wobbly blades, while some others might not really focus well at first, or they don’t totally understand the coach’s instructions or demonstrations — yet.
3. One other possibility also has to do with rather young kids, and especially kids who are hurrying towards some other goal without worrying about what’s happening with their feet.  Far from the lazy type, this kind of player is usually extra aggressive, and just doesn’t have the patience to worry about how he or she will get from Point A to Point B.

As a final note here, one should only skip to the above checklist after ensuring that the player’s skates fit properly, that they are of sufficient quality to support him or her, and that they are tied correctly.  Of course, the above also assumes that there are no serious physical or learning disabilities present.  (On occasion I will notice a youngster doing something rather odd in his or her skating movement.  Presuming there isn’t anything physically wrong, however, I’ve provided the best ideas in the world to solve almost every beginner skating problem in my video on “21 Must-do Beginner Skating Drills”.  I’ve also included more help in separate articles and videos under the General Skills Advice category.

As for my young Mighty Mite, I kinda knew ahead of time that the best way to describe him would be found in Point #3 above.  Sure, he’s still new at skating, so there’s a little of Part #1 involved (with him and all of my little guys).  But, the main problem – if there even is a problem – is that the youngster in question is hell-bent-for-leather.  I mean, he wants the puck, he wants goals, and he is seemingly not caring how he gets to do those things (right now).  So, does it stand to reason that his footwork isn’t going to look very pretty?  You bet.  But, does it seem to have anything to do with his skates?  Absolutely not.

As yet another aside, my preference is for players who are zoned-in on the puck.  (Some of the prettiest skaters in the world can’t play the game, and some of those have been buried at center-ice or implanted into the local rink’s boards.  So, while “pretty” can be good, “effective” is a far more important quality in my book.)

To sum-up all of this (and to add a little more), let me make these points:

• Beginners need all the help they can get, and this includes good quality skates that are fit properly and tied properly.  And, since beginners do need all the help they can get, I’d lace their boots all the way up through all the eyelets.
• My biggest fear is that the parents of an intermediate will (skip steps and) go right straight to the advanced way of skate tying.  I’d much prefer that kids in this category 1) gain the benefits I mentioned in the above point, 2) become REALLY proficient skaters under normal skate-tying conditions, and 3) build-up their ankle strength to the point where they might be ready to perform stressful movements with the top eyelet not tied.
• I actually advise my players and students on an individual basis when it comes to making equipment changes.  So,  it isn’t like I tell all kids at a given age or level to do away with their top lace-holes.  Instead, I usually sense that one player could really benefit from doing this, while another of the same age and level will not.  When I do prescribe this, I will have a player test it in an easy practice setting, and I’ll usually suggest that he or she continue practicing through the long off-season.  Again, it’s rather stressful if one is skating hard with the skates tied in this manner, so I’d prefer my kids get plenty of chances to build-up strength and to get used to the new feel.

Finally, if you want more of my feelings on whether NHL players are tying their skates in the way I’ve described above, I’d be willing to bet that a great many are.  However, a lot of this would have to do with where a player came from, as well as what sort of player he is.  Furthermore, pro athletes can be a superstitious lot, and they are often open to or resistant to change, depending on so many things.  So again, I’d guess many current pros are tying their skates differently, but probably as many will never change the way they’ve always done what they’ve done.

4 Things Coaches Do to Harm a Goaltender’s Mental Game (without knowing it)!

If you like this article by Justin Johnson, and if you think it might benefit your goaltender, feel free to email it to his or her coach.

By Justin Johnson
Performance Coach, Mental Edge

This past fall I traveled across the state of Minnesota conducting goalie coaching clinics for youth hockey associations. During the two-hour sessions I consulted with coaches about ways they can increase the likelihood of their goaltenders having a positive experience in the game of hockey. What I discovered is there are many coaches who are on the right track with their goalies and their development. There are also a few who have trouble communicating with their goalies. Even more struggle with how they should orchestrate practices and games in a way that encourages goaltender development.

In an effort to shed some light on how coaches can set their goalies up for success, I have included four common pitfalls to avoid. My aim is to inform coaches about the ways they harm their goaltenders’ mental development, oftentimes without even knowing it!

1.)  Not sure what to say, so say nothing
Issue:
Historically head coaches and their staff have struggled with how to coach, challenge and develop the goaltenders on their team. Many coaches haven’t played the position, so they feel paralyzed when trying to address technical information and fundamentals. This lack of goalie know-how, typically leads to frustrating conversations or even an avoidance of conversations because it doesn’t land in the coaches’ comfort zone.
Advice:
I encourage coaches to make an effort to positively impact every player on the team, including goaltenders. Rather than keep quiet, sit down with your goaltender(s) to learn about what they need to be successful. Many goaltenders, even as young as squirts, know what should have been done differently on goals they gave up. As a coach, ask them what you can do to make practices better to address the situations you are seeing in games. Goalies need to feel a part of the team and process – ignoring them because of your ignorance can shake their trust, confidence and ultimately negatively impact on their experience.

2.)  Pulling the goalie without giving explanation
Issue:
Eventually a game will get out of hand or an off-night will come around where it is in either the team’s or the goaltender’s best interest to pull him or her from the game. I believe that the pulling of a goalie is a necessary part of the game and one that if done correctly builds character and a winning spirit in an individual. If done incorrectly you may have a disruptive issue that lasts all season, and negatively impacts the mindset of your goaltenders for quite some time. I have witnessed and even been a participant in many ugly pullings, where coaches yell at the goalie on the way to the bench or display incredibly poor body language that sends the wrong message to all watching.
Advice:
When you decide to pull your goaltender, doing so correctly comes down to two items:

1. Conduct yourself in a calm and professional manner, including body language, by continuing to coach your team in a positive way.

You must not let that goaltender leave the arena without knowing why you pulled him or her and/or how you intend to help them have a better outing next time. (As a side note, I feel it is acceptable to tell the goalie on the bench why you pulled him if it was done to help change team momentum. If it was simply a rough night for the goalie, it is better to discuss that in private after the game.)

3.)  Shouting instructions from the bench
Issue:
Rarely have I seen great coaching advice that makes an immediate impact on a goalie’s performance by being yelled from the bench for all to see and hear. Other than encouragement or to signal the goalie to come to the bench, coaches should never yell to a goaltender. The repercussions of yelling include embarrassment, confusion, frustration, and a fear of making mistakes, all of which deter a quality mindset and performances. In other words, whatever gem of advice you may have and result you get, it will be eroded by a mindset that requires the goaltender to play for you rather than themselves and their instinct.
Advice:
If a persistent issue is occurring, there are a number of ways to communicate more effectively. You can wait until there is an intermission, relay the message to a mature player you feel will communicate it to your goalie with the correct tone and message intended, or call a time-out.

4.)  Waiting right before the game to designate the starter
Issue:
Perhaps the most common mistake coaches make without knowing it is waiting to decide or inform which goalie will play. Coaches fail to understand that goaltending is a position that requires a significant amount of preparation. If a goalie does not know, that preparation is undermined, resulting in a less than prepared, less confident goaltender. Coaches have stated they use this tactic to judge who looks best in warm-ups or to make sure both goalies are ready. Both of these tactics are mentally counterproductive and will create negative effects, not only for your goaltenders but also for the rest of the team.
Advice:
I suggest coaches give notice to BOTH goaltenders as to who will be playing a night in advance, if possible, or the morning of the game, at the latest. This should provide plenty of time for your goaltenders to prepare, giving your team the best chance of a quality performance. This is a simple request and one that will be greatly appreciated by your goaltenders.

Remember, if you are good to your goalies they will likely be good to you and your team!

For more information, contact Justin@MentalEdgeNow.com

Again, feel free to email this article to a coach who might benefit from it’s great advice.

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And, as always, we REALLY appreciate your Comments!

THE Bobby Orr Move

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

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

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

THE Bobby Orr Move

By Dennis Chighisola

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

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

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

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

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

Step 1 is the Fake

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

Step 2 is the Pull

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

Step 3 is to Go Wide

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

Step 4 is to Penetrate

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Troubleshooting the Tight Turn (or Boston Turn)

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

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

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

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

– Dennis Chighisola

Troubleshooting the Tight Turn (or Boston Turn)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Tight Turn (or Boston Turn)

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

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

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

– Dennis Chighisola

The Tight Turn (or Boston Turn)

About Goaltending Help

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

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

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

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

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

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

Resisted Shooting

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

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

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

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

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

– Dennis Chighisola

Resisted Shooting

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

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

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

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

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

Towel Pulls — for Speed & Form

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

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

– Dennis Chighisola

Towel Pulls — for Speed & Form

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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