As he explained things, he just coached his first hockey game in 2-years.  And, very much in “Coach Chic-ese” fashion — , he said that he was excitedly, “Decompressing now & expanding on my notes from the game.”

Although his team had lost the game, 7-2, he felt his kids had “outchanced” their opponents by about 3 to 1.

What inspired this post, however, was Seth’s seeming frustration with having only a single half sheet of ice for his coming weekly practices.  As he said, “1/2 ice is tough!”

– Dennis Chighisola

Make the Most of Half-ice Hockey Practices

I partly agree with Seth on that one — that half-ice practices can be inhibiting at times.

However, let me share something from a coach who has been fortunate enough to have lots of full-ice practices over 40-years on the job:

Even at times when I owned the entire ice surface, I’m betting that I’ve spent most of the time in a single zone.  In other words, a majority of my time with older teams is spent on segments of our system — like defensive zone coverage, breakouts, forechecking, powerplay plays in the offensive zone, attack plays, etc.

Sure, there are times when a coach wants to run a series of plays from one zone to the next and to the next.  However, that is something I’m going to address a little later down the page.

As soon as I saw Seth’s concern about half-ice practices, I immediately went back to where he mentioned the level he’s working with.  Why?  Well…

I think his Bantams are older enough to mentally re-orient themselves with each change in drilling.  I mean, I think kids that age can understand that we were just working in the defensive zone for our breakouts, but now we’re going to switch around and work on attacking the offensive zone with some plays.

Littler guys, on the other hand, are a whole ‘nother story…  I can imagine that Mites — and maybe even some Squirts/Atoms? — can have some difficulty adjusting to what I just described above.  They may not even understand the terminology yet (as in our being in the “defensive zone”), never mind be able to make the mental shift from one phase of play to another.

Okay, with all that, I do have some ideas that can help with the lack of regular full-ice practice time.  If there’s something a coach needs, it’s a group of coaches around him or her that is receptive to some new ideas.  Most guys and gals will like what I’ll suggest, while I have come across a few (rather lazy ones?) who aren’t looking to accomplish more with their own kids.

Confused by all that?  Well, what I’m getting at is that the coach you share the ice with may not be interested in sharing it in different ways, or he or she may need to agree with doing some non-traditional kind of things.

That said, here are some things I’ve done over the years to overcome the problem with only having a half-sheet of practice ice:

1) Hoping the group before you hasn’t torn-up the ice too badly, consider gaining an extra 10-minutes per practice by not having the ice resurfaced.  This doesn’t immediately help the half-ice situation, but it does typically gain a team about an extra 300-minutes of practice over a long winter (10-minutes x 30-practices), and it also paves the way for the next ploy.

2) Arrange with the coach of the other team that one remain back in the lockerroom for 10-minutes, while the other gets to go out on the ice early for that amount of full-ice practice.  (I always like to be the one who gets the lockerroom chalktalk time first, so that I can prepare the kids in advance for the way we’ll later use the full-ice.)  The two teams switch roles at the end of practice, with one leaving 10-minutes early, and the other staying out on the full sheet.

3)  Although I haven’t done this, I’ve seen other teams split the ice longitudinally, so that units can start an attack from one corner of the ice and finish with an attack on the far net.  Lines or units from the same team stay together and re-form in the corners so that they can continue attacking both nets in waves.  My guess is that with some imagination, the ice could also be split in other ways.

4) If our two teams aren’t too different in abilities, I’ve arranged with another coach to have a brief — say 15-minute long — controlled scrimmage to work on a specific area of team play.  One example might be to have a team attempt to move the puck up-ice, gain the red line for a dump-in, and then try to apply their forecheck.  Sometimes the two coaches want to do different things, but the idea is for one team to sort of dummy for the other for a time, and then for the teams to reverse roles for an equal amount of time.

In closing, I’ll suggest that Seth isn’t going to have as much difficulty as he thinks coaching his (older) team on half-ice.  Still, there will be times when one or more of the above ideas might help his kids work their plays over the full length of the rink.  (The above measures probably aren’t necessary every week, but probably only on occasion.)  Of course, I’m guessing that I’ve just scratched the surface with my ideas, and I’m hoping some members might having even more good ones.

One such member is Tim Taylor, for whom I am hugely grateful.

As it pertains to this post, Tim happened to run across something I hadn’t seen yet, he alerted me about this exciting event, and I thought I’d get the word out to all our members as quickly as possible.

So, thanks, Tim!

– Dennis Chighisola

NBC Brings ‘Science of NHL Hockey’ to TVs and Classrooms

Before going any further, here’s a video clip from that series…

Now, here’s a link to the article Tim sent me (which also includes the above video):

NBC Brings ‘Science of NHL Hockey’ to TVs and Classrooms

It appears to me that NBC wants these videos to get a wide distribution, for the sake of science — this because they’ve included an embed code within this first video.

With that, I’d suggest that each of our members share this (and maybe other videos from this series) with their team members.

As for me — and if it’s permissible by law, I’ll try to post more from the series here.

Yet another reason I’m posting this right now is because my good friend Christopher has been working on his own backyard rink, and — running into a bit of difficulty with that — he just wrote me seeking some help.

Actually, I’m a bit embarrassed that I don’t have a quick answer to Christopher’s question, despite having long ago built a dozen or so rinks for my son and grandson.  So, I’m thinking that this post might prove a great way for all of us to share ideas or experiences on this subject.

– Dennis Chighisola

Build a Backyard Hockey Rink

This project caused me to scurry through YouTube.com to see what others had done so far in this area.  To be honest, almost all the various videos on backyard rinks are nearly the same, with most of them only varying in extras — like lights, high boards, doors in the boards, etc.

I finally settled on the following video, mainly because it’s a really basic set up, and because it gives a pretty good view of everything.  So, please have a look before we go further on the subject.  (Don’t panic that you don’t hear a soundtrack; there is none for this video.)

Having built a number of these, I can tell you that finding a truly level area is critical to preparing for a backyard rink.  And, that’s part of the reason I suggest planning things earlier in the year, when the ground is still soft and workable.  Truly, spending some time in the warm weather leveling the planned area for your rink might be the best thing you ever do.

I also suggest erecting the boards section of the rink while the ground is still relatively soft, so that some stakes can be driven into the ground to hold the boards in place.

I highly recommend thinking about disassembling the rink as you plan its assembly.  I mean, large screws and metal brackets can make things a whole lot easier to take the boards apart at season’s end, rather than using large nails or spikes.

I might also offer the idea of buying the plastic liner beforehand, just so that you can design the rink’s measurements accordingly.   (There’s nothing worse than discovering you have to piece together several sections of plastic in order to get coverage, knowing full well that there’s a strong chance the thing is going to leak with each thaw.)

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As an aside here, you know I’m all about teaching, or development.  So, let me share a philosophy I’ve held for a good many years…

The kind of discipline I provide in my clinics and practices is essential to players acquiring all the skills and smarts necessary to play at a high level.  Hey, there are proper ways to move on the ice, puckhandle, pass, receive, shoot, check, deal with critical situations, what have you.

Beyond that, however, I’ve always said that the mark of a “real player” is based on what he or she does in his or her spare time.  In other words, gain discipline from proper instruction, but then go freelance as much as possible to truly separate yourself from the pack.

In-lines can help us do that during the warm months, as can dryland training and even floorball.  However, I think the backyard rink is an awesome place for a youngster to really experiment — or hotdog a bit — during the hockey season.

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Okay, from here onward, let’s consider this YOUR post, or a place where anyone can share ideas, ask questions, etc.  I’m even going to leave this available to the public, just so we can gain even more input.

Christopher will actually kick things off, since I’ll post his current problem first.  Hopefully, we can find some help for him and many future rink builders to follow.

*

The singer of this song actually stopped by here to suggest that I share his video with other backyard rink enthusiasts.  So, enjoy (and, thanks, Geoff)…

So, at the risk of boring (or maybe slightly amusing) you, I’ve included a recent one down below as sort of a backdrop to a very important topic.

Hopefully, within a few minutes, you’ll discover why.

– Dennis Chighisola

‘Tis the Time to Think About Tryouts

Okay, as I hinted at above, there’s a method to my madness in creating those robot featuring videos for other areas on the Internet.  In the case of the following one, it was produced to: 1) get folks thinking about tryouts far ahead of when most others will, and to 2) let them know about my soon to be leased Skater’s Rhythm-bar.

As a member, you don’t have to worry about the latter, because I’ll be sure to keep you abreast of any such developments.

However, it’s the former — or all that stuff having to do with tryout prep — that I feel the need to expand upon for your sake.  In a way, I think my short video will raise as many questions as it will provide answers.  So, my aim here is to do my very best at explaining everything for you.

That said, let’s have a look at that video first…

If you know me at all by now, you know I hate the idea of spring tryouts.  Still, I can’t change the (hockey) world, so instead I have to go with the flow and do what’s best for my players.

And, if you do know me, you’ve come to realize that I like to take a long range view on absolutely everything.  I mean, something as important as a tryout isn’t to be taken lightly — heck, a player is going to live or die for an entire season based on the team he or she ultimately makes.  So, I’ve always taken tryouts seriously — for my students’ and players’ sake, and well as for the benefit of my own son or grandson.

As an aside…  I think it absolutely absurd that some local rinks or organizations will advertise a week-long program to be held just days before, these aimed at getting players ready for tryouts.  Geeeeeeeze…  A player is hardly going to be changed much at that point, and I’ll even suggest that more harm can be done than good if players are pushed to their limits and enter their tryouts either bumped, bruised or tired.

And that brings me to the importance of taking the long-range approach instead.  With still months to go, some positive changes can be accomplished.  And so can players even be given a few days off prior to tryouts so that they enter the fray feeling fresh, both mentally and physically.

Now, in that video, it’s said that individual skills are the most noticeable in a tryout atmosphere.  And, think along with me on that one if you will…

If we’re talking about young players, coaches tend to use a lot of skill drills to get a good look at the kids, one by one.  If the coaches go to scrimmaging, there’s little doubt the the best skaters, puckhandlers and shooters will stand out.  Then, if it’s a “small game” — like 3 against 3, a shifty and nifty player is most likely going to really stick out.

When we’re talking about tryouts for older players, most coaches resort to lots of scrimmaging.  And, once again, it’s the great skater, stickhandler, passer, receiver, thumper and scorer who is going to attract the most attention.

Of course, you’re probably wondering about when a player’s smart positional play is going to stick out, and I’m going to suggest that it’s hard for a coach to recognize much of that during a scrimmage atmosphere.  Oh, sure, a coach might spot a little of that, but I can tell you from all my years of experience, that it’s the flashy player who catches the coach’s eye first, and probably makes a lasting impression.

Okay, so what about that stuff I mentioned in reference to the Skater’s Rhythm-bar?  Well, it really is so — that coaches notice the player who cruises nicely around the ice.  He or she can’t help it, really.  There’s just something impressive about the smooth, powerful, seemingly energy efficient skater, because it suggests to a coach that a player has practically lived on the ice, and that all the hockey movements likely come naturally to him or her.

Finally, I’m not saying that any of the above is right or fair.  All I am saying is that it is the way it is.  Coaches don’t get the chance to necessarily know what a player is truly like.  And it’s probable that a coach will only discover if a kid is smart (or dumb as a rock) once the selected players begin working within a team practice setting and then in games.  Until that time, all the coach can go on is how the player “looks” in the tryout setting, or how he or she looks relative to all the other players.

– Dennis Chighisola

Knowing When Your Hockey Players “Get it”

My AAA Bantam team had about 3-weeks off from games over the recent Christmas through New Years break.  Still, we had our two practices per week, these giving us a chance to polish our act a little in preparation for the rest of our season.

As for the theme of this article, I noticed some things over recent practices that were kinda making me smile a bit.  In actuality, though, these didn’t come at times when my guys were executing perfectly; to the contrary, they happened at times when some of our attack plays went slightly awry.

Okay, so as practice wound down tonight, I decided it was time to tell my kids exactly what I’d been seeing, and to even let them know how pleased I was with them.

First, though, a little background to all this…

Personally, I can’t imagine why this hadn’t hit me a lot of years ago.  However, I think it was about three summers back, when I was working with my NEHI High School Prep team when the idea of my guys “getting it” really struck me.

The squad had a lot of returnees, but we also had a handful of skaters who needed to be indoctrinated in The Old Coach’s way of doing things.  And, in particular, the new guys had to gain an idea of what I saw as good passes and good pass receptions.

And, oh, did I beat it into them, hardly ever letting up, and forever reminding them to make firm, flat passes right on their mates’ sticks, or to find a way to handle any pass that came even close to their own sticks.

The interesting part came late in our training camp when I noticed one new player muttering to himself a few times during a drill, and then sorta banging his stick on the ice in frustration a few other times.  Hmmmmm…

Starting to get a handle on what I was seeing, I whispered to a nearby assistant that the new guy was finally “getting it”.  I mean, he now knew the difference between a good pass and a not so good one, and he was getting a little upset with himself when he made a teammate work a little harder than he should.

Well, almost the same scenario played out tonight.  I mean, I was seeing the same thing happening as my current team went through a series of attacking drills, and I also snuck over to whisper to a current assistant about my belief that this group of kids was finally “getting it”.

Actually, I couldn’t resist going into our lockerroom after practice and telling my kids how pleased I was with them.  And, as I started to tell the story about my old HS Prep guys showing displeasure with themselves in some passing drills, one of my youngest current players said something to the effect that, “That was me, Coach, huh?”

Ya, he was one of the more noticeable ones out there.  And, while I told him I wasn’t thrilled at him banging his stick, I wanted him to know how happy I was that he did finally “get it”.

Okay, so why do I make such a big deal out of this seemingly small turn of events?

Really, that’s because I think it IS a pretty big deal when our players suddenly do “get it” — and I’m talking about any part of their game we deem important to their overall development.

I’m also encouraging other coaching to stick to their guns when it comes to proper execution, or when it comes to playing principles you feel important.

Then, here’s what I consider the biggie, as far as I’m concerned…  For, once a player truly does “get it”, I’m going to suggest that it sticks with him or her for the rest of his or her playing days.

Would you believe that a Facebook Fan Page existed in honor of This Old Coach several years before I even joined that popular social media site?  It’s the truth.  As I discovered, a bunch of my former hockey students and players who by that time had reached their mid- to late-20′s created a page entitled something like, “Coach Chic says to do everything both ways!”    The history behind this is that I have forever harped on my players to discipline themselves, and to make sure they can cut left and right, stop to each side, and perform just about any skill in all the ways possible.  Did my constant reminders to do everything both ways make an impression on my players?  I’m guessing that’s so, and I’m guessing it’s in the backs of their minds today as a lot of them play in adult leagues or pick-up hours.

That “do everything both ways” principle can actually cause me to laugh in the middle of my Learn-to-play clinics and in the ADM program I work in.  Ya, by the midpoint in a season, those 6- and 7-year old little rascals will often stop me before I can get those words out of my mouth — I mean, they’ll all chime in and yell, “Coach, you have to do it both ways!” 

On a more personal level, my son has played about a dozen years of minor pro hockey, and I can hear some of my old, long ago harped upon principles emerge in conversations we have today.  And so can I see the occasional shake of my college hockey playing grandson’s head if failed to do something like put a pass exactly where he’d intended.

So again, I’m suggesting that we all — coaches and hockey parents — stick to our guns, keep hammering at those principles we feel important, and never fear sounding like a broken record, because that’s the only way our players will someday really “get it”.

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

– Dennis Chighisola

The Need for a Hockey Coach to Think on His Skates

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

– Dennis Chighisola

Should Facemasks Be Made Mandatory in the NHL?

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

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

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

Thoughts from Tony Chic

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

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

Thoughts from Dennis Chighisola

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

– Dennis Chighisola

Fair Ice-time in Youth Hockey

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

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

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

Ugh.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*

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

A few weeks ago, someone turned me on to an interesting program provided over on YouTube.com.  That program gives anyone the chance to create cartoon videos from a host of characters.  I settled on a pair of robots, and a Facebook friend ultimately named them SlapShot and HatTrick. 

Hoping not to waste my efforts, I thought to use that format to at least share some worthwhile information — first letting folks know how to pronounce my name and nickname (Introducing Dennis Chighisola), and later how the unique spelling of my nickname came about (SlapShot & HatTrick Explain Dennis Chighisola’s Nickname).  I must admit that my earliest works weren’t all that polished (the program is kinda tricky to use).  Oh, I have gotten better at producing the videos, although they’re still probably as stupid today.  (I’ve joked to one Facebook friend that the red robot is my alter-ego!)

As you might gather, however, my eventual thinking was that I could have some fun, perhaps give some social media friends cause to laugh, and also get a little advertising crammed in between the lines.  So, maybe you’ll at least see a little of each within the following video…

– Dennis Chighisola

About the Skater’s Rhythm-bar

My (again, stupid) cartoons somewhat explained, I just posted a new one to My YouTube Channel last night and to Facebook this morning.

At first, I thought to apologize for promoting one of my products within these pages.  However, I then thought it might be just as unfair if I DIDN’T let you know about this…

Over the years, many members have actually written me and asked about the Skater’s Rhythm-bar.  I think that stemmed from my occasional mention of it, or my once in a while showing it in a video.

With that, I am practically going to give this closely held secret away (and I’m serious about the almost giving it away part).  You’ll have plenty of time to consider things, though, as well as learn a lot about skating and my problem solving methods along the way.

All you need to do to be notified of it’s release is to “Like” this page (using the “Like” button up at the top)…  Perfecting the Hockey Skating Stride.

Actually, this isn’t exactly about a gadget, but instead an app aimed at transforming your iPhone or iPod Touch into what the TechSmith company calls “the ultimate coaching tool”.

– Dennis Chighisola

PS:  I am not affiliated with this product or the maker in any way.  I just figure it’s a neat idea and something my friends here might like to know about.

A Cool Video Gadget for Hockey Coaches & Parents

Here’s some a wording borrowed from this morning’s email…

Coach’s Eye is a coaching app that will transform your iPhone or iPod Touch into the ultimate coaching tool!

Slumps, bad habits and poor technique can be recorded with Coach’s Eye to point out problems, and review as needed.  It’s like having your own, personal coach who never misses a thing.

Sign up to find out when Coach’s Eye is available and you could win a t-shirt cannon for your team, organization, or school.  Then share out the unique URL you get after you sign up to increase your odds – you’ll get an extra entry for each person that signs up using your link!

With that, I’ll share the video showing the Coach’s Eye, just so you don’t have to chase to find it…

Just so you know, I won’t likely be getting one of those apps, mainly because I love my Flip and other similar cameras, and I’ve become so familiar with using those that I can practically work with them in my sleep (there is something to that “old dog” story, ya know — ).

Oooooh…  Should any member know more about this app, or should anyone get to try it, I think the rest of us would really like to know your feelings or experiences.

Sometimes reality hits from out of the blue, though, like as I read an article like the following.

– Dennis Chighisola

The Need to Compete!

The article I’m referring to now is about Sweden’s new-look hockey model paying dividends.

As many others have been doing over recent years, the Swedes began looking deeply into the changes needed at their developmental levels to remain among the world’s elite hockey-producing nations.

“It wasn’t too long ago the Swedish Ice Hockey Association was forced to come to grips with the fact its educational and developmental methods had become outdated.”  The Swedes knew they had to make changes in their education system, their coaching, and especially, attitude.  And they’re now believing their ability to improve those areas “… at an early age has played a vital role” in accomplishing their goals.”

Also like a lot of other hockey playing countries, the Swedish hierarchy noticed a point in their history when their players weren’t keeping up with others.  “Realizing this fact, Sweden’s director of youth development, Tommy Boustedt, initiated a Commission of Inquiry on junior hockey in Sweden in 2002. The meeting included 120 people, including junior coaches, club executives and scouts. The professionals were broken down into groups, some working with coaching and education, others critiquing player development.”

“Everyone came up with ideas on how we could change our hockey,” Boustedt told NHL.com.  “Some of the important things we learned were that we had to revise the demands on the coaches and educate much better.  Our education material was old-fashioned … it was built by way of the old Swedish style and the old European style.”

“Boustedt and his group also reached out for the advice of many of the game’s finest Swedish players…”

“The No. 1 reason they provided us was the leadership they had growing up,” Boustedt said. “They all said they had great coaching.  That being said, we had to raise the quality at the youth and junior coaching levels.”

My personal take-away from that article was the Swedes’ huge improvement in coaching, bottom to the top.  And as Devils’ goalie Johan Hedberg noticed about fellow Swedes currently playing in the NHL, “The education level for coaching from a young age to the junior ranks is really, really high.  I think that has a lot to do with there’s a lot of young guys coming in now and being as prepared as they are.  They’re getting great teaching from an early age.”

Ah, yes, “from an early age”.

As I hinted at earlier, the Swedes also began paying more attention to the demands of competing in the current day game, and especially those things they’d need to do better to be successful in the NHL.  Major among these was to improve play around the net and in the corners.

As for my “Aha!” moment, well…

“If you want to be on the elite level, you have to compete in everything you do from the beginning,” Boustedt said. “The best competitor ever was Peter Forsberg. If we could take Peter Forsberg’s mind and put it into all our talented players that would be perfect. Being competitive is more important than skating fast or shooting hard.

“Let’s face it, the word ‘compete’ was obsolete in this country — we haven’t been in a war in 200 years and we have a classic social democratic system that built this society, and to ‘compete’ has historically been a bad word.”

Today, having that competitive spirit in everything associated with Swedish hockey is what has changed most, according to Boustedt.

“The word ‘compete’ is a good word again in Swedish hockey,” he said. “Our message to the kids is what they need to do to become an elite hockey player. It has to do with hockey skills and tactics and all types of physical training. We have psychologists speaking to the kids, explaining what they should and shouldn’t do.”

“North Americans are very competitive, they go to the net, crash and are good along the boards,” Boustedt said. “(North Americans) can body check and take a body check … areas where we have been very soft before, but that we’re now incorporating into our development. The area we need to get even stronger, though, is in shooting and goal scoring.”

Ya, my “Aha!” moment…

Without doubt, the need to “compete” is vital to being successful in our game.  Every critical moment that takes place in a hockey game represents a competition between small groups of players — 1 versus 1, 2 on 1, 2 against 2, etc.

And that brings me to the way I usually develop my drills, as well as the countless posts I’ve offered within these pages having to do with skill progressions.

As if members don’t already know, I like to begin with progressions that one of my social media friends would call “easy peasy” — .  I want them to be do-able, not threatening in the least, and even great confidence boosters.  Thereafter, though, I’m very gradually attempting to make my drill progressions come closer and closer to what it’s really like to play the game.

You’ll even see the above happening if you scan through my three “Must-do Skating Drills” videos…  Kids laugh like crazy as they attempt the drills demonstrated in the Beginners’ video, while there are some pretty touch challenges offered in the most Advanced one.

Over the early part of this winter, I’ve probably overdone the mention of two simple drills I see as key to a hockey player’s ability to “compete”.  What I’m getting at, of course, is isolated games of Tag and similarly isolated games of Keepaway.  In essence, the skills those games enhance ARE the basis for being successful in match-ups like the 1 versus 1, 2 on 1, 2 against 2, etc.  Come to think of it, those drills increase resistance as the players mature.  In other words, using it on some nights provides the challenges two Mites give each other, while on other nights a pair of Bantams provide a very different level of challenge.

However, those drills are only the tip of the ice berg.  I mean, every single skill we can think of should have its own system of progressions — from easily do-able confidence builders to wild and maybe even more-difficult-than-the-actual-game type drills.

And that brings me back to the chance to better define what I do.  Hmmmmm…

For sure, the idea of helping players to better “compete” is one of them.  Still, I don’t rush to accomplish that.  No, I’m very, very care — or methodical — about bringing kids along slowly, mainly because their confidence — and even their love of the game — depends on it.

All this said, any of the posts here that explain my inner feelings are really intended for other coaches (or even member parents).  In other words, I want to share my feelings, so that you may begin to formulate more of your own.  You don’t necessarily have to think exactly as I do.  However, I really would consider incorporating more and more drills within your progressions that have players “competing” in practices, much like they need to do to succeed in their games.

The reason I’m commenting at this time — and the reason I’ve placed this in the “Timely Advice” category — is because a lot of players in the program I currently work with are being asked to move-up right now.

To be honest, every situation is slightly different.  However, my answer to most hockey parents is usually pretty much the same, and it’s just about the way I’ll describe to you down below.

– Dennis Chighisola

To “Skate Up” or Not

To begin, here’s (a slightly edited) copy of an email I received not long ago…

“Hey Dennis, i think i already know your answer, but i will run it by you.  (My son) is on the 04 elite team as a complete stud scoring just about everytime he gets the puck im really proud of him.  The mite major 03 elite team are looking for a guy, (and my son’s) name came up.  (The 03 coach) is supposed to talk to me.  Do i play him up a year with unbeleivable talent to make him better for next year or do i keep him on the 04 team and probably be the best kid in the league.  (An assistant coach) invited us to practice tommorrow for the 03 team.”

  As an aside here, isn’t it comical how illiterate texting can make us look?  I assure you my friend is far from that.

The following is my (similarly edited) reply, which I submit to CoachChic.com members as at least some good food for thought…

“Hmmmmmm…

My first thought would be to try it for awhile, without losing your son’s spot on the ’04 team.  I’m sure the 03 coach will go along with that — he may even prefer it.  (Check with others, but I believe there’s also a number of games — like 10? — whereby a kid can skate-up so many times before he can no longer go back down.)

Now, the good part of tearing up at his own level…   Your son will gain more and more confidence, and even dare to try things in games that he wouldn’t be able to do at a higher level.  So, his individual skills are also being greatly enhanced where he is right now.

The good and bad parts about playing up…   Probably the best part is being able to practice at a higher level, mainly because the higher level coach can usually run better practices with a more sophisticated group.   Your son would also probably learn to execute things at a faster pace, although it’s not so good if he suddenly starts playing the game in what I refer to as “panic mode”.   Quite probably, the down side to skating up would be that he wouldn’t get to grow in the way I described in the previous paragraph.

So again, maybe asking to be able to go back and forth for a few weeks would help quite a bit, and it’ll also allow you to get a better sense of which level will be the best over the long run.

Let me know if that makes sense.”

Now, back to talking to you, my good CoachChic.com friends…

For, the one thing I want to emphasize from above is the damage that can be done if we just throw a kid into a level where so-called panic mode takes place more often than not.  And, to describe that better…

My friend stated that his son is really tearing up at his current level.  Having seen the boy training with me and playing some here and there, I can define that as his winding in and out of opponents with the puck, picking corners of the net around over-matched goalies, and sometimes undressing those netminders with wild stickhandling moves.

The exact opposite of that is for a kid to be slightly afraid with the puck — sometimes even throwing it away, after having stronger or faster opponents numerous times stealing the puck or bumping him or her off the play.

Make no mistake about it:  Either one of those regular occurrences will eventually get into a youngster’s head.  And, before you know it, the player either thinks himself or herself invincible, or he or she has hardly any confidence with the puck at all.

And, that brings me to ask:  Which would you prefer for your son or daughter?

Then, I noted above that every situation can be slightly different.  In other words, for some kids the choice to move up might be worthwhile, while under different circumstances it can be very, very damaging.  That in mind, here’s my unscientific view on the choice…

IF a youngster’s promotion places him well into the top third of the stronger roster, I might say, “Go for it!”

IF it’s more likely the move up means a kid is suddenly one of the lesser players, I would suggest that he or she is in for a long season, and one that isn’t going to do an awful lot for his or her skills or confidence.

Of course, a parent’s ego can sometimes come into play during such decisions.  I mean, it might be nice to go to the office on Monday morning and brag about your son or daughter being so highly thought of.  At the same time, I’m one of those delayed gratification kind of guys, and I’d rather do my bragging a few years down the road — having done things right, and seeing my own youngster really make it when it counts.

With that, I came across a great question there just recently, this submitted by Lance P:

“How many different drills do you think need to be implemented during a hockey season?”

Hmmmmm…  Ya, it is a great question, but one that I felt was going to take a whole lot more work than just a few lines in a forum.  So, I’ve decided instead to do the topic justice, by addressing it here.

– Dennis Chighisola

How Many Drills Are Needed Over a Long Hockey Season?

The reason I jumped on that question was that I could just envision the answers that would soon roll in.  I mean, I can see come coaches quoting numbers — like 15, 25, 40, 80, whatever.  And I can tell you that none of us would be right if we got hung-up on a number.

What I’m going to suggest instead, is our need to constantly troubleshoot our players’ needs, or continuously help them solve problems.

Ironically, I had a brief conversation with a few of my assistant coaches after last night’s AAA Bantam practice, not realizing that it actually hints at some of what I’m going to suggest here.

We’d gone through a tough stretch starting the season, so we’ve only begun making progress after also making some roster changes.  So I was telling my assistants last night that we’d just had the best practice ever, and that we’d begin growing from there onward.

We went back and forth about that for awhile, and then I suggested that a time will come when the kids need a break, and I’ll just blow-up my practice plan for a night and do some wild, crazy things instead.

And that brings me back to that statement about the conversation with my coaches providing “hints at some of what I’m going to suggest here.”

Picture along with me, that I had a plan for my kids as we entered the past summer.  Picture again how that plan had to change as we entered the fall.   Then, imagine the changes we’ve gone through once the roster was upgraded.

Moreover, I said that we’d begin growing from last night’s practice onward.  There’s no specific — or even rough — number of drills that can be estimated for completing that task.  I just have to design a given practice plan according to the way I see my kids’ needs on a given night.  And, as I suggested above, there will even be a time when I’ll sense that the kids have had enough, and they need something totally off the wall to renew their love of the game.

As an aside…  Some might think that a blown-off practice is a huge waste of ice-time.  But, I’ll suggest that there’s a far greater danger in not “reading” my players, and not “reacting” to their on-the-spot needs.  And, let me tell you:  I have found that one totally off-the-wall practice, spaced just right in their schedule, can oftentimes make the next couple of months worth of practices all the more productive.  I truly mean that.

Now, I’m going to let CoachChic.com members in on a four-plus step process I use for designing my lessen plans…

1) Here’s a checklist I use before I begin drafting things.  In other words, I have this list of areas of play off to the side as I scratch some rough notes on what I’d like to cover:

Skills: skating, puckhandling, passing/receiving, scoring and body-checking

Team Defense: forecheck, backcheck, numerical situations, D-zone coverage

Team Offense: breakouts, regroups, attack plays, numerical situations

Special: face-offs, powerplay, penalty-kill

Now, not that every single one of those things gets covered in every practice.  Of course, a lot of them get combined on various drills.  My real point for scanning that list:  so that I don’t forget something important.

2) Long-time members know my penchant for note-taking during games.  Among other purposes, I jot brief messages to myself while a game is in progress for things I’ll want to either work on in a practice or discuss with the kids in quieter confines.

For Pre-practice Discussion: As you might realize, some things can’t actually be treated in a drill, but they’re better handled while either shooting the bull or looking at a re-creation on a greaseboard.  So, since my kids are in tune to meeting for 10- to 15-minutes prior to every practice, I’ll jot my planned topics of discussion up in a corner of a given night’s lesson plan.

For On-ice Work: I don’t attempt to fix everything discovered in the last game during a single practice.  However, I usually can identify one concept that can immediately help the kids, and I’ll build a drill around that idea.

3)  At this point, I usually only have a batch of scratches on scrap paper.  I don’t get to actually plan the practice until I take a look at the very last on-ice session.  Repetition and continuity are important to the teaching process, ya know.  So, while every practice may be slightly different, a lot must remain constant.  Said yet another way…  I’ll use the last practice as kind of an outline for the new one, and then begin slightly changing things.

4)  Very much connected to the last point above, I have for years used something I think school teachers refer to as “blocks” of drills.  In other words, I might use a given drill for something like agility for a stretch of 4- or 5-weeks, and then I’ll substitute that with a different drill that still treats the same skill/s.  The idea is to get the most out of a drill, but then stop using it before boredom creeps in.  This same approach — of teaching in blocks — is actually going on in several different parts of my lesson plan, so that both repetition and my concerns for boredom are being dealt with on a nightly basis.

Outside my degree studies in Physical Education & Coaching, I think one of the best lectures I ever attended was by Dave Dryden (I think it was in Montreal, Canada, at the 1980 NHL Coaches Symposium).  There, Dryden suggested not “running around stamping out brushfires.”  The gist of that approach suggests that coaches stick to an overall plan, and not constantly ditch that plan for the latest game problem.   As Dryden hinted, if we spend all our time tonight fixing our powerplay,  our breakouts will probably falter in the next game, and so on and so on and so on.    So, even though I do plan some brief time to deal with a few problems my kids have recently had, I never abandon my overall plan in any given practice.

Finally, I hope CoachChic.com members can now see why I think it’s pretty difficult to name the number of drills we coaches should use over the length of a season.  Added to all the input I’ve shared above is the need to constantly up the progressions — or challenges — included in a single drill (which means that one drill evolves into another, and so forth).  Moreover, I can tell you from experience that players will get some things faster than we think they will, while they’re going to struggle with some drills or concepts we thought they’d get easily.  And this suggests that we have to constantly make further adjustments to our lesson plans, either slowing things a bit or picking up the pace.

*

Have any further ideas or differences of opinion?  I love to hear both,
so just use the Comments area and let’s talk.

I went on sort of a tear the other day, that leading to a special “Coach Chic’s Hockey Diary” post which ignited some interesting feedback.  So, not only might you read my original entry, but you ought to keep checking back, because the earliest Comments have been as good as my original.  As a matter of fact, I’d love your feedback too!

Just click on the link below to start.

– Dennis Chighisola

An Open Letter to All AAA Hockey Teams

With that as an intro, I’ve removed just a few things from the following question, just to protect the young goaltender’s identity…

– Dennis Chighisola

“I need some advice, big time. I played high school hockey as a goalie the past couple of years and did great. this year I tried out for the local junior empire team. Despite playing incredible along with the other top goalies at the tryouts i didn’t make the team, at the the moment I’m at community college part time, thinking i was going to get my big break. but I didn’t. It seems like no one is giving me the chance even though i know i can take my game to the next level. I feel like I’m coming to the end of my career, end of the line and i don’t know what to do, i still want to keep playing competitively but i always feel like the underdog. what should I do?”

Help for a Discouraged Hockey Goaltender

Ironically, I often write or say that, “Others will tell you when your hockey playing days are over.”

That IS usually true.  Yet, I don’t think there’s anyone on the face of the earth who can really tell anyone else his (or her) playing days are over — until the player wants it to be that way.  I mean, even if one is rejected numerous times, there are still usually plenty of other places to play.

I also tend to think that goaltenders can mature later than skaters.  So, there is always the chance that a goalie can get better and better with age, and that he could pass by all the rest a few years down the road.

As an aside…  Obviously, the latter is hardly do-able without a ton of work.   And the kind of work I’d be envisioning would be Rocky Balboa style (if you know what I mean).

As far as future opportunities go, I will suggest that nearly everyone is a “walk-on” at Division II and III college hockey tryouts.  In other words, there are few guarantees at those levels, and it’s more a matter of a player showing what he can do at the tryouts.   Walk-on goalers have been known to make it at Division I schools, although the chances probably aren’t all that great.  Then, minor league professional hockey leagues abound — across North America and abroad, and these provide further opportunities for players to extend their playing days.

All that said, the day comes for all of us when we feel we’ve gone as far as our skills and energies will take us.  And, when that day comes, I always like to see a player leave the competitive game with a good feeling — like he gave it his best, he attained the highest level he could, and he had a hell of a time along the way.  (I’d also like to see him have a college degree in his back pocket.)  For some of us, coming back to coach keeps us close to a game we grew to love, and it at least partially fills a certain void.

*

To be honest, I don’t think I’m any sort of an authority on this subject.  So, I would love for others to jump in here, in hopes you might shed a different light on this subject, and perhaps give this young man some even better advice.

– Dennis Chighisola

You probably also ought to know that I’m a firm believer in The Law of Attraction — partly because it has its roots in the Bible, as well as within the teachings of numerous wise men throughout our planet’s history.  What I’m getting at is that I don’t like to constantly talk about illness until I or those close to me ultimately get sick, and I don’t want to overdo this thing about hockey injuries until readers fulfill that prophesy.

At the same time, I do want to share some observations I’ve made over many years, this in hopes of helping prevent as many lost practices and games as possible.

– Dennis Chigisola

The Root of Most Hockey Injuries

Speaking of The Law, I’ve actually witnessed the children of doctors and nurses being either ill or injured more often than any of my other players.  Honest to God.  This goes back some 30-ish years to when the son of a famous local sports medicine surgeon kept telling me that he thought he just pulled his _________ (fill in the Latin term for some oft injured ligament or muscle).   It wasn’t until I’d seen the same thing happen to other doctors’ kids that I began making the connection.  Ya, quite likely the topic of discussion at dinner often had to do with the latest injury the dad had seen, or the latest operation he’d just performed.  And it wasn’t until years later that I noticed the same thing happening to the children of nurses.  Don’t you know I ultimately got up the nerve to ask those parents if my theory was true, and most of them sheepishly laughed and shook their heads and nodded to the affirmative.  So, going back more than a quarter century, I believe I was seeing the old Law of Attraction in action.

What really got me going on this subject, however, is that we’ve already had several injuries occur with members of my AAA Bantam Minor team — this only a few games into our fall schedule.   Not that there has to be some big connection between these injuries and what I’ll add here.  But…

The Bantam age level is one in which growth spurts happen rather unexpectedly, or they almost creep up on parents until they notice their youngster is 4″ taller today than he or she was a few months ago.  What I’m getting at here is the likelihood that players in this age group can quickly find their gear no longer protecting them very well.  So, just as examples, the slightest leg growth likely leaves gaps between shin guards and pants, and longer arms can leave a lot of open space between the elbow pads and gloves.

So can just the move up from one level to another render certain gear less protective.  In other words, pads that were okay in a non-body-checking level might be totally useless as the heavy hitting starts, or the pads that once were able to protect a kid against easy shots might not be so helpful against absolute rockets.

Thinking about my Bantams again, I know that all of the kids are at different stages of development.   I mean, some are still sort of babes, while a few others are almost the size of an average man.  And those two types of kids have to play against each other over a long season.   Please don’t take this one lightly, either, because some kids in this level are skinny as rails, while some can be pretty hefty.  So, when a collision happens, I’m betting it’s the frail wrist, arm or leg bone that is most apt to snap.

Next, let me tell you that certain players are sitting ducks.  I mean, they’re slow in reacting, so they’re easily lined up to be nailed by a better skilled or craftier opponent.   What I’m also getting at here is a player’s ability to see what’s coming, and then to have the skills to negotiate away from trouble.  A great example of staying out of danger was Wayne Gretzky.  I mean, few opponents ever got a full piece of him — first, because The Great One probably had world class awareness out on the ice, secondly, because he could handle a puck with his eyes up, and thirdly, because he had the great skating and puckhandling skills to maneuver his way quickly out of danger.  (I remember joking back and forth with my late dad years ago…  He’d say, “Why don’t they just hit Bobby Orr?”  And I’d tease back, “Because they can’t catch him!”)

With all this, I’m not implying that any of my current players’ injuries HAVE to fall under any of these headings.   As I said in the start, I don’t want to come off as being so wise as to be able to predict such things.  And, hey, all of us are at one time or another going to take a spill, whatever.

On the other hand, I have mentioned a number of things that might save a lot of kids (or even adult players).

Number One, I’m a notorious note-taker, for reasons you can discover in this category’s first post.

Number Two, I don’t share these with the idea of embarrassing my kids (or others surrounding the team).  My real hope is to share with you the way I view game action, and the things I tend to deem important.  In a way, I’d really like to get older players, coaches and parents at least thinking about the topics I’ve chosen to highlight.

Number Three, the list of observations I made today are specific to older kids, or older youth hockey players who’d I’d like to get playing and thinking like the high school-ers they’ll be fairly soon.  Pretty shortly I’ll do a similar recap of a AA Mite game.

– Dennis Chighisola

Coach Chic’s First AAA Bantam Game

Oddly, the first concern I jotted down resulted in our opponents’ last goal, and it was also the only negative I raised after the game in our post-game lockerroom.

Very early on, I noticed that my guys weren’t covering face-offs properly in our zone.  This isn’t a skill thing at all, but purely a matter of remembering where to line-up, and what to do.  Late in the game one rival sniper fired a point-blank shot past our goaltender without a soul from our team being near him.

After the game, I reminded everyone that:  1) our goaltender is the first guy in charge in this situation, since he has the most to lose; and, 2) our centerman has to be responsible for also looking around to make sure everyone is where he needs to be.

Okay, this note wasn’t about my kids, but to me, instead…

Our home rink has two different surfaces — and they ARE different.  One is a pretty large (regulation) surface, while the other is quite small.

As is always the case, the distance from blue-lines to the goal-lines has to be constant, but where the smaller rink loses is in the neutral zone area and behind the nets.

Adding an even greater coaching challenge is the fact that our bench is almost completely inside the offensive zone during the second period.  So, think about that…

My defensemen have moved to their defensive end door — which puts them just about on the blue line, while my forwards were stationed where they customarily go — at the offensive end door.

And, ugh…  If you can envision the problem, it’s barely possible for my forwards to change on the fly quickly.  They are going to step into the offensive zone, and they’re going to be off-side on a dump-in unless they wait for the puck to enter the zone.  Stated another way, it’s going to be a long skate for my forwards who are trying to get off the ice, and my forwards are always going to be late in trying to apply their forecheck.  (Did I say, “Ugh” yet?)

I’m certainly going to think on this one further, and I’m also going to toss it out to a few guys I know who may have dealt with such conditions before.  At the same time, I would love for us to have a discussion right here (in the Comments area) in hopes a member might think of something I haven’t.

Our first few games have been at arenas where the penalty boxes were right next to our bench.  So there wasn’t much problem with communicating with a guy in the box.  However, it struck me that I’d better later refresh my kids on the hand signals I’ll use when the sin bin is located across the ice…

As I’ve done since, I showed the kids how I’ll be pretty animated in my directions — pointing either down towards our bench or out towards the ice.  Those should let them know that I want them with me or to get right into the action.  However, with the signal for them to come to the bench, I will always follow that with several animated points to my head.   What does that mean?  It means that 1) I do want them to ultimately get to our bench, but that I also 2) don’t want them passing on a chance for a quick breakaway pass, or 3) the need to stop an enemy puckcarrier skating in his path.  In other words, “I want you here, but use your head as you exit the box!”

My last couple of notes had to do with things I’ll want to work on in our next practices.

I noticed our defensemen were a little weak with their forward passes, so I’m going to install a drill that has them skating backwards while passing.  This is the best drill I know for teaching them how to gain strength in an unbalanced posture.

I’ve also noticed that my kids could use a little more physical toughness — along the boards and in the corners.  Hey, they’re still young, so that might not be so surprising.  So, in subsequent practices I’m going to use some basic body-checking drills, and put them in other drill situations where they have to compete a little more vigorously.

– Dennis Chighisola

Just Some Hockey Musing (About Skills)

*
My AA (’03) Mites
Following USA Hockey’s ADM recommendations, my young team begins their long winter schedule with a number of 3 on 3 games.  Our league’s format is interesting, in that four teams report to a rink, and they go about playing each other in three 20-minute games.   Scores are kept as games are in progress, but the final stats are recorded as 1-0 wins/losses, or 0-0 ties.

My little guys won their first contest in convincing fashion, they lost the next in a rather lopsided game, and then lost the finale in a fairly close battle.

Now, let me tell you how I view those three different match-ups…

As far as I’m concerned, our convincing win is done, in the books, and totally forgotten as far as I’m concerned.

That last game loss is something to ponder, but not for that long.  Taking care of the next item will solve any problems we had in this one…

No, it’s the middle game — where we kinda got killed — that I’ll use in a ton of ways.  In other words, THIS is the game that will teach me, my players and their parents the most.  For the time being, at least, our opponents in that game are the model for where we want to be down the road.  How long it will take to reach that status I can’t be sure.  But, we are going to keep aiming for that team’s skills, strength, speed and so forth.

My AAA (’98) Bantam Minors
Due to a ton of personal and professional conflicts, I had to miss my team’s first game of the season.  (Darn, I was sick over this, mainly because it’s rarely happened to me over 40-years in coaching, and I feel it as embarrassing.)  I did, however, get a number of what I’d consider reliable reports upon which I can base some early assessments on a 10-2 loss.

Separate from what I really want to get at in the end, is the sense that my older team has not yet grasped the concept of playing together.   I’m not talking about selfishness so much here, but instead, something that seems too widespread in youth hockey circles.

I’ve written often on this subject in numerous other CoachChic.com posts, but there appears to be a sense within the youth hockey community that there is some generic way of playing the game.  In other words, if the puck goes into an offensive zone corner, every team will do the exact same thing (although few youth hockey parents and coaches can tell me how that goes).  Many seem to believe that all breakouts look pretty much the same, etc.

Not so, of course.  In reality, a team must have it’s own plan to accomplish something like regaining the puck in their offensive zone (this referred to as a forecheck).  There must be a plan for what the first player into the zone should do, a plan for what the second and third guys should do, and further plans for what the defensemen should do when they arrive.  And the plans change as players read what happens henceforth, and then react accordingly.

And, contrary to what most folks in the stands can appreciate, everything that goes on depends on how successful each player is in performing his/her own role.  We lose if the first guy doesn’t do his job, we all lose if the second guy isn’t there to do his, and so forth.  So, as I suggested earlier, every single player really depends on those around him or her.  Furthermore, since my kids have seemingly played without purpose for most of their hockey lives, it’s a struggle to suddenly get them skating and thinking the game at the same time.

(Of course, it should be understandable that hockey gets more complicated as I compare my Bantams’ needs to those of my younger team.)

Back to the main topic here…  What I really tried to glean from those who saw the game was how my Bantams compared to their first opponents.  And in this regard, observers seemed to believe that our opening day opponents fit near the top of our league, or somewhere in the top three or four teams.

In a way, that’s good news for me. In other words, I have a sense of where we’re starting out, and a sense of how much we will or won’t be able to close the gap on such opponents.

If there’s some frustration on my part, it’s that our summer practices weren’t nearly as fruitful as I’d hoped they’d be, owning to so many players missing due to other commitments.  Said yet another way, we’re really starting from Square One entering our fall practice schedule, and we’re only going to catch some of our future opponents if we’re able to make up a lot of ground over the next few months.

The Common Denominator

Ah, yes, the common denominator…  CoachChic.com members have no doubt heard me say or seen me write how a team’s players aren’t just a bunch of X’s and O’s scratched on a piece of paper or greaseboard.  Naw, they’re human beings.

In other words, the X’s and O’s don’t win or lose battles, but individual players do.   And a highly skilled player is going to win far more battles than the lesser skilled one.

As suggested above — in the brief review of my Bantams’ game, how well they think and skate is going to ultimately matter.  And, to a slightly lesser degree, so will it matter with my littler guys.  Still the REAL common denominator…

Ya, the real problem right now — and the area that can help us gain the most ground on rivals — has to do with individual skills.  In other words, both of my teams are being beaten in 1 on 1 match ups when pitted against strong teams, and that highlights our shortcomings when it comes to skating and puckhandling.  (Sure, other skills — like passing, receiving and shooting will need honing, too.  But, first things first, as far as I’m concerned.)

Skating oftentimes — or almost always? — boils down to agile footwork and body control.  And, while it helps to skate smoothly during game action, what I’m really getting at is the need for my Mites and Bantams to be able to skate under pressure.

I mean, an enemy puckcarrier may make a number of shifty moves, so our checker is only going to be able deal with him if he can skate — or react — with him.

I see the same kind of match ups occurring with the puck…  In other words, with the latter roles reversed, my players need to be able to out maneuver enemy checkers to advance or protect the puck.

What I’m talking about, of course, is my players’ need to win 1 against 1 battles, or to be able to compete under relatively intense pressure.  And, while I’ll be considering a number of other drills to help my kids, the “Two-step” and “Snaking” drills (both shown in the Advanced Skating Drills video) will be among those I’ll use regularly, as will be some games of tag and keepaway.

Lastly, this post is all about closing the gap on better teams.  In no way do I want to imply that I’ll vary far from an overall plan I have in place for my kids.  The Bantams will still keep working to perfect their forecheck, covering rushes, defending in their zone, breaking out, cycling, and so much more.   I’ll also continue to very slowly introduce my Mites to hockey’s basic strategies and tactics.  However, greatly elevating each kids’ individual skills is going to also ultimately help them better perform those X’s and O’s.

Then, before turning things over to the star blogger, Jeff Chick, I thought I’d tell my own quick story…

For, you see, although Jeff currently resides in Texas, he calls Whitman, MA his hometown.  Yup, he’s from the same tiny town as I.  Jeff and I aren’t related, though.  In fact, we didn’t really know each other until a mutual Whitman friend sent me the link to his article (she knew I’d enjoy the hockey connection).

There IS more to this story, however…   Jeff’s dad, Dennis Chick (can you believe that?) and I grew-up together, we played against each other in Little League baseball, and then we were teammates through higher levels — into high school and American Legion Baseball.  (I can’t recall if we played semi-pro together.)

And, in a town of only about 5,000 people back then, you can just imagine the occasional confusion when folks would mention one or the other — Dennis Chick or Dennis “Chic” Chighisola.  In fact, to this day, I’m always teasing “the other Dennis” about getting me in trouble with all the girls in town. 

That out of the way, the following is a lot more somber, and something we’ll probably remember for a long, long time, mainly because it has to do with the plane crash that just killed members of the KHL’s Lokomotiv hockey team.  Enjoy it — if you can, but have a tissue ready.

– The REAL Chic — Dennis Chighisola

Reality Check

By Jeff Chick

My day was supposed to be over a little after noon today, but as I dropped off my last client, the office asked me if I could do one more run at 2 o’clock. Being the team player that I am, I said I would. I had 90 minutes to drive back to our company lot, switch into a van and then go to the pickup. Plenty of time to stop for some lunch and mess around on my phone. Peace of cake.

After making the vehicle change, sucking down a burger and fries from BK, and washing it down with a Coke Zero, I proceeded to my pickup location, a full 40 minutes ahead of schedule. I am a happy chauffeur……….for the moment.

I locate the residence that I need to be at, but being that the pickup is at 2, and it is only 1:20, I park a couple blocks away, per usual, and pickup my Thunderbolt to check FB and do some surfing.

First check of FB is littered with numerous comments and links about the tragic plane crash in Russia. 40+ people dead. NHL players, past and present, coaches, prospects and flight crew. Very sad news. I had been reading and hearing about it, off and on, all day. The ramifications reaching virtually all parts of the hockey world, and in less than 5 minutes, ME.

After my FB pitstop, I open up the trip ticket info on my phone, to see who I am picking up. Aaaah, another Dallas Stars transfer to the airport. That explains the van. These hockey guys always have big bags because they are usually traveling overseas. The last name, Skrastins. Never heard of him. No first name. I’ll have to google him. Google search: Skrastins Dallas Stars.

The rush that comes over my body is unexplainable. I am just staring at my phone. He was on “that” plane and he is dead. I am sitting 200 yards from his house and I realize what this pickup is all about. I am about to pick up the family of this man. A family that went to bed last night without a care in the world. A family that had no plans to board a Lufthansa flight to Europe when they woke up this morning. This explains why it was added to my schedule at 12:15 today. Is this for real?

It’s finally time to go down the street and pull in the driveway. Within a couple of minutes, a man comes out to let me know that the family will be out in a few moments. He alerts me to the situation, and tells me not to offer condolences because the children don’t know, and then he returns to the house. I can’t even imagine what his widow must be going through. My heart weeps for her. I am so glad this will be a short ride.

Then it happens. 2 girls, about 2 and 5 come running out the door, completely elated about the trip they are about to go on. Long blonde hair, blue eyes and giant smiles. I nearly burst into tears. My body gets tight. Every second feels like an eternity. The pain inside me is almost unbearable. I don’t even know these people and I am on the verge of a breakdown, right in their driveway. Knowing that these girls are utterly oblivious, to the true nature of their trip, is agonizing. I can’t help but think of my own children, and what it would be like if they woke up tomorrow and I was gone forever. Devastating! The wife and mother in law finally come out and we are on our way.

The entire drive the widow is on the phone. She, as well as the rest of the family, are not speaking English. Although, this would seem trivial, it is not. I don’t understand a single word she is saying, but the pure pain in her voice tells the whole story. The mother in law is keeping the kids entertained in the back of the van, while she sits up front and seems to be getting everything in order, over the phone. I sense sorrow, trepidation, confusion, and despair. Just a few of, what I imagine have been, the many emotions that she has experienced since she woke up today. Again, my heart weeps for her.

We finally arrive at DFW airport, and a liaison from Lufthansa is waiting curbside for us, with a security escort. He “quietly” offers his condolences to the widow while the girls are still getting out of the van. Personnel grab all their bags, and they are off. Girls still giddy about the trip. I, however, am a mess.

I barely get 100 feet away from the terminal when I lose it, crying uncontrollably. I feel stupid, but I don’t care. I can’t get the image of those girls out of my head. The idea that they have no clue that they will NEVER see their father again. What’s worse, is that they probably haven’t seen him in a couple of weeks, and expect to see him when they get where they’re going. Utterly heartbreaking. What a way to end the day.

So, as I sit here recapping this gut-wrenching afternoon that I have experienced, I would like to end it with a final thought. It makes no difference to a child what happens to you when you die. They are going to be devastated either way. Just make sure they know what they mean to you. Remind them EVERYDAY. Hug them EVERYDAY. Kiss them EVERYDAY. Most importantly, love them EVERYDAY. Unconditionally. Because, you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Jeff Chick writes a sports related blog called A CHICKS PERSPECTIVE

Shortly after he joined CoachChic.com, we connected in a Facebook Chat.  And it was then that he mentioned a want to delve through these pages and “…back up a lot of my thoughts.”  As Gareth continued, “I think coaches just need some guidance and confidences to do what they believe…”

And, ooooooh is he ever so right!  A head coach’s job is a lonely one in some ways.  I mean, the weight of a team falls on our shoulders, and there are usually few people ready and able to counsel us when we reach various sticking points.  Ha, want to talk about the many who second-guess us?  Well, I’ll tell you that we coaches — or at least the good ones — second-guess ourselves even more.

Then, before getting further into this, let me suggest that a parent often feels the same loneliness when his or her youngster meets any sort of crossroad or obstacle.  Oh, the rinks may be filled with opinionated folks.  But, it’s still the parent and his or her kid who lives or dies with a final decision.

– Dennis Chighisola

Challenging Hockey’s Status Quo

What echoes and echoes from my brief conversation with Gareth is that part about needing the confidence to do what he believes.  Oh, man, have I been there, done that.

Of course, back in the dark ages — when I began coaching, there was little in the way of help.  There weren’t even that many hockey textbooks, never mind videos or Internet websites.  Consequently, I second-guessed nearly everything I was doing, skills to X’s and O’s.

My confidence grew with several events that just plain happened (and I’ve documented these in more detail elsewhere).  It was at least comforting when one minor league pro player affirmed my beliefs about defending a 2 on 1, and I got all the more psyched when an NHL defenseman suggested I saved his career with a special skating maneuver.  Some years later, I felt on Cloud Nine when my MP Drill Format was selected as one of the best drills at the 1980 NHL Coaches Symposium.

Those things, however exciting, were only little bumps of adrenaline — positive jolts, for sure, but not all that lasting.  No, the lasting boosts in confidence came with something you’ve probably heard me say before, and it’s something you’ll hear a lot more about in the near future.  What I’m getting at are what I’ve come to call “Coach Chic’s Rules for Winners”.

Here’s how that collection came together…

Maybe in my earliest days as a coach, for example, I started seeing something like a turn over in neutral ice really matter.  In other words, we may have been controlling a game, and then a neutral-ice cough-up of the puck resulted in an opposition goal.  Of course, something like that happening just once only causes a coach to shake his or her head.  However, when it happens every few games, I tend to think there’s more to it than just a rare mistake.

Explaining the problem only briefly, I’ve come to think that a player just exiting his own zone or just trying to enter the offensive zone has his teammates thinking attack.  I mean, most mates — whether they should be or not — are likely leaning forward and they’re not prepared if the puck is suddenly lost.  And off to the races go one or two opponents, walking easily right through our still startled defenders.  Now, I intimated that all our puckcarrier’s teammates shouldn’t be looking to follow the attack.  However, I do believe in human nature, and I do believe it influences even elite players to do the wrong things at the worst of times.  So again, if our puckcarrier isn’t careful near either blue line, there’s a good chance of putting us in trouble.

Okay, so I started seeing something like that happening more often than to believe it’s just a freakish, once in awhile thing.  And I’m thinking also that it’s a principle I need to hammer into the minds of my skaters.

Problem:  I’m maybe a 20-something coach, kinda new on the job, and I’m wondering why I haven’t heard any experienced coaches mention this, never mind suggesting a way to deal with it.  Would there be a confidence problem here?  Think again:  20-something, new at coaching, and not hearing far more experienced coaches address it.  Hmmmmmm…

Well, to me, I could only wait so long — and see that kind of mistake happen so often — before I decided I was right.  Damn other coaches; maybe they know about this, maybe they don’t.  But, I only needed to see my team get burned so many times before I felt the need deal with it.

Now, I think the last time I checked, there were about twenty-one points listed under my “Rules for Winners”.  I don’t think you’d find any of them earth shattering.  If you’d be surprised at all, it might be that I’ve found these kinds of things to be hugely responsible for a team’s success.  As a matter of fact, if a player wants to play smartly at a high level, he or she would be helped immensely by knowing and doing those things instinctively.

Notice, though, how much I anguished over that earlier point.  Ya, that kind of internal wrestling took place often during my earliest years — in coaching, and in parenting a young hockey player.  Like many others here, perhaps, I was constantly asking myself, “Am I right?”  Or, “Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?”

And that brings me back to what Gareth and I both believe when it comes to the value of the CoachChic.com website.

There’s little doubt that beginners will find enough information here to bring them quickly to higher levels of knowledge.  Hey, there are currently over 500 posts on everything from tying skates to over-speed training.

But it’s the advanced player, parent and coach that Gareth reminds me about.  Ya, all of us need someone to talk with when it comes to troubleshooting a problem.  And we all need someone we can bounce our own ideas off.  Frankly, we’ve had a number of spirited — but fun — philosophical arguments within the Comments area, but I’m dying for more.  (I learn as much from those as our members do.)

Finally, speaking of learning…  I’ve found through the years that I’ve strengthened my beliefs about a given principle just by having to explain it to someone else.  Think about that, and then shoot me your thoughts — on unique skill applications, tactics or strategies.  I’d be loving it!

PS:  Oooops!  Any time you’d like to start a new topic, don’t use the Comments area, but instead give that topic a chance to have its own area.  In other words, use the Ask The Coach link up above, and I’ll begin the new topic for you.  We can go back and forth through the adjacent Comments boxes after that.

That’s how I’ve been feeling over the past few months, too — kind of embarrassed, knowing a guy put his faith in me, but that I hadn’t yet come through for him.

The reason for this is because I lost an awesome question that came in via our Ask The Coach feature.  Chalk it up to the electronic age, I guess, in that an important email just up and disappeared on me not long after I’d read it.  And again, you can spell that:  E-M-B-A-R-R-A-S-S-E-D.

Then, don’t you know, I just found it minutes ago, buried in one of about 50 folders I use to sort and save various on-line correspondence.  And if you haven’t guessed it, that email was neatly tucked in a folder that had absolutely nothing to do with CoachChic.com business.  Ugh.

Anyway, with egg well displayed on my face, let me first reprint the brief email from John, and then answer it as best I can.

– Dennis Chighisola

“As an adult who’s relatively new to playing the game, do you have any advice on skill development? I have one game per week and usually one on-ice practice per week, so my ice time is limited.”

Dealing With A Shortage of On-ice Hockey Practice Time

Well, John pretty much draws out what this coach is all about.

If my readers will think along with me here, almost ever level of amateur hockey — maybe excluding Juniors and Division I or II college teams — really do struggle for adequate ice-time.  Even with some of those higher level amateur teams, the cost of ice is a strain on the budget, unless the program owns its own rink.  Of course, minor hockey teams battle this problem all the more:  1) because practice ice is costly, and 2) because extra ice-time can’t even be had at a lot of rinks.

With that, I believe one of the greatest advances in hockey over at  least the last quarter century is the knowledge that many alternative training methods exist, and that those methods dawgoned work.

Now, I have to apologize to John in advance, in that most of the following is covered in real depth throughout CoachChic.com, so there’s no way I can go too deeply into each separate idea in this post.  Still, I think I can still provide plenty of help.

Number One, I give much credit to the old Soviets for bringing the idea of off-ice training — or dryland — to a whole ‘nother level.

Secondly, I have to thank the scientifically based teaching methods my textbooks call “The Principles of Motor Learning”.  For, while it’s helpful for us to know all of those proven theories, the one defining the transfer of skills from one training venue to another greatly supports the benefits of dryland.

Next, I’d like to take that “transfer of skills” thing a little further, suggesting that most stuff done on in-line skates will carry over positively to a hockey player’s on-ice game.

For sure, my list could be far longer.  However, I’ve shortened to things I believe can really help John.

Not to be pushing a product here, I still think I’d better refer him to my Hockey Tips & Tricks Store, because there are some scientifically based products there that will especially help with his skating and puckhandling skills.

Still, rehearsing necessary skating skills on in-lines will help a ton, and so will work on a slideboard.

I guarantee that fiddling with a ball as much as possible will help John be a magician with the puck.

Then, firing pucks by the bucket load will ultimately result in a blistering on-ice shot.

Finally, I think John and others who get to see this post appreciate that I run things quite differently if I’m able to control circumstances.  In other words, if John was my student, I’d design a program specific to his very needs, and he’d come along pretty quickly.  I did just that for the group of high school kids shown in the following video.   I produced the video as sort of an advertisement, attempting to show others just how different my kind of training is.  I’m including here, though, so John can grab a few ideas from it.

Once again, I apologize to John for losing his question. At the same time, I’d like to help even more, if he can let me know some specific problems he’d like to solve.

But, let’s allow Donna, the mom of a relative beginner, ask her question right here:

“Okay, coach, here is a question as I sit here and think about my kid’s future. Where do hockey players get the most exposure for COLLEGE (scholarship/tuition help).  High school hockey or a league like the local Bandits? I know I am a over bearing mom but believe it or not I am already thinking high school.”

With that, let me give this toughie a try.

– Dennis Chighisola

Thinking Ahead For that College Hockey Scholarship

As I intimated above, this is a very tricky question — for ooooh so many reasons.  I mean, there are so many things that can work for a kid, and an equal number of things that can work against him (or her).

Another tricky part about Donna’s question is where I should begin — at the beginning, or…  No, I think I’m going to attack this one from the very end, or at the point where a college looks to give a scholarship to someone deemed worthy.

As an aside here, I think that hockey parents (or parents of any college bound athlete) should appreciate the basic differences in the different college sport levels.  So…

Only Division I and Division II programs may grant so-called “athletic scholarships”.  And it’s even different from D II program to DII progam whether they choose to grant athletic scholarships or not.  (Over the years I’ve talked to a few Division I coaches who actually split their scholarship monies — perhaps bringing two players in for the price of one, by granting a half-scholarship to each player.)

If you’ll notice, I referred to the above as “programs” rather than “schools”.  That’s because a given college or university can sponsor sports that range from Division I to Division III, or even club.  In other words, a certain university might choose to have a scholarship basketball program, but a non-scholarship hockey program.

Division III programs cannot grant athletic scholarships.  (So, if there’s a guy at work bragging that his kid is playing for a D III program on a “hockey scholarship”, it’s a pretty good bet the guy is full of bull.)

None of this is to say that kids in non-scholarship situations can’t be helped with their college tuition bills.  Oftentimes a school can arrange non-athletic scholarships and so many other bits and pieces of a financial aid package that can help a family big-time, but these are usually based on academics and a family’s needs.

Let me also talk here about the probability of an assured roster spot.  For, from a very practical standpoint, this is usually based on the commitment the school has made to the athlete.  I mean, if they’ve given a true athletic scholarship to a player, it’s more than likely that he or she is guaranteed a roster spot (as long as basic player commitments are met).  It’s also a pretty good guess that a player is going to get a fair chance at some playing time if he or she has been helped in other ways by the coach and school.  As for the typical Division III athlete, yearly tryouts aren’t much different than those held in local high schools.  So, like it or not, the start of any D III season is really a matter of, “Show me what you have today, kid!”

Hopefully this makes sense to everyone, in particular the kind of commitment a program owes back to each student-athlete.

Okay, so it’s time for college coaches to wade through all the prospective student-athletes out there in the world — and I do mean “in the world”.  For, although it used to be that US college scholarships were granted mostly to local hockey players and Canadians, we’ve seen an influx of Europeans coming across the pond in recent years.

I raise that last point just to suggest how many hockey players are really competing for a limited number of college scholarships.  As a matter of fact, about a year ago I did a piece for CoachChic.com suggesting that young kids can’t really imagine their future competition.  (In other words, while a kid local to me here in Massachusetts might be working on his or her game, there is likely a youngster in Western Canada doing the same, and another in Sweden, another in Russia…  Ugh.)

Anyway, with scholarships in hand, college recruiters have the unbelievable task of sorting through all the available talent.  And, while you might think they’re just looking for the best players to be had, think again…

Not every teen out there has the academics to meet college standards.  And we’re probably talking three sets of standards here — from passing through the NCAA’s (mandatory) Clearing House to being accepted through the school’s academic screening process to perhaps a coach even considering whether or not a player will be able to succeed and stay eligible over the long haul.  Yes, gone are the days when Basketweaving Majors fill college rosters.

And gone too are the players who could become disciplinary problems.  Ya, there are far more players to chose from nowadays, so coaches just don’t need the headaches.  Moreover, we’re talking about scholarships that are probably worth in the neighborhood of $100,000 over 4-years, so it makes sense that today’s college recruiters spend a whole lot more time researching the kids they’re going to invest that kind of money in.

Size can make a difference, too, whether a coach is right or wrong in the way he views a given kid.  Worse yet, there’s no way of predicting size when a player is young, and there’s nothing that can be done to change a kid’s height once he or she is grown.

Speed has also become a factor in some coaches’ eyes.  Something can be done about that, but it’s going to take a coach or coaches with some scientific knowledge to enhance that area of an athlete’s game.

If you’re getting the sense that the granting of scholarships is a risking business, I’ll tell you that that’s how I feel.  And, while I’ve just pointed out a few important determining factors, let’s not forget what the recruiters have to go through to find the physically gifted players.

Of course, now is when we get into the meat of Donna’s question, and it’s also where I have the most mixed feelings…

Speaking totally based on today’s conditions (because things can change in time), my observations suggest that college scholarship winners come from either Junior hockey or prep schools.  It’s rare that a (male) hockey player today is going to be scooped from a public or Catholic high school.  As a matter of fact, even most of my Division III college coaching friends don’t want to look at a kid until he’s gotten a year of Juniors under his belt.

If you can appreciate it, we’re looking at a pyramid here, with college recruiters basically getting to look at the cream of the crop.  Hey, it’s easier for them to focus on the high school kids who survived to make Juniors and prep school teams, and they’re also getting to look at more physically and mentally developed athletes.

That said, I’m sensing that things have changed in recent years for those who run or participate in all the high profile exposure camps or tournaments that traditionally take place over the summer months.  In other words, where these kinds of programs used to run with the purpose of showing off the top high school players to pro scouts and college coaches, I’m thinking that the Division I recruiters are now probably out of that mix.  Not that they won’t go to get an early read on younger players.  But, I sense they’re not often carrying a college scholarship in their back pockets.

Putting all the above together, it seems to me that the wisest goal for any aspiring young (male) player would be to make a quality high school hockey team, excel there, and thus get the chance to show-off at a prep school or at the Junior level.

Now, I am a long-range-looking kind of guy, and I like to lay things out as I’ve just described.  To me it’s so much easier this way, and I almost always hit my mark with a kid I’ve had the chance to influence for any length of time.  Oh, there might be the dad who has a heart attack because his 8-year old Mite didn’t get any goals tonight, and there might be the hockey mom who is worried her Squirt aged son isn’t the star of the show.  My way, on the other hand, looks past all those little bumps in the road, and keeps a steadier eye on the big picture.

If I had my way, I’d like a kid to graduate Mites from a town program’s “A” team or from some level of “AAA” in a program like Donna described (our local Boston Bandits).  At least in our local (New England) area, it seems probable that the “AAA” organization is the way to go from Squirts up until high school.

Still, I have never been one to get too hung-up on designations (like “A”, “AA”, whatever).  For, if we want our youngster to grow through the years to become truly capable of a college scholarship, that”s going to boil down to a whole lot more than a resume.  No, the recruiters don’t care if you set a Pee Wee scoring record years ago, or if you led your Atom team to a national championship.  What they do care about is how you look on one day (or over a given season) when they are toting a scholarship in hand.  And, what I’m getting at, folks, is coaching.  Said yet another way:  T-E-A-C-H-I-N-G.   Oh, I know some parents cry for, “Ice-time!  Ice-time!  Ice-time!”  And a lot of programs hype just that.  However, ice-time alone doesn’t make a player scholarship ready, not by a long shot; ice-time and the right repetitions will help; so will ice-time and an understanding of basic playing principles.  And, the only way to get those is through good coaching (or CoachChic.com?).

Lastly, you may have noticed that I had to a few times let you know that I was referring to “boys”.  That’s because girls’ hockey does not have the equivalent of Junior hockey.  I also want to remind you that things change rapidly in the recruiting game, oftentimes because of a new NCAA ruling, and sometimes just because coaches change their perspective and begin a new trend.  Consequently, the above is the best advice I can share with Donna and others RIGHT NOW.

Erin mentions some background information — in that her 4-year old son’s dad is a professional hockey player, and that the little tyke has been skating since he was 16-months old.  The lad currently skates about three times per week, and the combination of an early start and regular ice-time seemingly have him “WAY ahead of kids his age…”

In a nutshell, her question is, “… how much is too much for a child his age?”  And Erin goes on with, “… I don’t want to make it a job.”

– Dennis Chighisola

Guiding a 4-year Old Hockey Player

Erin might be interested to know that we actually have a number of folks within our CoachChic.com membership who either are or have been parents of 4-year old skaters.  (Craig from British Columbia and Kathy from New Jersey come to mind right away.)  And, on top of interacting with those wonderful people, I’ve also run arguably the top Learn-to-skate/Learn-to-play clinics in the New England region for about the past 30-years.

Now, I think that just about everything Erin wrote is relevant to this discussion.

The fact that dad is a pro player can be very impactful in all this.  My own son was a long-time minor pro, I’ve been a long-time coach and hockey instructor, and it stood to reason that my son’s young guy would eventually be exposed to the game beyond most other little ones.  Same thing with Erin’s son, in that he probably can’t avoid seeing and hearing about hockey — probably 24/7.  I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all — children of firemen probably want to wear their dad’s work caps, mechanics’ kids probably can’t wait to get their own tool kits, and sons and daughters of hockey players no doubt want to as best they can emulate their dads.  Again, I think this natural, and seldom a bad thing.

Nor is starting one fairly young necessarily a problem.   I really don’t go by ages when I admit kids to my own Learn-to programs, but instead I take into account personalities.  Let’s face it, there are some 10-year olds who won’t let go of the side boards, and some 2-year olds who bust out the rink door hell bent for leather.  And my guess is that Erin’s little boy was much like the latter example.

Personally, I think it’s a plus that the little guy is ahead of most other kids his age (see my later comments on this).  And, while Erin might think this has to do with the boy starting rather early, I’ll suggest that it also has a great deal to do with the boy’s opportunity to watch hockey more than most others his age.  In other words, his young brain and all his body’s signalling devices have likely been memorizing all the game’s movements for a relatively long time.

Okay, now for the more difficult questions…

Number One, I believe that the parent of a 4-year old is totally in charge of everything having to do with his or her youngster’s hockey activities.  And I’m especially talking about the atmosphere surrounding hockey activities.  Some parents have a way of making each one a drudgery (ugh… or a job as Erin puts it).  Others can keep things light, and fun.

Secondly, there’s the issue of whether three skates were week are too much for a 4-year old.  Personally, I’d say that’s borderline.  Are three trips to the rink too much?  No, I don’t believe so.  But then, it all boils down to my previous point — this having to do with the feelings (or atmosphere) associated with each trip to the rink.  What I’m really getting at is that those on-ice sessions not be viewed as compulsory, mandatory, whatever.  (If it ever crosses Erin’s or her son’s mind that, “Oh, I HAVE TO go to the rink today!” I’d say it’s time to take a break.)  In fact, blowing-off an occasional session just might reap some rewards, because I’ve seen lots of kids come back with a vengeance once they’ve missed a session, making the next string of three per weeks all the more productive.

Third, there is something to be said for a youngster feeling good about himself or herself.  And in this regard, I’m talking about a player (of any age) taking a look around and realizing that he or she is better at something than most others.  I even know some psychologists who will tell us that the confidence gained in one area tends to flow over into other areas of one’s life — like from hockey to school work, to self-esteem within friends, and so forth.  So, neither is it a bad thing that we give a kid the chance to excel at something.

Let me now share with Erin and others an analogy I often use…

You see, lobster is a delicacy for me.  Why?  It’s because I love it, and also because I don’t get to have it that often.  Shove it down my throat three meals per day for a solid week, and you can guess how I’d then feel.

In much the same way, I see a very delicate balance between helping a youngster get pretty good, compared to getting him or her so much practice time that they fall out of love with the game.  (And, by the way, that constant monitoring of a delicate balance should take place throughout a player’s years in sport.  There’s little doubt that Erin’s son’s dad still loves hockey, even as a pro.  And, that didn’t likely come about by accident.)

Well, I think that about covers it from this old coach’s perspective, with my main point to highlight how much control Erin and her boy’s dad have over the entire situation.  Make sense?

*

As always, I invite input or other opinions from members, and I also welcome Erin
to Comment in the box provided below.  We can keep an ongoing discussion going right
here if that will help at all.

In essence, he’s asked if I could put all the components that go into the making of a great hockey player into a pie chart, and then assess the various weights or percentages of the pie each of those would have.

Short answer:  wow, that would be almost impossible to do.

Longer answer:  I’ll always try to at least explain myself well for the sake of a hockey friend. 

– Dennis Chighisola

Predicting Hockey Stardom – Update

To begin, you may have noticed that I’ve taken a recent entry title — Predicting Hockey Stardom — and then added the “Update” to it.  My reasoning:  that post is very much related to this one.  In fact, as I thought more and more about Fred’s question, it struck me that nearly every entry topic on this site at least slightly touches upon the qualities that go into the making of a really good hockey player.

Although I can’t necessarily give these percentage weights, I’ve plotted hockey’s basic skills within my Building Blocks Approach to Skills.   The expanded chart can be found within that post, as well as a detailed explanation on how I feel about each skill’s place in our game, and how I believe these skills should be treated in the teaching process.  In general, however, I view skating as the base for both a hockey player’s offensive and defensive game.  Hey, one can’t either elude or catch an opponent without being quick and agile on the skates.  Of course, the other skills — including puckhandling, passing and receiving, and shooting are the offensive skills required to ultimately put the puck past an enemy goaltender.

Individual hockey-specific skills duly noted, there are also quite a few physical traits a good hockey player needs, with this list at least including strength, speed, quickness, agility, and hockey-specific conditioning.

Next, a player absolutely must have knowledge about the game, and he or she must eventually be able to read and react quickly and properly to ever changing game conditions.  Ours is a transition sport, meaning that puck possession changes frequently, necessitating that a player constantly switch his or her role — from offense to defense to offense and so on.  And, when I said that players must react properly, I’ve also implied that they know, understand and be able to apply both tried and true hockey playing principles along with the team’s planned strategies.  Attempting to over-emphasize a point here, please appreciate that reading and reacting require both the mental side of things, and the ability to physically carry out whatever needs to be done.

Now, I apologize that I can’t find a pretty interesting article I ran across just the other day, because it would have contributed further to my premise that there are a kzillion qualities required of a desirable hockey player.  The article was written by a former NHL-er, and it listed all the personal traits one should have in order to reach a high level.  These are the so-called intangibles  — like being a good teammate, being a good citizen, having a good work ethic, etc.  And, as I recall, that list of personality traits went well into the twenties.

Okay, so I’ve now amassed a pie chart that might be nearing a good forty or fifty slices, these including both physical and mental components.  With that, let me at least supply some of my own personal feelings when it comes to assigning importance to each…

In a perfect world, I would like young hockey players to be placed on a timetable that’s aimed at having them ready far down the road.  In other words, with everything geared towards early development, I wouldn’t worry about having young ones totally ready until they are about to enter high school.  In other words, I’d have a completely different pie chart for youngsters.  Of course, youth hockey circles are far from a perfect world, which means that some development may be lost as parents and coaches care as much about their kids looking good and winning games.

I’ll next call upon that old football expression which implies that, “On any given Sunday…”  My twist on that would be, “On any give day, one player may look a whole lot more impressive than others.”  In other words, players can do everything correctly over several years, but a lesser player might just do everything right on the day important people are watching.

In most honest opinion, “the total package” usually matters far more than any checklist we might devise.  In other words, a given player might have certain strengths and certain shortcomings, but his “total package” has him lead the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in scoring.  Yet another youngster may have his own combination of strengths and weaknesses that still allow him to be the best rated defenseman in all of US high school hockey.  So, if you get my drift, this very point suggests that, it probably doesn’t make sense for us to try to place more or less significance on any one area of the game.   It is, after all, the “total package” that determines if a player is effective or not.

Then, as I’ve written more than a few times within this site, ” We coaches and scouts (including yours truly) can be dreamers.”  And what I’m getting at here is that we can be looking at certain players more from a perspective of “potential” than how they actually compare to others.  Said yet another way, we might discount already polished players in favor of the “raw-boned” type who “projects” to be far better than the rest someday down the road.

With all that, I might offer to Fred and all my other member friends that, many scouts and high level coaches speak with slightly forked tongues when they state in public the kinds of skills they’re looking for.  Oh, for sure, they’re going to tell everyone within ear-shot that they like to see great skaters, whatever.  The fact of the matter is, they very frequently select players for drastically different reasons, and they are as often wrong about their choices as they are right.

*

PS:  I felt it necessary to say all I have here, mainly because of the very last few paragraphs — in that final decisions on players don’t always (if ever) make sense, or fit some predetermined checklist.

At the same time — because I know I’m frequently responsible for guiding the fate of my own students and players, I do follow something akin to a checklist.  It begins with my bringing players through the aforementioned Building Blocks Approach to Skills.

As players mature, I’ll then address age-specific physical traits like speed, strength, agility, conditioning and more.

Along the way, I also try to instill in them a firm knowledge of the tried and true playing principles, while at the same time encouraging the kind of character any future coach would appreciate.

What I hope proves to be an awesome supplement to the manual is an mp3 audio recording which shares lots of real-life experiences I’ve had over 40-years of dealing with young hockey players, their parents and their coaches.

In addition, I also created a Hockey Coaches’ Forum where manual owners and I might discuss problems, suggest ideas, and so forth.  In other words, while the original manual may be carved in stone, our experiences as coaches can continue to grow with every forum entry.

I’m writing today to let everyone know that the Hockey Coaches’ Forum is out there in cyber space for the world to see.  So anyone can look over our shoulders as the forum grows.  (Would it help to have a manual of your own?  Of course.  But, it’s not absolutely necessary for you to discover some new ideas.)

To date, I’ve added a few entries, mainly because my two next year’s teams have already begun working out.  I’ll continue to do that as I make more observations about my teams that seem to fit a manual owner’s needs.  (Oh, and I’m also into that stuff NOW because this is the time of year when wise coaches get a jump on all their future opponents!)

So, have a look, and let me know what you think.  I’m always seeking for ideas.

If you’d like to know more about that manual, just click the photo above.

I haven’t completely fixed the quality of the audio yet.  However, I do have some ideas that I promise to try shortly.

– Dennis Chighisola

A Hockey Chat with Coaches – 3

As always, just pressing the arrow below will start the audio playing.

Oh, and since I was rushed to get into the rink this night, I didn’t get the chance to thank you for keeping me company on an otherwise boring ride.  So, thanks! 

______________________

Just a reminder…

The Bonus audio is still available when you purchase

“How to Assemble & Teach A Basic Hockey System”

The real article was titled “Does Coaching Win Championships?”, which dealt mainly with pro level sports, and then ultimately with it’s featured team and coach in college lacrosse.  I’ve changed the subject heading here, because I’d like to share some thoughts as this all relates to hockey, and especially as I believe it applies to youth hockey.

– Dennis Chighisola

PS:  I urge you to read the original article.  It may not (necessarily) apply to you and me.  However, it is one of the most thought-provoking I’ve read in a long, long time…  Does Coaching Win Championships? By Dean Robinson

Does Coaching Win (Hockey) Championships?

Dean Robinson begins his article suggesting that pro athletes tend to have more influence on a game’s outcome than the coach (think Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James here, maybe a Michael Jordan in years past, the stars who comprised the 1927 New York Yankees, the Islanders and Oilers during different parts of the ’80′s).  This isn’t to say that coaches don’t influence outcomes.  But, as Robinson suggests, their contributions aren’t measurable — or there aren’t any stats we can go to for comparisons.  True enough?  I’d say so.

That established, I’d like to look at amateur hockey.  And, no, there isn’t any way to really measure a given coach’s impact on game results.  Sure, we all have our won/loss records, but it’s more than likely those numbers are hugely impacted by the players we had available for any given game or season.

Okay, so let’s take a look at a graph I’ve had in my head for a lot of years…

In other words, I’m strongly suggesting that the coach of a Mite team has far great influence over his or her team’s record than the coach of a college team.

Oh, before you think I’m suggesting that most Division I college hockey coaches aren’t among the cream of the crop, I want you to know that that’s not what I’m saying at all.  However, I’ll bet most guys at that level will admit that recruiting has the greatest impact on their success.  All the guys and gals at that level know their X’s and O’s, and modern day DI coaches are also pretty adept at handling “people”.  What they need, however, is talent to make their X’s and O’s produce the right results.  And, that level’s most successful coaches have usually been top recruiters.

As an aside here, you might notice that I haven’t drawn any vertical lines to specifically separate the influence coaches hold over Mites, Squirts, Pee Wees, etc.  That’s because I believe there is a gray area from group to group.  Or, said another way, I’m only suggesting that there’s a slight — and hard to specify — difference from level to level.

You might also notice that I haven’t drawn anything as “all or nothing”.  In other words, maybe there will be a few players we can’t dramatically change among the youngest group.  And, for sure, the college level coach will be able to change some of his or her players, if only just a bit.

Now, here’s the premise upon which I base my thinking…

The youngest players are by far the most malleable.  I mean, they are wide-eyed and looking to learn, and their bodies are such that kids in that rough age group can be changed within a matter of weeks, and certainly within a matter of months.  That in mind, a really effective “teaching coach” can work near miracles.  And, I’d say that some of his or her game bench ploys can probably work a whole lot more than they would at higher levels

Sadly to say, humans are less changeable as they mature.  So, while I see this starting to become obvious in older Pee Wees and into Bantams, there’s a good chance that a high school and college coach pretty much gets what he or she gets.  If you get my drift here, I’m suggesting that older teens and players in their young 20′s have come pretty close to the players they’re always going to be.  I’m not saying that they can’t get stronger or better conditioned, for example.  But it is very unlikely that the slow, plodding player is suddenly going to become the top skilled guy on an older team.

Not that any coach at any level should stop trying to improve his or her roster, or individual players.  In fact, that’s where our tinkering with the X’s and O’s and working our players harder at the older levels might help us steal a point or two from teams of better skill.  Returning to my premise, though, all our efforts aren’t likely going to turn a less skilled team into the better skilled one.

Two final points…

Please don’t ever forget what I said in that last paragraph — in that we should never stop trying to help our players improve, and we should never stop trying to gain some sort of advantage over other teams.

What I especially want to emphasize here is the importance of those who oversee development for the youngest teams.  There is no time to relax in that job, because every chance you get with a young group is an opportunity to impact hugely on their future.  And don’t take your role as a “teaching coach” lightly.  Oh, I know there are some folks out there who think, “Ah, my players will get that at the next level.”  Please get that out of your mind, and — while being patient, plan to cram as much as you can into those young brains and little bodies.

What brought us to discussing this was the flurry of trades that took place before, during and after the recent NHL Draft.  More specifically, some not-so-nice things came to light in the media, once a guy had been traded.  Interestingly, we never seemed to hear those negatives before the given trade.  Once a guy was shipped out of town, however, it seems all his behavioral issues were fair game.

Some of what we’ve recently heard had to do with the players’ off-ice activities, and some of them intimated that a certain player wasn’t as good a teammate as he could have been.

Ravi and I talked on Facebook about that stuff, until he finally asked me to address it here.  I told him that I’d just recently watched a video done by our good friend, Shaun Goodsell.  And, while this doesn’t deal with late-night carousing issues, it offers the best advice I’ve ever heard when it comes to being a good guy or gal in the lockerroom.

– Dennis Chighisola

Being A Good Hockey Teammate

I don’t know about you but, that stuff really meant something to me.

I don’t think I’ve ever coached a team — youth to college — whereby players didn’t at least somewhat pay more attention to teammates they knew well, and less to those they didn’t know so well.  That, at least to me, is human nature.  So, I can’t necessarily fault kids for doing what comes comfortably to them.  Of course, what Shaun had to say is an awesome way to look at that, and I’d highly recommend that every coach (and parent) make their young player aware of that viewpoint.  Just imagine what a lockerroom would be like if every player took that approach.

Then, just to give you a hint of something I’m working on — and maybe suggest something other coaches might try…  I’m digging through Google right now to find ideas for “bonding”, or “ice breaking”.  A lot of companies are now doing this, calling in specialists who will run all sorts of games that tend to get folks laughing and working together.  A lot of what we’ll find in that regard involves purely mental tasks.  But, what I’m looking for are games involving small groups, these intended to get participants depending upon one another, and cheering for each other.  After all, that’s what we look for during a game.

Anyway, I hope this gets everyone thinking — about how hockey players can be good teammates.

Now, I’d like to think that a huge benefit to this CoachChic.com site is that it contains numerous videos that you can watch over and over again.   Still, you might want to have some paper and a pen available as you watch this one, because some really good stuff is to follow.

– Dennis Chigisola

Goal Setting in Hockey

With The Mental Edge’s Shaun Goodsell

I think I’ve mentioned several other times how I like to listen to interesting podcasts or audio recordings as I drive to and from the rinks.  And, since Shaun’s presentation lends itself to such, I actually captured the audio portion of that video so that I can listen to it numerous times henceforth.  Ya, if you think about it, there are a lot of good things to be reminded of in there.

I haven’t forgotten you in that regard, though.  In fact, I’ve also made a copy for you, and I’ve placed it over in this month’s *Gift section.  Just go there when you have a minute, and I’ll give you directions on downloading the audio so that you can also listen to it on the go.

Please DO share this page with anyone you think would enjoy the video (especially hockey moms and hockey dads?).

And please DO add your Comments below in the provided box.

If you’d like to immediately download the song, “Tommy’s First Pair of Skates” (minus all the crazy sound effects), just CLICK HERE — in the event you’d like to play it lots of times yourself, or if you’d like to give it as a gift to someone special.

Okay, as long-time CoachChic.com members may have gathered, I’m breaking a little with tradition here — because *Gifts are normally reserved for you only.  In fact, if you don’t mind, I’m going to keep this one available to the entire hockey world, mainly because I believe it deserves that kind of attention.

I’m hoping this makes sense to you, because my dream is to give this song a chance to become a hockey standard.

Of course, I couldn’t ever do something like that alone.  So I’m hoping you’ll help, and possibly share this page with anyone you know in our game.  (Come to think of it, you might have the chance to be a part of hockey history here, being one of the very first to hear John’s song, and also being a part of spreading the word.  Actually, you can even go on record as one of the very first ever, just by leaving a Comment below.)

As always, thanks in advance for all your help!

– Dennis Chighisola

As for the Story Behind the Story…

Several years ago my youngest brother sent me a collection of songs he’d written, composed and sung for me to use as background music in some of my videos.  Those who have seen the video featuring me and Chomper (the NEHI mascot) have heard my brother on that soundtrack, and you probably also know that he’s a real pro — using the stage name John Stevens, and entertaining regularly on cruise ships and around Orlando, Florida, at Universal Studios and sometimes at Disney World.

Anyway, the CD John sent me sat for a week or so before I had a chance to browse it for a video I was planning.  So, there I tinkered in my office studio, all alone at about 2 o’clock in the morning, as the third song started to play.

Gulp…  Almost immediately I got a lump in my throat and my eyes began to water.  Ya, it was — it is — THAT kind of song.

It didn’t take long for me to know what I wanted to do with something so special.  However, it has taken me forever (like almost three years) to gather the right video footage and photos, and to envision exactly how things should go together.  And it’s even taken me about the past month to work with all the assembled resources in hopes of releasing something hockey folks will truly enjoy.

As far as your enjoying it goes, well…  That’s for you to decide, and perhaps tell me about.  I know several hockey moms have already written to let me know they cried hearing that song.   So, if you might use the box below, I’d love to hear you impressions, or even how my brother’s story relates to your own.   Again, I’d really, really appreciate hearing from you.

I’m hoping members enjoy this new format attempt — it surely helps me kill two birds with one stone, enabling me to add what I hope to be helpful content while also having you keep me company on an otherwise lonely drive to a rink. 

– Dennis Chighisola

A Hockey Chat with Coaches – 2

In this entry, I hope to share with you yet another way we coaches can arrive at ideas for new drills.  In fact, I outline three or four of them here.  (As an FYI…  I mention in the audio that a few of the quick transition drills are actually quite similar to the way my Multi-Purpose Drill Format works.  So, you might want to review that when you get the chance.)

As promised, I also answer fellow member, Craig Shaw, in this one, as I offer my own personal thoughts on USA Hockey’s ADM program.

Like before, the acoustics are great, between my handheld recorder and the noisy SUV.  So, be prepared to maybe wear headphones and adjust the volume.  And, when you’re ready, just press the arrow below.

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Okay, everyone, let me know how you feel about this stuff, huh?

With that, let me try something new, in hopes you like it.

– Dennis Chighisola

A Hockey Chat with Coaches – 1

Acoustics in my SUV — especially along the pot-hole dotted roads of New England — aren’t necessarily conducive to recording a guy’s voice (and a raspy voice at that).   Also, there were times during this particular drive when I had to turn on my windshield wipers, which added to the noise.  So, a set of headphones and a little volume adjustment might be necessary to hear my first attempt at this.  (I sense I can do better in future recordings.)

As for the theme, it’s about the AA Mite team I’m starting to ready for next season.  Still, as I try to emphasize at the start the recording, you should attempt to listen in a way in which you might be able to read between the lines and apply my current line of thinking to your specific age group.

Okay, when you’re ready, just click on the arrow below…

As promised, here are a couple of links I mentioned in that recording…

- Most CoachChic.com members live very far from where my latest course is being offered, so I’m not trying to push that here.  What I would like to do is tell you how my skating invention came about, plus give you a slight sense of what it can do.  (This might actually give you some ideas you can use without an R-bar.)  So, click here if you’re at all interested:   Skater’s Rhythm-bar

- Something I would sincerely push is my newly released coaching manual, especially written for coaches of young players.  I’m using this manual’s outline to ready the team I talk about up above, while I’m also going to use it as a reminder so I don’t forget a thing as I prepare for my AAA Bantams.  So, take a look, and you can even download a free chapter on teaching:  How to Assemble & Teach a Basic Hockey System

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Oh, please don’t forget to let me know if you like this idea of recording on my many rink drives.
And, for sure, I’d love to read your Comments on the topics discussed in this one.

In all honesty, I don’t like following what other hockey coaches are doing, mainly because most of them still do stuff straight from the ’70′s or ’80′s.  Still, I will check on them, and maybe borrow something that I can adapt to modern day needs.

Where I get the most inspiration is from checking on what folks in other sports are doing.  Perhaps because of their work environment — amid scientists, the likes of college track, tennis and football coaches are usually on the cutting edge.  But so are many independent martial arts instructors, strength coaches and boxing trainers.

That said, I’ve several times found the videos offered by Coach Miletto to be of special interest.  Take a look at the one below to see what I mean.

– Dennis Chighisola

Modern Hockey’s Frantic Pace

Now, as I’ve watched the recent Stanley Cup playoffs, I’ve come to the realization that older generations of players just couldn’t have ever kept up the frantic pace played today.  Oh, I believe the greats of the past would still be great today.  But then, they’d have different role models before them and around them, and they’d also have science on their side when it comes to training.

And it’s that science I’m really thinking about…  I mean, the National Hockey League guys are unbelievably strong, they are fast, and they’re in remarkable shape.  A lot like the Energizer Bunny, they just keep going and going and going.  And, although many within youth hockey aren’t yet aware of it, most of these traits are owed to some really, really intense off-season off-ice workouts.

With that, I’d like you to take a look at the following video before I make any further comments…

“Suspension training” — as demonstrated in that video — is something relatively new (at least I’ve only seen it taken to this level over the past few years).  And, if I’m correct on this, it’s sudden rise in popularity probably coincides with our want to enhance our athletes’ core strength.  Ya, for sure, anything done hanging from ropes is going to REALLY tax the core muscles.

I might also mention that an athlete’s arms and shoulders and back — and even his or her lower body — can be further isolated when hung in this manner.

Okay, now my personal tips, as I consider adding this type of training to The MOTION Lab…

I’d have to study this form of training for quite awhile to decide on how close the above demonstrated routine would help my hockey players.  I’m pretty certain I WOULD make lots of adjustments — in the exercises I select, their duration, intensity, and so forth.  Remember:  we’re readying our players for hockey.

For God’s sake, be careful when overseeing a program like this.

I’m sure you can search the web to find some fairly expensive suspension devices.  I doubt I’ll do that, though.  Naw, I’m more likely to make my own, just as I have numerous other Lab gadgets.  In most instances, I need to make each new contraption fit with the limitations of the Lab, or with a unique way I want to use it.

As I joke often, “New England Hockey (or CoachChic.com) recycles!”    In the case of building my own suspension devices, I know I can combine some strong rope and used bicycle inner tubes to get the desired training effects.  Trust me, that the owner of a bicycle shop near you is going to be thrilled that you’ll take a box full of old tubes off his hands.

You may not have thought of this before (because I initially hadn’t), but tires and tubes come in all sizes and shapes.  So, it’s likely you’ll have access to long, thin ones, short and fat ones, and several types in between.  It might not be a bad idea to grab a number of each, since you’ll want to test them later to match their elasticity with the strength of a given player or group of players.

As you sort through a batch of used tubes, inspect each one carefully for cuts and holes.  (Hey, there was a reason they were discarded.)  I continue to inspect these prior to each use, because there’s always the possibility one will start to tear as it’s subjected to lots of stress.

When cutting each tube, I usually begin by snipping a few inches to each side of the valve stem.  With that piece gone, what usually remains is a pretty long stretch of rubber.

In closing, one reason I like new gadgets is because of my concerns with the balance between repetition and boredom.  Oh, I love to challenging my older players, and helping them gain the same frantic capabilities their older counterparts now achieve.  And, it’s likely I could get this done with a limited amount of gear.  Still, players like change, and they especially like to fight against some new tool they haven’t seen much before.  So, while science might suggest that one gadget or another can do the job, we coaches have to remember that it’s our artful approach to training that often spells the difference.

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As always, I’d love to hear your feedback on this subject!

Actually, we go way back to when her oldest son first attended one of my summer hockey schools in Reading, PA.  Back then, I didn’t know the story she is about to tell, but it would have explained why Cathy knew what she was talking about whenever we discussed the game.

Her boy Tim and my grandson attended that first school together, and ultimately became great little friends over several more summers.  And, while the boys eventually went their own ways in the game (both now starring in college hockey), Cathy and I have attempted to stay in touch.

As you might gather from her style, Cathy Cuff Coffman is a freelance writer (and a very good one).  I know you’re going to enjoy the following, and there’s a pretty good chance that a lot of members will connect with her story.

– Dennis Chighisola

We Are An Ice Hockey Family (Thanks To My Dad)

My Dad did not play hockey. His sport of choice growing up in Brooklyn was baseball.  Ice hockey was always around Philadelphia in one form or another—several minor league teams trekked their way through Billy Penn’s town, and my dad would frequent the games. If there was play by play on the radio, you can be sure our transistor was tuned to the game.

But when Ed Snider gambled and brought the Flyers to Philadelphia, my dad was one of the first to sign up for season tickets.  The year was 1967. I was five years old. And so began, in earnest, our family’s love affair with ice hockey.

I’m the oldest, and grew up as a rough and tumble tomboy. I was, in essence, my dad’s first born son. Sports brought us together. I played softball at a competitive level, and also played field hockey and lacrosse. A rival school had a girl on the field hockey team that also played ice hockey. I wanted to do that. “Learn to skate backwards,” said my Dad. And so I spent my allowance at the local rink, skating and working on cutting “C’s” in the ice to skate backwards.

I told him I learned—and he still wouldn’t let me sign up for the local team, the Springfield Quakers (named after one of the minor league teams that briefly made Philadelphia their homestead). Later on—as an adult—I realized that ice hockey was just too expensive for a truck driver’s salary.

But I digress.

So after a few years of season tickets my Dad and his friend worked their way into the front office of the Flyers—literally. He became Ed Snider’s bartender. He and his friend shared the job, and the job came with two season tickets in Section X of the famed Philadelphia Spectrum.

So while my Dad tended bar just 10 rows away, I and a sibling got to watch Flyers hockey from atop the opposing players’ blue line. After the games we would go to the Superbox—Snider’s private suite—and clean glasses while my dad entertained the players after the game. We were privy to these young heroes as they drank and regaled in stories of the game. This was before they headed out to their favorite watering hole in South Jersey, where most of them lived. It just didn’t get much better than that.

My Dad’s love for the game was infectious in our family—even my Mom, the most non-sporty person there is, watched with intent and knowledge. One of my favorite pictures of my Dad is one where he’s in his recliner, covered by an afghan, watching the Flyers on TV. His hands are raised above his head, and when I look at that picture I can here him yelling “Score!”

Fast forward to 1991. My four-year old son, Tim, decides to trade in all the birthday presents he received for roller blades and a stick. I obliged. No kiddie rollerblades—inline three-wheelers with no brake pad. The little guy—who had seen enough hockey on TV, transferred what he viewed to his feet. The boy could skate. The next year, he was on the ice, skating as if he had been doing it all his life. He went right to the Mite A team. And my Dad couldn’t be prouder.

My Mom and Dad came to as many of Tim’s games as they could. One particular match was against a team coached by Ed “Boxcar” Hospodar—a former Flyer who my Dad had served in the Superbox. Tim’s team was down by two goals, with a minute left to play. Tim, in quick succession scored three goals to put the game away. Dad didn’t have much to say—he was proud—turned to me and said, “That boy is fast.”

The next year Tim made a Tier I AAA team and the realization of travel set in. We had two other children at home and I was afraid the travel would be too much. Not to worry. Dad went out and bought a conversion van and said he’d take Tim to as many games as he could.

That never happened. That summer Dad passed away suddenly. My Mom sold the van. Our daughter Kelly was bitten by the hockey bug, and she turned into a fine Tier 1 boys’ goaltender. Our youngest, Joe, eventually laced up the skates as a happy recreational player.

But it’s my Dad and his infectious love of the skill and effort put out by hockey players that turned my family into a hockey family. My husband is from West Virginia and knew nothing of the game. When he took a job in Philadelphia, my Dad welcomed him to our town with the season tickets in Section X. Dad was tending bar, and snuck us a bread bag filled with jumbo shrimp. My husband felt the energy in the Spectrum, I don’t remember who the Flyers were playing. But I remember the feeling of passing something along to my husband that colored the fabric of my life for as long as I could  remember.

Our involvement in hockey is winding down. Tim is a college player entering his senior year. We make as many of his games as we can. Kelly laces up the skates as a Flyers Skate Girl, working the ice during Flyers’ games. And Joe is a midget defensemen who calls his brother with highlights of his Tier II games. A corner of our basement is filled with used hockey gear. And every once in a while, each of the kids will say, “I wonder what GrandDad would think?”

His hands would be raised above his head, and he’d be shouting “Score!” And then he’d serve up another drink.

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As I mentioned earlier, Cathy is a freelance writer located in Elverson, Pennsylvania.  So, if you’re interested in asking about her services, just email her.

– Dennis Chighisola

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As always, we enjoy your Comments.  Also, if you have a story to tell –
about a special hockey memory, this is the place for it!

So, with all that, I think it only fair for CoachChic.com members to have access to every bit of information I put out, including my advice to rising young stars.

By the way, if you’d like to know more about the new job I’ve taken on, I’ll place a link to the company website down below.

In a nutshell, though, I’m urging young players (from about Pee Wees on up) to gain some early exposure through American Junior Hockey.  You can explore AJH on your own, but the gist of it is that the site attracts about 40,000 visitors per month, with a lot of those being scouts, general managers and coaches.  I’ve personally even gone through their “A-list” profiles seeking one more good skater for my AAA Bantam Minor team.

Of course, you probably know that I’m never satisfied with the status quo.  So, I’m taking things a few steps further for those who join AJH through me, by providing “my A-list kids” some extra guidance.

Okay, that site is linked through the logo down below.  If you happen to enroll in that “A-list” program, be sure to do so through the link I’m providing.  Also, be sure to let me know if you’ve enrolled, so that I can start providing your youngster just a little more help.

– Dennis Chighisola

PS:  I wouldn’t normally be crazy about something like this.  However, the cost of membership is so low (at $100 per year) that it seems crazier for a player to NOT get his name, face and stats out there for others to see.  I’ve always had a feeling that name recognition is extremely helpful when it comes to landing any desirable position (ask a politician).  And American Junior Hockey seems to provide that very benefit.

What I’m talking about is my recommendation that teams have their own website.  Oh, I’m sure many of you are using generic sites like Eteamz.  However, I have a different suggestion.

Oh, and by the way…  While I control my teams’ site as a head coach, I’m going to suggest here that members who aren’t coaches might offer the following ideas to their favorite coach, and maybe even help with the process.

– Dennis Chighisola

Hockey Coaches: Build a Team Website

If you don’t currently have a site, I’m going to point you towards a free service offered by Blogger (which is actually operated by Google).  You’ll need a Google account — as will your team members, but this is also free.

Okay, just to give you a sense of how I’ve developed my team sites, let’s take a look at the page I created for my three Boston Bandits Teams…

(You can click on the above image to go to that webpage.)

As fancy as all the above might appear (to someone who hasn’t worked with a website before), it was really easy to create.  Many programs now use something called a WYWIWYG Web Builder.  Oh, it sounds pretty scary, but those letters actually stand for “what you see is what you get”.  In other words, you don’t need to know how to program and use html (’cause I’d be cooked if those were necessary).  In a way, once one goes behind the scenes, it’s very much like working in a word processing document.  (Better yet, I’m going to include a link below to some awesome Blogger tutorial videos!)

Now, I’m going to be coaching three different teams for the 2011-12 season, so I’ve created one front page for all of my hockey families to first visit…

I’ve just pasted in those yellow arrows for your sake, so you can see where I’ve placed links to my three different teams.  My thinking here is that I’d like one main page, having everyone arrive there, in hopes they’ll see any special — or time sensitive — announcements I might have for them.  Once they’ve scanned that Home page, they can click on the link to their own site, which contains very team-specific information.  (Although I do have a few announcements posted off to the right, I know they are rather hard for you to see.)

There is yet reason I wanted to begin with a main page…  You see, the pages containing special information are going to be hidden from the public (more on that later).  At the same time, I really do want other hockey people to stumble upon this site.  For your sake, I’ve used three yellow arrows again, this time to point towards some announcements I DO want outsiders to see (have a read and see what I mean)…

Okay, now about including and excluding visitors to certain pages…

For a time, let’s isolate my new AA Mite team.  And, let’s say that two different people click on the link to that special page.  A team member is going to get right through, while anyone I haven’t programmed in will be told they don’t have access.

The screenshot below shows what the inside of that Mite page looks like.  More specifically, though, I’ve pointed to the area where I can make “Settings”, and I’ve then gone to the section that allows me to control “Permissions”.  In that area, you should be able to see that I am the only “Blog Author” (although I could grant equal rights to a Team Manager or Team Mom if I chose to do so.)  The list below that (and purposely blurred) contains all the email addresses I want to allow into this blog/page.   That’s how Blogger does it — I mean it grants access to the site according to a visitor’s email address.  And, if extra addresses need access — like for home and work or moms and dads, it’s easy enough to plug those in as well.

Okay, here’s why I really like creating these kinds of sites with Blogger (besides the fact that they’re free, they’re easy to use, and they allow me to limit access)…

I know that players love videos.  Better yet, the audio and visuals can really help in their ability to understand information.  And, Blogger provides free and unlimited storage of the video files.

I’m kinda lucky, in that I have a lot of ready-made videos on hand to show many skills and some of the X’s and O’s I’ll use with my teams.  You don’t have that capability?  No problem!

Video sites like YouTube.com have thousands upon thousands of hockey videos containing both instruction and examples of plays.  (You might have to study it a bit, but one can copy the “embed code” from most such videos, and paste that right into your site.)

As a matter of fact, I’m going to put the following video on my AAA Bantam Minor site later tonight, because it provides a pretty nice background to the powerplay I’ll later show them…

As you can see, the video is a pretty good one for my purpose — in that it’s a good way of getting my older kids thinking about the powerplay, and it also highlights the kinds of skills they’re going to need to play on that unit.

Just to give you a little insight into what I’ve done so far…  My Mites and Bantams have both been given spring rope skipping and home puckhandling assignments.  Hey, it’ll be nice if those skills are being developed right now, before we even come together as a team.  My goaltenders also have a page of their own, and they’ve been treated to some videos on juggling instruction.  (You’ve likely seen my goalies juggling in Todd Jacobson’s charge, and my new netminders are going to also do many of the other specialized skills Todd’s kids have demonstrated in that special section.)

Three final things…

Here is a link to the Blogger Tutorial Videos (I think they’re pretty good).

Although there is a video on this subject in the above noted collection, I’m thinking that I’ll one day do a post here that will show the exact steps and resources I use to create most of my videos.

As you may have sensed from all this, mine is not a run-of-the-mill team website.  No, it’s not so much for organization as it is for teaching.  Actually, our organization runs a very professional site with rosters and schedules and all that stuff.  My “team sites”, on the other hand, are sort of required reading or viewing, IF a player wants to be up to speed on all we’ll be doing this coming season.

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As always, I’d love your feedback on this post!

Oh, my guess is that long-time CoachChic.com members already know what I’m about to say (although they may not mind a brief reminder).  On the other hand, I’m betting a lot of folks who just pass through here would be helped by knowing that success in our game really does need to start about now.

–  Dennis Chighisola

Winning Hockey Starts Right Now!

In a way, I don’t blame anyone whose been through a long, grueling season for wanting a break.  I’m no different, and I haven’t even been subjected to the bumps and bruises players have taken, or as many stresses as some coaches and parents have felt.  Ya, I think everyone needs a little time off.

On the subject of taking a break, however, let me remind members of the article I placed here long ago, about the old Soviet’s design of “A Year-round Hockey Training Plan“.  I’ve gone into quite a bit of depth in that earlier post, and you really should read it.  However, the part of the plan I’d like to highlight right now — for any player’s sake — is what we all refer to as the “post-season” part of that 12-month cycle.

For, in reference to that time immediately following the regular season, a lecture I caught in Moscow years ago suggested players use that as a period of “active relaxation”.  In other words, while some time is needed to heal the wounds — be they physical or mental, USSR coaches didn’t want their players to go backwards in their development over those weeks or months.  So they had them engage in all sorts of fun yet challenging activities.  Better yet, players who undertake a well thought-out approach to active relaxation can often be on their way to huge physical (and even mental) gains.

As a brief aside…  Over the past few weeks, I’ve had several similarly themed conversations with the parents of my littlest hockey players — like the clinic kids who are 5- to 7-years old.  And, I’ve (as gently as I could) warned those parents about what I’ve seen happen to players who take extended time-off.  In almost every case, those kids arrived far behind their former classmates once the fall came, and they frequently lagged behind their friends for the entire next season.

Now, I mentioned that last problem just to draw a distinction between those who take a short break and those who abandon their game for a 5 full months (count ‘em:  April, May, June, July and August).  (It’s my hope that the kids in my charge will get the best of two worlds, because I’m designing a sane off-season routine for them, but I’m still going to have them flying as they enter their next season.)

I’ll not go into too much detail here — about what to do during those many spring and summer months.  Every player is different, and consequently he or she has different needs.

With that, the last statement — about players having different needs — leads me to something I really do want to discuss in greater length.  After all, the late winter and into early spring is the right time to reflect on the past season, and it’s the right time to use what we’ve learned to set a new course.

I’m sure I and a host of guest specialists have provided members tons of help within the 400-plus posts found here.  So, a player or parent should be able to scan through the various category headings to find exactly what he or she needs.  And, if you don’t find it, I want you to let me know.

Next, I’m going to slide my focus towards coaches.  And I have to return to the way I opened this discussion, worrying that a lot of my hockey brethren will put their coaching hats away until it’s almost time to hit the ice again in the fall.  To this I say, “No!  No!  No!”  And I’ll also restate the title of this piece, as in, “Winning Hockey Starts Right Now!”

Actually, I go into this topic in some depth in my new hockey coaching manual, “How to Assemble & Teach A Basic Hockey System“.  In a nutshell, though, I describe the hockey coach as somewhat an architect.  And, with that, I’ll suggest that he or she has to design very detailed plans that just can’t be scribbled in a night or two.

In fact, I’m using that manual as an outline right now…  Oh, some of that book talks far over the heads of my youngest team, while it doesn’t include all the more sophisticated X’s and O’s I’ll use with my older team.  Still, the outline I’ve used for that manual would probably provide some reminders of things I’d want to consider at nearly any level — beginners to pros.

Again, I’m already into that phase right now, especially as I look ahead for the sake of my older guys, a AAA Bantam Minor team, as well as individual players I’ll oversee within my Hockey BootCamp.  (As I hinted at above, their planning is going to have to be far more elaborate than the way I’ll aim to ready my little guys.  Not that the youngest ones won’t need plenty for me to ready; it’s just that the older guys will require a whole lot more.)

Lastly, let me emphasize the pace I’m hinting at here…  If players wait until close to the start of their season, I think you’ll agree that they’ll arrive totally unprepared (and out of shape).  Going slowly and steadily, though, is sure to have them ready by next fall.  From the coaching side of things, I’m not looking to panic in the end — like sometime in August, just so I can have something together.  Naw, I and my players are starting right now, so that we can be totally prepared when we need to be.

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Just so members know, my work with local students and teams provides lots of unbelievable fodder for CoachChic.com entries.  In other words, members will get to follow me as I deal with the numerous things that arise over the coming year — be they my need to troubleshoot problems, our sometimes successes, and our sometimes failures.

I’ll be working with junior high, high school and adult members in that Hockey BootCamp.  A lot different from my teams, I’ll be looking at each player as an individual.  I’ll try to let you in on the way I analyze their skating strides and skills, I’ll let you know what I’m doing differently for unique body-types, and I’ll also let you know how the various age-specific conditioning goes.

Next fall should mark about my kzillionth year of running a Learn-to-skate/Learn-to-play program.  That’s where I do my “Mr Rogers” impression, and gradually bring those little rascals from “snow eaters” to “daredevils on the ice”!

One “Mighty Mite” team will be formed out of those Learn-to clinics.  So, those who will be coaching a similar team might benefit from the way I introduce little ones to their first games, their first experiences at dealing with hockey’s rules, face-off positioning, even sitting on a team bench.

A notch up from that team is a Boston Bandits Mite AA team.  These little guys will be pretty good, but not quite as mature as the AAA Mite team I coached this past winter.

The oldest team I’ll run next season will be a Boston Bandits AAA Bantam team composed of all first-year Bantams, or Bantam Minors.

I actually start with the latter two (Boston Bandits) teams next week, holding a get-together known as the team “Meet & Greet”  — where I’ll go over team related rules and such with the parents, and then later skate with my players.

The biggest challenge of the two will be my older team, which evidently struggled pretty badly last season.  Not pinning the blame on anyone here, let me say that I’ve needed to at least slightly change the character of that team without having to cut every single returning player.  So, I suspect members should find it interesting to see how I try to turn that team around.

Anyway, I mention these things because CoachChic.com members should enjoy — and hopefully benefit from — the way I deal with so many situations over the coming year.

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I just thought I’d add a timely update here…

Most of my next year’s AA Mite team members are playing for me in a rink-run spring Mighty Mite league.

Part of the reason I’m loving this is because I now have the opportunity to assess the kids who are currently with me.  One assessment has to do with the positions I’ll ultimately slide each player towards, while another involves me taking notes on their needs, both individually and as a group.

For sure, some of the readings I’m taking on these kids have to do with their skills.  So, already I’ve started planning some drills that are sure to help them reach a higher level.

What some members might not think about, however, is the importance of noting each kid’s individual playing personality.  In other words, some will tend to be naturally conservative, while others are super-aggressive.  Oh, I have ways to bring some aggressiveness out of the ones who need it.  But, we coaches (and parents) shouldn’t believe we’re going to greatly change a kid’s innate personality.

So, with the latter point in mind, I’ll filter a lot of the kids towards specific playing positions based on whether I sense they’ll want to sit back a bit, or maybe go hell bent for leather.  (If you think about that stuff, I’m sure you’ll also start thinking about where it might be best to play given personality types.)

One thing I also have to decide pretty shortly is how much systems play I’ll give this team.  In other words, can they handle the “L” forecheck I usually prescribe for young teams, or will I need to go to something else that’s even easier for them to learn?  Actually, I’ve had some thoughts swirling around in my head lately, and I’ll be sure to let members know more if I decide to go another way.

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A few years ago, I was probably one of the few hockey coaches to communicate with his players and their parents via a website.  My guess now, however, is that lots of you are currently doing this.  I also know that a lot of you are using sites that have been prepared by other companies specializing in such offerings.

No matter, I’m going to soon provide members only a brief rundown on the way I create a site for one of my teams.

In anticipation of that, I’d really like you to take a look at Blogger (<= click there).  Blogger is actually a free website service provided by Google.  It costs nothing to create websites there, it costs nothing to create a Google Account, and then there are a number of other reasons I tend to use it — especially when it comes to my teams.

So, if you don’t yet have a team site, and you’d like to create one, I think Blogger just might be right for you.

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As always, I love it when you Comment on a post — with either your personal feelings or questions.

– Dennis Chighisola

My New Hockey Coaching Manual

A number of years ago I wrote what I felt was THE definitive manual for coaches of young players, and I titled that “How to Assemble & Teach a Basic Hockey System”.

That 72-page book sold awesomely, but the loss of a key office worker ultimately put the sale of hardcopies on hold (mainly because I just didn’t have the time to do the physical things involved in the sales and shipping process).  Nor could I take the time to retrain a new office worker.

Let me tell you, though…  That manual was awesome AND THOROUGH.  Hey, if you’ve come to know me by now, I tend to always act like a teacher, so I undertook the writing of that manual as if I was holding a new coach right by the hand, and telling or showing him or her exactly how a young team should go together.  Again, if you know me, you know I over-explain absolutely everything, just so that the information I share is perfectly clear.

Okay, so the world has changed — a lot — since I first wrote that book.  And mainly I’m talking about the arrival of the Internet.

Now, two recent events got me to thinking about that manual again…

First, I was searching for a way to help the young assistant coach who was about to take-over a team I’d coached this past year.  I mean, I wanted to arm him with all the background information that caused me to decide on a given forecheck for our kids, the whys and wherefores of our breakouts, face-off plays and so forth.  In other words, I wanted to share with him how I think when it comes to putting everything together for a young team.  And then it struck me:  almost everything I could ever tell him about is contained in that earlier written manual, “How to Assemble & Team A Basic Hockey System”!

Yet something else struck me as I thumbed through what I was about to give to my young assistant.  “Hmmmmmm…” I thought, “Even I’ve gotten away from a few of the important concepts I’d described in there!”  Not only that, but it also hit me that most of that manual is appropriate to what I’ll need to do with my new Bantam aged team!  Ya, hockey principles are hockey principles, no matter the level, and I knew that the things I outlined in that book apply to almost all age groups.

Anyway, if you want to know more about my new coach manual, you can go hear:

How to Assemble & Teach A Basic Hockey System

There IS some urgency, because the price will go up in a few days
(that’s why I’m tell you about it right now)!

The first discount deadline has passed,
but you can still save by ordering before April 30, 2011.
To be honest, I’m trying to almost give this away right now;
the eventual cost will be $27 by later this spring.

Actually, I love finding ways to make new training devices.  First, my students discover that such devices need not be fancy or cost a lot of money in order to enhance their game.  Secondly, homemade gadgets can often be modified to gain new training effects (but, more on that a little later).

– Dennis Chighisola

Making Indian Clubs

This first video shows the basic use of a clubbell…

This next one shows how to make a very similar device to the clubbell, but this one is called an Indian club.  As the guy in this video says, PVC materials are inexpensive, and pretty durable.  Personally, given the option, I usually go for the slightly more expensive grayish material (used for electrical work) versus the sometimes brittle white plastic (used for water or sewerage drains)…

This final video shows how to make a very similar device from metal parts (which are usually as easy to find at your local Home Depot store as the PVC).  At the end of the video, the guy shows how he uses such a training aid.

Now, I mentioned in the start that I like homemade devices — because they can be modified in different ways, and so I might achieve a slightly different training effect.  And, in the case of the two tools shown here, I find it helpful that both can be loaded differently because the screw-off tops allow us access to the inside.

Both of those shown above hold fairly heavy metal tubes to give them greater weight, and it’s also suggested that more weight can be added.

However, I’ve been on a slightly different kick over about the past 2-years…  I like to add water inside a pipe because it moves as the athlete uses it.  Trust me, that this is quite a shock — and quite difficult for the athlete to wrestle with.  And, you may have missed the guy in the middle video suggesting that something like ball bearings can also be used to gain this same training effect.

Lastly, I’m not going to say much more about using either Indian clubs or clubbells — at least right now.  However, I’ll suggest that an athlete wiggle these kinds of devices — much like we do our StickWags, so that you can “Put REAL Muscle In Your Hockey Shot“.   The idea is to isolate the forearms to put real power in the muscles that flick your hockey stick.  Imagine, though, if we could add the element of a moving weight inside our training gadget.  Aaaaah, I kinda like that idea!

———————————————————————————

As I was doing a little research this morning for my new Hockey BootCamp program, I ran across this unbelievable gadget.  I’ve already made something similar to this for The MOTION Lab, but I think it would be easier to make a number of ones like this (because it’s always nice to have several training devices available).

Oh, by the way…  You don’t believe a hockey player would be lean and mean from tossing that sucker around for like 30-seconds (to simulate a shift)?  Ha!

– Dennis Chighisola

Homemade Bulgarian Training Bag

– Dennis Chighisola

Hockey’s Empty-netter

As you might have guessed, the empty-net situation just arose — this late in my young AAA Mite Major’s season.  That’s right, it happened for the first time in our very last regular season game.

Okay, there’s the chance that a few members might stop reading here, because they think I’m going to be talking about Mite hockey.  Ha, hardly.  I’ve had plenty of high school players screw-up this situation, and even a few college players.  Moreover, a “brain freeze” at the older levels just might cause worse problems than my young kids experienced.  (So, please DO read on…)

Now, I thought it was good that one of my young defensemen actually noticed that our opponents’ goaltender had been pulled.  However, psyched at the chance to aim for the open net down at the far end, he fired his shot from inside our zone.

Whistle!  Icing!  Face-off back in our end!  (Gulp!)

Well, perhaps the gulp is a little strong, because most of our opponents — being only 8-years old — aren’t likely to take advantage of that face-off in front of our goal, or even the extra attacker.

And that’s the point I was hinting at above, when I suggested that mistakes at older levels can cause us far greater problems than my young kids were about to experience.  Ya, the older guys are likely to have a decent face-off play arranged for such circumstances, and they are more than likely going to make very good use of their extra attacker.  So, my suggestion — if you work with older players:  be absolutely sure they’re aware of the following.

I made sure that my young kids understood the consequences of taking an icing call at that point in a game.  In other words, there’s a penalty of sorts involved, with the face-off being brought all the way back to our end, in front our goal.  Oh, I did encourage the kids to take pop-shots at that wide-open net (we were having fun with a 2-goal advantage), but I reminded them that they had to gain the red line before taking a shot.

I might add here my personal approach on something like this…  I mean, I give my kids a sense of the “penalty” involved in their carelessly throwing the puck from their own side of the ice.  In most instances, young ones don’t put much stock in face-off locations.  Hey, to them, a draw is something they just have to endure before they’re able to get on with the play. 

So again, I explain it in a way that has them understanding a little better the consequences of certain actions.  And, when it comes to the play in question, I try to draw a comparison between that face-off in our end versus their playing with the puck in our opponents’ zone for (perhaps) the remainder of the game.

Lastly, the reason I take my game notes is so that I can remember to deal with certain things at a later date.  In the case of the above situation, it doesn’t necessitate a new drill.  But, it does call for our discussing this at a coming practice or in a pre-playoff game lockerroom.

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A bonus idea for coaches of older players…

In situations where a team’s school or organization owns the rink, players are often allowed to stay on the ice after a formal practice has concluded.  That’s when the really good players work on so-called “little things”.  And, I’ve observed quite a few guys finish their free time by trying to send pucks the length of the ice into a far net.

At other times, I’ve seen coaches finish their practices with some sort of fun competition based on hitting that far away net.

And, as I’m often known to quip in many of my skill related posts…  When you see something pretty nifty take place in a hockey game, there’s a good chance a player has actually practiced it hundreds (or even thousands) of times.

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I wanted to get this post up kinda quickly for you.  At the same time, it bothered me that I was too soon supplanting the previous one — about that important tryout tip.  So, please don’t fail to read that one if you haven’t already.

Anyway, while I’ve previously mentioned many suggestions when it comes to prepping for tryouts, there’s one I want to re-emphasize right here and now…

– Dennis Chighisola

An IMPORTANT Hockey Tryout Tip

Without question, I think the Number One thing each player has to know about a tryout is that all the coaches’ (or raters’) eyes are on him or her.  Sounds too obvious, does it?  Or, maybe the grown-ups or older players reading this believe every player already knows this?  Ha.

When it comes to very young hockey players, I’ll suggest that most of them are thinking more about their nearby friends than they are about impressing anyone.  In fact, while their parents may have warned them minutes ago — in the car or in the lockerroom, I’d be willing to bet that the very young ones have forgotten the gist of that on-ice session before they’ve taken a twirl or two around the rink.  That said, I have always constantly reminded Mites and Squirts several times during any drill that I’m supervising to, “Make sure you show those guys (or whomever) up there how good you can do this!”  Again, those of us running the on-ice drills should see it as part of our responsibilities to encourage the youngest players to show themselves well.

Then, in the case of older hockey players…  What I’ve found is that many of those in the Pee Wee through high school ages are as concerned about their buddies as they are about impressing coaches.  In other words, they’ll go easy as they tussle with a friend along the boards, and they’ll even hold back at times in fear of being considered a show-off.  Oh, you don’t believe this to be true?  Well, I know it to be, from both observing and talking to numerous kids in those age groups.  For sure, there are players who are going to take to the ice with the idea of impressing everyone in the building.  But, there are still just as many who will hold back a bit, and really never show all that they have.  Consequently, I think parents and tryout supervisors have to remind the players about this.  And, at the same time they have to let the older kids know that they shouldn’t hold back against supposed “teammates”; naw, they aren’t teammates at all until a coach adds their names to a roster.

You can see that and other Polls <= by clicking on that link.

Well, I think it’s about time I explained.

– Dennis Chighisola

About That Hockey Forechecking Poll

As it turns out, I suspect that poll is a little out of whack.  I mean, it makes sense to me that most CoachChic.com members (and those who would stop by here) play on teams that actually use a playing system.  On the other hand, I assure you there are far too many teams out there that don’t.

I really mean that…  A lot of times — as new kids have joined one of my teams, I’ve asked them about the system they’ve been playing on their previous hockey team.  (Hey, it helps if they’ve played something close to what I’ll teach, or it helps me if I know what habits I might have to change.)  But, almost every time I’ve asked that question of a player, I get the old deer caught in the headlights look, or just a wide open mouth with nothing coming out.

I can’t tell you how honest I’m being about this.  In fact, even when I’ve tried to simplify things for someone like a young teen — maybe asking him what forecheck his old coach used, I’ll get something like, “Aaaaaah, aaaaaah, I don’t think we had one.”

Okay, so why am I making such a big deal out of this?  It’s because I feel every team should have some system of play.  (Oh, I might not do it with my 5- and 6-year old beginners, but every team beyond that age has some semblance of a system.)

In general, I’m talking about all of my teams having a way of pressuring their opponents and regaining the puck in our offensive end (in other words, a forecheck).  My older teams may have two ways of checking in the offensive zone — one rather aggressive and the other more conservative.  And so will my players learn to defend in their own end, they’ll be taught principles of moving the puck out of their own zone (or executing breakouts), my older teams will learn to “regroup” or counterattack in neutral-ice, and they’ll also have a powerplay as well as learn how to kill penalties.  All of my teams will have offensive face-off plays and ways to defend on draws.  Actually, I’d wear-out this keyboard if I went on with the things I show my kids.

The funny thing is, I’m not the kind of coach who gets overly hung-up on the game’s X’s and O’s when I work with youngsters.  However…  Ya, however…  What I discovered in my first years of coaching is that the various parts of a team’s system are the best way to teach sound playing principles to developing players.

Teaching the elements of a team’s defensive system — from forechecking to backchecking to defensive zone coverage — is the only way to get across the concepts of steering and trapping an enemy puckcarrier, or how to cover an opponent who either does or doesn’t possess the puck.

The offensive side of a system helps a coach teach decision-making with the puck, and it also brings to light his or her abilities (or lack there of) to make and catch passes, and so much more.

All that said, I just may be preaching to the choir here (or raising these points to a bunch of coaches who already agree with what I’m saying).  However, I don’t want to take the chance that even one member isn’t doing this stuff for his or her players.

At last count, I believe there were over 400 posts within CoachChic.com, many of them aimed at helping a coach put together a full playing system.  As I noted earlier, the youngest kids don’t need to have anything too technical.  But, they do need a framework within which to learn basic playing principles.  At the other end of the spectrum, older players need even more of the X’s and O’s, just so they’re ready to move to levels where thinking the game is extremely important.

*

Okay, here I go again with something that might be controversial — at least to some.  So, let me have it, or let me know how you really feel.  You know I love it when we get the chance to talk hockey.

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

– Dennis Chighisola

Off-ice Hockey Shooting Practice

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shaun Goodsell, MA

It is probably safe to say that every person has something they want that they do not currently have. For some it boils down to more success. Still others want less stress and heartache. So the question is, what is the critical factor that leads to accomplishment?

The most popular ideas include setting goals, hard work and having confidence in yourself. Although these are important, accomplishment requires that you are ACCOUNTABLE. In other words, you have a commitment to someone else to follow through on your word. Research shows that when you make a statement to someone else and are asked to “ACCOUNT” for what you have done or are doing to move towards that goal an element of “pressure” is present that is crucial for those that are serious about accomplishing their goals. In business it is often stated that what is expected gets inspected. In our day and age we have moved so far from this. Most people have stopped dreaming, and even more problematic, wouldn’t consider sharing their hopes and dreams with a person that would hold them to what they have said. Actually, in some circles if a person would provide accountability they would be chastised and told to mind their own business. The fact is that there is no accomplishment without discipline and follow through on necessary elements of success. The law of cause and effect dictates that effect is the by-product of cause. The concept of cause is what we do and effect is what we get. Mustering up the capacity to DO the things necessary is enhanced in a culture of accountability and a kind of “Peer Pressure” is formed. When this plays out in the right manner success is elevated at high rates.

If you are one that has a goal you want to accomplish here are three simple, but vital, tips in being able to realize your potential and accomplish your goal. First, write your goal down with clarity. Most important here is that you have to be able to measure it. Second, establish the actions and commitment required to accomplish your goal. Third, become part of a group of people that will “inspect” your daily actions to determine whether or not you deserve to accomplish your goal.

The Mental Edge has a new service launching in February to provide you with your own private web page that includes a place to record your goals, track your actions and have a Mental Edge coach overseeing your daily record of your actions and providing immediate feedback. All this can be done on your smart phone or home computer by registering for our Mental Edge Goal Achievement Program.

The Mental Edge is committed to training kids through these types of experiences. For more information and to begin your life training process give us a call today 763-439-5246.

I’d set a certain number of early sign-ups that I would refer to as “Charter Members”, and I’d reward them with a special, reduced membership fee.

Having reached that magic number a few weeks back, I then set January 31, 2011 as the closing date for Charter Memberships (yes, the monthly fee goes up as of February 1).

Those currently enrolled at CoachChic.com will remain at the lowest rate as long as they remain members.

Then, always looking to give back to the game I love — and to my favorite people on the planet, members should expect even more within the CoachChic.com website over coming months (and years).

Thanks so much for your support;
I love you folks!

– Dennis Chighisola

That said, I’ve coached the game now for 40+ years, and I’ve seen lots and lots over several generations.  In other words, I’ve lived, I’ve learned, and I’ve accumulated plenty to share with those who are willing to at least consider what I’m about to say.

– Dennis Chighisola

Hockey Parent:Coach Relationships

Okay, so a fresh season got underway a few months back, with a whole bunch of players reporting to their new teams and their new coaches.

Personally, I like to see each of my new players — or my new team — as a blank canvas on which to paint a new masterpiece (okay, so I think I’m a pretty dawgoned good teacher/coach).  In the case of older players, their canvases may already be painted upon, but I can at least hope that I might touch-up things where needed.

Hockey parents, on the other hand, are all new to me, whether they’ve been around the game for years or not.  Going into the season they’re all great people, as far as I’m concerned (while a few of them are at least innocent until proven guilty — ).

Joking aside, I have to state right now that players and parents are a package deal — at least at the youth hockey levels.  In other words, if a kid is a pain but the parents are nice, the coach is still going to have headaches.  And, of course, turning that around isn’t going to change the aggravation factor any — as in the kid being great but the parent/s driving the coach crazy.

I hope that makes sense to you, ’cause it’s a fact, like it or not.  Each hockey family IS a package deal.

Man, do I have a story for you…  I’m aware of an awful relationship that existed between a long ago high school coach and a hockey family.  Actually, the story was famous around these parts.  The coach was a legend.  Evidently the player was also really, really good, and this was on one of the better teams in Massachusetts.  The sad part is that the boy’s dad was an alcoholic, and he could get pretty loud and terribly abusive around the arenas.  So, as I understand it, the deal the coach had with the dad was that, anytime he knew the guy was in the rink, his boy sat.  Was it unfair to the kid?  Ya, I’d have to say so.  But, who caused the problem in the first place?  Frankly, I’d have a hard time hurting a kid just because his or her parent was a jerk.  Still, I’ve never quite been in that old coach’s shoes.  (Ugh…)

So again, let me establish that it’s hard to separate parents and their kids when a coach has a team load of players and grown-ups to deal with.

The above story is of course a drastic example of what I’m getting at.  That story in mind, though, I have to suggest that there’s a far subtler danger hockey parents must consider for the sake of their kids.

And, on my way to explaining that, let me repeat:

that most kids and parents kick-off their new season with something like a clean slate (I’m presuming that every single kid wants to learn, and that every parent is there to support their young player towards that end).  Ya, I’m assuming…

Okay, so what happens to make it all go wrong?

Well, I’m going to share something with hockey parents (and other coaches) that should ultimately make sense.  Furthermore, I’m going to suggest that it’s purely human nature that makes the following possible, actually inevitable…

First, picture that a parent (or two or three) appears to not follow the coach’s lead.  In one instance, maybe a parent outwardly rebels against the coach’s handling of his or her youngster.  In yet another case, appreciate that a coach can sometimes just sense that a parent isn’t supportive or on the same page.  In either type scenario, the coach will likely get the feeling that there’s going to be a problem down the road, at least with certain players or parents.

Why so — or why is the coach likely to keep that relationship in mind?

Is it not human nature for most of us to be wary of negative situations?  And, once he or she is burned, is it possible that leaves at least a slight scar?  You can almost bet on that; it’s only human nature.

Secondly — and here’s the most dangerous part of all this…  Although it may or may not be intentional, a coach just might start treating certain kids differently.

Ya, and it’s that last one I’m here to warn all youth hockey parents about.  For, you see, no human being is into pain — including your youngster’s ice hockey coach, either consciously or subconsciously.  The way this might manifest itself is that the coach might do some extras for most players, while there is the distinct possibility he or she is going to avoid extra interactions with the perceived “trouble family”.

Now, you might at first think a coach is being mean if the latter occurs.  But, I don’t think it’s always done intentionally,  No, again, I have to suggest that it’s often subconscious.

Think about your own circumstances — whether at work, within your neighborhood, or among family or friends…  I’m sure you can immediately identify a handful of folks you’d go out of your way to help.  At the same time, there’s probably that one person in each circumstance who always seems to bring-on problems, and you probably quite often do your best to avoid him or her.  Hey, you may have already been burned once — or you’ve seen them burn someone else, so why go out of your way to get torched again?

And that’s why I’m saying this parent:coach relationship thing is really a matter of human nature, and I’ll also suggest that it should make all the sense in the world to any rational adult.  Moreover, the way I’ve explained it, I hope hockey parents will also see how this same thing can occur away from the rinks — at school, and in a whole bunch of other group settings.

In closing, I’m not saying that parents and coaches shouldn’t communicate.  They absolutely should.  The frequency of those communications might be considered, however — as in How much extra attention do you (or your youngster) really need?  And, by all means, the tone of those communications ought to be seriously pondered.  Like it a not, a hockey coach is human, and he or she is going to ultimately steer clear of problems (as are future coaches when tryouts come around).

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PS:  None of the above absolves a lousy hockey coach.  I deal with that subject, as you’ve probably discovered, in numerous other entries within this site.  That out of the way, the above is the best advice an old and experienced hockey coach can offer parents, whether their youngster’s coach is good, bad or ugly.

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I welcome youth hockey administrators, coaches, parents, and even older players to distribute the link to this page to others who might benefit from my advice.  And, of course, you can express your opinions in the Comments box below.

This entry isn’t about those earliest playing days, though.  No, what I’d like to share with members are my earliest days in coaching, when hockey REALLY began for me.

– Dennis Chighisola

How Hockey REALLY Began for Coach Chic

I’m guessing that those currently into hockey will find this kind of interesting, but when I was very young, most of the really good hockey in these parts could only be found in the big city of Boston, Massachusetts.  And it trickled only slightly outside the major city to close by smaller burgs like Weymouth, Hingham and Arlington (to only name a few).  My point:  that there were no indoor rinks where I grew-up, some 30-miles outside Boston.  So, any of us who really wanted to play would have to do out best at honing skills on the rural ponds and cranberry bogs the bulk of the time, and then commute closer to the big city to get some formal training and perhaps play a weekly game.  A now long-gone rink in Weymouth, MA is where we Whitman boys would go to get the best youth hockey we could.  Ya, so current day kids and their parents ought to appreciate the fact that there is now a rink just around the corner for you.

Thank God, that the Viet Nam Conflict affected me far less than it did some of my childhood buddies, and so many guys in my generation.  Still, a military commitment did cause me — again, a lot less than many others — to alter my schooling and work, and to give-up some semi-pro level play in baseball, football and hockey.

When the chaos of those times did subside a little, I found myself coaching in all three of those sports, which brings me to something else current day sports enthusiasts might find interesting.  For, there weren’t anything like baseball or football camps back in the 1960s, no clinics or AAA-type teams, nor any paid coaching positions outside school or professional programs.  Hockey was different back then, though — probably owing to the local rinks’ needs to fill hours with the likes of summer hockey schools or camps and weekly skill-oriented clinics.  And, fortunate as I’ve so often been, I found myself being hired by several local arenas to run a lot of those kinds of programs.

Now, did I just insinuate that I’ve frequently been lucky?  Ya, and I’m going to suggest that I couldn’t have been more fortunate in my earliest coaching experiences.

You see, I’ve always been inquisitive.  I mean, I like to know how things work, how pieces fit together, what makes things tick, and so forth.  And, if I’m going to get into something, it almost always has to be all or nothing.

Is that good?  Maybe not for my health — , but most surely for my future career in hockey coaching.

I started studying far and wide (and I’ve actually been through the old AHA/USA Hockey coaching certification program three — yes, I said three — times).  And I also started collecting and devouring every hockey (and other related) manual I could find.

I also wrote to a few big-time hockey coaches, asking for their help.  Ha, talk about future influences…  Actually, several pro guys were unbelievably helpful, while a couple of the Division One college guys never even responded (which suggests — at least in my book — who is and isn’t really big-time).   So, you might now appreciate why I answer every email and CoachChic.com question that ever comes my way.  Yes, partly because of those long ago experiences, but also, I think, because I was brought-up dawgoned right.

Anyway, what this piece is really about is my feeling fortunate to be AN EMPTY sponge as I began my hockey coaching career.  I mean, I’d had modest coaching in an equally modest playing career, so my mind was w-i-d-e open to anything and everything I thought could help me, my students and my players.

As an aside here…  If there are some guys I feel a little badly for, they’re the ones who can’t get themselves out of the 1970s.  In other words, they think that’s the way hockey is still played — ’70s style, and they think the kind of training they received way back then is how it should be done today.  Yes, I feel very, very badly for them, and I’m also often frustrated by those types when I try to convince them there are better — more scientific — ways to improve hockey playing qualities nowadays.  Ugh.

Oh, as I’ve mentioned in a few other posts here at CoachChic.com, I felt fortunate to have played for two of our area’s most innovative coaches.  My dad was a creative genius when it came to devising baseball practice techniques, and so was my high school football coach far, far ahead of his time.  In fact, borrowing from what I’d learned from them, I was probably one of the first coaches in our area who thought to use teaching stations within a practice or hockey school atmosphere.

Okay, so I was a sponge…  And I also suggested earlier that I traveled far and wide to gain any sort of help.  So, Canadian based coaching seminars were often on my summer todo list back in those early years, as were family vacations.  In fact, two getaways to the north country helped to forever change my coaching methods…

Ah, I remember it as if it was yesterday, a camping trip we took to Ontario, Canada.  After a day or so on our site, my family became good friends with an older couple who camped right beside us.  Oh, and it didn’t hurt when we discovered we had a love for hockey in common.

Then, talk about luck…  One night our gentleman neighbor announced that he had a TV set with him, and he was planning on hooking it up somewhere in the campgrounds where everyone could watch the start of the big series between a team of NHL all-stars and the Soviet Union’s so-called “Big Red Machine”.  Yes, this was the summer of 1972, and that series now sits in hockey history as The Showdown at the Summit.

Don’t forget that we were in Canada.  So, there was no shortage of local campers to gather in the campgrounds laundry room for the opening face-off of Game One.  Yup, we were crammed-in like sardines, with most folks licking their chops in anticipation of the NHL pros destroying the “amateur” Russians.

Now, the pros didn’t letdown their faithful following, at least at first.  For, they pumped-in a couple of goals right at the start, and it surely looked like the rout was on.  Ya, it looked like it.  However, the Soviets just kept coming — and coming and coming and coming.  And, in no time, they had overcome the Canadians’ lead, and headed-off to their own rout.

Did I say that we were crammed into that small concrete structure?  Ha…  Little by little, the crowd thinned, and only my neighbor and I remained to see the final game action.

As a backdrop to the following video, let me say that the uniqueness of that famed Showdown at the Summit had to do with an anticipated David versus Goliath match-up.  I mean, the pros were expected to kill the amateurs, but the games should have still proven interesting due to the drastically different playing styles, and the fact that pros and amateurs hadn’t been allowed to play each other in recent Olympic or World Cup tournaments.

I remember reading that legendary NHL goaler, Jacques Plante, felt badly for the young USSR netminder, Vladimir Trechiak.  So he provided him some pre-tournament advice about various NHL snipers.

And there were even some other controversies going on behind the scenes…  The great Bobby Hull (among others) was being excluded from the Canadian roster because he’d jumped from the National Hockey League to the new World Hockey Association.  There was even a controversy among Canadian fans over the selection of the announcers who would broadcast the games.  So, to put it bluntly, this tournament was big, and seemingly everything mattered, at least between the land of the maple leaf and the old Soviet Union.

Oh, one more thing…  I grabbed this first video because it tends to depict some of the things I want to talk about here.  I AM NOT INTO TAKING SIDES ON THE SERIES OUTCOME.  (Actually, this video is obviously slanted with old Soviet bias.)  What I was — and still am — very interested in is the impact this series had on hockey training methods.  So, that said, take a peek, just to get a “feel” of things as they transpired back in the summer of 1972…

As a quick recap, Paul Henderson emerged as a true star in this series — at least in my book, ultimately helping Team Canada win the final and deciding tournament game.

Among some of the clips you might notice in that video…

For sure, there was a cultural exchange — and a mutual admiration — taking place over the length of this series.

Insiders were heard to say after the early games that the Soviets showed the NHL defensemen some moves they hadn’t ever seen before.

It shouldn’t have been difficult to spot the Canadians’ frustrations throughout that video.  Actually, this is important to note, because the Russian players were trained to show no emotions (and this sort of goes along with current day psychological theories — about not getting too high or too low, but just staying on an even keel at all times).

You might also notice the Canadians losing a physical confrontation or two…  Well, long ago thinking — for athletes in almost all skill-related sports — was that strength training was taboo.  However, those on the Big Red Machine demonstrated great upper body strength.

Perhaps most frustrating to the North American skaters was the offensive patience shown by their Soviet counterparts.  I mean, the Russians didn’t hurry plays, and would sometimes even pass on one shot in order to gain an even better scoring opportunity.  No dumping and chasing for the Russians, either, but lots of puck control, and even something new in “regrouping” if they couldn’t immediately penetrate the offensive zone.

One thing common to European sport, I think, was the Russians inclination to play the whole game, and to not get too emotionally rapt in the score at any given time.  And by this, I mean that the Soviets fell behind early on several occasions, but just kept playing — for the entire 60-minutes, and they won those games in the end.  (This might be a hard concept to explain.  But, two teams are provided so many minutes to out-score their opponents.  It really doesn’t matter when the extra goals come, only that they do ultimately come.  Get what I mean?)

One humorous time came during an opening ceremony…  Phil Esposito slipped on a rose petal, and he played that to the amusement of the crowd.

Near the end of the video, that’s a young Bobby Orr shaking his head as he watches from the stands.  Yes, one sad part of the tournament was that Orr was recovering from a knee injury, and unable to participate.

Finally, did I suggest there was a bias in that video’s production?  Of course there was.  And I’m sure we could have collected at least as many great plays made by the NHL stars.  (So, apologies to all my Canadian friends.)  Still, that particular production does provide a feel — or flavor — for the many things I need to point-out here.  Then, before continuing, here’s another video that might give you a bit more background info on this series…

Interesting for me were my many trips to Canada over ensuing summers.  Actually, I sensed I was frequently one of the few US coaches in the audience.  So, I got a true feel for what was going on among those hockey leaders, as they seemed to speak Canadian to Canadian.

In the first few off-seasons I traveled up there, CAHA and Hockey Canada lecturers were almost apologizing for their prior training methods.  Reflecting back, this may have been intentional, just to get their audience’s attention (as in shaking the shoulders of the guys and gals who held the future of Canadian hockey in their hands).

Up front, some in Canada knew ahead of time that their pros would be out of shape entering that series in mid-summer.  The Soviets put an exclamation point on that one, though, skating as hard in their last shifts as they did in their first ones.  (In recent years, I’ve advised my older teams to, “Make them skate with you!”  Yes, if I felt we were in better shape than another team — which we almost always have been, I’d want my players to push their opponents to their limit early, and then have some fun after those opponents wilted.)

Of course, thanks in large part to that series, serious hockey players nowadays train nearly year-round, just as the Soviets always have.

Suddenly, the line-up of instructors also changed at most North American hockey symposiums.  Sure, there were still plenty of high level coaches and NHL types speaking, but so were there physiologists, psychologists, strength coaches and nutritionists.  And so were there as many suggestions for off-ice training as there were on-ice drills and systems advice.  Athletic attributes — like speed, agility and the likes — were also mentioned right along with all the traditional hockey skills.

Okay, so I was loading my arsenal of hockey coaching ideas in those first few years after the Showdown at the Summit.  However, another vacation to Canada — this time to New Brunswick — had an even greater impact on my future approach to the game…

My Canadian friends might not appreciate the difference between their bookstores and the ones down here in the US.  However, every time I ventured up north, I’d load-up on pamphlets and manuals I’d never ever find where I live.

Your newspapers — even during the summer — also carry articles that wouldn’t be found down here in The States.  And that brings me to a column I read by the campfire one day, this containing Fred Shero’s impressions after a recent visit to Moscow to study the Soviet’s unique training methods.

What?  The Soviets are entertaining coaches from around the world to come study their methods?  Where do I sign-up?

Well, it wasn’t until 1979 that I could pull-off that one.  But I did.  And let me tell you…  I landed in Moscow thinking I kinda knew my stuff when it came to teaching our game.  By the end of the first day of training, however, I realized I didn’t know a dawgoned thing.  I mean that.

Again, we’re talking 1979, and I’m going to suggest that few back home knew anything about plyometrics.  Nor did they know anything about over-speed training.  (Actually, the Soviets weren’t showing us anything about the latter; I just happened to sneak-off from my study group one day and discover it on my own!)

Okay, so back to my title — “How Hockey REALLY Began for Coach Chic”…

What I am suggesting is that I was lucky to be influenced so much by that NHL versus the Big Red Machine series, and my eventual Soviet studies.

Although I’ve never been one to stay stuck on anything, my head was clear enough (or maybe empty enough — ) to really get into what is now considered the “modern way of doing things”.  Yes, I do still have a tiny bit of my earliest hockey experiences to fall back upon, and I’m still influenced quite a bit by the way my dad and my old football coach did things.  But, that first day of studies in Moscow really did it for:  teaching me to keep my mind wide open for the very latest information.

That open mindedness has further influenced my studies of track athletes, tennis and soccer and rugby players, and I’m willing to look anywhere else if I can steal an advantage.  Yes, I consider myself lucky that my attitude hasn’t changed — from my days as a 20-something beginner coach to my white-haired days today.

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For your enjoyment, I found this clip over at YouTube that tells a little about the USSR philosophy, it introduces the great Anatoli Tarasov, and it also shows some pretty interesting Soviet training methods.  Enjoy (and please leave a Comment below, huh?)…

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Folks, our friend, Tim T, left a link in a Comment below for another awesome video.  I couldn’t help adding it here, because it shows Tarasov putting his squad through their paces on the ice, and those guys are doing a lot of the things my high school players still do.  Oh, by the way…  I swear they’re at the Central Red Army rink in Moscow, a place I visited so many years ago.  Again, this is awesome, once you get past a short Russian introduction…

I’m talking about Sandy N, asking me a question about measuring a hockey stick…

– Dennis Chighisola

Hockey Stick Measurement Help

Sandy began with the following:

Hi Coach Chic,

Sorry to bother you but I’ve been searching your site and have not had any luck on finding the info for sizing a hockey stick.

By now, I hope Sandy knows she wasn’t bothering me at all.  Again, I invite all of my hockey friends to bother me in that way. 

Sandy also gives me the opportunity to point-out the Search box that’s available at the top of each page.  For sure, searches can be tricky.  But I suspect she should have found a lot here within CoachChic.com when it comes to stick measuring.

I found some other web sites say it should come to the players nose but then they conflict by saying it should be when the player has his skates on or off.

No surprise there — that she might find a bunch of conflicting recommendations.  Why?  To my way of thinking, this is one of those areas that gets bombarded by wives’ tales.

I mean, I’ve heard or read that a hockey player should measure his or her stick to the nose, the chin, the mouth, the whatever.  And, like Sandy, I’ve also discovered various authorities(?) suggesting these measurements be taken when the player is either wearing or not wearing skates.  Hmmmm…

Did I suggest these are all wives’ tales?

Just for the heck of it, does holding the stick upright to measure it take into account a player’s unique stance?  And, does it bring into the equation the “lie” of the stick?  (The lie of the stick is the angle at which the stick’s blade and shaft meet, and this varies from stick to stick.)  Oh, in the event you weren’t able to answer those two questions, I’ll give you the answers:  No!  No!

Now, before finishing here, let me say that I spent quite a bit of time searching for a video that might show advanced level players holding their sticks in an upright position.  The best I’ve ever found for doing this is to scan an NHL bench while players are standing for their national anthem.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find many videos that stayed focused on a bench area for very long.  However, I’m hoping the following one will accomplish what I’m aiming for…

Okay, as I said earlier, there weren’t any great views of a bench area, or prolonged shots where we could really study ALL of the players.  Actually, the players I spotted in the above video ran the gamut in the ways they cut their sticks…  A few were up near the chin, while a few were much lower.  And, while we wouldn’t be able to find each team’s “stickhandler”, I assure you they’d be leaning on sticks that came to about the middle of their logos.

Anyway, Sandy ultimately closed with:

Can you clarify or do you suggest a different method?

Thanks and have a great New Year!

Sandy N________

What I did was to send her to a video that shows and tells the viewer just about everything he or she would need to know about a stick — from selecting one to measuring it to eventually doctoring it in various ways.  That video:  “YOUR Stick“.  Within that short film, I explain a simple way to measure a hockey stick that takes into account the player’s unique stance, and the lie of his or her stick.

Oh, in closing, I hope I’ve inspired you to ask me questions.  I love fielding them, and helping you always makes me feel kinda good.

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

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

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

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

– Dennis Chighisola

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

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The Gamut in Youth Hockey Emotions

By Frank Johnson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*

Like this story?  Your Comments are REALLY appreciated!

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

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

– Dennis Chighisola

Talking About the Hockey Skating Stride

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

– Dennis Chighisola

After High School Hockey Tryouts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thankfully it does involve a young team, because it’s a whole lot easier to deal with such a situation when the kids are young.  (Frankly, I don’t know how I’d answer if I had to pull this off with a Midget or high school team.)

– Dennis Chighisola

Coaching A Losing Team

First, I’d have to suggest that the coach of a young team do a little soul searching.  I mean, it’s one thing to deal with a team that isn’t quite skilled enough to compete with their typical opponents, and quite another if the coach just hasn’t done his or her job well enough to help the kids compete.  (Sorry to have to say that, guys, but it surely has to be considered.)

Next — with that out of the way, I think it’s necessary to arrive at a few acceptable substitutes for winning.

Communication is key here — with the players, as well as with the parents.

As far as those substitutions go, I think the coach is going to have to do some serious “selling”, again with both players and parents.

When dealing with young ones, I don’t think it would be right to criticize them too much IF a coach knows they’re just not up to their opponents.

As for those “substitutions” (for winning), what I’m suggesting is that it might be a good idea for the coach to give his or her young team some other ways to measure their success.  Maybe it could be for the team to collectively allow fewer than x-number of goals against a given opponent.  Or, perhaps it could be that the kids are asked to execute a given part of their team play to a certain degree of satisfaction.

This aside…  Years ago I had a young goaltender who was playing for my team and for his local hometown squad.  He was getting awfully frustrated and wanted to quit the other team, because they were frequently getting blasted — like 10-0.  So, I convinced him to play a separate game for himself…  What I suggested was that he imagine that his own team started each game with something like a 10-goal lead, and that it was his job to take it from there, and hopefully preserve the imaginary win.  And, son of a gun, my goalie and his parents told me it worked!

As I offered earlier, it’s also a good idea to present a different way for a losing team’s parents to look at things…

This can put an awful lot of pressure on a coach.  Because, what I’m going to suggest is that he or she promise the parents that their kids are going to make slow but sure gains with each passing practice and game.

I know, easier said than done.

If you think about it, however, what parents usually want for their kids is 1) that they feel good about their rink experiences, and 2) that they have a chance of continuing to play after the current season is completed.

So, the main chore — at least to me — is for the coach to keep parents focused on those two things, while also being absolutely sure he or she keeps his or her side of the bargain.

Ya, admitting one has a losing team doesn’t take the coach off the hot seat.  In fact there’s going to be plenty of pressure on him or her to keep the promises he or she makes — to the players and to the parents.  But, the above approach might at least help everyone get along — and keep smiling — during some very difficult times.

]]> http://www.coachchic.com/coaching-a-losing-team/feed/ 0 http://www.coachchic.com/hockey-fights/ http://www.coachchic.com/hockey-fights/#comments Sat, 27 Nov 2010 12:30:40 +0000 Dennis Chighisola http://www.coachchic.com/?p=6459 Well, I suppose I should ask you to watch the following video before I really get into what I feel compelled to say.  Sooooo, please do…

– Dennis Chighisola

Hockey Fights!

Ouch!  Ouch!  And ouch!

Okay, so trust me:  that I can appreciate how countless 20-something fans can really get into hockey fights like the one you’ve just watched.  Frankly, so did I when I was much younger.  In fact, I can totally understand how hockey fans love to see a lot of rough and tumble things as they watch a game and cheer for their favorite team — including the big, bone-crushing body-checks, especially when these come at the expense of a not-so-well-liked foe.  Ya, I can appreciate all of that.

Oh, I’m not about to tell you that I’ve grown-up, and that’s the reason I’m not so enthralled anymore with the likes of fighting or even those big hits.  Naw, it has nothing to do with me turning 30, 40, 50 or the 105-years old am right now. 

No, what happened to me is that I got deeper and deeper into coaching as I got older, and I especially got more into helping players at the developmental levels of our game.

This aside, however…  A lot of years ago I had three minor pro coaching interviews.  And, let me tell you, I’d have turned a pro team loose back then, IF it meant changing a game’s momentum or exciting our hometown fans.  (Make no mistake about it:  the pro game — especially in some smaller minor league markets — is all about putting fannies in the seats and bringing the fans to their feet on a regular basis. And I could have gone along with that way back when, as much as I go for the more stylish flow of an international game nowadays.)

But, as I said moments ago, I’m not coaching the pros.  Instead, my job is to guide young players towards their maximum potential.  And, that means I have to help them be successful through a number of levels before they have the chance to even think about the pros.

I mean, young players have to move through all the youth hockey levels, they have to play high school and/or juniors, and many of them will have to show their stuff at the collegiate level before they get a pro sniff.  And, a player is NOT going to ever get that sniff — frankly, he’s never going to get ice-time at any of the lower levels — if he plays for himself, if he plays without discipline, and if he kills his team with needless penalties.  (Actually, the penalties are so severe at the lower levels that an undisciplined player is going to be suspended or booted from his league in pretty short order.)

Again, this is NOT me being a bleeding heart or anything.  I’ve already stated that I’d have gone for the rough stuff if I was coaching elsewhere.  But, since I coach where I coach, the best thing I can do is to conscientiously guide the guys in my charge, and help them make their ways up the hockey ladder without incident.

I mentioned earlier about the big, sensational body-checks…  Not that I’m against these.  However, as one pro player famous for such told me once, “You can’t run around looking to make the big hit, or you’ll look foolish.  Instead you just take them when they come.”  In further talking on the subject, he mentioned that, “The highlight videos you see weren’t taken from one game.”

Personally, I think that some supposedly big hits can be risky.  In other words, they can be too much of a gamble, whereby a player might win big by completing the check, but he might also lose big-time if he misses.

Oh, and another thing…  I hope players (and parents) appreciate that coaches — at all levels — want control.  Ya, sure, I personally might have an ego that requires my players to toe the mark.  More importantly, however, I and every other amateur coach on the planet has his neck in a noose — as in having to answer to program heads, athletic directors and league authorities.  And, make no mistake about it — and like it or not, every player on a team is representing his coach, his mates, his league and the sport.  Said yet another way:  I (and my program) ain’t going to look idiotic because of a single, loose cannon player.  Ya, if it’s him or me, you can just guess who is going down the river first.

All that said, let me put the amateur level of our game in a slightly different perspective…  You see, I usually look for a “teaching moment” whereby some player (and hopefully one that isn’t mine) does something to disgrace himself.  (It happens often enough.)  With that, I’ll talk to my kids about their love of the game — or, more specifically, their respect for the game they supposedly love.  It’ll be a “shooting the bull” kind of talk, within which I try to draw from them a true feeling for their game, and a sense of how they almost always show their respect — or disrespect — anytime they’re at a rink.

Finally, I’m sure that not everyone will go along with me on the above.  However, it all is stuff I really felt needed saying.

*

Do you have similar or different feelings?  I’d truly like to hear them.  And, don’t be shy if you don’t agree.  I’d really like to know the other side of this issue.

What I’ve done is made it a two-part question, asking where they (YOU) place the dominant hand, and then which hand — dominant or non-dominant — is used to actually control the stick’s actions.

So, if you’ll just look up above for the page link — or click here…  POLL, it only takes a second or two to register your vote.

And, won’t it be interesting to follow the results?  (I’ll say!)

– Dennis Chighisola

Oh, by the way…  Anyone can vote (either as members or non-members).

However, the slightly different timing of our programs aside, I’m hoping the following observations will still help a lot of you.

– Dennis Chighisola

Recent Hockey Game Notes

My HS Prep Team
We had a nightmarish problem with our high school league this fall…  We’d been set for nearly a decade in the very same, very convenient game schedule, when all of a sudden the league folded.  That made it necessary for me to at least try to piece together some games, mostly as a means of checking a few things.  (If you’ve come to know me by now, you know that our numerous practices are far more important to me than the games.)

Going back to last spring, I’ve chronicled our conditioning and speed work for you, with a lot of the sample videos especially showing my guys working off-ice.  As I so often suggest, a lot more can usually be accomplished away from the ice, partly because of the equipment we can only use in that venue.

That’s not to say that these qualities aren’t being enhanced on the ice — far from it.  But, rather than doing very much of the traditional sprinting up and down the rink’s length, I look to work my kids’ conditioning over the course of a long practice.  In other words, the accumulation of fast paced drills over an hour can really do the trick.  Then, at practice’s end, I’ll usually do something I refer to as “The Finisher”.  And by that, I mean a drill that tends to finish the kids off, or deplete their energy pretty much to the max.

Anyway, what I really want to share with you today has to do with my players’ abilities to bounce back after a pretty tough workout…  You see, we had a game the other night, this played with a rather short roster.  So, when my guys reported to The MOTION Lab the next night — for one of their weekly off-ice workouts, I asked each how they felt that morning (or that “morning after”).  If you can appreciate it, the out-of-shape guy is going to be really, really sore.  But, my guys — to the young man — said they felt fine.  Aaaaah…  I just love it when a plan works.

I might also mention here about my teaching plan for a given night…  Oh, I surely DO stick to an overall plan — this I’ve mentioned countless times within these pages.  At the same time, I want the luxury of reacting to the kids’ needs on any given night.  So, in this regard, I really adjusted the Lab training to go along with the fact that this was the day after a tough game, as well as the fact that we had another game scheduled for two nights later.  What I did then, was mainly aimed at getting my guys to sweat some — to stay active, and to work a little on some skills.  Again, keeping them active was going to be a huge benefit, while beating on them would have been hugely counterproductive.

Finally, our game schedule is complete now, while my guys still have a little more than a week to go before their respective high school tryouts.  Ironically, I know players in this particular age group — soon facing those high school tryouts — have at least three options:

- I discovered recently that the teams we’d placed over the past few weeks are now done.  In other words, with still at least 10-days to go until tryouts, there is nothing for them.  Hmmmmmm…

- Next week — the week before high school tryouts — is a time when the unsuspecting public is going to be fleeced by a number of local high school coaches.  Ya, I’m sorry to have to say that, but…  What will be offered at nearly every local rink will be something called a “high school conditioning camp” (or something close to that).  Now, I have to ask you:  Can a player actually get into top condition in a single week?  Hardly.  In fact, I’d fear that a player attending such a program might just leave his or her best right there on the week-before practice ice.

- My guys are going to stay with me until it’s time for them to head-off to their school teams.  My main aim during our last week together is to keep the kids sharp, to keep-up with their conditioning (somewhat), to protect them from potential bumps or bruises, and to generally send them off feeling rather loosey-goosey.  Ya, in contrast to the previous method, I want to send my kids to their tryouts feeling as healthy as they can be.

My AAA Mite Major Team
Although my young guys have been together since last spring, our schedule has been a little fragmented.  We had some random off-season practice (both on-ice and off-ice, these detailed in some previous posts).  My kids have skated three times per week as part of an ADM program, and we’ve gotten an odd extra full-ice practice together on occasion.

That said, I had no doubt my kids would match well (or better than) most opponents when it came to individual skills.  And this proved so, as we won the fall 3 versus 3 league.  How we’d do in a full-ice game — owing to our limited full-ice practice time — was still to be seen.

Ugh…  We had our first full-ice game last weekend, and the results weren’t anything near our 3 on 3 play.  No, we lost, 6-3, to a team we had beaten (usually handily) over the fall months.

Was it the change in format that made the difference?  Oh, I’m not the type who jumps to those kinds of conclusions — not after just one game.  However, as I always do, I took the some detailed notes from that first full-ice game…

- First — of all things, our first game in this format was almost highlighted by a number of players being away with older brothers at a distant tournament.  I guess this wasn’t much that could have been done about this, but the conflict surely did come at a wrong time.  Not only was our bench short, but all the lines that had worked together for months were pretty much fragmented.  Oh, well…  I guess it’ll be a long winter, and things will be back to normal for most of the remaining games.

- We do a set warm-up prior to every practice and game, this being two fold — 1) to warm the kids, and 2) to give them hundreds (or probably thousands) of repetitions at some very good skill drills.  In other words, performing those over the entire fall and winter is going to really change the kids.  (As an FYI here…  I gradually change those drills as the kids master certain ones.)  Anyway, while the four things I have the kids do will easily fit into the provided 3-minutes of pre-game time, I will have to help the kids pace the drills a bit better.

- I’ve worked quite a few times on backchecking with this groups, but I made a note that I should revert to a standard drill that should help the kids further in this regard.  I like to “shut down” opponents, but that wasn’t really a feasible tactic with all our rather chaotic 3 versus 3 games.  Actually, the drill I have in mind is shown in our Drills section as the “Backchecking Drill (1/2 Ice)“.

- Understandably, some of our young defensemen had difficulty keeping pucks inside the offensive zone.  Again, it’s understandable.  So, I’ll make sure I build some drilling in on that, much like I mention in the earliest part of “Following a Defenseman Through His/Her Defensive Duties“.

- Actually, my kids didn’t do badly dealing with the off-sides rule for the first time.  Ironically, a difficulty I spotted last Sunday was something even older guys struggle with — as in a puckcarrier not hurrying to attain the offensive blueline.  (In other words, a rush is far too often going to be whistled for an off-side if the puckcarrier dilly-dallies with the puck prior to reaching the blueline.)  So, about all I can think to do with this is to organize plenty of rushes while also pressing our puckcarriers to hurry to puck on-side.

- Line changes not being the same in our many previous 3 on 3 games, I’ve failed to prepare my kids beyond the basics.  Oh, we have worked on “5 off, 5 on”.  However, I did NOT prepare my kids for getting an extra skater on the ice for a delayed penalty call.  In this regard, I will have my “next center up” be prepared to take the place of our goaltender on this play.  (Understand that there isn’t time for a coach to search the bench for a capable player, so I usually designate a position I feel is fairly strong.)

- Now, I’m going to group a number of our overall problem on one thing I can only surmise…  I mean, some of my defensemen were absent when it came to guarding their net, while far too many of our rushes gained little because puckcarriers took shots from the worst spots possible.  So, what is it I suspect?  Hmmmmm…  If I had to bet, it would be that a lot of the conversation on the way to our game had to do with parents prodding “young Johnny” to score a batch of goals.  Well, what would you think if you saw some D constantly skate the puck up-ice while a host of teammates were far ahead?  And, what would you think if you saw a number of young attackers take shots from a bad angle while a teammate sat in front of the enemy goal?  Oh, you might chock it up to the new game conditions, but we handled those situations unbelievably in all of our 3 on 3 games (where conditions were all the more difficult).  Ya, parents likely put more emphasis on this one game, it being our first on the large surface.  But, we are in for a long season if they teach the game — from home, in the car, wherever.

Okay, as I intimated earlier, I’m not about to change my whole approach based on one game, and especially one loss.  However, since a loss is usually a lot more telling than a win (where it’s harder to notice mistakes), I absolutely WILL make some practice adjustments over coming weeks.

Already I’ve had my kids work on 2-man rushes on-goal, and this is ultimately going to build towards 3-man rushes.  Darn, but we need to ultimately let the best located player take the shot.

Whether real or imagined, I think I do have to communicate with my parents when it comes to coaching their kids behind the scenes.  As Dr LaVoi and I explain in the post (and video) entitled “Up the Boards, Johnny!“, there are some dangers involved in their doing this.

]]> http://www.coachchic.com/recent-hockey-game-notes/feed/ 2 http://www.coachchic.com/a-different-kind-of-hockey-memory/ http://www.coachchic.com/a-different-kind-of-hockey-memory/#comments Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:49:40 +0000 Dennis Chighisola http://www.coachchic.com/?p=6396

By Dennis DeFrehn

My story might be a little different than the typical hockey player.  Even though I grew up in New England, there were no local leagues around, or at least none I knew of.  Hockey for me was NHL 94 on the Sega Genesis, or a Whalers game at the Civic Center, even though the Bruins were always my team.

I ended up going to school in Boston, right on The Commons.  When winter descended upon the city the Pond in the Public Gardens froze over, and the Four Seasons would shovel it for their guests’ enjoyment.  While that was all good and well, the Park Rangers didn’t take too kindly to college kids showing up with pucks and sticks.  But, after dark, well into the night, the ice would be open. And it would be Ours.

We called it the Midnight Hockey League.  Pure Pond Hockey, at its roots, in the heart of one of the greatest hockey cities around.  We’d usually have about 6 people, all casual players, all fans of the game.  Every player knows how it feels to step out on the ice, and have it to yourself, whether it’s a rink at 6 in the morning, or a local pond.  There, in The Commons, it was an amazing experience. A mix of the chill of the winter air, paired with the fact that we weren’t supposed to be out there, playing in the shadow of the Prudential Tower in the middle of the night.   A bunch of friends together, enjoying the game  in it’s purest form.  No score. Just the sound of the skates carving the murky ice, the puck coming off a stick, or the laughter that would ensue when somebody took a dive into the snowbank.

Those nights out on the ice are some of my fondest memories from college, and it cemented my love of the game.

That in mind, I happened across this series of videos featuring Steven Stamkos, compliments of Nike Training and YouTube.com.

There’s a story being told here, for sure.  However, what I’d like members to do — besides gaining an appreciation for Stamkos’ dedication — is to make some mental notes about the exercises he’s doing.  Then, just as an FYI…  We actually use most of those training gadgets in The MOTION Lab, outdoors or at our roller hockey facility.

Anyway, enjoy…

– Dennis Chighisola

What It Takes to Make It in Hockey

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

I suppose the new USA Hockey ADM program first got me thinking about this topic.  Then again, I guess I have been forced to ponder it a lot of times through my 40-ish years in coaching.

Up front, I want to let you know that I’m currently working in a local version of the ADM, and I can say that I believe I’m seeing some results with the kids in that program.  So, while I might poke a needle at a part of the concept, I am not bashing the overall idea of the program, or the way things are currently going here locally.

My cause to “ponder it (the title topic) a lot of times” over previous years had to do with requests from other coaches to suggest what they ought to be doing with their kids, and that mainly had to do with giving those coaches exact detailed lesson plans for each nightly practice.

Also, as I’ll try to describe in the end, the challenges I’m going to outline from here onward have a lot to do with the way I’ve designed CoachChic.com’s unique format.

So, hmmmmmm…  What’s my problem with all this?  Well, there is always a problem in “knowing what to do next”.  For that very reason, USA Hockey will likely only get to accomplish a percentage of what they’d really like from their new ADM program.   For, you see, it would be impossible for ANYONE — including yours truly — to design a lesson plan in advance that will totally help a far away coach with his or her players.

Okay, as an example of what I’m getting at, let’s consider my current High School Prep team…  You probably know from my recent posts that I’ve had this group since last early June, and that my entire reason for being with them is to help each kid make his own respective high school team.  Of course, I had a plan in place to bring them from June to the end of November.  However, can that plan really be carved in stone?  Not on your life.  Over those many months, individuals and the group will have slight setbacks.  At the same time, they’re going to get the hang of some skills, some tactics and some conditioning exercises that really please me.  What I’m getting at, obviously, is my need to constantly adjust things according to what I’m seeing at any given moment.

I’m sure you also know that I’m coaching a young AAA Mite Major team (that also happens to be part of the local ADM).  Unlike the HS Prep team, though, the entire Mite program, their opponents, and even my own players are new to me.  So, I’ve altered my planning a bit, only designing that little guys’ team according to some shorter term goals.

I’ve also just started my kzillionth year of running a Learn-to-skate/Learn-to-play program.  And, while I have done it for that long, I can tell you that the nature of each new group is slightly different from the year before and the year before.  In other words, while I might enter the first few sessions with an idea of what I want to accomplish with each group, I can’t just stick to some old lesson plans I designed 20- or 30-years ago.

So, when it comes to answering the above question — about What To Do Next, I’m going to state firmly:  that’s where the REAL coaching/teaching comes into play.

No, there’s no formula for any of this.  Instead, as I suggested above in reference to my HS Prep guys, readings have to be taken nearly every time we meet.  And I’m talking about nearly every aspect of the guys’ games.

Going back to some younger kids right now (because the examples might be easier to explain)…  The youngsters in my Learn-to-play clinic should be able to get around fairly well as we take to the ice next Sunday morning, with a number of them even being able to travel backwards, and perhaps do some sort of stop.  So I’ll run several VERY basic skill drills with them, and I’ll be making mental notes on exactly where they are at that time — on things like their forward striding, their cross-overs, their stopping abilities, and their backward skating.  And from those readings I’ll design my next week’s lesson plan.

Here’s the kicker, though…  I can be absolutely sure that this group will do extremely well in given areas, while they will struggle with a few others.   So it’s my job to 1) accelerate the teaching where needed, 2) go slower in certain areas, and 3) even take a step backwards to some remedial drills for a few other skills.

And I’m going to suggest that that exact process has to take place every single time we meet as a group.  In fact, that exact process is taking place with my high school guys, it’s happening with my AAA Mites, and it’s happening with a group of kids I’m currently teaching in a weekly skills class.

Now, although most members are right now thinking they totally understand what I’ve said to this point, I’m wondering if they (you) realize the dangers in not doing it this way.

For example, can you just imagine how many players will be lost if a set lesson plan was put in place long ago, and then adhered to for the rest of the coming winter?  My guess is that about one third of a given group would progress, while quite a few kids would be totally lost — 1) because we didn’t take the occasional backward step when they needed it, or 2) because we didn’t accelerate things when that was appropriate.

A couple of what I think are cute asides…

I’ve had a few parents very nicely express some concerns with their kids’ games or their skills.

One of my assistant coaches has been around the game for awhile, and he’s occasionally expressing some worries about our kids making certain kinds of mistakes.

Another experienced assistant is wishing I’d accelerate an area of the game where his son is concerned.

And in just about every one of those conversations, the parent or coach was dead-on.  I mean, they were right in what they were seeing; it’s just that they were usually wrong as to when it might be appropriate to address their concerns.

I hate going off-track on you again, but here’s another aside, this one an example to make my point even further…

I’m working on puckhandling skills within the ADM program, and as each differently skilled group rotates to my station, I’m teaching that group according to all I’ve described above — from reading where they are at a given time, etc.

=>  There are a ton of young parents watching each clinic, and I’m often thinking to myself that a few of the former hockey playing dads are probably wondering why I’m having kids stickhandle without ever mentioning their need to keep the eyes up.

Ha.  My simple answer to that (if I could hang a banner over center-ice) would be, “Everything in its own time and place.”  In other words, the stickhandling challenges I’m giving those kids right now are overwhelming enough, so I don’t want to complicate matters by tossing an extra challenge their way.  (Down the road, I actually have an easy way to teach eyes up stickhandling.)

Okay, so let’s go back to a few of my opening statements…

I suggested that there’s at least the probability that any given ADM program might only achieve a percentage of its full potential.  And the key words in that last sentence are “any given ADM program”.  In other words, my pretty educated feeling is that each program is going to come closer or further from its true potential according to how well teaching adjustments can be made (ideally on a night-to-night basis).  Let me repeat what I said earlier, though, in that kids ARE going to benefit from the ADM; my worry is just that some will benefit more or less.

Then, let me tell you that the guy or gal who authors a booklet containing perfect lesson plans for an entire season is going to become a millionaire.  Of course, if you’re thinking about purchasing something like that, think again.  As you should realize by now, it’s virtually impossible to create such a thing.

Oh, well…  I actually have created something like the above — that really does work.  And it’s going to be released here someday in the future, when I’ve had a lot of extra time to get it exactly right.

In the meantime, let’s talk about the CoachChic.com format for a few secs…

Most of what you’ll find within the current 400 or so postings are the result of my needing to problem-solve.  In many instances I may have given you an exact way to deal with a given challenge, but I’m just as apt to have given members a few observations I’ve made, thereby allowing you to make some of your own (better founded) decisions.  Yet another thing I’ve done in hopes of benefiting you is to divide a wealth of information into fairly easy to negotiate categories.   Hopefully then, you can quickly find skating help, puckhandling help, help for goalies, important principles having to do with the offensive side of our game, and so forth.

Finally, if there’s one thing I’d like you to come away with here, it’s that there is currently no silver bullet, and no one-size-fits-all.  No, I truly believe the best coaching/teaching is done on a day-to-day or night-to-night basis, and it’s predicated on really “Knowing What To Do Next”.

]]> http://www.coachchic.com/knowing-what-to-do-next/feed/ 2 http://www.coachchic.com/naming-your-hockey-lines/ http://www.coachchic.com/naming-your-hockey-lines/#comments Fri, 24 Sep 2010 20:04:35 +0000 Dennis Chighisola http://www.coachchic.com/?p=6177 The above is a question I recently fielded from a hockey coach, and it’s a good one.  Actually, I sense it’s one of those that I wouldn’t have even thought to address without being asked.  (See how valuable your questions and Comments can be?)  So, with that, let’s get into…

– Dennis Chighisola

Naming Your Hockey Lines

I almost know that the coach who posed this question did so because he didn’t want to designate kids as first-liners, second-lines, and so forth.  Anyway, that’s my thinking.  I’d prefer not to give my kids the impression that one line is any better than the other, and I even like them to battle it out to show which unit can be trusted more than the others.

While on that subject, I like to keep a lot of stats that are based on a unit’s performance.  (In my case, I like to form 5-player units, but this philosophy also works when evaluating forward lines and defense pairs.)

As for my suggestion, it would be to go with colors.  Take my current Mite AAA team, for example…  Three different 5-man units are dressed alike for our practices — in red, blue and yellow.  So, I simply refer to them by their colors.

By the way…  Not every organization can afford extra shirts just for practice sake.  However, I think every family could manage to purchase a t-shirt of a designated color, and these could easily be worn over another jersey.

Up above, my junior high school team wears their color-coded hockey practice jerseys to any practice will include systems work.

No matter which way a team chooses to outfit players and sort them into lines, I’ll suggest that the parents be warned ahead of time that colors may be swapped from time to time.  In other words, it’s quite possible I’ll sometime down the road move a boy from the red unit to the blue, etc.

Okay, that’s the way I happen to handle this little challenge — dressing and referring to my players by color-coded units.  Yet, I am going to bet that there’s a member or two out there who has an even better idea than mine.  So, since exchanging ideas is just one of the many benefits of CoachChic.com membership, I’d really like to hear from others on this subject.  (Just use the Comment box down below.)

However, while the awesome little homemade gadget I’m about to show you is very narrowly focused — or it suits only a very narrow need, it’s the overall theme that I really want to get across — to hockey players, coaches and parents.

That overall theme, of course, is our need to constantly attempt to solve hockey training problems.  So, with that, let me address that subject, and then let me show you that neat little gadget it took me a few minutes to invent, and not much longer to actually make.

– Dennis Chighisola

Solving Hockey Training Problems

Okay, nearly every day or night at a rink raises some sort of hockey training challenge (and on most occasions you and I just might notice a whole lot more than one problem).

As an aside here…  I have a brother who is a pretty shrewd businessman and he’s also an inventor of note.  And his favorite line whenever we get to talking business is, “The most important thing is to ask the right question.”  In other words, instead of doing as most of us do — running around searching for answers, he believes that isolating the REAL question — or the real problem at hand — is key.  After that, all the answers just tend to roll on out.

Okay, so on several occasions over the past few weeks, I’ve had cause to mention to different people that, “The defenseman’s defense of a 1 on 1 is perhaps the most difficult skill for any hockey player to master.”

Ya, I said that to one of the dads on my HS Prep team, because he seemed frustrated at times watching his boy work against a lone attacker.

Then, I also found myself sharing those same feelings with the young coach who works with our Mite AAA blueliners.

Of course, in each instance it was pretty easy for me to isolate the most significant problem with any of my guys’ 1 on 1 play…  I’m even sure anyone who reads this — no matter his or her experience level — will appreciate it when I say that most defensemen get lured into taking their eyes off the attacker’s body and ultimately look down at the puck.

As yet another aside, let me tell you that I’ve gathered plenty of video footage showing future NHL Hall of Famers getting torched on a 1 against 1 (and there’s a video within this site showing the awesome Pronger getting undressed by Bergeron).  So, the problem isn’t one of youth, inexperience, whatever.  It is, I’ll suggest, a matter of practice and discipline.

Still, while I’ve stated the overall problem so far, that simply doesn’t help you or I, the above noted dad, my assistant coach, or any of my players.

What I did discover, however, is that I frequently mentioned the main problem in my conversations with the dad and my assistant.  And it wasn’t until a recent drive home from a Mite AAA practice that the real question hit me right between the eyes.

“WHY is it that defensemen look down at the puck?”

Again, I’m asking “WHY”.

And my answer is that it’s because players get away with it far too often.  I mean, they look downward and poke the puck, and manage to stop the rush far too often in that very faulty fashion.  And, the best young defenders — or the craftier ones — tend to get away with this technique more than lesser players.  Anyway, the fact that anyone gets away with this tends to reinforce that approach.  But, let me come back to that part of the discussion a little later.

Still trying to refine this whole matter a bit more, I arrived at the idea that the puck itself is a huge distraction as defensemen try to practice their 1 on 1′s.  However, to remove the puck from the drill wouldn’t make sense (which is a discussion for another time).

If you’re thinking it would be a good idea to make our defenders practice this area without their sticks, I’ll suggest it’s a very bad idea.  Our “D” can’t steer his or her man without a stick.  Nor can our defender practice poke-checks (while keeping the eyes up).  Worse yet, attacking forwards take huge liberties under such circumstances, and these tend to totally ruin the purpose of the drill.

Okay, so what I arrived at was the need to remove the chance for a defender to steal the puck while not actually removing the puck from our drills.  (Got you scratching your head, huh?)  In other words, I wanted my kids to be able to play everything as usual, but they had to know that lunging and stealing the puck was not an option.

So, to the left is my answer to all that.  There’s a puck, it’s going to be right there and present within every play, but you better know that my “D” can’t steal it if it’s attached to the attacker’s stick by the little bungee rope.

I put this contraption together rather hastily, using a few available roller pucks and some handy thin bungee.  (Regular twine might be okay, but I wanted the bungee to stretch and then grab fairly snugly over the stick’s shaft.)  Down the road, I might take the time to drill into a batch of regulation pucks; or, I might just spray paint these black to make them look a little more realistic.

Now, I promised earlier to come back to that thing about crafty players getting to reinforce the wrong techniques by stealing pucks from less skilled attackers.  And to do this, I need to remind you about something you’ll often hear me say, in that, “The more times we do something a given way, the more that becomes they way we’ll do it under pressure.” And mainly, what I’m getting at is practice-time — or should I say, the right (or wrong) kind of practice time.

In all honesty, I think I’m going to relax and let the chips fall where they may in our future games.  However, what I’m going to do is have my young defenders work against the above noted gadgets hundreds and hundreds of times during the coming winter’s practices.  I don’t think it’s going to take long for even the youngest among them to realize that he can’t steal the puck.  That accomplished,  us coaches will be able to steer him/them towards the few important things they should be focusing on.

Okay, so let’s get back to the process here, or the title theme, about solving hockey training problems…

I don’t think it took any genius for me to realize the problem, and I don’t think the above shown gadget is going to make anyone forget Thomas Edison. Yet, why is it I can almost bet there won’t be a coach within the league I’ll coach in who will use any sort of extra measures to help his defensemen in their 1 on 1 play?

I’ll venture to guess…  First, some of them won’t even notice their “D” have a problem (and almost all “D” do).  Even if they ultimately figure-out their kids are getting burned on 1 on 1′s, there’s a likelihood that most coaches won’t recognize the real problem (or the real question).  And, unless that kind of thought process is used, it’s highly doubtful anyone will be gracing local practices with anything as simple of my bungee puck arrangement.  You, on the other hand, as a CoachChic.com member, now know how to go about solving a lot more problems than the one I’ve described here. 

*

As always, I’m dying for your input.  So, let me know your thoughts on this, huh?

Sometime near when she purchased and downloaded those videos, she expressed concerns to me.  (I think she was praying they work, and she was even hoping they worked quickly enough for her next game — gulp, I hate that kind of pressure!)

Anyway, checking in with her earlier today, just to see how she was doing, I sensed she needed just a little more advice — and maybe some support — to go along with what is in those videos.

– Dennis Chighisola

Hockey Gains Come When You Least Expect Them

Now, I know I could take care of this subject with just one very old and time-worn expression, as in, “Rome wasn’t built in a day!”  Ya, that would do it.  But, not really well enough for me (or my young UK friend).

My UK Friend

Actually, my brief conversation with her on Facebook earlier today caused me to think back to some times long ago, when I came to sense the title of this post was true, that “hockey gains come when you least expect them”.

The most memorable of the events I recalled today had to do with a hockey mom and dad who came to me one day all excited about the play their son had made in a recent game.  Paraphrasing the way they explained it to me, I guess their boy went on a rush, got tripped-up, fell to his knees, he kept stickhandling while down on the ice, ultimately recovered to his feet, and then fired a nice shot into the opposition net (which is kinda my description of a highlight reel goal).

I tell this story because the drill we use for practicing dribbling while on the knees was one of probably 25 I used regularly in my weekly skills clinic.  Again, it was just one of a bunch of drills, and it probably only received about 4-minutes of attention each week.

As an aside…  That particular drill happens to be in my regular collection for a lot of reasons beyond helping a player with the possibility that he or she might fall to the ice and need to keep puck possession.  I mean, it’s one of those I group under “asymmetric drills”, in that it forces a player to deal with numerous physical challenges at once (a lot like our game demands).  And I also use it to teach puckhandlers to keep adjusting their hands and arms so that their stick-blades stay flat on the ice no matter what posture they’re in.

What I’m really getting at by bringing-up this old story is that I had absolutely no clue if and when that young player would ever get to apply that stickhandling-on-the-knees skill in a game.  And I mean that.

Next, I believe I wrote recently about my mom’s lifelong want to reduce her body weight.    Ya, and knowing her oldest son kinda knows his stuff in that area, she was forever calling me for advice.  However, the problem has always been that mom wanted the weight off NOW.  So she’d starve herself for about 2-days, only to be disappointed when the bathroom scale told her she was the same as before, she’d gained a pound, whatever.  By about her third call to me for help, I told her to hide the dawgoned scale, continue her exercise and diet, and only go by how she was feeling on a given day.  I probably also told her about the building of Rome, or how “gains come when you least expect them”.

I had a similar (but less frustrating) exchange with a young hockey playing guy this spring, this having to do with his strength program.  I sensed that he was as concerned about how he looked as how much strength he gained.  However, when he asked whether just sticking with his program — and not worrying about day to day results — was the right approach, I answered, “Absolutely!”  And I can tell you that I went overboard to promise him that, “Gains come when you least expect them.”

Going back to the kids in my skills courses, no matter the level, I can assure you that even I don’t know when the worked on skills will kick-in to their games.  Nor do I know how long it will take for my High School Prep team’s powerplay or forecheck to gel.  There just isn’t a scientific law for this kind of thing — like it takes 3 practices for high school guys to learn their defensive zone coverage, it takes 4 clinic sessions for my little guys to master their snowplow stops, or it takes 6 sessions at home for my young UK friend to suddenly toast an opponent with an “incredible stickhandling” move.  (Actually, as a coach overseeing these players, I don’t have any expectations beyond the fact that those “gains WILL come when we least expect them”.)

Oh, another aside did just come to mind here…  For, I do almost every year or so run across a player with unique capabilities.  I mean, there are the rare athletes who can almost immediately incorporate a new skill into their game.  (I once suggested to an 8-year old on a game bench that he might try practicing a new move when he returned home from our tournament.  He was one of those rare ones, though, because seconds later he jumped over the boards, grabbed the puck, and executed that very move right their in the game action.  Wow.)

As for the rest of us (mere mortals?), all that I can absolutely promise is that sticking with a given discipline is going to ultimately achieve the desired results.  Again, there’s no time-frame; it’s just going to happen when the athlete’s mind and body decide so.

In fact, here’s a tip for my far away student…  Actually it comes from my late-dad’s bag of coaching tricks (he was a very successful baseball coach).  For, dad always said, “Work hard in practice, and then forget everything you learned when you enter the games.”  Of course, baseball and hockey are very different sports.  However, I can buy his idea of removing too much thinking during a game;  it’s far better that a player practice and practice and practice, and then allow reactions — or spontaneity — to dictate once the puck is dropped for real.

I’d suggest that she work at home on those “Incredible Stickhandling” exercises, with little concern for when the different skills will creep into her game.  And I’d further suggest that she go to her games to just have fun, to just play on her instincts, and allow nature to take its course.  For, as I’ve explained to my mom (ugh), to my students and players, and to young athletes who want to get stronger (or better looking), “gains come when you least expect them.”  (Keep plugging away, P.A.  You’ll be glad you did — in no time.)

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By the way, I’ll shortly explain further about the availability of certain videos for download.  For now, however, here’s the promotional video that goes along with the “Incredible Stickhandling” one….

And here’s a link to where that and a growing list of videos can be purchased…

“Incredible Stickhandling“

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A lot like in the game of Monopoly (“Bank error in your favor” — LOL), some technical glitches on my side of things have prevented me from changing the offer.  Oh, it has to get done, with the price increasing.  But, until I solve those tech problems, you have the benefit of still ordering my “Incredible Stickhandling” video for the no-brainer price of $9.00 (and you can still receive the bonus video entitled “The Best Stick Drill EVER!”).   By the way, I think you might get a kick out of the promotional video I’ve made about this…

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

Only 100 units will be sold under the stated special conditions!

That said, here we go…

– Dennis Chighisola

Mites & Squirts Can Change Real Fast!

Just click on any of the snapshots below
to see a video of that drill

Yes, as the title suggests, “mite and squirt hockey players sure can change pretty quickly”.  Or, as I like to say, “Their young minds and bodies are just so malleable.”

Okay, right now I’m thinking about the young ones who reported to my first-time Mite & Squirt Summer Hockey School.  And, despite the way I opened this essay, I’m wondering why I was so pleasingly surprised at the progress my students made, even by the end of the very first day?  ???  I truly mean that; I was almost shocked.

Well, as a tip for other coaches and parents who like to help their youngsters, I think the following explains a little about why those little tykes progressed so fast:

1. I might be old(ish), but I am definitely not stuck in the dark ages.  Naw, I analyze the game through my own pretty experienced eyes, and I incorporate what I discover along with what I know about motor learning and other sciences.
2. Connected to the above point, I like to do MEANINGFUL drills, and I stay clear of the “vanilla types” that tend to look good but have almost no value.  (Youth practices — and even many so-called “powerskating courses” — are loaded with these.)
3. Expounding more on those two points, I’ve always had a knack for recognizing an important skill, and then developing a series of easily do-able steps (or progressions) to get a player from where he or she is to where they need to be.

Okay, enough blabbering (although I did want to share with other coaches and hockey parents the things that go into developing MEANINGFUL lesson plans).

With that, I thought I’d give my faithful readers a little glimpse of at least some of what took place last week…

As I so often do, I began each session with shooting.  Kids today just don’t shoot enough, and most of them are far behind the generations I’ve previously worked with.  So, we just shoot and shoot and shoot.  (Oh, in the adjacent photo one of my young students is shooting a weighted puck.  And, due to that resistance, notice how he’s working to get his strength into the shot.  Yes!)

In another segment, we’re working on a number of puckhandling moves.  In this case, my student is executing a “wide dribble”, something that is really handy to pull on a defender or a goaltender.  (Yes, later in the session we practiced making that move against my SMG, or simulated goaler.)

Part of my surprise at the kids’ progress was how well they actually took to my Skater’s Rhythm-bar, an invention of mine that smooths the skating motion and also adds power.  It usually takes awhile for young ones to grasp the concepts of the R-bar.  However, notice these demonstrators looking pretty dawgoned good for about 8-years old!

I invented a group of stickhandling and athletic-type exercises built around using a batch of short sections of wood, and I ultimately dubbed that routine “Chop Stix”.  Here, one of my students is doing a nice job of handling the golf ball while also dealing with his balance on those stix.  Notice that his posture is much like what he’ll have to deal with in our crazy game.

Continuing with the puckhandling (a biggie with me), each of my kids spent time attempting to dribble 2 golf balls at a time around the floor.  This is a REALLY tricky skill, because those balls scatter fairly erratically.  Still, within a week or so, I sense they’ll all be able to handle 3-balls!

Here I’ve asked the kids to play a little game by paddling 2 or 3 tennis balls off the side boards.  (This youngster has progressed to where I’ve allowed him to try 3-balls!)  As I joked to one dad near rink-side, “It’s no accident when a player quickly reacts and bangs home a rebound!”  Yes, it can be practiced, and that’s what we’re doing here.

We practiced with the R-bars in numerous ways during the segment when we didn’t wear in-lines.  However, with plenty of repetitions under their belt, the entire class looked pretty good in their striding once they put their skates on. 

Just click on any of the above snapshots to see a video of that drill

Well, that’s it for a peek inside my Mite & Squirt School.  I’ll try to add more photos and write-ups as we go along.  And, I’ll also show and tell about when we eventually make the transition from the Lakeville, MA off-ice facility to the ice in Bridgewater, MA.

Oh, one last thing…  I’d like you to either scan or think about the drills I showed up there, and consider how many of them are really better being introduced off-ice.  That’s how I feel, anyway.  On that floor, the kids can experiment and take their time with a skill.  a little later on I’m going to suggest that they fly once we get to the ice.

– Dennis Chighisola

A Later Entry
Subtitle: Even I Can Learn (at 105-years old — LOL)!

The third meeting of that school last night caused me to reflect all the more this morning on what I’d said above.  And, right now, what I’m suspecting is that there might be something magical in the twice-per-week sessions incorporated in this hockey school.

Oh, I’m not calling myself a genius here; frankly, I may have lucked-into something.

You see, I think there have to be two main components to a program in order to achieve some positive results…

First, there has to be enough closeness in those sessions so that there’s a tendency for proper muscle memory to take hold.  In other words, the mind and body has to remember a given movement, and sort of build upon it.  (I guess what I’m trying to suggest is that a fair amount of closeness of a next session allows a player to pick-up where he or she left-off, while a long gap in there might cause him or her to waste a lot of the next session just trying to recall how the right movement feels.)

Secondly — and with all due regard for the first statement, I think there has to be enough time-off between sessions so that a player feels refreshed and excited again.  For, excitement is going to stir far more growth than is boredom.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I spaced our twice-per-week sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays to extend for about 6-weeks.  That leaves 4-days away from training leading-up to the Tuesdays — where we might lose a little on point one above, but gain some from point number two.  We only have a day-off leading to the Thursday sessions, which means we should gain greatly from point one, and perhaps lose just a little from point two.

Then, thinking about what I just said, doesn’t it make sense that I henceforth adjust my future lesson plans just slightly?  I mean, I think it’ll be wise for me to use Tuesdays as sort of a catch-up day (since we had a longer time-off), and I can look to go faster and to make some changes in our routine on Thursdays (because we’d only trained 2-days earlier).

Then, referring back to my subtitle…  I’m kinda glad I’m the way that I am — still learning at this stage of the game, I mean. 

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As always, I invite (and really enjoy) your Comments!

]]> http://www.coachchic.com/mites-squirts-can-change-real-fast/feed/ 2 http://www.coachchic.com/after-hockey-practice-observations/ http://www.coachchic.com/after-hockey-practice-observations/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 02:02:08 +0000 Dennis Chighisola http://www.coachchic.com/?p=5734 Some After Hockey Practice Observations
By Dennis Chighisola

Well, I suspect this might be one of the shortest posts I’ll ever write here (which might make some of you very happy — LOL).

Truthfully, though, while this is going to be brief, I suspect that the subject is as meaningful as it gets.  It’s not going to be about skills or strategies, by the way.  However, if we can all achieve what I’m about to suggest, a youngster is bound to become highly skilled and smart in the end.

Okay, so my little band of Mites and Squirts spent a pretty fast paced 90-minutes doing 16 drills (some of which had several components).  So, I’m talking about them really hopping at something like a new drill every 5-minutes.  (As I frequently do, I joked with several parents at rink-side about there being no extra charge for the kids falling asleep early tonight.)

Oh, I forgot to mention that we’re currently in the off-ice phase of this school, so we’re doing all sorts of skill oriented things — in gym clothes and in in-line gear — at a nearby roller hockey rink.

Anyway, with the fear of another rental group coming on right after our prescribed end-time, I ultimately (about 5-minutes late) announced to the kids that that was it.

Right.    Only a few kids left immediately, and a few more trickled off as their parents pressed them.  Still, a batch remained for quite awhile, and three young ones stayed (about an extra 20-minutes, or) until their parents couldn’t wait any longer.

Ya, those three…  They organized a little game in one zone and around one net, and they were having an absolute ball ’til the very end.

If you haven’t guessed by now, the point I want to make is that just about all of the kids in my current class have to really love the game.  I mean, just think about it, their wanting to keep at it after all I’d put them through.  (Actually, I had to also make that point to the remaining parents, in that they’ll want to nurture that, and try to ensure that their kids remain loving it for years to come.)

Did I have a hand in this?  Aaaaaw, I don’t know.  I do try to use fun and challenging drills, and well as interesting training gadgets.  And I do approach most of my younger kids’ clinics in a really lighthearted manner.  However, I’m guessing the parents of those kids are doing more than their part.  In fact, I’m guessing they have more say in this matter than I ever will.

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As always I look forward to your Comments (down below)!

Now, before I comment further, I’d like you to watch the video (and probably watch the slow-motion part a number of times to really appreciate how the goal was scored).  A little later, I’ll also suggest why I’ve placed this post under the “From The MOTION Lab” category.

– Dennis Chighisola

Steven Stamkos Incredible Hand Eye Goal versus Ducks (2009-2010)

Okay, by now you should realize that Stamkos batted that puck out of the air as he was sliding along the ice on his back-side.  Hmmmmm…

Oh, and I want to especially insert here the fact that his goal was no accident — no, far from it.  Just watch the video again to see how deliberate Stamkos was it plucking that little black thing into the open net.

Of course, I’m thrilled that mention is made here about the unbelievable degree of hand and eye coordination that was needed to score that goal.  However, perhaps I ought to explain a little more about what I mean by hand and eye coordination…

Number One, a player’s stick-blade has to be an extension of him (or her), or he has to be nearly as dexterous with that stick as he would be with a pencil or an eating utensil.

Secondly, we have to realize how many things are going on in Stamkos’ world during that 3-second(?) flurry…  I mean, he battled through traffic as he unleashed the initial shot, he fell and slid — most likely with little control in that slide, yet he was able to keep focus on the rebound and ultimately take a successful swipe at it.  Ya, in lots of previous CoachChic.com posts, I and other authors have made mention of that kind of skill — as I call them, “asymmetric” movements.

Okay, so here’s my little bit of input…

Throughout this site, you have access to numerous drills that we (especially Todd Jacobson and I) have created for enhancing our players’ ability to focus amid chaos, and to deal with more than one physical problem at a time.

In the case of our goaltenders, you’ll see them, for example, performing all sorts of physical tasks while they’re juggling.  (More recently, we started having our High School Prep goalies juggling while jumping one of those schoolyard gadgets we know as “skip-its”.)

My skaters are dribbling several balls at once, or they’re doing some sort of footwork challenge (like dealing with a skip-it) while also dribbling a ball.

In each case above, Todd’s or my aim is to create the chaotic conditions like those in our crazy game, and we even try to use our imagination to make the practice sessions more difficult than what our kids will face in their games.

Finally, why have I placed this post under the “From The MOTION Lab” heading?  It’s because I firmly believe a setting such as our Lab — or at least some off-ice setting — is really the only place you can create the wild conditions I just described above.  Honestly, after 40-years of doing what I do, helter-skelter training — especially because of all the extra gadgets required — is far easier to get accomplished away from the ice.

  As a PS here…  As I was readying to press “Publish”, I suddenly thought about the recent exchanges going on here concerning floorball.  And, I know dawgoned well that Craig and Greg or someone else is going to suggest to me that a game such as that will also help create the kind of stick-dexterity I described above.  My answer to them?  Absolutely (and so will lacrosse, field hockey and some other sports).  It’s just that we coaches don’t have as much control during such games, and the kind of repetition I like with a given skill is really only possible in a practice setting.

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Have an opinion or further thoughts on this subject?  I’d love you to add your Comment below!

– Dennis Chighisola

My HS Prep Hockey Team Returns to the Lab

Before getting underway, I’m hoping that you’ve already seen my video series, “You Don’t Need Ice!“, because I’ll be referring to it often as we move into the summer months and then on to the regular season.  (If you haven’t yet done so, use the above link and sign-up quickly, because I’ll be removing that information as it becomes rather passe.  Also, you’ll want to be on my mailing list so you’re notified in advance about a few special events I’ll be announcing shortly.)

As for my views on the spring and summer, they have a lot to do with how I see the season just completed…  I mean, players have been pretty much beat-up over the long winter — both physically and mentally, which means they need some time to lick their wounds and to clear their minds.  (Come to think of it, don’t parents also need a little break after a long, grueling season?)

None of the above means that a player should just veg over the off-season months.  No, some sort of active relaxation is ideal for the spring.  And, for that, I usually suggest my players participate in a spring sport (other than hockey).

By the way, as a coach responsible for the development of a lot players, I really have to pick and choose my own breaks wisely.  So, I’ll usually alternate three main areas this time of year — studying or organizing for my players’ sake, taking some personal time, as well as working on lots of non-team hockey stuff.  I highly recommend other coaches do something similar.  Or, at the very least, don’t wait until the fall to start thinking about your team.  As with many other things, what we get accomplished in advance usually pays huge dividends for a long time to come.

Now, I almost always bring my high school guys into the Lab sometime around the end of May or early in June.  That gives most of them plenty of time away from hockey, or a chance to complete their school and other sport commitments.

As I offer in numerous ways throughout this site, I always have an end-goal for my guys, which includes what I’ll call for now a “ready date”, the amount of time we have until that date, and a list of skills or qualities I’ll want me kids to have under their belts by then.  As for my HS Prep team’s ready date, it’s the first Monday after Thanksgiving.  That’s when all Massachusetts based high school hockey teams are permitted to hold their first tryouts.

So, if you can appreciate what I just suggested, there is absolutely no need for my guys to be at the top of their game — right now, in July, August, September or October.  Oh, they want to be well on their way.  But, there’s only one period that truly matters — again, that first Monday after our US Thanksgiving.

That said, our earliest Lab training sessions are VERY low-key.  My aim is to ease the kids back into hockey.  And, I mean that I want to just gradually get them into the physical stuff, while at the same time not yet putting them through any real mental drudgery.  (My players know I’m not easy on them, by any means.  Still, there’s a time to push, and this definitely is not the time.)

So, for now, the training mostly about technique.  There’s a very good chance my guys’ skating mechanics are off.  And, because they most likely had to scramble their butts-off to compete in winter games, they’ve probably missed the chance to work on new puckhandling moves, passing skills, or scoring plays.  In fact, because their main job was to just do the best they could in games, it’s going to ultimately help my kids if I help them re-master a number of their defensive skills.

As for the lesson plan I designed for these earliest Lab sessions, they mostly have to do with “muscle memory”.  For new members who don’t recognize that term, let me say that, “A player does in a game whatever he or she has done the most to that point.”

In other words, if you swing a baseball bat in practice to include a hitch of some sort — and, if you ultimately do that faulty swing more times than you swing correctly, you can be sure that hitch is going to be present when you enter a game.

Then, as a preface to telling you about the drills we used, let me also point-out that I always build a warm-up routine to accomplish a number of things.  Sure, the idea is to warm the body.  However, rather than waste time, I will usually build our warm-ups to include exercises that also teach or enhance some key skills.

With that, here are the drills…

Rope Skipping — The kids begin with light skipping, aimed at warming them a bit, and also encouraging them to develop coordination and lightness on their feet.

Skip Ball Hops — The little gadget we use has several names, but you’ll see it used in the video that follows.  I’m chuckling as I write this but, while most of my kids have become accomplished rope skippers, the idea of this very different type of device really challenges their neuro-muscular systems. 

T-cord Simulations — Very shortly, my guys are going to start using the Techni-cords.  However, I developed this rather slo-mo drill as sort of a prerequisite.  In essence, a player practices sitting low, and then moving from one skating posture to another (as in striding from the left to the right), over and over again.  Yup, this is all about muscle memory.

Players actually rotate through the above three drills three times, so that they’re fairly warmed as they move into the next drills.

Agility Ladder –  Right now I’m just re-familiarizing my kids with the basic movements.  I’m also demanding that they get back to good technique at this time.  Hey, we can shoot for real fast footwork a little later down the line.

Tumbling Mat Work — I put this one in especially to get my new players familiar with the forward roll (and I spent extra time helping them with this).  As everyone got the hang of it, I had them start tumbling with a stick in their hands.  Still later, I had the boys bring a ball along with them.

Knee Dribble Progressions – My guys actually wear the “Dribble Aids” described in the “You Don’t Need Ice!” series, attempting to keep their eyes-up as they dribble.  From there, they lower to either and both knees, and even attempt to keep dribbling as they sit.  Beyond not looking down, the idea of this drill is for the kids to 1) keep their sticks moving as they move their bodies, and 2) keep their stick-blades flat no matter their poster.

3-puck Dribbling Drill — This one was aimed at helping the guys get their “hands” back again.  When you see the video, you’ll notice the layout of three pucks pretty much allows for (or encourages) all sorts of movements with the stick.  Then, after a few sessions, I actually extended the kids’ reach by moving the pucks further apart, and I made things more difficult by having them balance on small blocks as they dribbled.

Simulated Slap — I had the guys take turns working only on their slapshot motion (no pucks involved).  I asked them to keep their eyes on the nearby mirror, to encourage split vision, and I gradually asked them to work on a quicker and quicker stick.

Okay, it’s time to show you the video.  You might have to go back and forth through the drill descriptions and the video clips now and then.  But, I think the combination should give you a pretty good sense of what we’ve been doing in the Lab lately.  (By the way, failing to get clips of all the drills demonstrated by my current HS Prep players, I found some substitute footage of past students to fill-in.)

Weighted Rope Skills –  Oh, talk about screwing-up my guys’ neuro-muscular systems…  At the end of their workouts, I had them go back and forth between their regular ropes and ones I’ve made to be pretty hefty.  If you can sense what’s going on — as they go back and forth between the two very differently weighted ropes…  Man, that heavy one just wouldn’t come around at the same speed as the normal one. 

I did make one mistake in my pre-planning.  And it only took a brief observation of my newest kids to realize their upper bodies were totally out of sync when the tried the T-coard Simulations.  With that…

Rhythm-bar Training — At the end of the video you’ll see that I added some training, again so that my new guys could get the feel of making their skating motion a full body one.

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As always, I love your feedback — just leave a Comment below.

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As a follow-up to the above post: Last night started our third week in the Lab, and I’ve already begun upping the ante.  That’s an important principle of motor learning, you know…

Actually, my old Principles of Motor Learning professor really ruined my day one time, when he informed those in his class something to the effect that, “When you can sit back and admire how good your athletes look in a given drill, that drill has out-lived its usefulness.”

Ugh!  That was always part of the fun in coaching — admiring how good my guys looked in a drill!

However, the old prof was surely correct.  Once a given level of execution is do-able, growth stops.  Or, said yet another way, once there’s no challenge, well…

So, anyway, I added just slight twists to each of the drills I’ve already outlined above.  As an example, in the one where my kids dribble the ball around the three obstacles, I now have them walking back and forth on three blocks, and I eventually added one of those small air-filled cushions for them to balance on while dribbling.

Again, the idea is to just slightly keep upping that ante, or to just keep making a given drill a hair more difficult.

Of course, as I should have made perfectly clear in my “You Don’t Need Ice!” series, each challenge should “transfer” positively to the hockey player’s game.

Of course, if you’re not quite dealing with that level, I hope you’ll look forward to my telling you about the others I’ll be coaching over the coming months — including my college aged grandson (as he preps for a return to school), a special group of middle school kids, a Mighty Mite team out of my winter Learn-to clinics, and then the team I’m going to introduce to you to today.

Yes, as I’ve joked to a number of folks lately, that I had a weak moment not too long ago, and agreed to coach a cute and talented group of 8-year olds for the local Bridgewater Bandits.

With that as the introduction, let me now share with you some of the thought processes and other things I’ve done to ready for those young rascals. 

– Dennis Chighisola

Readying for My AAA Mite Hockey Team

By now, a lot of members probably know that I’m not in favor of spring tryouts (you can read my feelings on that subject over at Coach Chic’s Hockey Diary).  Oh, I’m not about to join a new organization and immediately overturn the apple cart, so I selected my team a few months back, and I began plotting my course from there.

As is done with most rather young teams, I selected the best little athletes I could, with no regard for playing position.  And, as you can guess, my initial roster showed about 392 centermen (okay, I exaggerate a bit) and no one who claimed to be a blueliner.  Thank God, however, that my new team parents have all offered to do the right thing for everyone’s sake, trusting that I’ll sort the kids in the best way possible.  (I am pretty good at training defensemen, and I told the parents that.  I also suggested that a youngster’s mastering that position might really help him in future tryouts, and this is surely so.)

Last week we had our first off-season practice.  And, while you can be sure I used that session to get some good teaching done, I was also using it to sort through a number of things I personally needed to get accomplished…

For example, it actually matters to me which way a player shoots.  I mean, I usually like to pair lefties and righties on defense, and I like to also have a lefty and righty on each forward line.  Not that this is always do-able.  But, I can hope.  Anyway, I made sure I recorded the way each player handles his stick, just so I could do some doodling with lines and defense pairs back home between sessions.

I also began the task of sorting forwards from defensemen.  Oh, it’s not an easy thing to do.  But, our team parents already know that I’m just going to be testing kids at first, and they also know that I’ll communicate with them as I get closer and closer to my final decisions.

I’m not sure I can adequately describe the criteria I used to sort the kids position-wise.  I’m sure you realize that there’s more than one kind of “D”, and it takes all kinds to play the different forward positions.  Still, I had some thoughts — or might I say visions? — of what I was looking for as I did the initial groupings.  And, tops on my needs for defense was/is some strength — in the kids’ young bodies, and in their skating posture.  But, more on that stuff as we get into future practices.

For my players’ sake, that first session was about laying some groundwork — or a foundation — for the many things we’ll want to be able to do down the road.

Now, you’ve probably heard me say this too many times already.  But, “Passing skills are absolutely horrible among most North American hockey players!”  Oh, I’m not talking about team tactics here.  No, what I’m getting at are the actual skills involved in passing — as in sending firm, flat, spinning passes, and in catching the dawgoned puck if it’s anywhere near your stick-blade.  That understood, I had the kids initially fire weighted pucks from a distance of about 8′ off the side boards.  Obviously, this helped the kids two-fold — with their shots, and with the sweeping motion required in passing.  Following that, I had partners station themselves cross-ice from each other, so that they had to sling their passes the width of the rink.  (And, yes, we still used the weighted pucks for that exercise.)

Next, I introduced the concept of steering and trapping an opposing puckcarrier (hey, can we get any more fundamental to the checking game than that?).  I wanted control of the kids’ first attempts at this, so I had my volunteer assistants assume positions near a goal line, and I asked each player to make that “bad guy” go one way or the other.  What this entailed, of course, was for my kids to learn how to approach from about a 45-degree angle, thusly taking away one side of the ice and only permitting that mock puckcarrier to have one escape route.  (I hope you appreciate that this is going to be a great skill for all my skaters to ultimately employ — tje forwards needing to do this in our forecheck, and our defensemen needing to trap enemy puckcarriers back in our own end corners.)

Staying with the defensive side of our game, I next matched pairs of kids — facing each other, and I asked one player to move side to side as his partner attempted to mirror those movements.  Again, this shadowing of an opponent is basic to good defense.

We later took the latter drill a step further, this time having one player (without a puck) moving down one side of the ice in a zig-zag manner, with his partner skating backwards and attempting to mirror those movements.  As you can suspect, this drill also gave me the chance to observe some kids I was considering as future “D”.

I next reverted to one of my favorite drills — for any age group, having pairs of kids play tag within the end face-off circles.  And again, this kind of reacting to an opponent is going to really help my kids defend against decent opponents.

Let me interject something here, in that I like to stick with a certain theme for a stretch.  And, by that, I mean that I will do a batch of defense-oriented drills for a time, and then I’ll later switch to offensive-type ones.  If there’s a method to The Old Coach’s madness, it’s that I sense it’s a good thing that the kids “think defensively” for awhile, then switch to ultimately “think offense” for a stretch.

We didn’t have to move our lines  at all (after the tag games), with the next drill having pairs of kids playing keepaway with a puck.  And, if you can picture it, this one is great for my young players’ offensive and defensive skills.

I next introduced my SMG (you know, the simulated goalie that’s a favorite of mine when it comes to encouraging goal-scoring skills).  I first had the kids make some sharp cuts with the puck around some obstacles, finishing with a shot on net.  Then, we followed that with a straight line of obstacles with the kids attempting to make moves on the fake goalie.  And, as usual, I teased the heck out of any youngster who hit the SMG or missed the net!  (In a way, I believe there has to be some reward or slight punishment tied to the results kids achieve on a given drill.  I’m obviously not talking about being mean here.  However, if my little guys tie my slight zingers to their missed goals, I know from experience that I am ultimately going to have 15-skaters who want to bury that biscuit.)

Staying with the offense, I taught the kids a basic pass-receiving maneuver dubbed the “goal line reverse” (you can see that demonstrated and explained in my video on “(Teaching & Troubleshooting) Basic Breakouts“.  They did okay, too, which means we’ll be able to take that skill to the next level pretty shortly, having them receive passes as they negotiate their routes.

Then, since I almost always over-plan my practices, I had to end there, with two more drills still left on my lesson plan.  (Ugh.)

In summarizing things, here are a couple of tips I want to share with my fellow coaching…

1)  I don’t leave much to chance — or to memory, so I list every drill I’m going to do, and I have a pretty good idea of how much time I can spend on it.  (I didn’t itemize the allotted times in this first practice, but I likely will once we get into full swing.)

2)  I think my players — no matter their age — enjoy a quick pace, with lots of drills crammed into whatever time we have together.

3)  Most importantly, I don’t mess with so-called “vanilla drills”, or drills that are more flash than substance.  In other words, I use a drill because it’s accomplishing something.

For example, every single drill I noted above is going somewhere.  Said yet another way, it’s a small sliver of the challenges my kids will face in their games this fall, and it’s most likely being done to lay the foundation for some more complex drills.  Again, no flashy drills that have no real purpose.

4)  I mentioned above that I wanted control in a given drill, and that I accomplished that by having an assistant coach work as the enemy puckcarrier.  I think you can imagine using the opposite approach, with all hell breaking loose if I let two 8-year olds go at each other on that first drill.  Oh, we’ll have live match-ups someday down the road; but, right now is a time when we need control of the drill, and the kids focusing on the main challenge.

Well, that’s it for now.  I think my little guys are on the road to learning some really good stuff.  And, I look forward to sharing our progress in coming weeks and months.  (Oh, and don’t forget that I’ll be doing the same with my other teams, too.)

– Dennis Chighisola

PS:  As good as my little group of Bandits should be, we are still without a goaltender.  So, if you know of a local (MA/RI) 8-year old who might be interested in playing for The Old Coach, please email me!