There’s usually a history to just about everything I do.  So, here’s the background to the video I’ll show you in just a little while…

A few years ago, a mom who was regularly bringing her two sons to The MOTION Lab happened to mention the fact that one son was having real difficulties on breakaways.  Being well aware of the way I tease shooters who put pucks into a goaltender’s belly, she joked that, “He hits the goalie every time!”

That little guy was a skilled player (even though only 7-years old), so I knew talent wasn’t the issue.  I then promised the mom that I’d think on the problem for awhile, and I’d see if I could arrive at a solution.

– Dennis Chighisola

Scoring on Breakaways or Shootouts

Now, one problem on such a play can be that the skater looks down at the puck too much, thereby preventing him or her from really seeing the options ahead.

The next problem — even if the player does look up while approaching the net, is that he or she might not know what to do if the goaltender acts in one way or another.  And, that “one way or another” thing usually refers to his or her either coming far out of the net to cut-down the shooter’s angle, or backing-up (possibly because he or she isn’t confident about leaving the safety of the net).

As an aside here…  I’ve worked plenty with goal-scorers and goalers from beginners to pros, and I can tell you that some of what I just said changes drastically at the college and professional levels.  There’s a cat and mouse game going on between elite attackers and goaltenders, with the goalies oftentimes even showing an opening and then quickly taking it away as the attacker readies to shoot.

Things are usually quite different at the younger levels.  I mean, just as I said in my video on “Creating the Early Goal-scorer“, the littlest goalies have all they can do to move around in their bulky gear.  And, as that difficulty wanes with age, players up through high school might even fear leaving the safety of their net, or they just might not move very well.

Okay, so I promised that mom from the Lab that I’d arrive at an answer for her son.  And, that I did…

What I did was create a DVD that could be plunked in one of our Lab players for my students to watch.  Actually, that was our first step — having them just watch the video so that they could get a firm grasp of the decision process required in “reading” young goaltenders.  As the following video will explain, a goalie coming far out of his or her net (shown on the left) likely doesn’t show much visible net to shoot at.  On the other hand, a goaler who has backed-up into his or her net (shown to the right) is going to show a lot of open spots to shoot for.  So, the decision is pretty simple:   if the goalie comes-out, the attacker should make a fake to one side and then tuck the puck in on the other side; if the goalie backs far in, the attacker should pick an open corner and nail it with a shot.

Of course, leave it to me to make a drill even more challenging or more realistic.  And, to do this, I had my kids spread-out in an area in front of the DVD player to dribble small balls as they watched the video.  Ya, just picture that, as they dribbled — needing to keep their eyes up — and make the right calls, to either shoot or deke.

Okay, so now you ought to watch that video to get a sense of what it’s about.  I’ll have a few more comments at the bottom.

Now, although there are physical skills involved here (especially if the viewer is dribbling a ball or puck), the above video is really intended as a mental exercise.  In other words, a skater has the opportunity to practice his or her “reads” of a goaltender countless times on his or her own.  And that’s what I’m suggesting, feeling that the player’s ability to ultimately react correctly in these situations will improve with each viewing (or each practice).

I pray that there’s a safe space in front of your computer where a player could do as my students do in The MOTION Lab, dribbling a ball and keeping the eyes up while reading each situation.

Oh, one other thing…  Although a very young player was the inspiration for the above video, I would highly recommend it for those at least up through Pee Wees, as well as for adult players.

Finally, I have a special treat for CoachChic.com members…  The downloadable version of this video is going to be kept available to you in the *Gifts section for the month of March, 2010.  In that way you might save it, burn it to a CD (whatever), and use it on numerous computers long after it’s removed from this site.  (This entry will always remain here, and the downloadable version may be made available periodically in the future.)  Oh, and I’ve added yet another bonus tip over in the members’ section, this about how an attacker should hold the puck on his or her way in towards the net.

Good luck!

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I would REALLY like your feedback on this post, especially after you’ve had a chance to try the video program.

The background to the following conversation actually started several days ago over on my blog, Coach Chic’s Hockey Diary*. I encourage you to scan those two articles, and especially the videos contained in the second one.  For your convenience, here are the two article links:

1. Why My Work Is So Different
2. The Special Sport Clubs

I also mentioned in both articles the fact that the seeds for The MOTION Lab stemmed from my getting to see and gain appreciation for the special sport clubs during my studies in the old Soviet Union.

– Dennis Chighisola

* I might suggest you subscribe to my blog, because it is now a new part of CoachChic.com

A Little History to The MOTION Lab

The following video makes some great points I’d like to build upon after you’ve heard Dr Yessis’ interview.

Once again we can thank YouTube.com and a noted authority for sharing such great advice.  Now, as for that advice…

Near the end of that interview, Dr Yessis makes a pretty strong push for something akin to special sports clubs, as well as using qualified coaches and other specialists to staff them.

However, while he didn’t state it directly, my guess is that he’d also suggest that given athletes be guided by a single entity (either by and individual or by a staff).

My reason for raising this point stems from watching a lot of pretty high level hockey programs in my area who don’t really do that.  In other words, the instruction is fragmented — between a head coach, a separate staff of skills coaches, and maybe a fitness instructor.

Let me explain that in another way…  A head coach obviously oversees a team during their practices and games.  And I’ll suggest that he (or she) is the one person who knows what the kids’ strengths and weaknesses are – as individuals and as a group.  From there, his kids report to a weekly skills session where the special coaches seldom have any understanding of what those kids are experiencing in their games.  Sure, some of the generic type drills that are usually run in these sessions might be good for the kids.  However, the skills instructors may never touch upon the kids’ true needs.  And I think the same can be said for the strength or fitness instructor, in that he or she probably isn’t privy to the players’ true needs.

Oh, by the way, I have heard an explanation as to why some organizations like things as I just described.  What they seem to believe is that a “variety” of coaches will serve the kids well.  Hmmmmmm…

That said, about a decade ago I gave some really serious thought to the way I would put my Team NEHI program together.  And, what I decided was that I wanted our skills to fit with the things we were trying to do in our practices and games, and I wanted our dryland and in-line training to support our on-ice practices, skills and games.

Oh, and long-time members should be familiar with my constant note-taking, as well as the way it helps me design my future practices – of any kind.  Of course, I have the luxury of using those notes — three times per week.  On the other hand, part-time skills and fitness coaches never get to take notes about game problems.

If you’d like an example of what I’m talking about here, let’s consider the powerplay…  For sure, this requires some special individual skills, and they’re not usually the kinds of skills a team can spend LOTS of time on in a traditional practice.  Just to name a few, I might suggest games of keepaway – of all different numerical combinations, shooting off a pass, one-touch passing and saucer passing.  So, my weekly skills deal with these, and I even spend some of our off-ice training time on those skills.

That’s not the only reason my way of doing things seems to work better.  For, I am always watching individual players for their unique needs.  Actually, I alluded to this in my article entitled “The Effects of Growth Spurts on Hockey Players”.  In that piece I explained how I communicated with those kids and their parents, and I also mentioned a few drills I put into our skills and off-ice sessions to help them through that sometimes difficult period.

So again, if you can see what I mean, my practices are all tied together, with each supporting the others.  And, I’ll suggest that the only way that kind of continuity can really take place is if one guy (or gal) oversees the team’s development.  Actually, I’m also going to suggest that Dr Yessis’ idea about having select players train in some sort of club atmosphere would have this happen – with either an individual or a staff following the development of each player.

As for The MOTION Lab…  I think I built that about 5-years ago.  And, after some experimentation with private students and small groups, I decided to incorporate it into my Team NEHI program.  However, not wanting to overburden my players and their families by adding another training session to their fall and winter schedule, I decided to bring them to the Lab during our off-season.

Now, I might change things a little this coming season, but…  I usually bring the teams into the Lab in late May.  This is the first time the new groups gather, and they’ll be with me until either late November (when the high schoolers leave) or late April (when the junior high team’s league ends).  The length of time I have them affords me the chance to take a long-range approach – as in, slow and steady wins the race.  That in mind, I use the Lab to start building some of the background skills my kids will need by the time they go to our occasional summer ice-time or to our outdoor sprint and agility sessions.

Once again, though, if you can see what I mean, everything pretty much fits – from the spring Lab to the summer programs to our late summer camp, and then to our fall and winter season.

Then, one final thought…  Every so often I will have a parent within our Team NEHI group who will believe that more is better.  In other words, even though their youngster practices three times per week and plays a weekly game with us, they’ll still use what should have been a few let-the-body-rest days to get their kids extra training.  Ugh.  Here we go again with that fragmented kind of training.  And, no matter how good the other trainer might be, it’s likely that the best drills in the world aren’t going to help the youngster.  In fact, I’ve seen some pretty good players caught in this, and they’ve usually come to a near standstill under such conditions.  As often, I’ve seen some kids with great promise just not fulfill their expectations.

As always, I invite members to download this video for future personal use.  You might even share it with others, but I ask that you be sure I get credit for all the work I’ve put into this.

An on-line version of the video — plus an in depth explanation — can be found by clicking here…  “Scoring on Breakaways or Shootouts“.  Please do read the explanation as well as my suggestions for using this gift.

You may save the video by right clicking on the link below, then by clicking Save As…

Download the video

Special Bonus Advise:

As an extra special bonus for CoachChic.com subscribers, I’d like to offer additional advice about breakaways and shootouts that won’t be found over in the free section…

Over my 40-ish years in the game, I’ve really wrestled with how an attacker should hold the puck as he or she moves in on the goaltender.  Actually, I’ve flip-flopped between suggesting a player hold the puck to the side, or whether he or she should carry it out in front of the body.

If you can appreciate the difference between the two techniques…  Holding the puck out to the side suggests to the goalie that you’re ready to shoot; holding the puck out front gives him or her the impression you’re about to make a move — or a deke.

To be honest, I leaned more towards showing deke for an awful lot of years.  Still, just about every elite level player I’ve either talked to or have seen in an interview recommends posturing as if to shoot.  In each case, I guess, most pros feel they can easily switch to a make a move if they begin by holding the puck out towards the side.

Is there really a difference?  Well, having given this subject some long and serious thought, I now believe that there’s an advantage to making a goaltender fear your shot.  I mean, a shot can be taken at virtually any moment.  So, just dangling the puck out to the side forces him or her to come out to challenge the attacker.  And, I suspect most attackers feel they have a slight edge if they can get the goalie out and moving.  Still, I’d like to know your thoughts on this subject…

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Have any thoughts on either approach?  I’d really love to hear your Comments.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Please DO add your Comments or questions below!

Let’s just call this a gift – from the Mental Edge and CoachChic.com – to YOU.  Good luck, seniors (and this might also be some awesome food for thought to those who will be seniors in the not-too-distant future).

– Dennis Chighisola

Shaun Goodsell, MA – President and CEO of Mental Edge

Championship Time for Seniors

Playoffs for the winter sports season are either happening as I write or about to happen. Teams all begin the playoff run with hopeful expectations, and optimism about their chances for a title. The reality is that more will watch as observers while a few compete for the chance at a title. This article is going to focus on those seniors that will have their seasons, and for some, their careers come to an end. This is always a splash of cold water directly in the face that nobody can really prepare for. For that reason I want to give those that experience this some tips as you grieve the loss of the experience of participating in a sport that you have invested countless hours and sacrificed beyond belief for.

First, take some time and go over your career. Highlight quality moments for yourself. See if you can come up with a couple of your favorite times and carry those with you. In our society we do not take enough time to reflect on periods of time in our lives that provide us stepping-stones for transition and change. I am quite sure that during reflection you will realize that competing has left a mark on you with life lessons and values that will help you create success the rest of your life.

Second, create your sports résumé. If someone were to ask you what your accomplishments were as an athlete be prepared to turn your sports experience into working capital in life. For example, what kind of commitment and work ethic did you bring to your sport? What did you learn about yourself as a leader? How did you respond to adversity and what have you taken away about the value of intentional and focused practice? These are all skills and values that not only translate to success in your sport but in other interests as well.

Third, think about what the next activity or interest you are going to invest in. I believe that investing our time, talent, and passion is important as we dedicate ourselves to learn about ourselves and look to master skills, work cooperatively with others, and set goals for ourselves that challenge us. There is much to be said about reinvesting ourselves.

In life it is important to transition from one thing to another without regret or resentment. Celebrate your successes and use them as springboards to your next stage of life. For all the seniors that have had seasons and possibly careers end this year, thank you for your commitment. I have watched and been inspired by many of you. I wish you well as you move to your next stage of life.

If we can help you take your sports experience and turn it into success in life let us know, 763-439-5246. It is true that success leaves a trail.

Shaun

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Please DO add your Comment below (I honestly think this article warrants it).

Just as all sportsmen (and sportswomen) take a little break from their normal routines each time the Olympic Games roll around, I’ve sorta done that here at CoachChic.com.  Ya, I may have held-off on some of the usual types of posts and videos, just because I felt it was appropriate to catch what we could from the Olympic action while the time was right.

Due to the many and varied TV offerings, and due to our very differing schedules, I’m guessing we all watched very different sports (beyond ice hockey, I mean).  Sometimes – even when we’re not really into a given sport, there’s a personal story or something else intriguing enough to cause us to follow an event we know little about.

And it’s that last part – about us getting into the lives and training methods of non-hockey athletes that I was at least partially alluding to in the first installment of “Use the Olympics as a Learning Experience”, as well as during the follow-up I did on Apolo Ohno, entitled “Games! Games! More Games!”. I know I learned a lot from watching whatever speed skating event I could.  And I’m hoping my friends here also gathered a lot from the videos I posted about Ohno and an aerial skier named Ryan St. Onge.  Ya, the average hockey player, parent and coach isn’t ordinarily exposed to such insight as was contained in those videos, so that’s why I wanted to warn you ahead of time, to be on the lookout for those up close and personal type segments.

Okay, most of my recent posts had to do with slightly related sports.  So, before holding our own closing ceremonies here, I thought I’d take just a little time to talk some serious hockey.

– Dennis Chighisola

Use the Olympics as a Learning Experience

In all honesty, there are probably only a couple of places where we can gather solid advice about playing the game smartly.

Of course, I’ll suggest that CoachChic.com is the best place of all! 

Another avenue might have you a searching through a kzillion websites to find whatever you feel you need.

Then, although it’s catch as catch can, TV telecasts can actually help us gather insight into the way hockey is thought at its highest levels.  What I’m really getting at are those little tidbits of advice offered by analysts or color commentators.  And, the more that’s at stake, the more you’ll tend to hear some really good stuff.

For sure, most of the Olympic hockey broadcasts featured games with a lot on the line.  So, even an old war horse like yours truly paid close attention to what the analysts were saying.

Just thinking back to some of those games now, I’m finding it interesting the way – or the timing of — such insight comes about.

I mean, prior to each game we learned what the two teams had to do in order to be successful, and we sometimes were made privy to what the commentators felt were the strengths and weaknesses of each team.  That, I thought, was great information – not only for fans – but for us coaches.  For, you can be sure that whatever was shared with us came from good sources – such as the coaches or other higher-ups from each team.  Some of what we heard mirrors the way serious coaches have to approach important games, taking into account their opponent’s stronger and weaker players, as well as their overall strengths, weaknesses and playing style.

Perhaps at given breaks during a game, the analysts also provided us thoughts about the adjustments the two combatants were going to have to make.  And, I’ll suggest that their comments weren’t very much unlike what was going on in the minds of the two opposing coaches and their surrounding brain trusts.  Periodic adjustments ARE important to our game, you know, and this has to do with personnel changes, and well as tactical and strategic adaptations.

Aaaaaah, late in a game – and particularly late in a very tight game – is when we frequently hear some of the really good stuff.  In such situations every little thing matters, and every little execution or non-execution can spell the difference in the game’s outcome.

Lastly, a game’s recap can sometimes be telling.

Okay, so how about some of the things were heard said over the past week?

• I know that very much was made about corner play during the late stages of the Gold Medal Game.  In other words, the very experienced minds of the analysts evidently viewed the winning or losing of those little, isolated battles as critical to either team’s ultimate success.
• On numerous occasions over the past week I heard comments about how critical play would be in the areas surrounding each blue line.  Ha, that’s also a biggie to me, and it’s actually one of my “Rules for Winners” (these now on the CoachChic.com drawing board and planned for released later this month).  Partly, this is a territorial thing, in that it truly matters if a team is able to attain the attacking zone, or able to chip the puck out of their own defensive end.  As critical – at least in my eyes – is the danger of making a mistake with the puck as one carries over either blue line.  For sure, a turn-over high in your own zone can be a killer.  However, I’ve seen just as much damage done when an attacker loses the puck while trying to enter the rival’s zone.
• That latter point is also tied to something else we heard often, as in each team’s need to prevent odd-man rushes – like 2 on 1’s, 3 on 2’s or even breakaways.
• If you can recall, much was made about play in the all-important slot area.  Ya, against great goaltending, a team isn’t likely to score unless they have bodies and sticks moving in front of the net.  Moreover, I recall an awful lot of goals being scored on rebounds, which means that at least some offensive players were driving hard to the net and looking to pounce on the loose pucks.  And, of course, there was as much made of the need for defending teams to get adequate coverage in front of their net.
• Speaking of goaltenders…  A commentator at least hinted that the Canadian netminder might have been slightly off his game during the Gold Medal match.  So, his suggestion was for the US Team to put as many shots on-goal as possible.  Personally, this one irks me at times – with my own teams, especially when my guys fiddle too much and try to make perfect plays against a goalie who is obviously struggling.

Okay, so I mentioned early-on that all this stuff was great fodder for a coach.  In reality, however, it’s just as valuable for a player and a hockey parent to absorb, appreciate and understand these kinds of things.  You’ll hear me mention it often within these pages, that highlight reel skills will usually get a player noticed, while hockey smarts is what usually get a player’s name called when the chips are on the line.  Oh, and while all of the above had to do with the Olympics, I’ll suggest that your local NHL telecasts can contain just as much valuable information; we just have to realize the opportunity is there, and then listen carefully for the good stuff.

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As always, I’m dying to know what you think, or if you heard anything good that I may have missed!

Not that I needed any incentive to tackle this topic but, legendary Boston University hockey coach, Jack Parker, expressed my feelings (exactly) in a recent interview with The Boston Globe.

The real question posed to Parker had to do with the recent decline in the number of Massachusetts guys found on Division I college rosters, as well as on recent Team USA squads.  In other words, the Globe writer was asking Coach Parker what he thought might be the cause of this.

Oh, I’m not going to give you the answer to that one so quickly, instead coming in by the back door as I sometimes do here.

– Dennis Chighisola

Games! Games! More Games!

If you haven’t yet had a chance to see the YouTube video I posted recently on how Apolo Ohno prepared for Vancouver’s Olympic Games, I highly recommend it to you.  Besides being appropriate to the following topic, TIME’s Sean Gregory did an awesome job putting that piece together.

If you’re in a hurry, though, Eric Johnson — of KOMO Seattle – also does an excellent job in another YouTube video, this one following Ohno through a typical daily workout in Olympic training (with different exercises than shown in the other video).  Have a look, if you would, because it’s going to set the tone for the rest of this piece…

Next, we get the chance to follow TIMEs’s Sean Gregory again, this time as he follows World Champion aerial skier Ryan St. Onge…

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Now, if you want to know what Jack Parker suggested as a reason Massachusetts based hockey has slipped, it’s that kids today play too many games.  Oh, I can attest to that, also adding my own two cents worth, in that, I think kids today spend too many hours in a car on their ways to far away games!

Not to sound too sarcastic here but, I sense that some hockey parents would have Ohno skating and racing for 8-hours per day.  And they’d probably prescribe a full day of ski jumping for St. Onge.  Ya, competition – at least to some – is what makes an athlete better!

Ha, and NOT!

As Ohno’s coach mentioned, he didn’t show us everything the great skater does in his daily training routine.  Yet, did you make note of how much time was devoted to off-ice training?  And, let me remind you of what we saw in the earlier video on Ohno, in that he did an off-ice drill my guys do in The MOTION Lab, he spent some time on the ice, and then finished with a grueling stair routine.

I hope you also noticed that a lot of the off-ice work Ohno does is FAR more strenuous than anything he could possibly do on the ice.  That’s just one of the benefits of getting away from the ice, and it’s part of the theory I express in my long ago video post on “Some Food for Hockey Thought”.

Of course, you also got to see both athletes work on technique (with that previous post showing Ohno doing those “turnbuckle” exercises).  And that can be yet another huge benefit to working away from the ice.  In fact, it’s oftentimes easier to work on proper muscle memory in a very controlled environment.  For, on the flip side, a game or other kind of competition frequently causes (or allows) an athlete to resort to and practice all the wrong techniques.  (To me, games are where kids try to look good in front of family and friends, and for some it’s where they just barely survive.)

Technique work in mind, let me re-raise a point my dad made many years ago as a baseball coach, this in answer to why he preferred to practice his teams, rather than have them scrimmage…  As dad would put it, “I can hit an infielder 40 or 50 grounders in just a couple of minutes, while there’s no guarantee he’ll get a single ball hit to him in a game!”

True enough.  And, when it comes to a player polishing his fielding, nothing works better than repetition.  In other words…  Move, scoop the ball and throw…  Move, scoop the ball and throw…  Move…

A Chance to Perfect Our 1 on 1's

Of course, the same can be said about out sport, hockey.  And, just think about the skills we could enhance with proper repetition.  God, I can think of a ton of ‘em — including deflecting the puck, passing it, receiving it, shooting it, saucer passing, one-touch passing, shooting off the pass, handling a man in the slot, tying a man up along the boards, defending in various numerical situations, or attacking in those same situations.  And, while players could attempt to learn and then get better at each of those skills, an abundance of practice would make it possible for him or her to truly master just about any skills he or she is willing to work long and hard at.

So, let me echo my dad’s words once again, in that a player just can’t get that kind of practice (or repetition) in a game.

Then, let me echo Jack Parker’s sentiments, in that young players today play too many games.

Of course, between the lines what Parker is obviously saying is that current day kids don’t practice enough.

As an aside here…  Most scientific folks who study such things (as well as most high level coaches) will tell you that the era of specialization was an absolute failure.

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My take on this?  While players of that time may have become fairly proficient at game-like skills — my mainly practicing their sport year-round, there was (and still is?) something drastically lacking in their athletic abilities.

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Worse yet, some studies I’ve come across suggest that one-dimensional players tend to be more prone to injury.

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And, in case it hasn’t struck some readers yet, gaining more athletically qualities very likely calls for less hockey game-time and a lot more off-ice activities.

Now, you’ve likely heard before the prescribed ratio of practices to games.  Obviously, it’s not a scientific equation but, you’ll still hear most of those concerned with development suggesting either 2 or 3 practices for every game played.  (Over the past decade or so, my Team NEHI players have practiced three times per week to one game.)

Puckhandling in The MOTION Lab

Before closing, let’s revisit that thing about off-ice training…

To my way of thinking the only argument parents or coaches might arrive at is that it’s difficult to get extra practice time.  But, I’m here to suggest that some form (or forms) of off-ice training is the answer.

You might find it interesting that The MOTION Lab can accommodate almost every drill you saw Apolo Ohno do in those two videos.  No, we don’t have all the weights or a large trampoline like St Onge used, purely because we don’t have the space.  However, my kids do perform just about every exercise you saw.

I only raise this point, though, to suggest that a lot of improved physical development can be accomplished by an individual in a relatively small basement or garage.  And, when the weather cooperates, in-lining and outdoor skill work can be limitless.

Practing Dumps

For anyone who is responsible for a team, here’s yet another idea…  If you visit the post about my MP Drill Format, you’ll get a glimpse of how I’ve used different venues to teach and refine positional play to teams — from beginners through college players (and you’ll also discover that even NHL coaches have borrowed that drill idea).  With that, I’ll suggest that a no-cost local school gym, tennis court or parking lot could be the answer to extra practice time for my fellow coaches.

Finally, this site is absolutely loaded when it comes to off-ice practice ideas.  In the end, though — like Ohno and St Onge, it really comes down to one’s want to go for the gold.

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Please give me your feedback, huh?  I’d love to hear how you feel about all this!

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

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

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

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

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

– Dennis Chighisola

Speed Skating Versus Hockey Skating

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I happened to look up to my studio wall the other night to spot something I need as a constant reminder.  A Creed for REAL Teaching is what I dubbed it long ago, that 8.5″ x 11″ poster which acts as a reminder of the way my young charges (and all humans) learn.

Immediately I thought to myself, “Gee, every CoachChic.com member — or at least every coach and parent — should have their own copy.  And with that, I present a gift down below from me to you.

– Dennis Chighisola

A Creed for REAL Teaching (or Coaching)

Sometime down the road I’m going to transfer a VHS video I once sold to numerous coaches and hockey school directors around North America.  The title of that program was “A Total Mastery System“.

In it was contained all the principles of motor learning, as well as what I’ll now described.

Shown to the right is a small copy of a poster that actually adorns my downtown office wall, my next door studio, as well as the little alcove I use at my house as a home office.  Ya, I want that thing everywhere, reminding me of how thoroughly I should do my job.

Now, as if it needs any explaining…

- Addressing line one, I think we’ll all agree that there’s a likelihood anyone will eventually forget just about anything we spend only seconds telling them about.  It’s just the nature of us human beasts, what with all the information we’re constantly swamped with.

- The second line, of course, suggests that the combination of explaining a certain principle or drill along with some sort of demonstration will do the job far better.  Agreed?

- Finally, a very wise Chinese philosopher had to really know his stuff to appreciate that involving a student in the learning process will get the job done best.  In fact, it’s the combination of all three points — and maybe even more — that will likely make the information stick.

As for that “maybe even more” part…  Today we know that the more senses involved in a given presentation, the better it’s going to be absorbed, and the longer it is likely to be retained.  So, while it probably isn’t going to very often make sense to have our players taste or smell a given playing principle or skill, we WOULD be wise to touch their senses of hearing, seeing and discussing that information.

All that said, you can do as you wish with the following download, and you might even post it somewhere (or everywhere) as The Old Coach does.  I know I certainly need the constant reminder.

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A Creed for REAL Teaching

Simply right click the link above and Save As to your desktop or wherever.  And, while you can ultimately print it, I actually used several pieces of colored card stock in my copy machine to create more durable and more attractive posters.

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Let me know if you like these sorts of downloads, huh?  And, I’d surely like to hear your feedback about the principles involved here!

Ever since my Soviet studies long ago, I’ve kept an eagle-eye out for unique training methods, particularly those done by international competitors.  There’s usually a ton of science behind the training methods used by those athletes.  And, with that, nothing satisfies my thirst for new ideas as much as the Olympic TV broadcasts.

– Dennis Chighisola

Use the Olympics as a Learning Experience

Now, the video below features the Russian National Team prepping for their 2008 World Cup appearance.  But, you get a pretty good idea of what I’m talking about — I mean, the way we can learn just from getting a glimpse here and there of what a team of that caliber might be doing to ready for world class competition…

Ya, for sure, the pros also apply all the science known to man in the training of their athletes – be it in hockey, baseball, football, basketball and numerous other sports.  And I’m sometimes lucky enough to be privy to their methods.  However, the Olympics (and some World Cup broadcasts) tend to prove awesome for fans (as well as to yours truly).

What I’m really getting at are those up-close-and-personal kinds of segments whereby the television crew shows clips of an athlete training at home or behind the scenes.

And, I’m not just talking about the times they focus on ice hockey players.  In most instances, there are a lot of things done by athletes in other sports that we can learn from, and a lot of training techniques are used in most sports, including ice hockey.

By the way…  CoachChic.com members are probably going to get a kick out of seeing Olympic athletes doing some of the things I’ve shown in From The MOTION Lab or in video clips on my teams’ off-ice practices.  And, my Team NEHI players are probably going to say numerous times over the next week or so, “Hey, we do that all the time!”

Anyway, keep your eyes open for those close-ups of all the athletes, and perhaps watch them through the different kind of perspective you should have gained as a member here.  Also, since my coaching schedule is going to prevent me from watching a lot of telecasts this year, I’d love to learn from your observations.

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Use the Comment box to fill me in on what you see, huh?

If this isn’t one of the most frustrating subjects I’ve tackled here in the past year…  Jeeeeesh…

Actually, member Stirling W raised this issue about a month ago, and I’d promised to deal with it as soon as I could.  Ya, I’d promised.  If there was a problem, though, we hashed over so much stuff on the topic of players taking dives, that I initially had a tough time sorting through it all.

In the end, however, I recalled what Stirling had said when I first asked him if he minded me writing an article on this.  After all, how could I not undertake this project after he offered, “Let’s run with it! Our players and future players deserve the chance to put these tools in the toolbox!”

That said, DO let us run with it!

– Dennis Chighisola

Are Hockey Players Being Taught to Dive?

Now, Stirling started by mentioning a conversation he’d recently had with a young Bantam player, with the boy sharing with him that, “…some coaches tell their players to fall down and throw their gloves off if they get hit by a stick or bumped by the other team so they can get a powerplay.”  Stirling told me that he was “appalled at that.”  Ha, could one blame him?

Actually, I’ve been well aware of NHL players taking their dives, or faking as if they’d been shot by an elephant gun.  But, no way was I aware of youth coaches advising their kids to do the same.  In fact, with all the kids I deal with over the course of a year, an idea like that has never crossed my mind.  And, frankly, I hope it never does.

As an aside here, I can’t much argue with whatever a pro coach wants to do.  Nor can I argue with high level college coaches or maybe even guys who work with juniors.  Oh, I might never do things in the same way they do.  But, I can’t really criticize them, and here’s why…

Their neck is in the proverbial noose every single night they go to the arena.  I mean, their livelihood is on the line every night, and I have to presume that every single one of them is doing whatever it takes to win, or to just survive.

That said, I think I can speak for Stirling when I say that we are both more about teaching the game than cheating our way to wins.  I think we’re both also about sending our young players along to higher levels as well armed as we can possibly make them.

Reverting back to the pros and near-pros again…  I am going to suggest that most of the players at those levels are what they are.  And by that, I mean that (within reason) they’re nearly as good as they’re ever going to be, and more of their preparation is geared towards playing stronger, harder, longer, etc.  (Said yet another way, by the time they’re well into their 20’s, they play and fill roles according to the skills they’d brought to that level, and it’s unlikely that a certain kind of player is suddenly going to change himself into another type.)

Stirling and I, on the other hand, mostly work with “developing” young players nowadays, or kids who have a chance to greatly change their playing capabilities.  And, might I say, that that’s how I also see the role of every single youth hockey coach and clinic director in the world, in that you mainly work with kids who are still malleable enough to change – a lot.

Okay, so let’s try a little something here, envisioning a very typical youth hockey game scenario…  One of our players is heading on the attack, and he is winding his way through opponents (in Bobby Orr fashion?), with the far-end goal in mind.  On the way, though, he is partially tripped-up by an enemy defender.  Now, let’s freeze that frame, and give our attacker some options:

1. of course, he could try to right himself, try to keep possession of the puck, and then try continuing on towards the rival net; or,
2. he could give-in to that I’ve-been-shot-by-the-elephant-gun thing his coach taught him, take a fall, and then pray that a penalty will be called.

So, I ask you…  Which option would you prefer your son (or daughter) take?  (Geeeeze, I’ve been a hockey dad, and I’m currently a hockey grandfather, and I can tell you that the choice isn’t even close in my mind.  Ya, I don’t talk about highlight reel skills here for no reason!)

Actually, you can go through all I’ve offered here in the way of drilling — for wild skating, puckhandling and scoring drills, and you can also go through what I’ve posted in The MOTION Lab area.  What you’ll find are innumerable ideas for keeping your balance and fighting your way through heaving traffic.  Nowhere within these pages will you find a drill about how to dawgone quit on your way up-ice!  (Chuckling to myself and shaking my head at the same time, all I can envision is hockey turning into an event much like figure skating or gymnastics, whereby judges hold-up big placards saying, “9.6”, “9.8”, “9.3”.  Ugh…)

One other thing here…  It strikes me that asking players to take dives is akin to a youth coach installing something like the “neutral zone trap”.  I mean, dictating that our kids take dives turns the game into one of coach-versus-coach, rather than allowing the players to just play to the best of their abilities.

Again, there are levels (up above us) where coaches must attempt to outwit their counterparts — with tight checking systems, line matching, and even half-cheats in order to gain a man advantage.  (Oh, and I have to chuckle once again here, since I haven’t seen many Mite, Squirt, Pee Wee or Bantam teams who can even take regular advantage of a powerplay situation.)

Stirling added something else from his conversation with that Bantam player, in that he told the youngster, “That is NOT how to play hockey and NOT how the spirit of the game goes.”  (Man, I love that part about the “spirit of the game”, ‘cause that’s something that would likely come out of my mouth if I was in that conversation.)

Stirling also said that the young Bantam made reference to seeing NHL players do it all the time.  Hmmmmm…  That is always a problem for those of us who try to teach the game rightly to developmental aged players.  But my answer is to have a serious talk with my players (you’ve probably read here about my weekly “bull sessions” at our off-ice practices).  I’ve done it every season when it comes to the roughhouse play my kids so often see on TV.  And I’ll also do it when I see something happen that I think reflects on a team’s or player’s love of the game or respect for the game.  So, I can see myself soon having a talk with my guys about diving, and I am pretty likely to steal Stirling’s line, about playing within “the spirit of the game.”

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

– Dennis Chighisola

Do NHL Players Tie Skates Differently?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As yet another aside, my preference is for players who are zoned-in on the puck.  (Some of the prettiest skaters in the world can’t play the game, and some of those have been buried at center-ice or implanted into the local rink’s boards.  So, while “pretty” can be good, “effective” is a far more important quality in my book.)

To sum-up all of this (and to add a little more), let me make these points:

• Beginners need all the help they can get, and this includes good quality skates that are fit properly and tied properly.  And, since beginners do need all the help they can get, I’d lace their boots all the way up through all the eyelets.
• My biggest fear is that the parents of an intermediate will (skip steps and) go right straight to the advanced way of skate tying.  I’d much prefer that kids in this category 1) gain the benefits I mentioned in the above point, 2) become REALLY proficient skaters under normal skate-tying conditions, and 3) build-up their ankle strength to the point where they might be ready to perform stressful movements with the top eyelet not tied.
• I actually advise my players and students on an individual basis when it comes to making equipment changes.  So,  it isn’t like I tell all kids at a given age or level to do away with their top lace-holes.  Instead, I usually sense that one player could really benefit from doing this, while another of the same age and level will not.  When I do prescribe this, I will have a player test it in an easy practice setting, and I’ll usually suggest that he or she continue practicing through the long off-season.  Again, it’s rather stressful if one is skating hard with the skates tied in this manner, so I’d prefer my kids get plenty of chances to build-up strength and to get used to the new feel.

Finally, if you want more of my feelings on whether NHL players are tying their skates in the way I’ve described above, I’d be willing to bet that a great many are.  However, a lot of this would have to do with where a player came from, as well as what sort of player he is.  Furthermore, pro athletes can be a superstitious lot, and they are often open to or resistant to change, depending on so many things.  So again, I’d guess many current pros are tying their skates differently, but probably as many will never change the way they’ve always done what they’ve done.

By Justin Johnson
Performance Coach, Mental Edge

This past fall I traveled across the state of Minnesota conducting goalie coaching clinics for youth hockey associations. During the two-hour sessions I consulted with coaches about ways they can increase the likelihood of their goaltenders having a positive experience in the game of hockey. What I discovered is there are many coaches who are on the right track with their goalies and their development. There are also a few who have trouble communicating with their goalies. Even more struggle with how they should orchestrate practices and games in a way that encourages goaltender development.

In an effort to shed some light on how coaches can set their goalies up for success, I have included four common pitfalls to avoid. My aim is to inform coaches about the ways they harm their goaltenders’ mental development, oftentimes without even knowing it!

1.)  Not sure what to say, so say nothing
Issue:
Historically head coaches and their staff have struggled with how to coach, challenge and develop the goaltenders on their team. Many coaches haven’t played the position, so they feel paralyzed when trying to address technical information and fundamentals. This lack of goalie know-how, typically leads to frustrating conversations or even an avoidance of conversations because it doesn’t land in the coaches’ comfort zone.
Advice:
I encourage coaches to make an effort to positively impact every player on the team, including goaltenders. Rather than keep quiet, sit down with your goaltender(s) to learn about what they need to be successful. Many goaltenders, even as young as squirts, know what should have been done differently on goals they gave up. As a coach, ask them what you can do to make practices better to address the situations you are seeing in games. Goalies need to feel a part of the team and process – ignoring them because of your ignorance can shake their trust, confidence and ultimately negatively impact on their experience.

2.)  Pulling the goalie without giving explanation
Issue:
Eventually a game will get out of hand or an off-night will come around where it is in either the team’s or the goaltender’s best interest to pull him or her from the game. I believe that the pulling of a goalie is a necessary part of the game and one that if done correctly builds character and a winning spirit in an individual. If done incorrectly you may have a disruptive issue that lasts all season, and negatively impacts the mindset of your goaltenders for quite some time. I have witnessed and even been a participant in many ugly pullings, where coaches yell at the goalie on the way to the bench or display incredibly poor body language that sends the wrong message to all watching.
Advice:
When you decide to pull your goaltender, doing so correctly comes down to two items:

1. Conduct yourself in a calm and professional manner, including body language, by continuing to coach your team in a positive way.

You must not let that goaltender leave the arena without knowing why you pulled him or her and/or how you intend to help them have a better outing next time. (As a side note, I feel it is acceptable to tell the goalie on the bench why you pulled him if it was done to help change team momentum. If it was simply a rough night for the goalie, it is better to discuss that in private after the game.)

3.)  Shouting instructions from the bench
Issue:
Rarely have I seen great coaching advice that makes an immediate impact on a goalie’s performance by being yelled from the bench for all to see and hear. Other than encouragement or to signal the goalie to come to the bench, coaches should never yell to a goaltender. The repercussions of yelling include embarrassment, confusion, frustration, and a fear of making mistakes, all of which deter a quality mindset and performances. In other words, whatever gem of advice you may have and result you get, it will be eroded by a mindset that requires the goaltender to play for you rather than themselves and their instinct.
Advice:
If a persistent issue is occurring, there are a number of ways to communicate more effectively. You can wait until there is an intermission, relay the message to a mature player you feel will communicate it to your goalie with the correct tone and message intended, or call a time-out.

4.)  Waiting right before the game to designate the starter
Issue:
Perhaps the most common mistake coaches make without knowing it is waiting to decide or inform which goalie will play. Coaches fail to understand that goaltending is a position that requires a significant amount of preparation. If a goalie does not know, that preparation is undermined, resulting in a less than prepared, less confident goaltender. Coaches have stated they use this tactic to judge who looks best in warm-ups or to make sure both goalies are ready. Both of these tactics are mentally counterproductive and will create negative effects, not only for your goaltenders but also for the rest of the team.
Advice:
I suggest coaches give notice to BOTH goaltenders as to who will be playing a night in advance, if possible, or the morning of the game, at the latest. This should provide plenty of time for your goaltenders to prepare, giving your team the best chance of a quality performance. This is a simple request and one that will be greatly appreciated by your goaltenders.

Remember, if you are good to your goalies they will likely be good to you and your team!

For more information, contact Justin@MentalEdgeNow.com

Again, feel free to email this article to a coach who might benefit from it’s great advice.

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And, as always, we REALLY appreciate your Comments!

Contributor: Dennis Chighisola – Whitman, MA, USA

Drill Category: Skating, Passing, Pass Receiving, Attacking, Screening, Deflecting, Rebounding and Goaltending

Please first see the basic set-up of this drill as described under the free Drills section.  For, from that basic format, some really awesome offensive and defensive variations have already been shown.  (Click here for the basic drill, “Russian Circle Passing“.)

– Dennis Chighisola

Russian Circle Passing – Variations #6

Drill Description:

Comments:

Just about any of the previously shown setups can be used and then enhanced by just one little change.

What I am about to propose is that the last player to attack from a line can stop at the net and then prepare to screen and deflect (and pounce on a rebound) for the next attacker to come.  That process continues, with an attacker shooting, and then going to the net to setup a screen.

PS:  I do this often with many other shooting drills, merely having the shooter eventually going to the net.

Benefits:  Obviously, players should become adept at all three skills – as in screening the goaltender, deflecting shots, and then reacting to possible rebounds.  However, I think the addition of this component to any attacking/shooting drill also gets players in the habit of following-up their shots and going to the net.

Running the drill:  Before this drill begins, I will usually place a screener/deflecter out in front of the net.  Once the drill gets underway, the last shooter replaces the player at the net.

No video is available for this drill.

Okay, I lied about that, only because that title sounds better than most others I could think of.  Yes, the poorly skilled hockey players also take a beating, but that’s so because they often skate with their eyes down, or they don’t have the agility to avoid a lot of really big hits (ouch).

Still, thanks to Craig S, I have the opportunity to tell you all about how – or why — I think the better hockey players take such a beating.

– Dennis Chighisola

Only the Great Hockey Players Take a Beating

Now, Craig gets this going by describing the conditions his very little guy, Sam, is playing under in an instructional hockey league out in Western Canada (that has to be an awful lot like the Mighty Mites level I talk about elsewhere here).

My Mighty Mites at practice

As Craig tells it, “Sam has been complaining that kids are tripping, slashing and bodychecking him.”  I guess Sam is one of the youngest players, at 4-years old, but as his proud dad says, “He’s quite nifty with the puck and can turn, spin, toe-drag and (do) the rest so he’s the guy they are chasing much of the time.”

And, therein lies the reason for this article’s title.  My son was a wild stickhandler, his son Anthony is like that, and so are a ton of my other students sprinkled around the region.  And, if these kinds of kids have the puck a whole lot, what do you think will happen?

Actually, I want to share something with Craig (and other members), this having to do with conversations I’ve had with both of my own guys and with another student of mine who is currently starring in local high school hockey.

First, I’d like older players, parents and coaches to think along with me here…  For, what we want for our guys is that they take away something they can use to become better.  So, while I could have coddled Tony Chic, for example, what would that really do for him?  Oh, deep inside we hurt for the kids who might take a beating, and a few alternatives might fleetingly pass through our minds.  However, I think we really need to leave-off with something that will help a player — something positive, and something useful.

Anthony Chic is sorta fun to have such conversations with, ‘cause he’ll play right along with me.  So, I put it to him at the start, asking, “You’re a pretty good puckhandler, right?”  And when he agreed, I asked if a few hacks might come along with his having the puck more than most other guys.  Again, he agreed.  Then, I asked if he’d trade his skills for those of the guys who seldom get slashed or hooked very often.  “Of course not!” he answered (as a if a light bulb suddenly came on).

Oh, the welts sure do hurt at times, and I personally cringe when I see some of them.  But, to the “puckhandler” — or to the great player, those can at least be turned into badges of courage.

Now, if you’re talking to a young player along these lines, you don’t have to use my wording.  My point is to somehow steer him or her towards something positive – or sorta turning a negative into something they can use.  The way I’ve done it, at least my guys have felt more proud of their skills, they recognize that they’re a little bit special, and those things tend to make at least some of the hurts go away.

As an aside…  The boy pictured to the far right must look like an abused child when he undresses at night.  First-off, he is quick, he’s highly skilled, he has the puck a good deal during our Team NEHI Jr HS games, and he is getting absolutely smoked about once or twice each game.  Okay, he’s still young, his skills are still improving (although they’re already real good), he hasn’t totally discovered how to get out of trouble yet, and he is also dealing with the growth spurt issue I mentioned a few days ago.

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Also, as I intimated earlier, I don’t ever like to see one of my babies get hurt.  Yet, short of that, rival players are oftentimes helping these kind of guys or gals to get even better.  I mean, while opponents are running at the couple of really top-notch puckhandlers I currently have, my kids are kinda using them as moveable pylons. (Of course, those pylons hit back, but…)  On the other side of the spectrum, though, the not-so-talented kids aren’t carrying the puck enough to get that kind of challenge.

Now, what I quoted above from Craig was more of a statement, and it gave me the opportunity to address something I thought worthy of sharing.  However, he was really steering his way towards a question…

What Craig wanted to know in the end (besides how to help his son endure this), was whether it was right or wrong that coaches don’t call many (if any) penalties in that instructional kind of hockey structure (where coaches run the games on-ice, rather than referees).

As for me, I wrestle with that question a bit…

In a perfect world, I would have no scores be counted, and no standings kept.  Oh, I’d let the kids celebrate their goals – that’s a good thing, but I wouldn’t ring them up in lights.  For, with just that, the coaches on the ice would be thinking more about development than they would the “W”.

Also with that, I think you’d see opposing coaches getting together and making better decisions about how to run the games, how to call penalties, etc.

As an example of what I mean – about calling penalties…  There are some kids who are so timid in the early games that they need to be encouraged to “get involved” in the play.  That said, can you picture how calling a boarder line penalty on him or her could make that kind of player all the more fearful of sticking his or her nose into the fray?  On the other side of the ledger, though, we might actually be helping if we call those border line jobs on a kid who is overly aggressive.  Yet another thought of mine involves kids digging for pucks around the crease, because – while we want to protect young netminders, we also want to encourage skaters and goalers alike to be a little tough in that area.  Of course, none of this could take place under strict hockey rules.  Naw, it could only happen if opposing coaches were working together, and just doing what was right for each youngster.

By the way, Craig ended by mentioning ages, as in his thinking “… coaches are reluctant to call even obvious penalties at this age.”

Well, my feeling is that the more that’s accomplished with young ones, the easier it will be to help them solve some other things when they reach the higher levels.  So, if the ideas I suggested above were used at Sam’s level (or with my Mighty Mites’ age group), I happen to believe those kids would very easily be able to inch their ways a little later towards “real hockey” or “officiated” games.

As a final aside here, I have one other tip for puckhandlers or parents of puckhandlers…  Every time my son or grandson took a little dingle, I inspected his gear to see if a gap in protection allowed that (or if faulty equipment or gear that was too small was the culprit).  If the gear was basically okay — and it was in a gap where my guy was taking the hits, I’d frequently take the time to sew some extra padding or plastic in to cover the exposed area.  (Hey, I’d take my time and do it while relaxing watching TV, or while sitting outdoors on a nice summer night.)

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Oh, in case you’re wondering about this altering of equipment…

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My feeling is that consumer level gear is made for someone named “Joe Average”.  I mean, it wasn’t designed for my physique nor for yours or your kids’.  The fact of the matter is, a certain piece of equipment might “fit” both of us, but it really doesn’t totally do the job for either of us.

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Another problem is that hockey equipment (and a lot of other sports gear) is made to be sold.  In other words, a company might be able to produce an awesome piece of protection, but the general population wouldn’t be able to afford it.  So, doesn’t it make sense that manufacturers do the next best thing — by cutting back on the costs so that the masses can buy it?

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So again, with the probability that the gear you’re using doesn’t totally do the job, my suggestion is to inspect it, and maybe adapt it to do what you really need it to do.

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Oh, and this goes for goalie equipment as well…  Todd Jacobson and I have had more kids get dinged because of gaps in their goaler pads, and we’ve quickly recommended that they either replace the gear (maybe they’ve outgrown some), or get to sewing and patching as I’ve described above.

Of course, most of this article is just one Old Hockey Coach’s opinion.  But, I truly do believe in it.

Okay, you’d better not laugh about this one.  Actually, I introduced my Net Blocks recently just to soften you up for something that’s even more unusual.  Yes, the contraption shown below is Old Coach Chic’s cart.  (And, no, I’m not homeless, as some of my rink buddies suggest!)

Now, if you’ll recall what I said about those Net Blocks, I tend to look for answers that solve problems, and especially if they help me do a better job of teaching/coaching.

That said, let me paint a little picture here…  The other night I pulled into the rink where my team practices on Wednesday nights.  From a couple of hundred yards away, I could see that there had to be a high school hockey game going on in the front rink.  I mean, the parking lot was full, and this was going to mean that I’d have a hard time finding a parking spot very close to the rink.  (At least once per year I tease the rink’s manager about getting my own spot, and more times than that I ask if someone will call me a taxi.  )

Next, appreciate that there’s just one main entrance to that place, and I have to pass through the crowded lobby, then through the front rink, until I reach the rink in the back where we’ll practice.

By the way…  I’ve just described conditions at one rink, and I work there at least twice per week.  However, there’s yet another I go to even more often, and it’s nearly as difficult to negotiate.

Anyway, with that kind of trek in mind, now picture that I STILL want to run the best practice I can.  And this is going to mean I need — at minimum — my usual kzillion pucks, some obstacles for stickhandling around, my fairly large skate bag, my stick, my clipboard, extra practice jerseys, sometimes a big camera with accessories, and oftentimes several other special gadgets.

Now, let me tell you what some guys or gals might do…  They’d likely ditch two-thirds of the pucks, and they’d probably only carry those, their skates and their stick.  As for me, I’m thankful I’m not that way.

No, it seems to me that running a great practice is my first objective.  From there, it’s up to me to figure-out how I can pull that off, or how I can get all I need into the rink.  And, the answer, at least for me, is what you see below.

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I’m guessing I’ve been through about three different models of carts over about the past 15-years.  Actually, I have two right now — the bigger one you see above that’s kept in my SUV, and a smaller one that collapses and stores easily in the trunk of my car (and I have another complete set-up of gear for the car).  That bigger cart was made for toting golf clubs — and the large wheels make it easier to roll through the snow, while my smaller one is more like the light shopping carts that can be purchased in local department stores.

Just to point-out the things I happen to have in the above cart…  Perhaps you can notice my clipboard (and lesson plan) hanging from the front.  At least one Net Block is dangling close by, and so is there a small bag of extra jerseys hidden from view.  Inside the cart are my foam dots (for puckhandling courses), a bag containing about 80-pucks, and my own bag is on the very top, this containing my skates, gloves, some tools, extra whistles, and lots of small teaching necessities.  I happened to take these photos on the night I was running my team’s skills session, so there wasn’t the need for a few other teaching accessories.  However, if I needed my greaseboard or Model Rink, they’d easily affix to that cart.

Oh, there might be an option I haven’t mentioned here, like storing some gear at the rink.  I do that with my SMG, and sometimes with some other larger gadgets.  However, the stuff I carry in my cart is needed at between three and five different facilities each week.

Finally, a carriage like mine is not for everyone, and I didn’t mean to poke fun at anyone who doesn’t use something like that.  My real point — as in many other posts — is that some problems need to be solved in order to run the best training sessions possible.  Some such problem solving gadgets are shown in this section — in the Coaches’ Corner, while others might been found in From The MOTION Lab.

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Okay, joking aside, might you have any ideas to add?  You know I look forward to reading your Comments!

One of my favorite CoachChic.com members, Craig Shaw, recently added a few great Comments under the “Troubleshooting the Tight Turn (or Boston Turn)” article. In the latest one, he asked me to “do a YouTube search for a Victoria Salmon Kings goal,” suggesting it will “knock your socks off”.

As it turned out, my grandson had sent me a link to that play about a week ago, but it was worth it for me to see it once again (and maybe again and again).

As I watched the video one last time, however, it struck me that, while it was loaded with some unbelievable offensive moves by the Salmon Kings, there had to be a kzillion defensive mistakes made by their opponents. (Ya, if I was coaching the other team, I’d have likely suffered 32 heart attacks on the one goal!) So, I thought a study of this video might just best be undertaken under Thinking the Game – Defensively.

– Dennis Chighisola

Good Offense or Bad Defense?

Remember that I’m a hockey coach, so I see things a little differently than the typical fan. Oh, when wearing my skills coaching cap, I love the kind of puckhandling and passing demonstrated in the following video. Still, I’ve also been a team coach for most of my adult life, and over the past decade I’ve been readying my Team NEHI players to do well at the higher levels of our game. So, that means I work on both highlight reel skills AND smart playing principles (many of them having to do with the defensive side of hockey).

That said, take a look at the following video. For sure, you’ll be entertained (and it might even knock your socks off).

Now, after you’ve marveled at the offensive skills demonstrated in that video, try to go back and watch it at least once from a defensive perspective.

As an aside… I have the technical ability to work within videos like those offered on YouTube.com – to copy them, break down the plays, and run them in slo-mo, stop-action, whatever. But, I don’t believe it would be either legal or ethical to show that here. So, you might need to go back and forth between this page and the above video to follow along with me. Sorry ‘bout that. (But, hey, I’m just thankful the likes of YouTube, TSN and the NHL make these kinds of videos available to us.)

Hopefully you’ve now watched that video from a defensive perspective, and I’m also hoping it’s opened your eyes to what a coach might see (and agonize over).

As another aside… When we’re working on the defensive side of our game, I am forever telling my players that good puckhandlers can be absolutely mesmerizing. Actually, the great offensive players just die for moments when they can get defensive opponents to do some of the things I’ll note below.

So, the following is MY defensive breakdown of this play:

• If I might let any defender off the hook in this mess, it would be the first guy. He initially had good inside positioning on the first puckcarrier, but he just got physically out-muscled. (I tend to be a lot more understanding when it comes to physical mistakes versus mental ones. But, that’s just me.)
• From there onward, everything goes downhill — fast… The second defender makes an attempt to take the puckcarrier’s body (or cross-check him?), but he lunges far outside his center of gravity and has almost no strength as he makes contact. Missing the hit, he looks down at the puck from then on. My guess: The mesmerization has begun (as evidenced by the second defender being beaten several times after the attempted body-check).
• The third defender may have started okay, as he tries a pokecheck. However, it becomes obvious that he had his eyes down and was looking at the puck when the second attacker beats him – badly — with a deke or two.
• If you freeze the video right after the pokecheck, you should see a scene that includes four dark jerseys and only two white shirts. Darn, but the checkers should have had the advantage here. Ya, they should have. What I tell my players to do in this situation is to grab a man and totally negate him. That would have worked here, but that’s not how the defensive team played it. And that’s why the original puckcarrier is wide open for a return pass.
• Now, the one-touch pass from the first white player to the eventual goal-scorer helps to make another point I try to impress upon my players… If you watch things leading-up to the goal, you might sense (as I do) that the defender in front of the net is stuck because of what his teammates have done (or not done) to that point. In other words, if his mates had grabbed and eliminated an attacker (or two), he could stay at home to just pay attention to his own man (that guy near the goal-mouth). However, he is stuck in what I see as a 2 on 1 here, with a puckcarrier moving towards the net and a man behind him open at the backdoor. Ugh.

I will say this again: that really good puckhandlers can entice a defender into doing things he doesn’t want to do. And, in certain cases – as in this one, the whole thing can snowball and throw a bunch of players into total disarray. (Actually, I’ll tell my players that, “If you don’t do YOUR job, the guys around you are going to have a hard time doing there’s!”)

Then, one last point… Realize that we’ve been watching pros here. (I interviewed three different times for ECHL head coach/GM jobs, I’ve coached many guys who have attained that level, and I can tell you that all the guys in that video are REAL players.) Moreover, I guarantee you can find NHL players making the same mistakes as I’ve outlined above (just find a highlight reel video on-line, and then look at it from a defensive viewpoint). All things are relative in our game, you know. So, an attacker who has reached the NHL can, at least sometimes, tantalize an equally gifted defender to look down at the puck and look stupid. And, if that’s true – that the best players in the world can make such mistakes, appreciate that younger players need even more help with their defensive discipline and technique.

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I would REALLY like your Comments on this one!

Ya, like there was only one — or “THE” Bobby Orr move. There were probably more like a hundred of them. However, for the sake of helping my NEHI players to add one more move to their offensive bag of tricks, I several years ago dubbed a certain Orr move “The Bobby Orr Move”.

Now, I’m going to soon go into an analysis of that special play. But first, I think it’s time to resurrect Number 4’s memory. Yes, I’m wondering right now if a generation of young players (maybe more) only knows the name. So, for their sake, and also for those who recall how much fun it was to watch him, here’s a little something special borrowed from YouTube.com…

Next, as you perhaps wipe away your own tears, please go back to the 20-second mark of that video and watch the play that follows. That, my dear friends, is what I refer to as…

THE Bobby Orr Move

By Dennis Chighisola

Over the next few minutes you may just want to review that portion of the video again. At the same time, let me explain what I’m seeing there.

Countless times as I watched Orr during his years in Boston, he’d freeze the man covering him by faking a slapshot. Just the sight of Orr raising his stick usually caused the defender to brace-up — as if to block the shot, which then allowed Orr to perform further magic.

In that brief clip of Orr’s special move at the point, he walked around his cover and then fed a teammate cross-ice with a nice pass. At yet other times, I saw Orr take a slapshot as soon as he’d broken free from his check.

Of course, I’m here to tell you that this move — or this string of moves — can actually be learned by a younger player. In fact, if you click on the photo below you’ll see a video of one of my outstanding young Team NEHI Junior HS kids doing a pretty good imitation of the all-time great…

CM - Orr Move

Now, I’ve sometimes mentioned elsewhere in these pages how I break down such a fancy move so that I can teach it to younger players. In fact, that’s how the boy above and many of his teammates learned this play — from my dividing the more complex skills into several easier, fairly do-able steps. Okay, so let’s explore those steps:

Step 1 is the Fake

I’m talking about a real fake here! I mean, if you can appreciate it (and I talk to my players often about this), a defensive player — be he a goaler or a skater — is NOT going to go falling on his face just because an attackers wills it, or prays it. Naw, a deke has to be believable! And, if it is, the defensive player will likely to do what the attacker wants him to do. So again, the whole thing starts with a big, believable slapshot motion.

Step 2 is the Pull

In a way, this is the spinarama move made famous by another offensive great, Denis Savard. In this case, however, I have my players do as Orr did, by only pulling the puck around on the backhand. (My personal belief is that spinning around from the backhand is easier and quicker to execute, it might carry the attacker wider around his man, and it also brings the attacker to a great shooting angle once he’s gotten around the checker. By the way, this is one reason I like to play my defensemen on their “off-wing” side.)

Step 3 is to Go Wide

And, as in Step 1, I really mean that a player has to do this step to his or her max — or to exaggerate it. As I’ll so often say to my kids, any fake is going to only last so long, and then the checker is going to try to recover and get you. (Think about that, if you would… An attacker takes the bait, but that has that “Oh, my God!” moment, at which time he or she desperately lunges back into the play.) So, the wider our attacker swings, the safer he or she is going to be.

Step 4 is to Penetrate

Actually, I’ll ultimately give my attackers all the usual options here. However, as we started practicing Orr’s move, I at first limited my young guys to just quickly getting around the imaginary checker and unleashing a slap on-goal. In due time, I asked my players to read the goaltender — and to shoot if they saw open net, or to move-in if the goaler had come-out on the angle. Down the road, I’m going to add a teammate to the play (probably over on the weakside backdoor), just so the guy doing the Orr move has the third option to pass.

Now, the following snapshots are linked to more action videos (so just click on each). And, in the case of the first one, I hope you get a kick out of our youngest player doing the same move as a righty shooter (because I surely did). In fact, I think he demonstrates the move awesomely!

Here’s a video taken from a front view, just to give you a different perspective (click on the image).

And, the final video is in slow-mo so that you might see the big guy again from the front view (click on the photo below).

Now, from all the above I’m kinda hoping you might come-away with a number of impressions…

1. The greatness of guys like Bobby Orr is that they pioneered some amazing moves. Years later, however, it’s possible for fairly skilled young players to perform those very same moves.
2. Complex moves aren’t quite so complex if we study them and then break them down into easier, do-able steps.
3. In many instances, some of those steps require real emphasis — as in the case of Orr’s move, where it’s extremely important to make a believable fake, and just as important to swing far-out and away from a recovering defender.

Now, I had what I hope you’ll see as an interesting conversation with my assistant coach the other night, this while our kids were practicing this move. For, I mentioned to him that each of the players was going to get something slightly different from what they were doing. Oh, I’m going to bet that two or three of my kids will try that move in a game over the next few weeks. At the same time, a number of my players aren’t quite ready to do that — just yet. So, what’s in it for the latter group? I think that working on such a move is an awesome skill drill for every one of them. Just picture it: They’re working on faking, pulling the puck in a spinarama, learning to swing wide around a defender, and trying to get their shots off as soon as possible. So again, I think inserting something like this into a fairly skilled team’s practice is a very worthwhile endeavor — for all of the players.

Finally, once I’ve given you enough time to put this drill to good use, I’ll then show you another favorite move of mine, this one made famous by the great Guy Lafleur!

I actually asked our good friend, Todd Jacobson, to provide this mid-season report for all of us.  Why at this time?  Well, I just sense that it’s about at the midpoint in a season when a coach has a pretty good grasp of the roster, a sense of how things are going — or where they’re going, and it’s also around this time when he or she might wish, “I shoulda done this,” or, “I shoulda done that.”

Now, Todd is in about his 5th or 6th season at the helm of his school’s program.  And, with that, I’d like member coaches to appreciate just how little he leaves to chance.  I mean, he begins his next year’s planning REAL early, he knows exactly how he’s going to early-on screen and then assign players to roles, he’s planned how lines will be formed and then used, he has a picture in his mind about how his overall program will function (between varsity and JVs), and he has a philosophy — or an approach to his overall season — that he totally believes in.

But, enough from me.  This is some really good stuff!

– Dennis Chighisola

Reflections of a High School Coach

I’d like to start off by saying that anyone who wants to coach high school hockey better be prepared and willing to put more than their fair share of time and effort into it, if he or she really wants to make it work.

I also want to say that I absolutely love it. You have about a 13 week season in which you have to fit in tryouts, scrimmages, regular season games, on ice and off ice practices, team meetings, weight room sessions, and that is only the stuff on the surface.  That list doesn’t include all of the administrative work that goes into a successful program.

Believe me, when I say that I start preparing within weeks of one season ending (usually sometime in April). It starts with getting letters out to rinks as I look for quality ice times. It also encompasses numerous league meetings — for scheduling, etc.  I also have to have a balance of practices and games for both the Varsity and JV teams. Then there is the budget and trying to keep the ever skyrocketing prices of ice under control without having to sacrifice the number of practices we’ll have.  Next I have to juggle weight room sessions, off ice training, and team meetings into the off days. So, in any given week, our Varsity team will meet about 6 times, and the JVs about 4 times. (As an FYI, we also have a pay to play fee which I have always been totally against.  But to put a quality hockey program on the ice you need money to come from somewhere other than just the school.  So, about 25% of our budget comes from the pay to play fees.)

Getting started we have about 4 days of tryouts (3 on ice and 1 off ice) whereby the coaches are to look for the standouts at both ends of the roster.  In this way, by the second day, we are really looking at a small group of what I call “bubble” players.  Bubble players are the kids who will make the last couple of spots on our Varsity team and be the top players on the JV roster. We also have what we call swing players and JV-plus players. Swing players may be kids who don’t see a lot of Varsity game time but can fill in when needed, and they get to practice with the varsity all season long, as well as get plenty of game action on the JV team. The JV-plus players are a few JV kids who we bring up from time to time, for practices and for certain games (so we can maybe get them some much needed varsity experience).

Once tryouts are over, we have about 10 days to get ready for the season opener. I purposely start my Varsity games later than most other teams. This gives me time to get the proper amount of practice on our playing systems. We usually play anywhere from one to three scrimmages during these 10 days.

Typically, line combinations are made quickly, based on a number of criteria I use:

• I try to balance my top two lines (that way teams can’t focus on one group or the other).
• I look for a scorer, a grinder, and a playmaker for my first two lines. (When I talk to other coaches, I hear them say it’s tough to play us because we do balance our lines pretty well.)
• My third line is usually a defensive minded one.  I look for kids who will hustle and work hard for 35-45 seconds, which provides the necessary rest for our top two lines. Any offense we get from them is a bonus.
• I personally like to run 3 lines of forwards and 4 to 6 defensemen. I feel our up tempo style dictates that we roll three lines (and I find that all the successful teams do much the same). The teams who don’t usually find themselves tired in the third period usually pull away in the end.

I’m a huge fan of the subliminal (or the “head games” coaches typically play on opposing teams):

• We have a dress code for games; whether it is at home or away, we dress appropriately. I always say, “If you dress with class, you play with class.”
• I also like my team to hit the ice first, regardless of if it’s at home or away. I think when you show that you are eager to be out there it sends a message to the other team.
• I like to have my players at the rink well beforehand, or at least one hour in advance.
• Our players will do some warm up type drills (agility ladders or golf ball stickhandling) to get themselves in a good mindset for the game to come.
• Sometimes I will have a team meeting as soon as the kids arrive at the rink, and then I give a pre-game talk just before we go out to the ice.

Most coaches will tell you that the majority of their coaching is done in practice, and then we bench manage and make corrections during games.

My philosophy has always been to scout all of our opponents (I try to see every team within about 2 weeks of when we play them).  But this can be time consuming and difficult to work into any schedule.  However, with a good sized staff of coaches, sometimes we benefit from an assistant skipping a practice to go watch a team that we will be playing soon.

My other key philosophy has been to plan on taking away something another team does well, this in hopes of frustrating them. If I feel we are the stronger team, we work on setting the tone and making the other team adjust to what we do well.

I also believe in playing a quality schedule. We play some of the toughest teams in our state year every year.  So, when we ultimately do qualify for the state tournament, we have earned it.

To give you an idea of where we stand with four weeks to go in the current season, we have 9 games remaining (8 of them at home) and are we’re just below the .500 mark.  (Like it or not, we play some very tough teams in the next two weeks.)

I have a saying that, “You can’t leave points on the table.” And in two games so far this year, we’ve done just that.  So, now that we’ve dug ourselves a hole, we need to steal some points from some of the better teams we’ll soon play. Last year we left points on the table early in the year, as well, but then knocked off some pretty good teams down the stretch to qualify for the tournament. If there’s one thing in our favor, I feel that we usually peak later in the year, which is when you want your team to be clicking on all cylinders. Some teams come out fast and fade.  But I feel the more important the games are later in the year, the better my teams will usually play.

So as we move toward “crunch time”, and needing to play some pretty solid hockey against some pretty good teams, we continue to work on the things that we need to tighten up. Positional play within our systems has been a struggle, but we are getting better with every practice. We have a group of kids that work hard on every shift.  There are no superstars, but they’re more a collection of kids who have skills that gel well together.  In other words, this year’s squad is a real “blue collar” type team. They’re definitely the definition of a team, they need each other to be successful, and in the end I know that they will do just that.

Your in Hockey,

Coach J.

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Now, I’m not about to put words in my young buddy’s mouth.  However, if you’ll notice how much Todd’s “system” means to his team’s success, you also might realize how little influence he and most other high school coaches have over their players’ individual skills.  But, let me try to explain that better…

I know darned well that Todd works on his player’s skills nearly every day.  I know he holds some great practices, both on-ice and off-ice, and that many of these are geared towards enhancing his kids’ skating, puck-work, passing, scoring, defending, strength and conditioning.  All that said, it’s hard for him — or any other high school coach — to affect huge changes in a player’s overall skill capabilities in only 13 or so weeks.

What am I getting at?  It’s that high school coaches — for the most part — only get to work with the players as they’ve arrived.  So, we’re thrilled if they’ve learned highlight reel skills on their way up through the youth hockey ranks, and even more thrilled if they’ve busted their buns during the very long off-season.  For, once they arrive, the major part of a coach’s job is to pull them together into some sort of system.

The reason I’ve added this particular wrap-up?  I think the onus is really on prospective high school players to prepare well in anticipation of truly competing at that level.  After all, there’s a HUGE difference between the 13-weeks the high school coach will have them, and the 39-ish weeks a player has to really prepare.  (But, that’s just this old coach’s 2-cents worth.)

Unbelievable job, Todd!

– Dennis Chighisola

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Now, this has really been fun!  A number of avid members offered their thoughts on the following problem (begun over at “The Tight Turn (or Boston Turn“), and I got to interact with them (which is always the most fun).

Anyway, to recap things, just in case you’re jumping in late here…  The first photo below shows my young buddy and grandson, Anthony Chic, protecting the puck and making a tight or Boston turn around a defender.  And, although he’s one of the best at this ploy, the camera catches him making one glaring mistake — at least at the moment that photo was taken.

From there, a bunch of my CoachChic.com friends tried to figure what this zany old coach was getting at.  And, while most seemed to be coming kinda close to what I was seeing, no one really hit it dead-on.

With all that, I’m going to do my best below to explain myself.

– Dennis Chighisola

Troubleshooting the Tight Turn (or Boston Turn)

Boston Turn

Okay, it’s quite possible that a lot of my great friends here are ultimately going to slap their foreheads and mutter to themselves, “That’s what I meant!”  And, while many of you — especially Jerry Z, Ravi and Ozzy — almost sounded as if you were hinting at what I’ll suggest, I don’t think anyone really said what I was looking for.  (After I’d prepared this piece, Michael G actually came as close to the answer as anyone.)

Anyway, (to the left) let’s start here with the original photo of Tony C fighting off that defender.  I’m showing this again, just so we’ll have a frame of reference.

Next, to give you a sense of how this old coach sees such things, let me show you the same picture (below), but with the defensive player removed…

Tight Turn in Open Ice

What I’ll normally suggest (or joke about) to one of my students who strikes a pose like this is that, “If someone opens a door and a little breeze enters the rink, you’re going to fall on your dawgoned ear!”  Can you see it?  Anthony’s skates are both FAR outside his center of gravity.  And in such a posture, he has no strength — or no stability — whatsoever!

Then, I’ve doctored that photo again (below), but this time moving Tony C’s inside foot/leg closer to under his center of gravity.  So, take a look, and see if he just might be a whole lot stronger in that stance.  (Moving parts around within that photo wasn’t easy, and it’s not exactly how I’d like it to look.  But, it still should give you a sense of what I’d be aiming for.)

A Better Tight Turn Posture

Now, in reality, I’ve solicited Comments and withheld my thoughts for a time so that I could address some other common issues when it comes to a move like this.

You see, there are a kzillion hockey “wives tales” forever circulating around the rinks — and particularly within youth hockey circles, with a number of them either raised or hinted at in the accumulated Comments.  So, please allow me to tackle some of those, because I think these points will help an awful lot of my friends deal with some of those so-called wives tales:

1. If you have the time, go over to YouTube and watch a few of the highlight reel goals.  I guarantee you’ll find most of your favorite players — from Ovechkin to Crosby to Datsyuk — making big-time plays with one hand on their sticks.  You see, a player can only make very narrow dribbles and dekes with the stick held in both hands.  And, while I’ve picked on Anthony here because I found a flaw at one moment in time, he is actually doing a ton of things right in that play.  For example, notice how he is able to extend his reach with the stick held in one hand, so that the defender doesn’t have a prayer of getting to that puck.  As importantly, Anthony is able to fend-off his man because his other hand is free to do so.  Oh, and by the way…  Because all of my students and former players can do everything both ways, Tony C would be just as comfortable extending the stick far out in his left hand and holding-off his man with the right.
2. I think a lot of the wives tales — or false impressions — stem from players or youth coaches “thinking” they see something they really don’t.  And one thing I sense a lot of folks around the rinks believe is that the skates should be arranged one behind the other when executing a quick cut like this one.  Oh, for sure, the inside skate must lead — a little — in the tight turn.  But, to move with the skates in a straight line also removes strength and stability.
3. I loved that one of my NEHI HS Prep kids jumped in on this conversation.  And I also love the chance it gives me to address something else…  I mean, you will hardly ever hear me say or see me write, “Keep your HEAD up!”  Why?  It’s because the EYES are the important thing when it comes to puckhandling!  Actually, the best attackers in the hockey world look down at the puck; one can’t carry for very long without occasionally checking on it.  That said, can you just imagine a great puckcarrier bobbing his or her head up and down as he or she moves down the ice?  Geeeeeeze…  What a good attacker should really do is hold the head fairly steady, use split vision to see almost everything, and occasionally just move the eyes with quick glances — down, up, etc…
4. I am going to suggest here that our game is one of constant adjustments.  And I’ll further suggest that any given technique might be good at one moment and not so good at another.  As an example, I’ll often joke to my older students that they can skate like figure skaters in open ice, but they’d better drastically change their posture as they enter traffic.  In other words, large and pretty cross-overs or an upright stance might be okay with no one around you; but, you’d better sit low and spread those skates as soon as there’s a chance for body contact.  Said yet another way…  Within just a few seconds, we might see a player in a speedy or graceful posture suddenly shift to a bracing stance; he might go back to an open ice stride, and then quickly return to the strong and stable position.

Oh, and one more thing about those wives tales…  Supposing a young player or youth coach spotted Anthony’s photo and presumed that — since he’s a pretty dangerous attacker — his technique is one to emulate — to a tee.  Well, you and I now know that it’s true in many regards, yet it’s definitely not in at least one other.  If they picked-up on his method of protecting the puck, I’d say they’re on the way to better skills.  However, if they hung their hats on the way he’s been caught in his foot placement…  Well, can you imagine a coach teaching that method for the next 10-years?  And that’s what I’m getting at about a lot of those so-called rink wives tales.  They were based on a wrong assumption in the first place, but nonetheless keep being spread and spread and spread.

Finally, I can’t tell you guys — Jerry, Scott, Ravi, Wilder, Ozzy, Mike and GKelly — how much I appreciate you jumping in here.  Honest to God, I couldn’t have done this piece without your help, and I’m praying I haven’t discouraged you (with a few of my teases) from weighting-in on future conversations.  I love you guys!

Oh, as for a prize…  I was originally thinking about an all-expenses-paid trip to Pluto.  As it turns out, I can’t afford that.  So, I’m hoping Jerry, Ozzy and Mike will settle for a shorter ride — maybe to Jupiter?    (Thanks again, guys; you’re the best!)

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PS:  Anthony Chic recently told me that the defender in that photo actually took a penalty on the play.  So, while I’m suggesting that he could have fallen on his own, an official evidently blamed the ensuing spill on the defensive player.  Ya, there are some advantages to being tricky out there on the ice, including drawing a lot of penalties.  Oh, well…

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No way should the conversation end here.  So, please DO add your Comments below!

Having lots of posts here in reference to using — and even making — agility ladders, it was just a matter of time before someone would write me about what to do if they don’t own their own ladder.  And, as you’ll soon see, that’s an easy one to answer.

– Dennis Chighisola

What If You Don’t Have an Agility Ladder?

Up front, let me tell you that agility ladders can be a pain in the butt to use.  Laughing to myself here, I should point-out that all the great videos we find around the Internet have most likely been edited — a lot.  And that goes for my videos, as well.  I mean, athlete’s miss-step plenty when they’re first learning, and they frequently get a little tangled in the ladder or at least knock the ladder out of shape.

That said, I use a number of approaches to working on footwork, with most of these depending on the location where my players will work…

For example, there are a lot of places where we need to get our agility work in, and then vanish from that area without a trace.  And for that, it makes sense to just spread a ladder, do our workout, roll it back up, and pack it away.

For another example — this one having to do with agility work in a more permanent location…  I recall numerous hockey (and other sport) parents telling me that they made a ladder for their youngster after having liked the way I work with the one in The MOTION Lab.  Most of those parents told me that they used colored tape to mark-out a ladder on the floor in their basement or den.  I’ve actually done that myself — using good old duct tape, although I’ve discovered that older players and a lot of traffic will ultimately scuff the tape and turn-up its edges.  Really, though, most of my tape-jobs have last a few months, at least.

I’ll sometimes offer that a family can paint the outline of an agility ladder on their driveway or another paved area.  If there’s a caveat here, it’s that frequent work on an unforgiving surface can be rather hard on the legs.  Along this line of thinking — about using paint…  I haven’t sprayed those on grass, but I do use white, water-based spray paint to mark the field area where my NEHI teams do their off-season sprint workouts.

Then, of course, it is possible to use chalk to outline an agility ladder on the right kind of surface.  If there’s a problem here, the chalk isn’t likely to stay very long.

Finally, my experimentation in The MOTION Lab has brought me from using a regular agility ladder to a taped one to the painted ladder that now sits in the middle of the Lab.  There are no ropes or rungs to get tangled in, no set-up time required, and the paint stands-up far, far longer than the tape I’d previously tried.  Better yet, our agility ladder is always there (as shown in the above photo), even though we can ignore it most of the time to perform other types of drilling in the same area.

PS:  If I’ve failed to mention it previously, the standard agility ladder is 18″ wide with the rungs spaced 18″ apart.  But, I see no scientific reason for being exact on those dimensions.

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Do you have any ideas along these lines?  Have you tried something similar but better?  Please tell us in the Comment area below!

This post could really be entitled “What’s Wrong with this Picture?“, because that’s exactly what I’m going to ask you.

This photo happens to show my young buddy and grandson, Anthony Chic.  And, while he is really one of the best at protecting the puck in these types of plays, he’s making one glaring mistake — at least at the moment this photo was taken.

So, here’s the deal…  I’m not going to complete this post until a number of members have weighed-in, or offered their opinions or guesses.  Once I do receive a number of Comments (down below), I’ll share with you all I know about tight turns (or so-called Boston Turns).

– Dennis Chighisola

The Tight Turn (or Boston Turn)

I sometimes wonder if my friends at CoachChic.com appreciate the unique topics discussed here.  Oh, I don’t mean to sound like I’m patting myself (or our other awesome writers) on the back when I say that.  However, there are some — perhaps not so hockey specific — subjects that I never see mentioned elsewhere, despite the fact that they can impact hugely on a hockey player’s skill development, safety, and more.  Anyway, I think the following topic is an important one.  But, I’ll let you be the ultimate judge of that.

– Dennis Chighisola

The Effects of Growth Spurts on Hockey Players

Right now, a number of my Team NEHI junior high school kids are in a funk.  In other words, while they’re pretty nice players, little things are going wrong in their execution.  (Well, sometimes there are more than just little things going wrong, but…)

Ironically — and despite my having seen this happen for going on 40-years, it always seems to take a few weeks for me to notice.  Thereafter, it might take me even a little while longer to recognize the real problem.

The reason I mention my junior high team kids is because they’re in the rough age group where growth spurts so often take place.  I mean, growth is obviously happening with my littlest students, and also with my high school guys.  But, that group of kids from about 12- to 14-years old is really something else.  And, of course, some of the kids in this age bracket are also experiencing the effects of puberty, which further magnifies what I’m about to discuss.

Now, let me offer a personal story here (and maybe give you another opportunity to laugh at this old coach).  For, probably a good 25-years ago, I was sitting in the stands at one of my son’s pre-season hockey games, and I’m watching a previously highly skilled boy fall all over himself.  I mean, he’d made one of the top high school teams in the country — as a freshman, mainly because he had wheels, he could do tricks with the puck, and he could shoot absolute bullets.  Yet, just prior to his sophomore season, he was now skating like he’d never had a lesson in his life, and he couldn’t handle a puck beyond a couple of dribbles!  Man, I mean to tell you that he was awful.  (You should have heard me whisper to my wife that night, like, “I teach dawgoned skills for a living, and my son can’t even skate!”)

Thank God, in that the effects of his latest growth spurt didn’t last into the regular high school season.  Phew!

Okay, so was it just a short bout he had with this thing?  I’m guessing not.  More likely the effects of that spurt began way back in the spring months, but they just weren’t as obvious during our off-season clinics and hockey camps.

So again, quite a few on my current team are in a funk, some of them looking an awful lot like my son did at the height of his struggles.  Yet, a few of the kids are just a smidgeon off in their body control.  And, my fairly educated guess is that there are a number of reasons why those in my small group are currently facing slightly differing challenges:

1. I’m sure that every individual does experience growth spurts in different ways, and to different degrees;
2. I’m sure that all of the kids are at different points in their current growth spurts;
3. I’m sure that they’ll all struggle through these for differing lengths of time.

I think those three points (and there are probably more) contribute to why it takes me a length of time to recognize what’s happening with any given player.  After all, it shouldn’t be surprising if he or she has a bad game (or two or three).  Hey, even most pros aren’t all that consistent, so pre-teens should be expected to go a little up and down in their play.  However, what catches my attention is when a player is drastically off his or her game for a stretch, or when that rough stretch starts to go on for a considerable length of time.

Okay, so what do we do during such times?

• First, I have to remember that I was in my team parents’ shoes some 25-years ago.  So, I’ve most recently talked to the ones with players who are struggling a great deal.  I don’t want them to overly worry about what they’re seeing, and I especially don’t want them to be overly hard on their kids if those kids aren’t exactly performing up to snuff.
• In the case of the older players who are now suffering through tough times, I’ve actually had short talks with them, and I’ve tried to ease their minds a bit, and even suggest that they’ll be far better players than they were before, as soon as they get used to their new bodies.  (And that’s what the difficulty is, you know, in that such kids are climbing — or falling — out of bed every morning with a totally new body!)
• Because so many on my current roster are in the same boat, I’ve been gradually switching back to a lot of coordination type drills.  (That’s the only thing I’ve sensed that helps at such times.)  So, footwork, puck control, passing and timing their shots have been high on my drills list.  And, we’ve been doing a lot of tumbling and ball-playing activities lately in our off-ice sessions, while I’m going to start getting everyone back to twirling their jumpropes soon, as well.

By the way…  Have you noticed that most of the exercises I’ve prescribed would be good for all of my kids, and not just those who are struggling through growth spurts?  That’s the way I feel about most of my troubleshooting efforts, in that putting a couple of drills or exercises into a given practice or routine for a few doesn’t hurt the other kids at all; in fact, I’ll suggest that approach helps everyone.  (Actually, while some might not yet be into a growth spurt — quite yet, what’s the likelihood they will be very shortly?  I’d say, pretty darn good.)

Now, there’s another concern I want to raise about kids who are experiencing growth spurts, and it just might be as important as all I’ve said to this point.  For, with some players seemingly sprouting inches overnight, there’s the distinct probability that they’re quickly outgrowing various pieces of hockey equipment.  Worst of all, parents may be too close to the situation, and tending not to notice such things.  Also, I think parents get into a rhythm about gear purchases, expecting to make most of the larger ones in the spring or summer.  During their son’s or daughter’s earliest years, there probably wasn’t the need to replace pants, shin guards or gloves mid-season.  However, those are the items I most often notice being too small on kids who have suddenly grown.

Then, a third point…  If you’ve followed things here for very long, you probably recall my concerns when it comes to the effects gear has on skill development.  Tight or restricting equipment can cause a player to perform skills differently, most often in the wrong way.  And, all he or she has to do is practice the movement wrongly enough times, and that becomes the way he or she is going to do it until the muscles are retrained in the right way.

Finally, while I’ve spent a lot of time on the way sudden growth spurts can impact on player performance, and I’ve also brought to light some safety and developmental issues, I think there’s one more thing that’s pretty important to consider.  After all, I’ve noticed that even very good players can get down on themselves during times when their skills suddenly fail them.  That should be as understandable as anything else I’ve said to this point.  Sure, little setbacks here and there are part of the learning process — and I’ll suggest they’re one of the huge benefits to our growing-up in sports.  At the same time, you and I don’t ever want any sort of setback to really devastate a youngster.  So, that in mind, I think we coaches and parents have to first recognize when a growth spurt might be affecting a player.  Thereafter, I believe a combination of 1) explaining things to them and 2) giving them some worthwhile exercises will make all the difference in the world.

Okay, so I’m going to end as I began, wondering if you’d ever find this kind of information anywhere else.  (In a way, I guess it’s an inner drive in me — to be as thorough as possible — that gets me so much into a topic like this one.)  But, of course, I’ll have to leave the value of all that up to you.

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Okay, so tell me what you think (by adding a Comment below)!

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Shaun Goodsell, MA

President and CEO of Mental Edge

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Imagination

imag·i·na·tion  i-ˌma-jə-ˈnā-shən  1 : the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality 2 a : creative ability b : ability to confront and deal with a problem c : the thinking or active mind  3 : a creation of the mind

What has happened to the imagination of our youth athletes? Many hit a roadblock and it not only seems to stop them in their tracks…it appears to stifle and paralyze them for a long time.

Recently, I was talking with a young player that has been experiencing some personal challenges with his team. He is performing at a high level and enjoying some of his greatest success. When I asked him if he was having fun he replied, “Not really”. I immediately felt sad for this young person. I thought to myself, “What skill would help him overcome his lack of enjoyment and allow him to experience fulfillment and accomplishment for the all hard work he’s put into his sport?”

At this point it occurred to me that he would need to utilize his power of choice to craft and create new meanings from the events that were getting him down. He was stuck in his current negative and pessimistic meanings, which lead him to despair, to live in a constant state of disappointment and a lack of personal power. How does one do this?

This is done through imagination. Imagination is the ability to creatively bring into being something that has yet to be formed.  Every change that one makes occurs because of the ability to gain a vision for a different reality. When we can imagine a different response and meaning to events that, in the past, have resulted in unempowered responses we reacquire control of the quality of our lives. The inability to be imaginative costs many their sense of well-being, quality relationships, improved performance, and most significantly a sense of personal power.

Becoming imaginative and creative grants us incredible power to shape and create the quality of life we want regardless of the events that might be taking place around us. In becoming imaginative we become people of possibility rather then pessimism.  This is not to say there are not events that are difficult and realities that should not be dealt with.  But many people underestimate the capacity they have to utilize their imagination to navigate and manage the journey of sport and life.

If you would like help sparking your imagination, give us a call today 763-439-5246!

Until next time, here’s to your possibilities!

Shaun

Shaun@MentalEdgeNow.com

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This note from Coach Chic…  Although Shaun and his staff do an unbelievable job of talking to our playing members, I’d like to suggest that coaches like me also need to heed their advice.  Hey, with the long hours we put in, and with the challenges we so often face (alone?), we coaches surely do need the kind of positive advice offered above.

Then, since I am into such stuff, I’d like to paraphrase an appropriate saying (that I’ve heard attributed to a number of great thinkers), in that..

“No great idea ever materializes unless it is first conceived in the mind.”

Actually, what happened is that I finished replying to Nicky, and I next saw the heading for a recent post entitled Resisted Shooting.  From there, I’ve mentioned before about how the fireworks go-off in my brain, with one thing making me think of something else.  (I’ll leave it to you to decide whether that’s a good thing or not — !)

Well, what I got to thinking about was the fact that member goalers (and those who work with goalers) shouldn’t just stay within the Goalies section, or discount all the things available to them in all the other various categories.

Take, for example, that Resisted Shooting idea…  Is it necessary for modern day goaltenders to handle the puck — and even shoot it up-ice?  You bet!  And, in their attempts to fire the puck up-ice, is it possible they’re going to at the same time be mauled by opposing players?  You can bet on that one, too!  So, a drill such as Restricted Shooting would be just as useful for netminders as it is for defensemen and forwards.

And, come to think of it, so would almost all the skills that are covered here help a goalie,  so would the strength training ideas, and so would a good many of the tips offered under Thinking The Game!

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So, what do you think?  You know I love to see your Comments!

I’m asked to do a lot of these kinds of things.  And, hey, they’re good for my business, and they often allow me to share some important ideas.

Anyway, I was just interviewed for the IslesNation Blog, and I truly believe there’s something to be learned from this, especially if one is serious about coaching.  Just click the logo below to read that article…

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As always, you KNOW I appreciate your Comments!

As always, I warn folks involved at our game’s higher levels not to take something like the following too lightly — I mean, just because my examples happen to involve some young players.  As I’ll ultimately suggest, learning should never stop, no matter the age or experience level.

With that…  I can’t believe I (at least in a way) missed jotting this note during yesterday’s Mighty Mite hockey game.  It’s not like a big deal wasn’t made out of it.  Thankfully, though, good friend Michael G reminded me in an email this morning.  Yes, one of my little guys broke his stick in yesterday’s game, and I’m now going to explain to my friends here why I think it’s necessary for hockey coaches AND PARENTS to make note of such events.

– Dennis Chighisola

The Broken Hockey Stick (and More)

Team NEHI Bull Session

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Now, I’ve mentioned elsewhere here about our need to spot so-called “teaching moments”.  And, to me, such moments usually involve some important event that doesn’t happen often enough to get covered in practices.  Let me give you an example, though…

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When my buddy Anthony Chic was a Mite B, his team played in an exciting holiday tournament at a nearby rink.  A critical point in one of the earliest tourney games was when one of Tony C’s teammates closed his hand on a puck in their crease, with this resulting in a penalty shot for the opponents.  Okay, no big deal, right?

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Well, maybe you saw this coming, but…  A few days later, in the game which was to decide the team’s chance to move-on in tournament play, the very same thing happened.  I mean, a different defenseman on Anthony’s team once again smothered a puck in the crease, and the deciding goal was scored on the ensuing penalty shot.  (Ugh!)

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Hmmmmmm…  Now, one might think that all of the kids who witnessed the penalty days earlier would have remembered the consequences.  Ya, one might think.  But, the fact of the matter is, not all 6- and 7-year olds are noticing — or totally understanding — what’s going on at such a time.

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The rest of that “Hmmmmmm-thing” is that we now know our team’s coach did not use that earlier event as a wonderful teaching opportunity.  (Worse yet, I have to wonder if he ever used the second occurrence to explain what happened to his kids.  ???)

Okay, so yesterday we had that youngster break his stick during the game action.  In a panic, he rushed to the bench, both portions of the stick still in hand.  Since we’re allowed to be on the ice during these Instructional League games, an assistant coach and I both rushed to tell him, “Drop it!  Drop it!”

With that, we might have been able to convey to a few kids the message about it (playing with a broken stick) being a penalty.  But, how many kids really understood that in the craziness of the game?  And, I’d be willing to bet that most of the kids who were involved in the action at that time didn’t even witness what took place.

So, here’s the big deal, as far as I’m concerned…  There were 20-ish kids involved our game yesterday, and probably 30-something playing in those long ago tournament games.  And, since two great teaching moments were missed for the sake of quite a few kids, I’m going to suggest that those kids are (or were) left in jeopardy of committing the same rule infractions sometime down the road, maybe even during a very critical game situation.  And, is it going to make some young player feel pretty badly if he or she gets nailed for such a violation?  I’m thinking that’s so.

Now, at the higher levels I’m going to suggest that the consequences are all the greater.  I’ve seen players benched by their high school or college coach for taking needless penalties.  As a matter of fact, many higher level associations have officials visit member schools during the pre-season, just to talk to the players (and coaches) about recent rule changes.  Ya, they think it’s that important.

Okay, so what should we parents and coaches do about all this?

For sure, I and my fellow coaches have to grab those teaching moments and make the most of them.  A long winter schedule usually provides us a number of these, no matter our level of competition.  In each instance, we want to pick a time or method when every single player can be in on the conversation (which means the team bench is hardly the place to handle these things).  As for me, I think I’m going to compose an email that will direct my Mighty Mite parents to this article, and I’ll also put a link on our team website.

As an aside here…  There will always be a difference in the ways we each communicate with our teams.  When it comes to my two older groups (ages about 12- to 18-years), I can usually present the information directly to my players.  However, if we’re talking about very young kids, it might not be a bad idea to share our advice with both the players and their parents.

Then, as for the beauty of Mike G’s email…  He did something very much like I’ve always done for my son or grandson, in that he took advantage of that teaching moment as a parent.  I was absolutely sure Anthony Chic wasn’t going to close his glove on a puck in the crease immediately after we saw it happen the first time.  And Mike did the same for his little guy.  As he explained it to me, he’d read some bedtime stories to his son last night.  Then, as Mike wrote, “I started to talk briefly about the fun we had skating today…”  Of course, the broken stick issue arose during their conversation, with his little 4-year old actually telling dad exactly what he should do if he breaks a stick. 

This final aside has to do with my sneaking suspicions about why such a young player was/is so sharp…  Oh, I’m sure it helps that Mike played a lot, and that he still plays.  I’m guessing the little tyke has already seen his share of games — watching his dad, or those on TV (yes, a “hockey house” probably has games on the tube more than most others).  Yet, I suspect that the most impactful thing is that they talked often about the game already.  And this causes me to further surmise that numerous little bull sessions have encouraged him — even at 4-years old — to think the game.  So, while Mike ended his email by saying his son “sometimes can surprise me…”, I’m going to suggest that perhaps his growing hockey smarts shouldn’t be so surprising at all!

Now, those parents who haven’t played much (or any) hockey can take heart in the fact that you can still help your very young one with his or her game.  All you have to do, I’ll suggest, is to just stay a hair ahead of him or her in your hockey knowledge.  There’s certainly plenty of information available at your local library and on the Internet.  And, I happen to know that’s why a number of folks spend a lot of time here at CoachChic.com.  And remember, you can always ask for my help whenever you need it.

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You know how much I enjoy your feedback.  So, please DO add a Comment below!

Contributor: Stirling Wright – Virginia & Maryland, USA

Drill Category: Skating, Passing, Pass Receiving, Attacking and Goaltending

Please first see the basic set-up of this drill as described under the free Drills section.  For, from that basic format, some really awesome offensive and defensive variations are possible.  (Click here for: “Russian Circle Passing“.)

Stirling has added quite a few great variations to the basic drilling.  So, I’ll let him take it away from here…

– Dennis Chighisola

Russian Circle Passing – Variations #3

Drill Description:

Comments:

The set up is the same as the basic drill, but the first player starts with a puck and is skating backwards. As he gets to the red line, passes the puck back to the line he came from, and continues backwards until the apex of the circle, where he opens up his stick to get a pass from the other line.  He quickly transitions to forward, now attacking the net.

Benefits:  Players become more aware of the transition space in the neutral zone, and able to transition the puck forward twice in the same drill.

Running the drill:

- In the basic set-up, skaters are lined-up along the boards and behind a blue line on both sides of the ice.

- The drill begins with one player skating backwards (with a puck) around the center face-off circle.  Nearing the red line, he passes the puck back to the original line.

- Continuing on, he pivots from backwards to forwards near the bottom of the circle, and then receives a pass from the other line.

- That player then continues to attack the far goal.

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Click image below to see a short video of this drill in action.

PS:  If you set your video player to “Loop”, the drill will play over and over again.

Russian Circle Passing – Variations #4

Contributor: Stirling Wright – Virginia & Maryland, USA

Drill Category: Skating, Passing, Pass Receiving, Attacking, defending and Goaltending

Drill Description:

Comments:

This next variation is the same as #3, except that the second person in line becomes a defenseman for a 1 on 1.

I’ve altered Stirling’s variation a bit here, placing a line of defensemen next to each line.  In this way, “D” get to handle each rush.  (To be honest, I also did this so that the video would be a little clearer.)

– Dennis Chighisola

Benefits:  All the previous skills are honed, along with the addition of players getting to work their 1 against 1 skills.

Running the drill:

- In the basic set-up, skaters are lined-up along the boards and behind a blue line on both sides of the ice.

- The drill begins with one player skating backwards (with a puck) around the center face-off circle.  Nearing the red line, he passes the puck back to the original line.

- The first skater continues on to take a pass (as in the earlier drill), while the second player in the original line (or the red defenseman in my sketch) jumps out to defend against the first skater.

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Click image below to see a short video of variation #4 in action.

Russian Circle Passing – Variation #5

Contributor: Stirling Wright — – Virginia & Maryland, USA

Drill Category: Skating, Passing, Pass Receiving, Attacking, and a faster pace on the Goaltenders

Drill Description:

Comments:

From the same set up as all the rest, but this time the second person in line takes the pass from the first player and immediately heads straight in on goal for a scoring chance. This keeps the pace up and both goalies staying very busy. (Remember to allow time for goalies to recover, but keep in mind that speed drills are not just for skaters.)

Benefits:  All the previous skills are honed.

Running the drill:

- In the basic set-up, skaters are lined-up along the boards and behind a blue line on both sides of the ice.

- The drill begins with one player skating backwards (with a puck) around the center face-off circle.  Nearing the red line, he passes the puck back to the original line.

- The first skater continues on to take a pass (as in the earlier drill), while the second player in the original line quickly attacks the net..

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Click image below to see a short video of variation #5 in action.

Variation #6 coming soon!

A couple of things went into my slightly changing the way we’re working on shooting drills at this part of our Team NEHI Junior High School season…

First and foremost, we (players, parents or coaches) shouldn’t ever stay at one progression level of a given skill if at all possible.  (Actually, that’s an important principle of motor learning, and something I’ll have to go a little further into some day.)

Anyway, for an example, when it comes to shooting I still allow my kids to work on their technique while standing close to the boards.  However, it isn’t often they’ll get to stand comfortably and take shots in their games, so we also practice plenty taking them while flying down the ice.  Even that form of practice has outlived its usefulness, though.

Secondly, I’m noticing that my young guys are missing some shots because they’re being disrupted in one way or another by opponents.  And, if you think about it, that’s really how the game is played — I mean, with our attackers trying to make plays as defenders practically maul them.

All that said, it was obviously time to move-on to a new and more difficult kind of shooting practice.

– Dennis Chighisola

Resisted Shooting

Okay, so what I did was to have my players go through their normal shooting progressions at the start of last night’s skills session, and then I gathered them together to explain what we’d do next…

I tried to explain that each player had to do a favor for his partner, by attempting to make it difficult for him to pull-off a shot.  At the same time, I also warned them that I didn’t want to see anyone get hurt.  Actually, my kids are pretty good in understanding such directions.  So again, I let them know that they were really helping their buddies get better if they made it hard for them to shoot, but that they should foul them within reason.

I wasn’t able to garner the best video in the world last night during the brief time I had my camera out.  But, at least you can get a sense of our first attempts at this new drill by clicking on the photo below.  (If you’ll notice, the trailing players still haven’t gotten the handle on their roles in this.  That’s okay, though; that’s why we practice 3-times per week, and why I’ll stay at the following drill for a good long time.)

As I intimated above, I’m not stopping there by a long shot (pardon the pun).  So, I promise to gather more video footage as soon as the kids get more into this form of drilling, and as I likely change some of the ways we’ll do other types of resisted shooting.

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What do you think?  You know I love to see your Comments.

The other night I had to use an extremely conservative forecheck against a pretty strong opponent.  The X’s and O’s of that is a story for another time.

I sensed we had to be very good at a few other things in order for my kids to execute that new forecheck well.  And, while good dump-ins were going to be needed, there was something about those dump-ins that had to be done even better.

What you’ll soon discover is that we needed dumps and some clearing passes to travel rather fast or go hard around the boards.  So, the following is going to show you how I’ve managed to start making my kids aware of certain things having to do with this particular ploy.

– Dennis Chighisola

Hard Around the Boards (and Dump-ins)

Now, I think a lot of coaches take things for granted.  In other words, they might (or might not) notice their players doing some things wrong in games, but they never think to design or search for a drill that will correct those problems.  In a lot of instances, coaches might think players will just “get it” when they get older (or whatever).

By the way, remembering the things I need to help my players with is a huge reason why I take frequent notes.  And this particular area of CoachChic.com is mainly available to you because of the fact that I take so many.

Anyway, that new system needed really good dump-ins (and so does our powerplay entry), and we also needed some unique help getting the puck out of our zone.

I actually started the teaching process by gathering my Team NEHI players so that they could see our off-ice rink just about as it’s shown in the photo to the right.  I then started explaining some things that others might take for granted, or things they might think their kids will ultimately solve on their own.

(Here I go chuckling to myself as I so often do, but…)  It seems that a lot of players don’t think much about the angle in which their dumps have to hit the boards in order to gain speed and travel a good distance.  So I started talking in extremes at first, asking the kids what will happen to a puck if we shoot it directly at the boards (or at an angle perpendicular to the side boards, as in #1 below).  Of course, the puck will pretty much die right there, or it’s surely not going to travel around the boards.  Then, pointing my stick as if it was an arrow, I asked them what would happen to pucks that hit at angles of something like 5-degrees (as in #2), 10-degrees, maybe 50-degrees, and so forth.  What I was doing was trying to convince them that shots closer to the perpendicular weren’t going to travel far, and that shots coming closer to parallel to the boards were going to assist them (with #3 and #4 getting closer to the ideal).  Actually, there is an angle — close to parallel to the boards — whereby the puck seems to whip through the corner and even pick-up speed.

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Did I really need to go into such detail before taking on my intended drills?  Yes, I did.  For, while a few players might have understood already the above concepts, I knew a number of them didn’t.  Besides, I never leave anything to chance, and I don’t take much for granted.  Furthermore, I am not about to leave players in my charge to fend for themselves (at least when I can help it).

Now, as you might notice in the first video (click on the photo below), you’ll see that I placed all of my kids on the side that put their sticks close to the boards (lefties on the left side, righties on the right).  From this positioning, it’s easier for them to get their drives close to parallel to the boards, and easier is what I’m always looking for in a new drill.  (By the way, I just noticed from re-watching these videos that a number of the kids put their heads down or gave some other indication when they erred.  I think that’s good, at least in this case.)  So, take a look at the video and see how some of my youngest players did.

After they got a handle on the first drill, I had lefties and righties switch sides.  I once again preceded the next drill with a short discussion, this time explaining how it might be a little more difficult now for them to get their dump-ins parallel to the boards.  Take a look to see how they did (by clicking on the photo below).

In case you wanted to know, we need our powerplay dump-ins — and the dumps for our new forecheck — to go all the way around the boards and partway up the other side boards.  But I also wanted to clear the puck from our end with very hard passes behind our net and perhaps even out of the zone on the other side.  And this had me altering the above drill as show in the video below (just click on that photo to see it).

If there’s a message in all this, it’s that we need to find ways to explain and then practice the many “little things” that go into making competent and confident players.  We can’t take anything for granted, and we can’t let anything go while the kids are in our charge.

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You know how much I enjoy your feedback.  So, please DO add a Comment below!

Here’s a tip in itself, before I get into introducing you to a handy little gadget for your practices…

Through the years, I may have wanted to use a certain drill (or whatever), but there was something standing in the way.  It could be just a small annoyance, or just about anything discouraging or frustrating enough to prevent me from doing something that is really worthwhile for my kids.

That’s a really tough choice, isn’t it?  I mean, on the one hand I know a given drill or exercise is going to help me players, but at the same time running it is going to present a huge headache to me.

Well, I happen to feel that tough choices like those — or the way I choose to handle them — can separate me from a thousand other coaches (and it often does).   In other words, I choose to tackle the problem rather than abandoning a great training idea.

So, with that, let me introduce you to the following problem-solver…

– Dennis Chighisola

Coach Chic’s Hockey Net Blocks

Actually, about a decade ago, one of my helpers in a Learn-to-play clinic planted the seeds for this gadget.  (And we’re currently using the latest version as waves of young Mighty Mites attack the net in the photo below.)

To set the stage…  We were letting a group of beginner hockey players have a little fun attacking one of my simulated goalies (SMG) and a net.  The problem was that those little guys were filling the net with pucks quicker than my helpers could fish them out.  I’m sure you know the problem, because it happens as often in an Atom or Pee Wee or high school practice as it does in a clinic as I’ve described.

Anyway, as I muttered that day about there needing to be a better way, one of my on-ice helpers grabbed a pair of pucks, stacked them, and then used that 2″ pile to lift the net up off the ice.  What happened after that, of course, was that quite a few pucks slid under the back of the net and out where they were easy to grab.  I just smiled at that, I thanked the guy for his idea, and then I told him I was going to run with it.

You might appreciate that the two pucks would occasionally be hit by a shot and slide out from under the net.  So, while the idea was a good one, that wasn’t really the answer.

Over the next few weeks I tried using a 2″ block of wood to raise the net.  And I ultimately made it a wedge shape so that there would be less surface area exposed to incoming shots.  The problem with wood, as I soon discovered in my older guys’ practices, is that it splinters when hit with any sort of real force.

“Okay,” I asked myself, “what can I get that already exists, is in a wedge shape, and WILL stand-up against harder shots?”

And the answer was an industrial doorstop.  Yup, these are much larger than the ones found in local department stores (those dainty little ones that are made to look as nice as they are useful).  The industrial ones I found are plenty thick enough to raise the net — close to 2″, and they are constructed from extra durable rubber (they’re not pretty maybe, but really built to last).  I’m guessing I ordered about 8 or 10 of them, so I could carry several when I needed them, and so that I’d always have some backups in my equipment storage room.

I did have to make a few adjustments over ensuing months, however…

Shown in my (horrible?) sketch below is the thick rubber wedge with a rounded slot cut-out from the top.  I  gouged the top so that the bottom of the net rests into the wedge and fairly well holds it in place.

Keeping track of my new “Net Block” was another matter.  Too often it would get buried deep in a bag of pucks or even get left behind at the rink.  So, I eventually drilled a hole in each wedge to accept a 1/2″ thick rope  about 18″ long.  With this, my gadget is a little more visible or obvious when it comes to picking-up at the end of a session, and the long rope allows me to dangle the wedge for storage (like on my puck bag or on my equipment carriage).  The photo below shows the New Block that is currently hanging on my gear cart…

Finally, I don’t think there’s any real genius involved in my creation, and it’s quite possible other coaches will arrive at better ideas (please let me know if you do).  The point I’m trying to make here is that there are solutions to typical training problems, and that to solve a problem is likely to make our jobs easier and the kids’ training more productive.  To be perfectly honest, we can get a lot more shots accomplished in less time whenever we employ those Net Blocks.

]]> http://www.coachchic.com/coach-chics-hockey-net-block/feed/ 0 http://www.coachchic.com/backward-skating-help-for-beginners/ http://www.coachchic.com/backward-skating-help-for-beginners/#comments Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:03:03 +0000 admin http://www.coachchic.com/?p=3656

The following post is in answer to a question submitted by member Jamie L.

Jamie helps coach his son’s Mite C team, and he’s asking for suggestions in aiding the kids on that team with their backward skating speed.

So, with that, let me give this one a try…

– Dennis Chighisola

Backward Skating Help for Beginners

To begin, I have to caution coaches about being overly concerned with backward skating speed.  Oh, for sure, a back-skating defender needs a certain amount of speed — he or she must get off the mark rather quickly, and at least initially reach a decent level of speed.

However — and this is a BIG however, to push lesser experienced players to try for fast backward skating just might introduce a lot of unwanted extra movements.

Trying to explain this better here…  I’d like for a moment for Jamie and other members to put themselves in the role of an attacker…  For, as you’re moving down the ice and approaching an enemy defender, I’m sure you’ll be looking for ways that defender might become vulnerable.  The photo to the right shows a defenseman leaning forward and towards his right, which would suggest to you that you could quickly cut towards your right and leave him hanging there.  (Oh, notice that the player in that photo also makes matters worse, as he looks down at the puck.  Tricky puckhandlers just love that!)  Actually, if you click on that photo you can see the play on video.  The attacker doesn’t take advantage of the D’s mistake (shame on him), but you should see in the slo-mo portion just how vulnerable the defender has made himself.

That established, I want to suggest that any upper body movements by a defender — like bouncing around, lunging forward, or pumping the arms — will put him or her in trouble.  You might imagine how risky it can be for a backwards skater to bounce around (constantly jeopardizing his or her balance), and pumping of the arms is just as dangerous.  And, lunging or leaning forward (like the player in the adjacent photo) makes it virtually impossible for him to be mobile or to react laterally with an attacker.

In much the same way, a very large cross-over step commits a player in that direction, and it would take too long for him or her to react-back should an attacker make a quick cut.

So, too, can wiggling during the skating motion make a player extremely vulnerable.

Now, for my money, the best backward skating drill in the world is the one my in-line student, Jerry Z, is performing in the next video.  While a player is doing this, I’m asking him or her to keep a steady upper body.  As you’ll see, this drill was initially a real challenge for Jerry (he’s far better at this now).  What you might also notice is that he wants to lean forward, but the hopping motion is going to put him on his nose if he doesn’t come up and over his skates.  (By the way, this drill is far tougher on ice blades, since those are rounded on the bottom.)  Carrying one’s body weight over the middle of his or her blades is the steadiest he’ll be, and this posture also offers the best chance for quick lateral movements.  Go ahead and click on the photo below to watch that video, and I’ll add some further thoughts after that.  (Jerry would probably laugh about this now, but you might noticed that I yelled at him early-on, so that he’d switch to holding his stick in just the top hand.  That’s important for a D when he’s playing a 1 on 1 situation.)

Now, anyone who got into my previous post, “Help for Beginner Cross-overs“, has to think there’s a lot of contradiction between my current suggestions and the earlier ones.  But, there are and there aren’t…

For example, the large cross-overs I earlier prescribed for beginners are awesome for learning outside edge control.  They are not useful in playing our game, however, for the reasons I stated above.  In fact, once my students and players become pretty proficient at crossing, I’ll switch them to practicing the 2-step drill also shown in the earlier post.

I might further suggest that a player (and we coaches) separate the defenseman’s backward take-off from his or her actually being involved in playing a rush.  In other words, he or she might use a little extra body movement and larger, more powerful cross-overs to get going off the mark.  Thereafter, though, playing an attacker requires the steadiness I was looking for in the above hopping drill.

Okay, so what should Jamie do with all this?  My suggestion is to use all the drills I’ve shown in these two posts.  Each will satisfy a given need.  I would not make young players push for backward speed, since that’s when all the unwanted extra movements creep in.  In time, the kids’ backward skating should reach a point where I might be able to help further.  I just hope I’ll still be around to offer further advice at that time.

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Well, this post is probably deserving of a lot of questions and Comments.  So, please fire away.  You know I love that.

This is but another entry I’d promised Eric S some time ago, in reference to his question about alternative high speed skating drills.

And, just so Eric and other members know…  Once in awhile it takes me a few days to gather some video footage to show what I’d like to show, and a few more days to put the video and photos together.  And that was the case with the following exercise, in that I had to wait until my next team practice to shoot the following…

– Dennis Chighisola

Towel Pulls — for Speed & Form

Now, this exercise has been used in sprint training for quite awhile (and I’m guessing the drill has probably been known by a number of names).

If you take a look at the nearby photo, you should notice that one of my players gets a chance to work on his running form as a partner supports him (or holds him back a bit).  Quite often that partner holds something like a towel at both ends to support and slightly restrain the runner, and thusly the name, “Towel Pulls”.

I’d need an awful lot of towels (or whatever) to accommodate all my players, so I’ve resorted to having the supporting partner hold the back of his teammate’s jersey — be it in our off-ice or on-ice form of drilling.

In my own adaptation of this exercise, I look for three phases…

Phase One

Phase One – I ask the back partner to provide some resistance for his partner to work against, and during the first few seconds I’d like the front guy to concentrate on running (or skating) form.

Phase Two

Phase Two – Seconds later the pair start moving, with the runner or skater working faster and faster.

Phase Three

Phase Three – Finally, the back player lets go of the jersey (or towel), whereby the runner or skater usually shoots out like a rocket.

If you click on the last photo (to the right), you’ll see this pair working together in action.  The sprinter doesn’t do badly for one of his first attempts at this exercise.  However, you might notice that his arms and legs could travel in wider ranges of motion.  Still, that IS why we practice, isn’t it? 

PS:  Studies have proven that there is a direct correlation between running speed and skating speed.  So, if I am able to help my players run faster, it makes sense that such speed gains will ultimately transfer to their on-ice game.

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You know how much I appreciate your feedback.  So, please do add your Comments here!

A few days ago, member Scott Thurston chimed-in on my article about “A Difference in Hockey Teaching Levels“.  As Scott said, “I find a lot of truth here”, in reference to some of the nervousness experienced by adult level beginners as they try new things.

Scott went on to say that he has “several mental blocks”, these primarily having to do with forward and backward cross-overs.

Then, shortly after I’d let Scott know that I’d prepare something to help him with his game, I received a very similar question from another member, Jamie Lockwood.

In Jamie’s case, he’s helping with his young son’s Mite C team, and he’s hoping I might offer some thoughts to help his son and other kids on the team become more comfortable using their outside edges.  As he describes it, many of them “are dragging their inside foot/toe on turns rather than leaning with them on the outside edge.”   (I’ll deal with Jamie’s other question in a separate post.)

Finally (and sorta laughing at myself here), after having said in that earlier article about how differently I normally have to approach the unique age groups, I find that Scott’s and Jamie’s kids’ problems can be handled very similarly. 

– Dennis Chghisola

Help for Beginner Cross-overs

To begin, although Scott (and almost everyone else I know) describes a cross-over problem as being with the skate or leg that is swinging over, the real problem is with the insecurity of bearing one’s weight on the other skate.  In other words, if one feels a little unsteady crossing the left skate over the right, it’s because that player is uncomfortable with putting all of his or her weight on the right skate.  (By the way, this left over right thing is the most common among beginners — of any age.)

I can also picture exactly what Jamie is saying about his young kids…  And, I’d be willing to bet that most of the ones who are dragging a skate on their turns are doing so mostly as they cut towards their right.  Why so?  It’s for the very same reason Scott feels unsteady, as in not trusting carrying the weight on the right skate.

As an aside here, I’m not sure if this is or isn’t a cultural thing.  If you think about it, we all learn to run the bases in baseball while circling towards our left.  So, if you’re from a baseball playing nation, just envision the discomfort of running the bases in the opposite direction, or mostly bearing our weight on the outside edge of our right cleat.  (Laughing at myself again…  I’d mentioned in a recent post about my high school football exploits.  So, let me tell you that, while I scored a number touchdowns or had long runs sweeping towards the right, I absolutely hated if the quarterback called a play sending me out and cutting in the other direction.)  Again, I don’t know if it’s a cultural thing, but more new skaters do have difficulty placing their weight on the right skate for any length of time.

Now, the key phrase in that last paragraph — and the key to changing things for the better — is that part about “placing their weight on the right skate for any length of time“.  Ya, most of us can stand on the left skate, and even rock from edge to edge for a spell.  But, it’s balancing on the right skate “for any length of time” that gives us an uncomfortable feeling.

I will say that there’s a benefit to the fact that an adult player can at least understanding this, and eventually do something about it.  So, while Scott might struggle (due to the voices I joked about in that earlier piece), he probably can make a more concerted effort to solving the problem than can Jamie’s little ones.  In Jamie’s case, I wouldn’t even mention this stuff to the players; instead just get them to do certain things certain ways.

Okay, thanks to one of my great young Team NEHI players, Alex B, I was able to shoot some quick video last night before our Junior High School Team practice.  First, however, I’d like you to note the poses in the two adjacent photos.  For, in the beginning, I have new skaters just stand with their feet crossed — right over left for about 10-seconds, then left over right for an equal length of time.  While holding a given pose, I want the players to rock from side to side a bit, thusly shifting the weight from skate to skate.  As you can imagine, this forces a little bearing of body-weight on each skate, but in the least threatening way.

Next, I ask a player to just slowly cross in place, right over and then left over.  Just click on the photo below to see Alex demonstrate that for us.

You may have noticed that the previous drill caused just a slight use of each outside edge.  But, I’d like to step that up some by having a player do large, exaggerated cross-overs.  The idea is for the player to really go slowly and far up with a leg, this so he or she is spending a longer amount of time on the other skate, and a little more time on that skate’s outside edge.  (I’ve just uploaded a late video showing this, so please click on the photo below to see that.  Also, I’ve included some slo-mo footage so you might see my player leaning a little more on his outside edges from time to time.)

I’ll usually move to a slower version of my “2-step Drill” next.  Actually, this is an advanced movement my older players do often on the ice — in place, moving forward and while skating backward.  For beginners, this drill has the most benefit right at the transition point.  In other words, as you watch the video below (just click on the photo), notice that Alex has to push-off with an outside edge as he comes out of a stop and tries to cross in the new direction.

Now, there are two other areas of CoachChic.com that should help you both immensely…  I have quite a stretch of cross-over and change-of-direction drills included in the “24 Must-do Intermediate Skating Drills” video (and you might also find some help within the other two (Advanced and Beginner) videos.  The other area that could help a lot is the one where we follow adult in-line skater, Jerry Z, as I help him along the way.  (Start at the very beginning of those entries.)  Don’t let the in-line part of that area bother you; Jerry’ problems are very similar to what early ice skaters go through.

Also, don’t discount the use of the skates on a rink’s rubber mats (Jamie), or somewhere safe at home (Scott), like on a small carpet square.  Trust me, there is a great deal of skill transfer from the off-ice practice to on-ice capabilities.

By the way, crossing-over is crossing-over, when we’re talking about beginner skating challenges.  In other words, all the in place exercises I’ve shown you are at the same time going to make it easier for a player to do the exact same thing when moving to the ice.  Those drills can also be done when moving slowly forward on the ice.  And, once a player is comfortable doing the crosses that way, it shouldn’t be too difficult for him or her to do them slowly while going backwards.  Then, from that point onward, the speed of the drills should be based on how well a player (or players) can keep their discipline.  In other words, there’s no sense in a player trying to go faster if he or she suddenly avoids doing the crossing movements properly.

Lastly, I know exactly what Jamie is talking about when he says that his young players drag a skate as they make a cut.  That would be an inside skate (maybe closest to a pylon), and usually the right skating while cutting towards the right for most kids.  Why?  For the same reason noted above, in that it can be uncomfortable bearing weight on a certain skate.  Ironically, I found some footage of Jerry Z performing this movement in one of our earliest sessions together.  He’s far better at this now, but if you’ll notice in the video (click on the photo below), Jerry’s turning and crossing problems are the exact opposite of most new skaters, in that he had difficulty turning towards his left.  By the way, this skating maneuver is often referred to as the Boston Turn.

Now, other members might like to know that Jamie and his son skated with me last winter in my Learn-to-play clinic.  And I’m kinda hoping that he remembers a drill I did with the kids that is similar to the one an in-line player is demonstrating in the following video.  (Oh, by the way…  I just dug-up this old clip from someone else’s website — go figure. Well, I guess it’s nice to be popular.  )  Please click on the photo below to see that video.

Then, a tip to both of you…  There’s no way around the fact that “practice makes perfect”.  So, don’t look for quick fixes, but long-term gains instead.  In other words, practice those shortcomings as often as you can (hey, the pros still practice theirs).  Oh, and good luck!

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PS to Jamie:  As promised, I’ve answered your question about backward speed in a new post.

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Just so other members know, I’m loving it when guys like Scott and Jamie toss me questions or post Comments here.  So, please do the same when you get the chance!

The “look-away” play — be it a pass or a shot — seems to be a hot topic these past few days…

– Dennis Chighisola

First, Marco Sturm scored the over-time winner in hockey’s 2010 Winter Classic, when Patrice Bergeron “looked away” from his intended target — thusly drawing attention elsewhere, and then fed Sturm with a pass that was almost too easy for him to tap-in.  (Click here to see the Sturm goal from Bergeron.)

Next, Greg K just pointed-out that John Carlson used a similar move to seal the World Junior Championship in OT for Team USA.  The difference in this play was that Carson looked towards a teammate as if he was considering making a pass, this forcing the Team Canada netminder to split his attentions between several attackers.  And, it seems, Carlson caught the Canadian goaler slightly off guard when he finally did pull the trigger.

And, once again thanks to the likes of YouTube, we’re treated to the following video (enjoy)…

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Other members started things with their initial feedback on the Sturm goal.  So, please keep the ball rolling with your further Comments here!

This happens often, so I guess I shouldn’t always think it’s so ironic that I have very similarly themed conversations with different hockey folks within a matter of minutes or hours.

That’s actually what happened from yesterday morning to later in the afternoon, and then just now in an email exchange.  That email exchange, by the way, was with our in-lining hockey friend, Jerry Z.

So, let’s explore Jerry’s question, and also relate that to my earlier conversations…

– Dennis Chighisola

A Difference in Hockey Teaching Levels

To begin, I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to work with players at all the different levels of our game.  Some might think this is a negative, in that I might be a Jack of All Trades but Master of None.  Ya, you might think.

However, it’s worked-out to be a huge plus for me, and here’s how…

One example might be a former pro player (and current pro coach) I worked with for a good many years.  You see, despite the levels he ultimately reached, he had a skating flaw that was virtually impossible to correct or override by the time he became an adult.  I suspect that flaw crept in during his very first times on the ice, and he just reinforced it and reinforced it over about the next 20-plus years of skating.  The huge benefit for me — and to the hundreds (if not thousands) of beginners I’ve had in subsequent years — was that I knew that problem was possible — but preventable — if I did certain kinds of drills with my Learn-to-skate kids.

The above, of course, is just one example of how going back and forth between levels has benefited me and my students or players.  And I can tell you that it’s worked in both directions — from elite player traits helping younger kids to the experiences with young players helping my oldest guys.

Okay, so now, about that email from Jerry…  We’ve gotten in the habit of communicating about once per week, especially if we haven’t had the chance to work together for awhile.  Anyway, within his most recent report to me, he included the following:

“A friend made an interesting observation about my last video (posted on the CoachChic.com site), the one where I’m skating with the old skates and stick. He said I skate as if I’m afraid to fall. I thought that was an interesting observation and am looking into falling more on purpose so I know what to do when I’m careening out of control…”

With that, I need to mention here that I have for years conducted beginner hockey sessions — for toddlers, and for adults.  And, while our game’s basic skills are obviously the same, I actually run those clinics in drastically different fashions.

A conversation with one of my Learn-to-play parents at rink-side Sunday morning helps explain part of this…  And he totally agreed and understood as I explained my reasons for having my little ones roll on the ice, do bellyflops and backslides, and initially jog their way across the rink.

I really got into this a great deal more when I bumped into a high level figure skating coach outside a local store hours later…  We’re birds of similar feathers, that young lady and I, both of us thinking and looking far, far outside the proverbial box when it comes to helping the skaters in our charge.  Anyway, when the conversation turned toward our creating outgoing or flamboyant “personalities” in our athletes, I described the way I try to create little daredevils in my Learn-to kids’ very first times on the ice.  Ya, I’m talking about the diving and rolling and flops again, and the way I give the kids high-fives when they do a crazy fall.

Okay, so I’m presuming you have the gist of how I approach my “baby groups”.  And you have to be thinking I’m just going to walk into a beginner adult class and run a carbon copy of the little ones’ lesson plan.  Huh, hardly.

Number One, adults know too much.  I mean, my babies will flop around with absolutely no thoughts or fears of hurting themselves (and that mentality usually stays with them for all their years in the game).  My adult guys and gals, on the other hand, are thinking to themselves, “Hey, I’d better go easily here…  I could break a leg or somethin’!”  Probably even more often, they’re thinking, “Hey, I have to go to work in the morning!”

Ya, adults know too much, and they are almost always holding back quite a bit — or a lot, if we’re comparing them to their toddling counterparts.

And this brings us back to Jerry’s friend’s observation, in that he looks in that video as if he’s afraid to fall.  Ya, our buddy just turned 50-years old the other day (Happy Birthday, JZ!).  And, while it doesn’t have to be a conscious thing on his part, there is definitely a conversation going on in his head — as in, “Hey, I could get hurt here!”

Having dealt with probably a thousand or so adult beginners, I’ve found most of them — including Jerry — to be willing workers.  Only rarely have I had a student who totally held back (which caused me to wonder why the heck they were even on the ice).  Yes, Jerry and most others do really try, and they usually try pretty hard.  Still, with each slight wobble or near fall, I don’t think he or many other adult beginners can resist that ever present internal voice which warns them, “Hey, I have to get up and go to work tomorrow morning!”

All that said, I’ve noticed that confidence grows as adults master given skills.  So, while there’s a point in the early going where Jerry or another beginner might turn pale in the middle of a very basic movement, it’s pretty likely that he and others will eventually whistle and not worry doing the very same thing a month or so later.  Sure, there is probably always going to be something new that rattles them, at least a bit.  But, even those fears can probably be overcome with time.

Oh, that Jerry suggests in his email that he might try “falling more on purpose”?  I sense that is a good thing.  I highly recommend it (just not when I’m around, and not when my liability policy is on the line — LOL).

Then, one final reflection, this having to do with age…  A lot of the adult groups I’ve worked with over the years have been teams, and they’ve been a mixture of guys and/or gals, some in their 20’s and some much older.  And it should make sense to the reader that the 20-somethings quite frequently take to the ice in hell-bent-for-leather fashion.  Those young people are probably also playing street hockey, basketball or flag football with buddies, and they’re still acting — and especially thinking — like kids, with not much concern for their physical well being.  At the other end of the spectrum — and, at 50, Jerry surely is far at the other end, well, the older guys know too much, and the voices are likely screaming at them! 

Eric S started this ball rolling a few weeks back, as he asked me about some suggestions for high intensity skating drills.  I did the best I could with my first response (Part 1 and Part 2), but I still promised to add a little more here.

Now, for those who might get a bit turned-off with my dryland drill samples, please understand that it’s often easier for me to video-tape during our weekly off-ice sessions.  At the same time, almost everything I show you from those practices can be done on the ice.  So, don’t discount transferring any of these drills to a traditional on-ice practice.

– Dennis Chighisola

High Intensity Skating Drills – Part 3

Now, let me provide a little background to the following exercises.  Thereafter, clicking on each of the thumbnails will show a different way I incorporate jump take-offs in both my off-ice and off-ice practices.

By the way, after having one of my high school students twist an ankle while trying to negotiate a rather rigidly constructed jump, I switched to foam barriers for a lot of exercises.  Actually, the gadget seen in the following videos (and in the photo to the right) is made from a foam “noodle”.  You probably know this as a swimming pool toy.  It’s extreme inexpensive, and it can be discarded after it’s served its purpose.  I formed the 90-degree angle with a wrap of rubber tubing, but I think tape would have just as easily done the trick.

Now, click on any of the thumbnails below to see my Team NEHI kids performing some light jump take-off training.  Again, these exact same drills can be performed on the ice (actually, the first one — done on-ice — was shown in a previous video).

Just as a suggestion (or a safety precaution), I usually limit the amount of intense jumping exercises I do with young players.

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What do you think?  Can you or your player/s benefit from this kind of training?  Please let me know in the Comments box provided below.

Having noticed a number of my Mighty Mite players losing their footing this past Saturday in their game, it struck me that a lot of folks — from any hockey playing age group — might not realize the following.  So, I’m recycling a post I made last winter around this time.  Enjoy, and please be aware of this…

– Dennis Chighisola

While I sometimes call undisciplined hockey “pond hockey”, taking a twirl outdoors on the bogs, lakes or rivers can be awesome for a player’s skating and conditioning. 

If there’s one thing I have to warn outdoor skaters about, it’s the abuse the skate blades take on that kind of ice.  You see, tiny, wind blown dust particles usually coat the ice.  And, it’s extra hard, having been frozen at extremely low temperatures.

So, after having skated on a pond or river for even a brief time, I highly advise players to have their skates resharpened before heading back to indoor ice.  Better yet, it’s a great idea to use a second (perhaps used) pair of skates just for playing outdoors.

Some new pylon course ideas are soon to be unveiled here at CoachChic.com.  Not that there’s anything new about different configurations, or that it’s unusual to rearrange the pylons to create different kinds of skating or puckhandling patterns.  Still, as I’ll suggest in that entry, various layouts should really be aimed at enhancing specific kinds of skills.

Now, if you go back to my earliest Mighty Mite post (”Our First Mighty Mite Hockey Practice“), you should see that I used a straight row of obstacles as a very simple of way of showing my babies how to go in and out of opposition players.  (In my case, I carry around foam dots instead of pylons.)

Still, while a good many of those youngsters maneuver fairly well through that course now, and while most of them are starting to instinctively use both sides of their stick-blades to change directions, I’ve felt lately that something new was needed to bring these skills to at least a slightly higher level.  So, with that, I changed my dots a little and created the following…

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– Dennis Chighisola

A New Mighty Mite Pylon Course

To begin, there are plenty of good things to be said about using a basic straight-line course, and I’ll continue to use that layout with my Mighty Mites.  At the same time, I wanted something that would cause the kids to cut more sharply, as well as a design that might force them to use both sides of their stick-blades more.  In actuality, I ultimately want my little guys to be able to make sharp cuts with the puck, something like one of my former junior high school team kids is doing in the photo to right.  (Wanna bet those little rascals won’t be able to do that by this coming spring?)

A straight-line course can be made all the more difficult just by moving every other pylon outward a bit.  The photo to the left illustrates that, with the arrows showing how I moved a pair of cones (or foam dots) slightly to the left.  The photo to the right helps show how drastic the cut now has to be (in comparison to a straight-line course).

As I mentioned above, some of my kids still need a lot of work to make handling the puck on their backhands more instinctive.  And you should be able to see that in the video (just click on the above right photo), with some getting it, and others not (at least yet).  But, that IS what teaching and practice are all about, huh?

As an aside here…  You will quite often hear my voice in the background of that video, and you’ll hear either me or other coaches providing constant feedback throughout the videos hosted on this site.  Yup, constant feedback is important, and it’s one of the key elements in an “artful” way of coaching.

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Please share your thoughts on the above.  You know I love hearing from my CoachChic.com friends!

Contributor: Dennis Chighisola — Whitman, Massachusetts, USA

Drill Category: Skating and Puckhandling

Comments: Every coach uses pylons (or other kinds of obstacles) from time to time.  However, I wonder how many coaches have considered the following…

Benefits:
For sure, there are huge benefits to be gained by using pylons or other barriers in various patterns.

At the very youngest levels, an obstacle course forces players to weave as they might need to do in their games.  As importantly, having to frequently turn left and right as they move through a course gives us a chance to teach them how to use both sides of their stick-blades.

I even find various courses beneficial for older players, but with some reservations…

Those Reservations:
When I use pylons (tires or my foam dots) with older players, I warn them that slow meandering through the course isn’t going to help them with their game; in fact, it might hurt them to practice in a way that isn’t related to the way they want to play.

I even take the time to compare the typical course to computer based games — you know, the kinds that can be approached at different levels or at different speeds.  And I’ll go on to explain that a game is usually easy when the twists and turns come at you slowly, while the real challenge lies in having the winding road or obstacles really flying at you.  That established, I constantly remind my guys that they have to supply the challenges.  In other words, if they move at breakneck speed through the course, the obstacles come at them at a pace that will actually help them with their game.

Of course, there also comes a time — when kids get older — when the real-life pylons are trying to kill them (or at least put a pretty good hurt on them).    And this is all the more reason for older players to approach any given course as quickly as they would rival checkers during a game.

If you click on the nearby photo you’ll see a video I previously posted in an entry about passing.  Yes, part of the drill was aimed at helping my NEHI Jr HS kids connect on passes.  But, I also incorporated a straight line of tires that had my young guys executing some pretty sharp cuts with a puck.  So, have a look before going on.

Now, one last point before showing you a few of the course designs I’ve used over the years.  You see, I think whatever kind of a course we use, it ought to fit a certain purpose, with our players understanding exactly what that purpose is.

For example, using a straight course for young players would be worthwhile for them if we first explained how the obstacles represent the “other team’s players” we want to go in and out of, and that it’s important that we use both sides of the stick to accomplish this.  Later on we might want to have them start using cross-overs to move themselves from side to side.

At the other end of the spectrum might be the kids you just saw in the above video…  Ya, most of those kids are attacking the tires as if they’re attempting to perform a highlight reel goal in an over-time game.

All that said, the following are some pylon course layouts I’ve used fairly regularly:

1)  The most obvious and most used course consists of just a straight line of obstacles.  Again, as noted above, that course is what you make of it.

2) Over recent years, this pattern has been one of my favorites.  I talk in terms of speed and highlight reel moves as the kids ready for this course, and I really push and prod them to attack it as fast as they can possibly go.

3) With an even number of pylons, a coach can pull every other one out so that players have to zig-zag and cup the puck with each cut.  Speed in this simple course can be adjusted according to the age and caliber of skater.

4) This can be a fairly advanced course, owning to the fact that players have to make very sharp cuts — with their skates and with a puck.  And again, speed should be adjusted per the level of our players.

Finally, such courses really are what we make of them.  And so do our players reap benefits according to the way they negotiate them.

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Have questions or suggestions concerning this entry?  Please leave a Comment below.

Well, my Mighty Mites suffered the first setback of their season yesterday (hmmm…  actually, the first hockey setback of their young lives).  And, while I always feel a little bit down after a loss (as any passionate coach probably should), there’s one trait that just as probably separates me from lots of others.

You see, I am forever an optimist.  Better yet, I see every season as a marathon.  Or, as a sport psychologist might suggest, “It’s not a good idea to get either too high with a win or too low after a defeat.”  Naw, the best thing to do is to stick to a long-range plan that I/we know will ultimately work.

That said, a return to practice this morning (on the day after) saw me pick-up the training a notch.  In other words, I stuck to “the plan”, and introduced or refined some skills that will benefit the kids hugely in the long-run.  Below, I’ll explain the drill we refined quite a bit this week.  (Within a few days, I’ll let you in on another drill I just added.)

– Dennis Chighisola

Mighty Mite Team Wide-dribbles

Now, at the very start of this season, I made a big deal out of our need to miss rival goalies with shots, and to instead look for all the open space around him or her.  As the photo to the right shows, I used my SMG (or simulated goaler) to remove the luck factor.  In other words, that SMG removes the chance for a great play by a live goalie, or a bit of luck on his or her part.

Almost all of my little guys have grasped this concept by now, and probably about half of the roster has scored goals in games by doing exactly as I just described.

Okay, so it’s time to add yet another skill to their individual attack capabilities.  And, for this, I’ve started teaching the kids to fake towards one side of the goalie before bringing the puck across and tucking it in on the opposite side.  The photo to the left shows one of my older players executing a maneuver that’s intended to tease or distract a rival defender in open-ice.  The photo to the right shows one of my Mighty Mites using the same faking movement — the “wide-dribble” — to set-up the goalie (or SMG).  If you can envision it, this youngster has first drawn the goalie’s attention to the right, and he is now in the act of shifting the puck across to deposit it on the left side and behind the netminder.

Of course, you’d like to see that play in action.  So, just click on the photo below for a video showing several 4-, 5- and 6-year olds performing a wide-dribble move on the SMG.  (They’re doing pretty nicely, if I do say so!  )

Now, I think it’s important for members to know a few other things that are actually going on surrounding this particular move (on the goaltender).

First, most young kids don’t naturally handle the puck on both sides of their stick-blades.  So, this particular skill is being taught or encouraged in several other drills (one of these to be posted shortly).

Secondly, a lot of members might be surprised at my spending so much time on the very end of a play — as in scoring goals.  However, this is a technique I use often in the teaching process (and I especially employ this method when I’m teaching a skill like body-checking).  What I’m trying to do is first establish the end result.  Then, with that, I’ll start showing my students or players how to work their way towards that end.  Still, for fear that I haven’t really explained myself well enough here, I promise to cover this approach in more detail within some future entries.

PS:  The above video just might be useful to a young player for visualization purposes.  In other words, have a youngster (or youngsters) watch it — over and over again — in hopes he or she (or they) might be able to memorize the moves (or internalize them).  Seriously, give that a try; it really works!

By the way…  While I’m teaching these things to kids as young as 4-years old — and they’re getting ‘em, I have to wonder how many 10- or 11-year olds haven’t yet mastered such moves.  Okay, just wondering, but…

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Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions about my approach here.  You know I love to interact with you guys (and gals)!

Although I call this a defenseman’s drill — because it does help enhance some blueliner-specific skills, I actually have all of my players work at it.  And, although I’ve placed this in the Puckhandling section, this drill really does help improve skating mobility, mobility with the puck, as well as passing and receiving skills.

– Dennis Chighisola

Defenseman’s Figure-8

While skating and puckhandling… I initially have individual players practice this drill on their own, learning to skate the figure-8 pattern, and to carry a puck with them as they move through that pattern.  (Younger players might attack these skills separately at first, initially learning the skating portion, then later trying to carry a puck along.)  As stated above, this really is an awesome drill for skating mobility and for moving in numerous ways with the puck.

As the above sketch shows, a player places his gloves about 8′ apart, and then moves in a figure-8 pattern around those gloves.  The challenge to this particular drill, however, is that the skater must face one side of the rink at all times, thusly having to execute numerous pivots — from forward to backward to forward, etc. — as he moves around the gloves.

For skating, puckhandling, passing and receiving… I ultimately turn this into a passing drill, positioning two players with their gloves arranged parallel, and the two players facing each other.

One player performs the skating and puckhandling part of the routine first, as his partner rests and gives a target for a pass.  After about 8-seconds, the puckhandler passes the puck to his partner, whereby the two players switch roles.  (To see the drill in action, just click on the photo below.)

Now, I ask you:  Is this a pattern defensemen frequently have to skate (and handle a puck through) in a game?  You bet!

PS:  There is one little technical matter required to make this drill work well…  As players stickhandle around, they must move forward through the middle of their gloves and backward around the outsides.  This makes it a little easier for them to make a pass moving down through the middle and towards their partner.  Oh, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have the players change direction each time they do the drill.

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Do you like this drill?  Will it prove helpful to YOU?  Please let me know in the Comments box below.

Now, as for Sturm and company… I happened to pick-up on something as “the goal” was being scored. However, I’d like you to review this brief video clip before I comment further…

Actually, I didn’t realize that the broadcast’s color commentator made mention of what I’d noticed. But, that’s good, in that Patrice Bergeron deserved a great deal of the credit for that goal being scored.

What happened is that Bergeron looked away from his intended passing target, which made most of the Philadelphia players at least briefly focus their attentions elsewhere. And, that’s all he and Sturm needed to combine for a nice goal.

That “look away” technique is something that can be (and should be) practiced, you know. And I’ll quite often teach that skill to my older guys. The way I’ll run the drill is to have pairs or groups of threes skate down the ice together, with each puckhandler glancing quickly elsewhere before he makes a pass.

Did an earlier coach teach Bergeron that technique? I have no way of knowing. However, I think we can be pretty sure that it’s a skill he made part of his game through plenty of practice over the years. And that’s part of what I’m suggesting here — in that teams or individuals can now add this technique to their bag of tricks. All that’s needed is enough practice so that a play such as that ultimately becomes second nature (or instinctive).

Then, looking at the bigger picture here, I want to suggest that we coaches, parents and players can take almost any short highlight clip and study it. I mean, watch closely for the “little things” the elite players do.

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You know how much I appreciate your feedback. So, please do add your Comments here!

Please first see the basic set-up of this drill as described under the free Drills section.  For, from that basic format, some really awesome offensive and defensive variations are possible.  (Click here for: “Russian Circle Passing“.)

– Dennis Chighisola

Russian Circle Passing Variations – Basic Set-up

- From the basic set-up, I will occasionally have the last attacker stop at the net and then attempt to screen, deflect or pounce on the rebound on the next attacker’s shot.

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- Also from the basic set-up, I like to send two players at a time from each line, thusly having them attack 2 versus the netminder.  At times, I’ll ask the attackers to weave — or criss-cross — on their way to the net.

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- When I’m looking to mix a little conditioning into this drill (as well as work on our attack triangle pattern), I’ll send three attackers from each line.  Man, do the guys run out of gas quickly, since there’s little time to rest as groups of threes return to line.

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Russian Circle Passing Variations – Set-up with “D”

The next phase of this drill requires positioning forwards and defensemen as shown in the accompanying sketch.  From this layout, numerous different match-ups can be practiced.

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- Clicking on the image to the left will show how 1 on 1’s work from this set-up.  As the sketch shows, defensemen are stationed at the opposite side red line as they await playing an oncoming attacker.  I tend to like this way of practicing such match-ups, mainly because each play is preceded by a pass to the attacking forward, which forces him or her to catch and control the puck in anticipation of confronting a defender.

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- From this set-up, all the various numerical rush situations can be practiced — from 1 on 1’s to 2 on 1’s to 2 on 2’s to 3 on 2’s to 3 on 3’s.  All the coach needs to do is send the appropriate number of players from a given line.

And, as suggested in the initial drill description, it’s important for the coach to frequently change the direction in which players circle (either towards their left or towards their right).

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Might you have any further ideas for making this drill format even more useful?  I’d love to hear from members — either in the Comments box below, or from your following the directions provided for drill submissions (found in the free Drills area).

Contributor: Dennis Chighisola — Whitman, Massachusetts, USA

Drill Category: Skating, Passing, Pass Receiving, Attacking and Defending

Drill Description:

Comments: This is perhaps one of the most versatile drills I have ever used.  In it’s basic form, Russian Circle Passing is a great up-tempo drill that includes fast skating, great puck movement, and any form of attack on net a coach chooses.  Better yet, CoachChic.com members will be treated to numerous variations of this drill that include all sorts of offensive and defensive match-ups (please see the link to drill variations down below).

Benefits:
Again, this is a great up-tempo drill that incorporates fast skating, the need to provide good stick targets, and the need to connect on passes as receivers move through circular patterns.

Running the drill:

- In the basic set-up, skaters are lined-up along the boards and behind a blue line on both sides of the ice.

- The drill begins with one player skating (without a puck) around the center face-off circle and providing a good stick-target for the first player in the other line.

- The first player in the other line hits the circling player with a pass, and the pass receiver then continues on to attack the goal in any way the coach prescribes (either shooting or deking the goaltender).

- Upon making a pass, a player leaves his or her line to circle and receive a pass from the other line.

Obviously, this drill should be run so that the players circle to the left (as shown), and then to the right (by just moving the lines to the opposite side boards).

Click image below to see a short video on the basic drill. (CoachChic.com members may click on this link for numerous other Variations on Russian Circle Passing.)

It’s nice that the questions keep coming in.  And, while the most recent one asks for “a” simple head-manning drill, I’m going to try to do a little better than that…

– Dennis Chighisola

Some Simple Head-manning Drills

Now, I never just skip ahead, or presume that every member knows every bit of hockey jargon.  So, let’s begin by discussing the term, “head-manning”.  (Is there anyone out there — like me, who wonders how such words and phrases ever came into being?  Oh, well…)

It should make sense that the puck can be advanced up-ice much faster with a pass than by having a player skate it over the same distance.  In fact, the following principles are pretty widely accepted, as they govern the decisions a puckcarrier should make while moving up the ice and through the neutral zone:

1. Whenever possible, advance the puck quickly over a long distance by passing it to a teammate who is closer to the opposition goal.  (This is what’s referred to as “head-manning” the puck, or passing it ahead to a man up-ice).
2. If there’s no immediate chance to head-man the puck, continue carrying.
3. If at some point the puckcarrier faces a rival defender or defenders, these things should be considered…  A confident attacker might attempt to beat a single defender, 1 on 1.  However, should he or she be confronted by more that one defender, smart hockey principles dictate that the puck be dumped.  (Hey, it’s wiser to gain the opponents’ zone and move the puck ahead some 60-plus feet, rather than risk a turn-over in neutral ice.)
4. There can be a fourth option for the skilled puckhandler, in that he or she might be able to move away from the defenders — or enter the offensive zone far from traffic, and then protect the puck and wait for teammates to arrive.

All that said, I don’t know of a single head-manning drill, but I do try to precede most attacking plays with some sort of pass.  And, many of these would be considered among the head-manning variety.  So, here are three:

Spring the Wing – I just created and started using this drill to accomplish a number of things.  I use it early in our practices as a way of warming our goaltender with some long shots (I had to recently abandon the two drills shown later in favor of this version, because we have had only one goaler at practices).  As you’ll see in the video (click on the adjacent photo), this drill starts with a long pass to a player flying up the wing-boards.  I ask my kids to help their mate keep flying (not to slow him with the pass).  If you’ll also notice, I’m trying to get my young guys to cut quickly while carrying the puck in and out of opponents (in this case a row of small tires).

Long Pass, Long Shot – This is a basic warm-up drill I like to start most practices with (when I have at least 2 goalies).

As in the earlier shown drill, the passing and skating and shooting on-the-go are great for my skaters, while I want them to view the shot as actually helping warm their goalers.

As shown in the photo (to the left) and in the video (click on the photo), skaters with pucks are positioned in two rink corners.  A skater flies towards neutral ice, receives a long, hard pass from the far corner, and then takes a long shot on net from about the blue line. (Obviously, this drill can and should also be run from the opposite corners.)

Now, I especially like drills like this and the next one for developing soft hands on a catch, because the force of a long pass is increased when the skater is moving towards the pass.

Breakaway Passes – This is just a variation on the previous drill, but it probably better satisfies a coach’s desire for a good head-manning drill.  In this one, a skater moves to neutral ice looking for a breakaway pass, catches the long pass from the other end, and then turns to attack the net at his own end.   (Click on the photo to see the video.)

(This drill should also be run from the opposite corners so that skaters get to loop in both directions.)

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Do you have any drills that even better help this member in need?  Just send your idea/s along according to the directions offered under “Drills”.

Todd Jacobson is still off with his women’s team at Notre Dame Academy for the next few months.  Of course, that won’t prevent him from occasionally sending us updates, ideas or further insight into goalie training.

In the meantime, my Team NEHI kids keep practicing and playing, and I’m still here to show you a little of what we’re doing.  And, picking-up from where we left-off in Part 3 of this series, I’m going to show you another step in those 2-puck Drill progressions.

– Dennis Chighisola

Creative Training Ideas for Goalers! Part 4

If you haven’t already, please take a quick run through the earlier post on this topic.  (It would be a good idea if you view the previous “Creative Training Ideas for Goalers” entries, just so you have an idea of how the next drill evolved.)

Now that our goalies can tumble and find one ball with pretty good regularity, it’s time to move them on towards a REAL challenge.

I mean, we all thought that 2-puck Drill was pretty difficult, huh?  Well, wait until you get a look at this one…

Here a netminder is tumbling, but he’s confronted with having to find and catch two balls at the same time!  Not easy folks, but it’s awesome to help a goalie deal with all the craziness that happens around him, and with the need to find a puck amid chaos.

So, have a look at the video (just click on the photo below)…

Well, to date that’s it for progressions along this line.  But, I’m still thinking, and I’m hoping you are, too.

Actually, maybe you can help with some new ideas.  Todd and I would love your Comments or suggestions!

As a postscript, I’m posting a link to this video from the Highlight Reel Skills section, mainly because the young goalie in this video demonstrates something I want all of my players to have.  I mean, did you notice his reaction when he failed one time?  Sure, I think he felt a little embarrassed.  At the same time, however, I think he was laughing at himself, knowing full well that he can eventually lick that challenge.  So again, that’s an awesome training attitude to have, the ability to laugh at oneself as you try new challenges.  And it’s something I always noticed about the kids I had who went on to make a name for themselves in the game.

– Dennis Chighisola

]]> http://www.coachchic.com/creative-training-ideas-for-goalers-part-4/feed/ 2 http://www.coachchic.com/starting-your-hockey-year-off-right/ http://www.coachchic.com/starting-your-hockey-year-off-right/#comments Fri, 01 Jan 2010 05:18:53 +0000 admin http://www.coachchic.com/?p=2866

It isn’t often that I’ll ask skaters to take a look at a goalie training segment.  Naw, you guys and gals USUALLY have enough on your minds without worrying about another position.  This time, however, what I’m about to suggest to you might just make all the difference in the world as you approach a new year.

Now, before reading further, I’m going to ask that you click on the photo below and watch the very short video of a Team NEHI goaltender doing a VERY difficult drill.  Please don’t read on until you’ve done that, and then I’ll see you below.

– Dennis Chighisola

Starting Your Hockey Year Off Right!

Ah, gotta love those kinds of guys…

Okay, now I hope you noticed my young goalie friend making a mistake and missing the balls one time in the middle of that video.  But, more importantly, I hope you noticed his reaction.  Just take a look again at the photo above for a hint at what I’m getting at.

Sure, I’ll bet he was a little bit embarrassed to muff the drill.  But, did you also notice he was laughing at himself?

Now, most members know that I’ve been doing what I do for about 40-years, and that I’ve taught thousands upon thousands of young players, with quite a few of them making a name for themselves in our game.

Want to know a common trait I’ve seen in all the best of them, though?  Well, it’s the same one demonstrated by the goaler in that video.  Yup, the best have always seemed to be able to laugh at themselves — or just shrug-off a mistake, and keep going right back at the challenge (again and again and again).

There are countless examples of this in sports lore, one story having to do with the great home run hitter, Babe Ruth.  Yes, the Sultan of Swat for a very long time held the record for the most homers hit in a career.  Yet, did you know that The Babe also held the record for the most career strikeouts?  That didn’t seem to get him down, though.  No, he just kept coming back, swinging and swinging and swinging.

And did you also ever consider that the top baseball hitters — hitting around .300 — actually make outs more than two out of three times they go to bat?  None of those guys would skip another try in the batter’s box, however.  Again, like Ruth, you can be sure they looked forward to yet more swings.

So, this is my New Years gift to all my CoachChic.com friends…  If you’re a player, learn to inwardly laugh at your mistakes, and keep coming back for more swings.  I promise you’ll ultimately get it, when lots of others got discouraged and dropped by the wayside.  And, if you’re a parent or coach, try to encourage this very worthwhile trait with those in your charge.

Happy New Year!

There’s a point I try to get across to amateur hockey players — of all ages, and it’s closely related to this entry’s title — about using one’s down time.  I happen to think it’s an important topic, yet I’d forgotten to mention it here until I ran across an awesome video by my good friend and fellow CoachChic.com member, Michael Mahony.

Okay, so let’s have a listen at how Mike uses his down time to great advantage (just click his photo), and then I’ll share with you the way I often recommend much the same approach to those in my charge…

– Dennis Chighisola

Using Your Down Time!

As you can see, Michael wisely makes use of time that he’d other wise let go to waste.  And I’m known to do much the same.

For example, my wife would prefer to do the driving on our long treks chasing Anthony Chic’s hockey schedule all over New England.  So, whether you realize it or not, I’ve written a good many of these entries from her Jeep’s passenger seat and on one of my trusty laptops.  Hey, we can still talk as we ride — and I’m not being rude or anything, but I sure can get a lot of writing accomplished in 4- to 6-hours on those boring highways.

But, let me bring this topic closer to the needs of my favorite hockey players…

For, you see, I don’t believe hockey homework has to always be a drudgery.  In fact, I’ll warn parents of very young players that such things should NEVER seem like work to their little ones.

In particular, I think adult players and younger ones who still need work on their basic skills could do something like the following.  (Actually, I put this video together in an entry I did long ago for Megan, a site member.  And, while the skating drills demonstrated at the start of the movie might require exact focus on what a player is doing, I’ll suggest that the last two exercises could easily be done as part of some multi-tasking.)  So, please have a look before I comment further…

As a follow-up to that video, I’m always suggesting to older players that they could do something like WallSits while watching TV or while doing lots of other things.  And so could any player experiment with a stick and ball — as Anthony Chic is doing at the end of that video, also while watching television.

I have often advised my young teen players to kill a couple of birds with one stone, perhaps keeping a tennis ball stashed somewhere in the rec room, and squeezing it for hand and forearm strength while watching TV.

As Mike Mahony is saying, an athlete can use what might other wise be consider down time to enhance his or her physical abilities.  And what Mike is also suggesting is that certain kinds of down time happen on a regular basis.  And that’s pretty close to what I’m usually pointing-out to my students, team players and local parents.  I mean, if an adult player regularly watches the local news on TV each evening, why not do a simple hockey related exercise at the same time?  Something like the previously mentioned ball-squeezing exercise, sit-ups, push-ups, and other very simple movements could be done by any aged player on a planned basis.  Or, what about just balancing around on one of those air pillows as part of your multi-tasking?  Of course, I could go on here with more ways to improve during regular down times.  However, you probably know more about what you really need, and even more about what you’d enjoy doing.

The real point here — that Mike and I are both trying to make, is that we all tend to waste some time, and I’ll even suggest that we all engage in a lot of activities that are almost mindless.  In either case, there are opportunities within our schedules to get-in some regular work on our game.  And, judging by the players I’ve seen take that advice, there’s an awful lot of fun and satisfaction to be had down the road.

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Have any thoughts on this subject, or some ideas to share with other members?  Just use the Comment box down below.  I love interacting with you guys (and gals)!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

From my family to yours…

– Dennis Chighisola

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And please remember…  This is YOUR HOCKEY RESOURCE SITE, and all you need to do is ask for help, advice or direction and I promise to deliver it promptly!  So, let’s make 2010 awesome — together!

During my very first year in coaching, I lost my best player for an important tournament game.  Oh, he wasn’t out injured, he wasn’t home sick in bed, and his parents’ car didn’t break-down on the way to the game.  No, it was something more common than any of those things that robbed us of our top scorer.  “Murphy’s Law” is what did us in that day, and I swore it would never put my team in a hole again.

– Dennis Chighisola

Dealing with “Murphy’s Law”

Okay, so here’s what happened on a frigid February morning nearly 40-years ago…  My team was assembled in their lockerroom awaiting their march down the corridor for the start of an exciting holiday tournament.  As the players arose from their seats, one of my guys slightly stumbled and evidently stepped onto some bare concrete.  I thought nothing of it at first, but a few seconds into our pre-game warm-ups we discovered that an edge had been completely stripped from that player’s skate-blade.  (As I recall, he couldn’t cut to his right without the skate going out from under him.)  Believe it or not, the rink’s pro shop wasn’t yet open.  And, believe it or not, this was a time when few coaches or players thought to carry a skate-stone.  And, of course, this was long before the advent of small, handheld skate sharpeners.  So, just by a stroke of luck, and because we were unprepared for such an occurrence, our team lost one of the most dangerous scorers in the region.

Now, I’m sure you know the gist of Murphy’s Law, which basically states that, “If anything can go wrong, it will!”  Still, what you might not know is “Coach Chic’s Law”, in that, “I only need something to happen once before I find an answer to it!”

So, how many times has Murphy’s Law struck me — or one of my players?  Let me count the ways…  A missing helmet screw, a missing mouth piece, a missing neck guard, a missing cup, a broken goalie pad strap, a missing chin strap, a missing…

True to Coach Chic’s Law, however, I learned from the first crisis and pretty much assured myself and my team that at least THAT crisis wouldn’t bite us again.  In other words, every time some little — or large — problem arose, I found a way to deal with it should it ever happen again.  In most instances, that meant adding another tool or small piece of gear to a collection that I ultimately dubbed my “Murphy’s Law Kit”.

You can imagine the things that are now in my kit box (shown in the two adjacent photos)…

• first aid needs
• skate-stone (several)
• scissors
• pliers
• flathead screwdriver
• phillips screwdriver
• awl
• file
• sandpaper
• Swiss Army knife (with various tools within)
• helmet screws
• matches or lighter
• extra skate laces
• tape (various kinds)
• new mouthpiece
• neck guard
• goalie strap
• chin strap
• pieces of foam
• pieces of leather
• several glues

Actually, I’ll oftentimes see a strap or other small item left in a rink parking lot or wherever, and I’ll consider whether that might come-in handy sometime when Murphy thinks he’s going to get me again.  And I’ll do the same thing when discarding sports equipment from home, or when tossing out some old hockey gear from my NEHI equipment room.  In each case I’ll ask myself, “Can something here bail me out in an emergency?  (Sure, call me a packrat if you must.  But, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten a player back into action when Murphy’s Law wanted to send him to the bleacher!)

In more recent years, I’ve been fortunate to receive a lot of little Swiss Army like gadgets as Christmas stocking stuffers or as gifts.  As a matter of fact, I have one beauty of a tool that straps conveniently on the shoulder strap of my skate bag, and that thing is always getting used to tighten some clinic kid’s helmet or facemask.

Is a hockey coach the only one who needs a Murphy’s Law Kit?  Aaaah, far from it.

A number of years ago — when my grandson started going off to the rinks on his own, we thought it a good idea to set him up with a smaller version of my kit.  A small, unbreakable box it was, stuffed with a stone, some extra helmet screws, an extra pair of laces, and a few tools that would help him in a pinch.  Oh, that tool kit has evolved over the years, but it could always be found in his hockey equipment bag — during his high school career, at prep school, at several showcase tournaments, and now at college.  And I’ll suggest other players gather together odds and ends to form their own Murphy’s Law Kit.

As a matter of fact, I don’t think it’s a bad idea for hockey parents to carry something like that kit, even if it’s just safely stashed in the car trunk for when Murphy rears his ugly head.

Finally, I’m thinking that the contents of a fully stocked Murphy’s Law Kit would prove valuable to members.  Ya, imagine if thousands of us put our heads together and kept adding to the list.  So, if you’ll add your ideas in the Comments section below, I’ll find a way to keep our running list somewhere available for all of us to see (and maybe print-out).  Deal?

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Please add any ideas you might have for our Murphy’s Law Kit in the Comments area below!

]]> http://www.coachchic.com/dealing-with-murphys-law/feed/ 0 http://www.coachchic.com/straight-cycle-passing-variation/ http://www.coachchic.com/straight-cycle-passing-variation/#comments Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:56:48 +0000 admin http://www.coachchic.com/?p=3329 Please see Drill Submission Rules and Help below.

Contributor: Dennis Chighisola — Whitman, MA USA

Drill Category: Forward & Backward Skating, Passing and Receiving

Drill Description:

Please see the Straight Line Cycling Drill for details on the initial set-up.

As for the variation…

• The drill runs exactly like the basic one, with this exception…  The passer carries the puck to mid-ice, then begins skating backwards.
• About half the distance back to his starting place, that player initiates a pass cross-ice while still skating backwards.

Objective of the Drill:

Backward skating and puckhandling are involved in this variation.

Better yet, the most difficult pass to make in hockey is one done while moving backwards, so this drill forces players to work on that skill numerous times within just a few minutes.  (A player doesn’t have the chance to use his or her full body to generate force in this kind of pass.)

Running the drill:
Please watch the video linked below to see the variation in progress.

Click image below to see a short video.

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Have questions or suggestions concerning this drill?  Please leave a Comment below.

Contributor: Dennis Chighisola — Whitman, MA USA

Drill Category: Skating, Puckhandling, Passing and Receiving

Drill Description:

Groups of threes perform this drills across the ice.

All players can (and should) participate in this kind of drilling, from forwards to defensemen to goaltenders.

• Two players assume start positions on one side of the ice, with one of these players having a puck
• A third player begins at the other side boards.
• The player with the puck carries it to mid-ice, and then fires a firm, flat pass onto the stick-target of the man on the other side of the ice.
• The passer follows his pass and takes the place of the pass receiver.
• The pass receiver now carries the puck to mid-ice and makes a good pass to the man on the other side boards.

(The sketches shows the layout of players, while the video below accomplishes more than I could do in words.)

Objective of the Drill:

It’s a sound practice for players to follow their passes.

So is it helpful for players to work on their passing skills while moving.

This drill makes it necessary for the passer to be extra accurate when sending the puck, since his or her target is in a stationary posture.

As an added benefit…  I find that with the passer moving towards his or her target, a fairly firm pass requires the receiver to have really soft hands in executing the catch.

FYI…  We do our weekly individual skills session on a mini-rink (shown in the video below), so the short distance across the ice dictates less skating and quicker passes than when we do the same drill later in the week on a regulation sized ice surface.

Running the drill:
Please see the video below to see how the drill looks in progress.

Click image below to see a short video.

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Have questions or suggestions concerning this drill?  Please leave a Comment below.

PS: Watch for a variation on this drill within a day or so.

Now, this entry was inspired by a coach asking for some guidance when it comes to changing on-the-fly.  More specifically, he was wondering if there is a certain age or level when players can be expected to learn this.  So, let me give that a whirl, and let me add as much as I can about making those kinds of changes…

– Dennis Chighisola

Hockey Line Changes

Getting right to that coach’s main question here, my feeling is that the time to teach changes on-the-fly has an awful lot to do with a team’s overall game awareness.  Said yet another way, I’ll suggest that youngsters who have their basic skills under control, and those who are able to understand basic positioning should also be able to learn how to make exchanges while the game is in progress.  So, I’m guessing that decent Squirt or Atom players should be able to learn it.

As an aside…  I asked for some input on this subject, and I received a couple of good suggestions — about things I’d want to be sure to include here.  And first to arrive in my inbox was the suggestion from Mike M, who said, “Do them quickly and often to win games.”

Ya, quickly and often, which brings me to the timing of our shifts.

Now, I have to chuckle a bit as I think about how the earliest levels of our game frequently start-out by playing 2-minute buzzer-hockey.  The reason I’m laughing to myself is that an awful lot of kids, parents and even coaches believe that sort of timing should continue through later years, with the players staying out there on the ice for several minutes at a whack.

Of course, watching just one pro or college hockey game should change that impression.  For, teams at the highest levels probably play something closer to 30- or 40-second shifts.  Yup, go out, bust your buns, and then get-off!

When it comes to the timing of shifts, I’d like to insert this personal feeling, as well…  You see, while most folks are (rightly) concerned about the length of time players are out on the ice working, I’m as concerned for the players who are sitting.  This is a three-pronged thing with me…

• First, players who are sitting for any length of time are physically cooling-off, and I think this gets worse with the length of time they’re off their skates.  So, while there’s definitely a need for players to rest and catch their breath, I believe there is a point where time away from the ice becomes a negative.  (Is there a greater chance for injury as players sit for long stretches?  I don’t know, but I think this ought to at least be considered.)
• Secondly — and this is probably something most members haven’t thought about before…  I honestly believe that a player can get mentally out of the game if he or she is away from the action for very long.  In other words, I think there’s the real danger that a player can lose his or her focus and intensity during a long stretch away from the ice.  Consequently, I think a coach can keep his or her players more alert by quickly getting them back out there — quickly and often, as Mike M says.
• Then, maybe my third point is really a combination of the previous two.  For, I know that players like to stay in a certain kind of rhythm over the course of a period — especially my good players, and it’s hard for them to do this unless there’s a reasonable sort of rhythm to their shifts.

So again, as Mike M might say, “Do them quickly and often!”

As another sidebar when it comes to keeping my players in the flow of things…  It’s always driven me crazy when my team has suddenly taken a string of penalties.  All the above points come into play when that happens, with a number of my guys sitting and getting cold, getting themselves out of the game, mentally, and also getting out of that proverbial rhythm.

Oh, I might add one more thing to the timing of shifts…  I usually like to keep the earliest shifts in a period a little on the short side.  I want to get everybody a quick taste of the action, and I also want to delay the build-up of lactic acid as best I can.  I might lengthen the shifts just a tad in the middle of a period, and then go back to shorter ones as the period winds down.  This approach is really just a personal thing with me, but I’ve sensed through the years that my players have benefited from it.

Now, as for going about the teaching of line changes, I recommend that members next watch my brief video on “Dumping the Puck“.  As you’ll see there, the right kinds of dump-ins provide units the “time” to make changes without getting caught shorthanded.

I also believe bench decorum plays a big part in effectively getting changes on-the-fly.  So, I highly suggest these things…

• During each period, all defensemen should sit on the defensive end of the bench, while all the forwards sit on the offensive end.  Getting our guys (or gals) even closer to their end of the ice, the next defense pair will sit closest to the defensive zone, and my next forward line sits closest to the offensive zone.
• I make it a rule that players who are going out next should keep a very close eye on the man they’ll replace.  In other words, the instant a centerman enters the play, the next centerman must keep focus on him (or her).  Why so soon?  The idea is for us to never get caught shorthanded — should a player limp to the bench with an injury, should he discover an equipment problem, whatever.  The point is, unforeseen things can happen seconds into a shift, and the next player up has to immediately notice if or when he’s needed.

Then, there’s the matter of the actual exchange of personnel…

As much as I like having players go over the boards as they enter the ice, we coaches must take into consideration the height of the boards in comparison to our players.  Under normal circumstances, this probably suggests that those at least below Pee Wees aren’t going to be able to make the climb.  However — and believe it or not, I’ve actually coached at a few rinks where even high school players weren’t able to get over the unusually high boards.  That in mind, I think all players should learn to properly enter and exit through the bench doors.  And for more help in this area, I suggest that members refer to my article on “Buzzer Hockey Line Changes“.  (Don’t let the title fool you; there’s valuable information there about older players changing on-the-fly.)

Next, there’s the matter of when to change.  And for this, I have the following suggestions…

• You’d think that growing-up amid farms would have provided a great atmosphere for a young boy to hone his whistling skills.  Or, perhaps, that the powers that be could have had a course on whistling in my long ago Phys Ed studies.    The truth is, I can’t whistle a lick.  If I could, I’d use that as a signal for my guys to change.  Instead, though, I’ve had to resort to calling-out loudly, “Get a change!  Get a change!”  (Oh, well…)
• Now, the lengths of shifts can’t be totally dictated by the timing we’d like.  No, conditions for a successful change aren’t going to fall exactly every 35-seconds or so.  That said, I’ll usually opt for less than the desired time if it looks like going any longer is going to trap my guys out there.  For example, I have to know there’s the possibility that a unit heading down-ice on the attack is going to ultimately have to backcheck, and then breakout again in order to get a change on-the-fly.  And, presuming they’re not going to have the juice to accomplish all that, I’ll probably call for the early change.
• I might also call for an early change if a unit has been bogged-down in their own end for an extended period of time.  Hey, it’s just better to get fresh legs (and minds) out there, and to give the unit coming-off a little time to regroup.
• Of utmost importance is the need for the players on the ice to be absolutely sure the puck is safe before they turn and head-off. I mean, even though they see the puck being dumped, they mustn’t head to the bench until they’re absolutely sure that it is going to safely get through rival players and land deep in their opponents’ end.

Now, despite the fact that the next players up are supposed to be watching the man they’ll replace, I also like my players yelling their positions as they come-off.  In other words, as the left winger comes to our bench, he yells, “Left wing!  Left wing!”  I don’t know; it’s just a safety measure that makes me feel good.

Then, Deb K inspired the next suggestion…  You see, she’s not only a youth hockey parent and coach, but she’s also a referee.  So it should make sense that she’d joke a bit and offer, “Tell coaches about the changes so refs aren’t having to educate from the ice “

Deb’s comment in mind, this biggie…  From my perspective most of the “too many men on the ice” penalties are caused by the players who should be coming-off the ice, and these usually come about because the man coming-off either changes his mind or he fools the player who is supposed to replace him.  In other words, the guy coming to the bench gives every indication that he’s coming, the new player hops over the boards and onto the ice, and then the player who is supposed to come-off doesn’t.  (I don’t know of any way to actually practice this key communication, but I surely do beat it to death in conversations with my players.  I mean, I make it a very big deal that guys coming-off shouldn’t fool their replacements or change their minds at the last second.)

Finally, if a hockey coach feels that line changes are an important part of his or her team’s game, then it should make sense to practice these as often as other plays.  And, once established, it wouldn’t hurt to review them on occasion, and to also frequently talk about the principles involved.

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A lot of things go into proper line changes, and I almost fear I’ve forgotten a few.  If you think I have, please add a Comment so that this topic is eventually covered as thoroughly as possible!

For anyone who stopped by here thinking that I’m going to be talking about one-touch passing, naw; that’s a subject for another time.

What I do want to share with you is my feelings on the passes players often make to themselves.

– Dennis Chighisola

Soft “Touch” Passing

Just supposing a player is going to push the puck through a defender’s skates, then go around that defender to retrieve the puck on the other side.  Well, I can’t tell you how often I’ve noticed attackers treating that puck rather roughly as they send it, which usually brings about new problems when they go to retrieve it.

The first thing I usually do in dealing with this is to suggest to my players that they are actually making passes to themselves.  I don’t know, but most of the time this method seems to help in getting them to look at that kind of play a little differently.  Actually, once I get them to realize that it is a pass — and that the pass is to themselves, they tend to pay closer attention to the technique required.

By the way…  Making passes to oneself happens more often than some might think.  It’s required along with nearly all the different dekes or maneuvers players use to get around a defender on 1 against 1’s (as in the drill I described above).  And a pass to oneself is also what’s happening when a player banks a puck off the boards and around a defender.  And so is it a major part of the way I teach breakaways (so see my article and videos on “Proper Breakaway Skills“).

Anyway, once that’s established — that the pass is to oneself, I next try to get my players to appreciate that it takes a certain kind of “feel” or “touch” with the puck to make that pass.  In just about every instance, the attacker wants the “pass” to arrive in a certain location.  And in every instance he or she wants the puck to just sit there, nice and flat (not rolling or wobbling around).  So again, the attacker doesn’t want to treat the puck roughly on that pass ahead, but instead “place it” with a nice soft “touch”.

Of course, talking about the problem only gets us part way in establishing a better touch or feel for that kind of pass.  So, I’ve developed a number of drills to help my kids develop such skills.

Now, as members know by now, I have the luxury of both on-ice and off-ice practices throughout most of the year.  And for that reason I’ve had to create drills that can be done in both venues.

The first photo (on the left) shows a drill I created long ago to enhance a number of qualities in my players.  Tumbling — or any gymnastics — is great for athleticism, and it also puts my kids in a slight, momentary state of confusion, not unlike the frequent collisions they have in games.  The reason I initially created this drill was so that my players could learn to find the puck quickly coming out of a roll.  So — as described elsewhere here at CoachChic.com, I’d have my kids roll and then quickly find a puck that had just been introduced by a coach.  And that drill certainly has helped them in the ways that I’d hoped.

More recently, however, I’ve expanded the drill to help encourage the skill at hand.  So, clicking on that first photo (above) will open a short video I shot at a recent off-ice practice.  It shows players pushing the puck ahead, tumbling, and then having to find the puck so he can perform the next challenge (to either tumble again or shoot).  Go ahead, watch the video before going on.

Hmmmm…  If you don’t mind watching that video again, I just caught the first little rascal doing something I hadn’t noticed before, and it’s something that truly does make my point here.    For, as he comes out of his last tumble, he doesn’t shoot his own puck at all.  No, he fires a different one, because the one he brought down the course wasn’t ultimately placed nicely, or where he really needed it to be!

Now, the second sequence hopefully shows that soft “touch” pass a little better.  (You should know that I purposely spaced the tumbling mats the way I did, just so each player had to be pretty accurate in placing his pass.  For — as you’ll see in the next video, that pass had better fall close to the right location if the player is going to be able to immediately take-on the next challenge.)  So, click on the second photo and see what I mean.

Now, between the lines, I’m kinda hoping that you’ve noticed how I try to make drills simulate the craziness of our game.  Just in the shown drill, for example, I’ve at least slightly recreated the confused state that comes with falls or collisions, and I’ve also tried to recreate the urgency necessary between challenges.

As an aside, I’ve previously joked in other entries about how the little firing mechanisms in my noggin’ tend to make me think of something new as I’m working at another project.  So, don’t you know, I just arrived at a new drill for pass-receiving as I wrote that last paragraph.  I’ll be sure to show you that once I breathe life into it.  However, just as a hint…  It drives me crazy that a lot of my players are too casual about catching passing during drills, and this results in far too many lost pucks during our games.  So, why not insert a give and go between tumbles (or other challenges) as an adaptation to the above drill?  Hmmmmm…

Okay, as for an on-ice application to the above drill…  We don’t often do tumbling on the ice.  So, what I’ll usually do is have by players execute continuous spins down the length of the ice.  In other words, a player will tap the puck ahead, then spin to find and grab it; he’ll tap the puck ahead again, and spin in the opposite direction next, etc.  And, much like the off-ice version of that drill, a player must make his pass with some “feel” in order to have the puck lie where — and in the way — he needs it in order to continue on to the next challenge.

Finally, I hope you also noticed that the two physical challenges featured in the drill examples are drastically different.  With that, I’d like you to appreciate that the rolls or spins (or shots) are purely things that need to be done before or after a pass to oneself.  However, make not mistake about it:  Those passes have to be done with a nice “touch” in order to make the next move possible.

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Although I had my share of notoriety and recognition as a young football player, I’ll tell you — right up front — that I wasn’t all that hot.  However, I did have great hands (from my baseball background), and I could run like a deer (from honest to goodness great genes)! 

That said, I always was kind of a “thinker”, even as a kid, and even as a football player.  Oh, by the way, I also had one of the region’s best high school football coaches — far ahead of his time, I think he was, and he later went on to coach a string of championship semi-pro teams before settling in as a game film rater for the New England Patriots.

Anyway, the reason I mention all this is so that I can introduce the topic at hand.  For, one day during a defensive segment of a team practice, my old high school head coach described that “angle of pursuit” thing to his players.

You don’t have to totally understand this, because I’ll explain it better and show you later how this relates to our game.  But for now, what my coach was suggesting had to do with defenders needing to watch a ball carrier’s route — or anticipate where that route would take him, and then meet him at some point along that route.  Again, I’ll explain that far better in a minute.  However, just so you know, I was playing The Thinker again that day, inwardly shaking my head, and wondering to myself, “Does anyone really have to be told this?”  Oh, well…

– Dennis Chighisola

The Angle of Pursuit

Now, the answer to my question actually came by way of a video I watched just a few years ago, this from the Centre for Hockey Excellence in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  For, in that video, former Canadian National Team coach, Dave King, took quite a bit of time explaining that very concept, and almost in the same way my old high school football coach had.

Okay, so here’s the gist of it, as it relates to our game…  If you click on the adjacent photo, you’ll see one player dump a puck that is destined to go around the boards and arrive near the opposite corner.  What you’ll also see is a skater from the other team chasing the puck in the wrong manner.  Go ahead, and watch that short video before you read on.

Confounding me, but giving validity to Dave King and my old football coach, I’ve come to realize that some athletes actually do follow behind in the pursuit of a puck or opposition player.

That out of the way, I’m sure my late-coach would appreciate the animation I’ve just created to show a little smarter way to pursue that same puck.  So, please click on the (left) photo to watch that video.

Now, it has been a long time since I viewed that piece by Dave King.  But, I recall him suggesting that we (hockey) coaches can run drills to show the merits of pursuing the puck rightly.  So, my next video shows two players taking different routes as they race for the loose puck (click on the photo below to view that).

You’re probably wondering what caused me to raise this “angle of pursuit” issue tonight.  Well, as I’ve been standing back and watching my young Mighty Mites team, attempting to drink-in as much as I can — about their specific needs, and about the way they learn.  And, I’ve been fascinated by a number of things…

- In one instance I watched a little 4-year old race back out of our offensive zone for a puck that had been tossed out to neutral ice.  The little tyke was skating right towards where I stood on the bench that afternoon, so I had a great view of what was to happen.  For, as he began to approach the puck, I saw him turn his head about halfway, this so he could see if anyone was nearby.  He next snatched the puck and made his exit in the direction opposite from the nearest rival.  Unbelievable or what?  The truth is, I actually run drills to ingrain that looking-over-their-shoulder thing in my older players, and most of them take quite awhile to make it a regular part of their game.  ???

- On a number of occasions I’ve seen members of that Mighty Mite team gain the puck along the side boards in their offensive end, and somehow realize they weren’t on the greatest shooting angle.  With that, they kept moving towards mid-ice with the puck, finally sending it on-goal once they reached a better angle.  And again, I felt this to be really good thinking for little guys who had only played a handful of games.

- Then, that old angle of pursuit thing…  I shot the following video really only as an example of how the game action looks in that instructional league.  I’m not sure you can pick-up anything special in this brief clip, but I’m going to suggest that some kids are moving laterally at times, just to keep themselves in the path of a rival puckcarrier, or — as if they knew enough to anticipate it — right in the path of a possible pass up-ice.  Go ahead; click on the photo (below), just so you can see some of their game action (my kids are in black, with our opponents in dark blue).

Now, I’ve written this entry for a number of reasons…

• First, if you never had cause to think about or teach the correct angle of pursuit, perhaps I’ve armed you with some valuable knowledge.
• Secondly, I hope the observations I’m sharing about my youngest team members awakens you (as it has me) to the fact that all of our players are growing organisms.  And, as such, we coaches and parents have the awesome responsibility of guiding them in that growth.
• Then, from what I learned on that long ago football practice field, it’s important to appreciate that some players do certain things instinctively (or seemingly so), while those same things evidently don’t come naturally to others.  And, while it might be easier to coach the gifted ones, I believe the true measure of a “teaching coach” is in our ability to help the players who really need it.  (Come to think of it, it’s only since I’ve grown older that I realized my old high school football coach dealt with us in that way.  So, God bless, Coach, and thanks so much.)

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This is about a note I took as I watched our beginner (or Mighty Mites) team play in one of their earliest games a few weeks back…

Let me start by stating that my kids seemed as though they already skated faster than most opponents.  What caused me to jot that note, however, was that I knew my little guys could be much faster, and that I’d want them to be far, far faster as we got deeper into our season.

As an aside here, I think this might be a way of conveying how helpful note-taking can be — for a coach like me, for a player, or for a parent.  I mean, in this case I’m aiming at a long-term goal, and not one that’s going to be a one or two practice deal.  Probably making this point even better, I recently watched one of my teenaged guys play in a scrimmage with his high school squad, and I noticed an area of his game that still needs some work.  The fact that I recorded that in my diary when I arrived at home doesn’t help him now, since I won’t get to work with him again until next spring.  What will help him is the fact that I placed it among my March of 2010 notes, with it then acting as a reminder to design some things that will help him (and other like skaters) with that problem.  In the case of my Mighty Mites, my notes went under the next several Sundays, since that’s when we’ll be practicing.

Anyway, here are a couple of things I’m now doing for the sake of their skating speed.

– Dennis Chighisola

A Beginner Hockey Player’s Skating Speed

I hope you appreciate that skating speed can’t be solved by just one drill.  As a matter of fact, beginners tend to move around the ice better and better just from gaining more and more experience on their blades.  That said, there are a few things I feel I can do to hasten their development in this area.

If you haven’t done so already, I suggest you review two earlier posted videos (“21 Must-do Skating Drills for Beginners” and “24 Must-do Skating Drills for Intermediates”) as prerequisites to what I’m about to cover…

Going back to their earliest times on the ice for a moment, understand that most first-time skaters walk rather than skate, and they usually do this by inching their way along on the “flats of their skates”.  In other words, they don’t immediately thrust with one blade and glide on the sharp edge of the other.  No, again, they basically march or walk around the ice.

So, do you want to know what will ultimately encourage the desired push-offs or thrusts?  The answer is to introduce some form of resistance against the skater’s movement down the ice.  And, for beginners, I find their attempting to push a similarly sized partner down the ice on a chair works awesomely.

What you should know is that this kind of exercise almost adapts itself to the various player levels — or, should I say, the players from each level tend to use the exercise differently, and we can also coach it a little differently according to the players.

In the case of my Mighty Mites, I now view them as intermediates.  Ya, while they’re still very young, my little guys get around the ice really well at this point.  So I kinda push and prod them a little (not meanly or anything, but still trying to get them to work harder and faster), and I look for increasingly more speed with each repetition, and with each week that passes.  (Some footage of this drill in action can be found near the middle of my video on “24 Must-do Skating Drills for Intermediates”.)

For this next one, it would be extremely helpful if you review my video on “Analyzing the Forward Stride“.  For, in that analysis, you’ll see that a player’s arm — or shoulder — motions can help a great deal in adding rhythm, power and efficiency to his or her forward movement.  And, this all translates to better forward skating speed.

Anyway, over the past month I’ve had my kids regularly practicing pumping their arms (without sticks) — while standing in place and while moving down one side of the ice.  In the beginning we can expect a real forced, uncoordinated movement.  But, over time, even the youngest ones will ultimately put things together.  And again, when they do, you can expect that they’ll skate far faster than when their arms and legs were out of sync.  (Click on the adjacent photo to see my kids in their earliest attempts at coordinating the arm/shoulder pumps with their skating push-offs.)

I hope you appreciate how much getting the sticks out of this drill really helps the kids concentrate on their arm and shoulder swings.  As as matter of fact, I have my older guys practice their striding without sticks on a fairly regular basis.  (Oh, as you’ll also notice, some of these little ones are already getting it.  Actually, I just watched that video again, I thought to myself, “Aren’t they cute!!!”  Ya, I things in perspective:  These kids are adorable, but they also want to be taught to be successful.)

I’ve also added a second video from that group (click on the snapshot to the left), this one in slow-motion, so you can see how much of a difference the arm-swing makes in a young skater’s forward movement.

Finally, I can’t say enough about the benefits of holding competitions when working on skills that will ultimately require some urgency in a game.  For example, the group we’re studying now frequently engages in races for loose pucks, with the winner getting a chance to continue on towards the goal for a shot.  (If you click on this link you’ll see an example of that from an earlier post on “Loose Puck Races“.)

By the way, I also have these little guys do other sorts of races, sometimes with a little trick required in the middle.  In one such competition, I find it very appropriate for kids at this particular level to race down the ice, do a belly-flop at mid-course, and then recover as quickly as possible to sprint for an end-mark.

Currently, however, I’m adding a competition to the arm swing thing.  In other words, my kids are engaging in short races — again without sticks — while also needing to pump those arms.

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PS: As always, I love to know what you think. Please comment and even share this article with your friends.

For sure, breakaways are among hockey’s most exciting plays.  That being the case, I’m really surprised at how often I notice these — and related skills — being taught wrongly.  Anyway, hear me out, huh?  I think what is to follow should make sense.

– Dennis Chighisola

Proper Breakaway Skills

Every time I approach this subject with my students or players, I begin by having them envision us holding footraces out in the rink’s parking lot.  That picture planted in their minds, I’ll then ask which runner they’d like to be — the one with his hands in his pocket, or the one allowed to use his hands as he runs.

Of course, it doesn’t take but a few seconds for everyone to agree, that anyone can run faster if he’s able to pump his hands and arms while sprinting.

The reason I raise this point is because I frequently see coaches teaching their kids to hold a puck on their sticks as they race down the ice on a practice breakaway.  The adjacent photo shows what I mean…  The sample player holds his stick in one hand with the puck kept right on his stick-blade, which means that he can really only pump one hand.  If you click on the photo you’ll see a slow-mo video of that youngster in action.  Oh, by the way, I sense that he’s initially doing things the way he’s been taught elsewhere; but, he ultimately starts doing things a little differently when I yell to him.

Again, did you notice that he could initially only pump his left arm, but then he eventually shifted to my way of doing things (I guess you can tell at which point I yelled, huh)?

Now, the next photo pretty much shows what I recommend…  First, I want my players to achieve maximum speed by having both hands free to pump — almost as if they don’t even have a puck (’cause they don’t).  Secondly, my guys don’t really need to control the puck on their way down the ice.  In fact, I’ll suggest to them that, “You and (most likely) a chaser are going to have a footrace to a point just inside the offensive zone, and all you have to do is beat him there and have the puck!”  In other words, there’s absolutely no reason to stickhandle or make dekes on the way down ice; all one needs to do is go straight and have the puck in the end.

And that brings me to the suggestion that a player tap the puck far ahead, and then use both arms to speed towards the puck.  Actually, I’ve studied numerous of my top students — high school players to pros, and I’ve found that the best of them only need to touch the puck three times from about the top of a defensive face-off circle to about the middle of the offensive zone.  In other words, they tap the puck straight towards the net, fly up to it, tap it straight ahead again, fly up to it, and then grab the puck in readiness to attack the goal.  Nothing fancy in between, but everything just aimed at being speedy on a straight line.  Okay, so click on the photo up above to get a sense of what I’ve been saying (and decide for yourself if this isn’t the fastest way to get down-ice).

This next player is a pretty good one, and he’s awfully quick down the ice.  He had a problem on the rush I video-taped, however, which gives me a chance to show you something that often goes wrong on these plays…

Once you (click on the photo to the right and) watch the video, notice that near the end of his rush — after he’s done pretty nicely, this youngster finds the puck almost in his feet.  Purposely, I’ve really slowed the video at the end, just so you can see that my guy is nearly upright.  And, you know he can’t be going at full speed in that posture.  So, the lesson to be learned from this?  A player needs to gain a certain “feel” for tapping that puck ahead — not so far that he can’t get to it, but not so short that it’s going to break his stride.  Again, about three touches of the puck seems to do it, in order to cover the distance I’ve described.

Next, let’s deal with grabbing the puck and attacking the goal…

The photo to the left shows my guy just after he’s picked-up the puck about mid-zone.  Now, I can appreciate both sides of the argument — for carrying the puck the rest of the way out in front of the body or off to the forehand side.  For a lot of years I’d taught the latter, but more recently I think a player can hide his or her intentions better with the puck held out-front.  Again, though, both arguments make some sense, and I think the best answer is that the attacker have an idea of what he or she wants to do in the end.

My final bit of advice is to suggest that a player NOT move his or her body left and right in order to make the goaltender move.  Sure, a player can make head and shoulder fakes, but I don’t advise skating side to side.  For, I believe that the stick (with puck in-tow) can travel faster and farther, and the goaler has to respect that as much as if the attacker moved his body (after all, netminders line-up on the puck, and nothing else).  In other words, if the attacker is able to move the goaltender towards one side with just a wide deke, he or she should be able to move the puck quicker across to the other side than the goalie can react back.

Finally, while I’ve covered a lot here, the one thing I want to emphasize is that long dash towards the far end NOT being slowed by much handling of the puck.  Tap it ahead, fly, tap it ahead, fly…

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Have any questions or arguments with what might be some controversial territory?  You know I really appreciate your Comments!

Like a lot of adult members, I wear many hats.

For sure, I’m thinking hockey nearly 24/7; that’s what I love, and that’s what I love to immerse myself in.  At the same time, I’m a businessman.  And, whether I like it or not, I can’t keep doing what I really love to do unless I keep succeeding in that area, too.  Then, if there’s something that really keeps me on my toes, it’s the fact that so many hockey people rely on The Old Coach for guidance.

All that said, you might appreciate my need to devour books, manuals, videos and audio programs of all types.  Ya, even when I’m working on a hockey project, there’s a good chance I have a recording of some kind running in the background.  (Multi-tasking is my middle name.)

Of course, the New England Hockey Institute library is something most hockey folks would die for.  I mean, it’s just loaded with all sorts of training manuals and videos I’ve gathered over 40-ish years.  (Actually, a member has recently requested I share with others a list of my favorite hockey books and videos, and I’ve promised to do that here pretty shortly.)

What might surprise you, however, is that I’ve delved as much into the life stories of greats from outside hockey, or even from outside the sports world.  For, there’s something to be said for understanding the likes of famous statesmen, military leaders or businessmen (and women).  In fact, if they’re leaders in just about any field, I want to know how they think and how they function.

And there’s also something to be said for getting a daily spiritual boost — from my well worn Bible, as well as from a myriad of motivational speakers.  Yup, nothing picks me up and gets me going quicker than some good, honest positive talk.

And this all brings me to the subject at hand…  About a year ago I began following a pretty interesting guy on Twitter.  Billy Cox is his name, and his bio describes him as “…one of the most dynamic and entertaining authors and speakers in the world.”  And, as Billy says, his “Goal is to Energize People to Action and Inspire Positive Change!”

Anyway, today I needed a little energizing and inspiration, so I looked-up Mr Cox.  And, once I got into his presentation, I realized how much his words could help a good many of my CoachChic.com friends.  So, borrowed here from YouTube.com is what I think is an awesome video…

– Dennis Chighisola

Reacting to Adversity

( Billy Cox’s video title is “PERFORM BETTER“)

As a final preface to this video, I’m going to suggest that every one of us gets down at one time or another — I mean, it happens to everyone, from business people to parents to coaches to athletes.  And, as I so often share with my grandson, “I think the measure of any great person (or player) is seen in the way he or she reacts in tough times, or in times of adversity.”  (More to say on this at the very end!)

Okay, here’s that Billy Cox video.  And, while he’s obviously talking to a room full of business people here, this speech just as easily could have been staged in your team’s lockerroom or mine….

(If you visit YouTube.com, you’ll find a number of other similarly themed Billy Cox videos.)

Okay, so how do those Three P’s relate to our game of hockey?  Well, here’s my humble opinion:

1. Preparedness – Practice!  Practice!  Practice!  You know, I’m an incessant long-range planner, and I’m always asking those in my charge to look ahead.  Right now, for instance, you likely know about an important tryout that’s coming-up.  Or, there’s something you’d like to achieve by this season’s end.  In either case, you should have a feel for what needs to be done, and you also know exactly how much time you have to accomplish that.  From there, it’s a matter of attacking the long-range goal in small increments.  Ya, just lop those intermediate steps off, or…  Practice!  Practice!  Practice!
2. Persistence – I’ll tell you a funny story…  By the time I was an older teen, I’d failed at countless strength programs.  Ugh.  Then, one day, like out of the blue, I told myself that I was going to stick with a program just to see if all that I’d read really worked.  In other words, I’d read that after about 90-days I was guaranteed results.  So…  Hmmmm…  So, I stuck with that program — six days per week, and I never missed a session no matter what.  I also did all the other things rightly — this time, including sticking to a special diet.  So, what happened?  One night — not even 90-days into that lifting program, another teen spotted me with my shirt off in the gym lockerroom, and he asked me, “What do you do to get such a big chest?”  (Huh?  Is he talking to me?)  Shortly after, while out riding with a bunch of friends, the two guys on either side of me started complaining that my shoulders were taking up the whole back seat!  Ya, I’d realized by then that I’d gotten big — huge, in fact.  So, how did my earlier attempts at strength building differ from the one that worked?  It surely wasn’t the difference in the routines.  No, the reason my earlier tries failed was because I looked for quick gains, and I was too easily discouraged when they didn’t come.  And, the reason the last one worked was because I gave it an honest to goodness chance.  Man was I persistent — and faithful, to the max.
3. Playing the numbers – I like Cox’s stories about Ruth, Edison and Colonel Sanders, each suggesting that those men couldn’t be totally discouraged by setbacks.  So, another quick story…  I attended a special lecture one time when I was in college, this on the art of job hunting.  The guest speaker, a famous author on the subject, made one point clear enough that I still remember it to this day, suggesting to the audience that, a certain number of turn-downs should be expected before we’d likely hear that first, “Yes!”  In the end, he rationalized (and I paraphrase), “Why not get all those turn-downs out of the way so you can hurry to the answer you’re really looking for?”    Just think about that one for a sec…  After all, that’s the way Edison and The Colonel handled such matters!

So, in closing…  If you’re not currently getting the results you want, prepare yourself even better for future tries, be persistent, and play the numbers (as in getting all the setbacks out of the way so you can get on to the good stuff)!

Oh, and speaking of learning about how some of the great minds think, here’s an appropriate quote from General George Patton:

“I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.”

Finally — and since there’s the likelihood we’ll all feel a little discouraged from time to time, why not save this page among your favorites?  I know I’m going to be revisiting that video often.

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If you liked this — or even if you didn’t, I’d love to hear your feedback or Comments!

This won’t likely be the last post on this subject…  Naw, I have the feeling my search for “finishing skills” around the net will be a season-long thing for me (with both my Mighty Mites and my Jr High School Team).

Coach Kelly did kind of get the ball (errrrr… puck) rolling awhile back, however, with his own suggestions.  As Greg offered, “How about pairing up the kids about 1-2 feet from the boards. One of the kids drops 3 pucks in front of the shooter. If they stay close to the boards the pucks won’t travel as far. Of course they can take turns shooting and dropping.

I know you’ve done a similar drill in Lakeville (at the off-ice facility) by lining up three pucks horizontally, equally spaced and close to the boards. But by dropping the pucks instead of having them in-place should make the kids react quickly to the pucks bouncing in all directions.”

I countered with the fact that that was a pretty good idea.

If I have a difficulty with some forms of drilling, it usually revolves around the administrative side of it.  In other words, if it’s difficult to run a drill, not as much gets done in the allotted time, and I tend to cringe at using it very often.

I went on to tell Greg that — like his idea of dropping the pucks, “… we have to find a way to create urgency (like in a game).”

Anyway, I thought I’d show members what I’ve so far done with Greg’s idea.  (FYI…  And this is only a “so far” proposition.  I guarantee the below drills will evolve, perhaps as early as in this week’s practices.)

– Dennis Chighisola

Coach Kelly’s Hockey Shooting Drill

Actually, I believe I’ve shown the drill in this first  clip elsewhere, because it’s one I’ve used a lot through the years.  Mainly, I give the kids a small handful of pucks (no more than about 5, so they don’t lose concentration), and then I ask them to move their hands as quickly as possible in flicking each puck towards an imaginary net.

Practicing out of the way, you’ll hear me in the next video ask the kids if they’re ready for a little competition.   With this, they’ll compete against each other to see which one can shoot all of their pucks the quickest.  So, if you’ll click on the next photo (below), you’ll see a pair racing to get rid of their pucks.

In this third adaptation of what is really the same kind of drilling, I ask a pair of players to ready an odd number of pucks for another competition.  We need that odd puck, because the goal of this game is to see who can get rid of the most pucks, and that single, remaining puck is almost always sort of the tie-breaker.  So again, click on the nearby photo to see how this competition goes.  Oh, by the way…  This pair wanted to arrange their pucks neatly, with the odd puck sitting in the middle of the others.  However, I ultimately suggested that all the pairs of kids just toss their pucks out there in random fashion.  Either way is okay, though.

Oh, and have you noticed that the kids really work when there are some bragging rights on the line?  That’s my fascination with competitive drills like these; the players almost always work harder (or quicker) to beat their buddies. 

Finally — as I mentioned earlier, we expect this form of drilling to evolve in some ways (although I might not yet know how).  It seems to me that both of my current teams are missing-out on a lot of scores because they’re not quick enough around the goal mouth.  So, I’ll suggest that getting more from our efforts is a very worthwhile endeavor.

Todd Jacobson is still off with his women’s team at Notre Dame Academy for the next few months.  Of course, that won’t prevent him from occasionally sending us updates, ideas or further insight into goalie training.

In the meantime, my Team NEHI kids keep training, and I’m still here to show you a little of what we’re doing.  And, picking-up from where we left-off in Part 2 of this series, I’m going to show you another step in those 2-puck Drill progressions.

– Dennis Chighisola

Creative Training Ideas for Goalers! Part 3

If you haven’t already, please take a quick run through the earlier post on this topic (”Creative Training Ideas for Goalers! Part 2“).

Now, this particular drill does not employ 2-pucks, but there’s a reason for that…

You see, Todd and I like to bring our players along in slow, do-able steps.  So, all Team NEHI players learn to tumble (forward and backward) when they first join us.  And from there, we can add tons of new and challenging twists.  That said, we had to get the forward roll and finding a ball skills in before going on to the next problem.

In this drill, one goalie tumbles while another lobs a ball to hang in the air just above where the tumbler will arise.  And, a lot like happens in a game, the goaler has to quickly orient himself and find that ball.  Oh, I said “orient” himself on purpose, because a player will get a little disoriented during the roll, which makes it all the harder to find that ball (and maybe even harder than it would be for him in a game).

So, click on the (below) photo for a neat video showing a really into it goalie tackling these problems.

As stated earlier, we have some other progressions to show you shortly.

Can you help with further challenges along these lines?  Todd and I would love your Comments or ideas!

]]> http://www.coachchic.com/creative-training-ideas-for-goalers-part-3/feed/ 0 http://www.coachchic.com/controlling-hockey-drills/ http://www.coachchic.com/controlling-hockey-drills/#comments Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:23:50 +0000 admin http://www.coachchic.com/?p=3242

I know I’ve mentioned “controlling” drills in the past, but probably haven’t explained that very well.  So, I thought I’d take this brief opportunity to tell you why I do this, as well as describe a few of the ways I manage to accomplish it…

– Dennis Chighisola

Controlling Hockey Drills

To begin, I do find it a little difficult to explain exactly what I mean by “controlling” drills.  In a way, there’s my want to organize certain drills a little differently than other coaches might, this so I can keep my player’s focus on specific skills or techniques, and so that we might positively affect muscle memory.

But, knowing that I still haven’t explained myself well, perhaps a few examples will help you far more:

1) One example is the way you so often see me run shooting drills…

The above photos show members of my two NEHI teams staking claim to their own area along the side boards, and armed with a handful of pucks.  We do this at the start of almost all of our off-ice and on-ice practices, and quite often for a good 10- to 15-minutes per practice.  So, how many shots do you think one of my players takes over the course of a season?  My guess is that the number falls somewhere near 5- or 6-thousand.  Ha, little wonder my kids ultimately shoot absolute lasers!

In contrast, just envision the team that practices shooting by having a player circle, collect a pass from someone, and then head towards the net for a shot.  If he or she is on a normal sized roster, that means an individual player probably has to wait for 14 other skaters in order to have a turn.  And that, at least to me, removes the chance for a player to truly develop muscle memory.  If you think about it, there’s a good chance that my kids will get somewhere in the order of 20- to 30-shots in the time a player working in the other format gets one or two.  And, when it comes to muscle memory, my kids get to gradually adjust their technique as they take one shot after another.

As an aside…  I use many of the traditional attacking drills, including something like the one I just described.  The difference is that I’ll run those kinds of drills for other reasons, or to give my kids the chance to use their newly improved shooting skills in more of a game related context.

2) Just recently I described this drill for enhancing my kids’ ability to tap a puck out of the air and towards the goal (or, in this case towards an imaginary goal).  Done in similar fashion to the above described shooting drill, my players are again close to the boards, and pairs have a handful of pucks at their disposal (see the photo below).

Now, here’s how I sense other coaches might run this drill…  I know that a lot of them would have someone flip a puck — off their stick — so that an attacker could swipe at it.  Worse yet, it’s quite likely that some coaches would have players, one after another, head to the net for their periodic attempt at the play.  (I’m chuckling a bit right now, recalling the player who occasionally asks me why we don’t use the nets.  To which I’ll answer, “Because we have 30-players here, and only 2 nets!” )

My method, of course, assures lots of repetition, and it also assures fairly well placed pucks for our attacker to practice on.

3)  Okay, here’s something I haven’t previously shown you…

In the above photo, one of my hockey school coaches is helping a young defenseman with his 1 on 1 skills.  What the coach is doing is pretending to be the attacker on that 1 on 1.  And, he’s controlling everything about the drill, including the most important aspect, skating speed.  (In other words, he’s keeping the speed under control so that he can do the following…)

Throughout the course of this drill, my coach is talking to the young blueliner — about controlling the gap between them, about keeping his eyes up (not down towards the puck), about pokechecking technique, about angling, and about so much more.

Of course, I’m sure you can picture how this way of doing things so drastically differs from typical one against one drilling.  Actually, I’ll suggest that absolutely nothing is learned if attackers and defenders aren’t closely matched.  Moreover, all too often defenders just continue to reinforce the wrong techniques when working at full speed and just trying to survive the drill.

Finally, I don’t want members to get me wrong here…  As I intimated above, I use all sorts of really great game related drills in my practices, many of them described or shown throughout CoachChic.com.  However, when it comes to working for repetition — and working on the good kinds of muscle memory, I’ll suggest that we coaches really do have to find ways to “control” our drills.

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Can you help Coach Chic and other members?  Your Comments and additional ideas really do add value to this site!

Okay, this might not seem like the greatest tip in the world.  However, anything that makes our jobs easier has to be worthwhile.

If you think about it, a typical youth coach — working with his or her team on the average of only twice per week for thirty-five winter weeks — is going to tote his or her pucks into and out of a rink at least 70-times.  And, while I travel to rinks close to 5- or 6-times per week, just 70-ish trips would get me to looking for a better way.

– Dennis Chighisola

Carrying Our Hockey Pucks

All right, so I’ve suggested that toting our pucks around IS a big deal (at least to me).  The reason I feel that way is that they’re a part of the “tools of our trade”, and it would be pretty awkward to try to run a practice or hold a hockey game without any of those little black (and sometimes little blue) things.

Now, the photo below shows a number of aids, including my rather huge, black practice puck bag.  The reason I need something so large is because I like to carry in the neighborhood of about 70- or 80-pucks, and that thing does the trick.  (I like to figure on at least 3-pucks per skater, which would mean about 45-pucks for a roster of 15-players.  The reason I generally carry more than that is because my high school and junior high kids quite often practice together or on the same ice.)

Why so many?  First, a lot of my drills call for players to use anywhere from 3- to 5-pucks at a time.  Furthermore, I dump all of the pucks on the ice once we hit the ice — and I like them to be spread all around, because I don’t want a player to miss more than a couple of seconds without having one on his stick-blade.  Hey, a given drill might be designed for stickhandling, passing or shooting, and I’ve yet to run a drill called “Look Around The Ice For A Puck”! 

Looking at the photo again, notice my smaller white bucket.  That contains my game pucks.  No, I don’t want to continually dig into the big bag — or carry that humongous thing into the games (if I don’t have to).  So, I keep about 20 “pre-game pucks” in that bucket, plus a couple of newer one if they’re needed for the actual game.

Ah, yes, MY kind of pre-game pucks…  If you’ll notice, there’s a silver colored puck in the fore.  All my pre-game pucks look like that one — painted silver or while on the sides, and left black on the top and bottom.  Mean coach that I am, I want my older goaltenders to have to REALLY focus when they face warm-up shots.  And, nothing is going to cause them to focus more than dealing with pucks that are VERY difficult to follow.  (Ought to make the games seem easy, huh?)

Then, as for the other colored pucks in that display…  A few years ago a friend and assistant coach of mine returned from his USA Hockey Level 5 training with a cute game that calls for kids to deal with a whole bunch of differently colored pucks at once.  Actually, it’s a lot like the games I introduced in “Maybe It’s Time for a New Kind of (Hockey) Practice“, in that different rules can apply to different pucks.  Anyway, I usually have a handful of those spray painted pucks in the back of my SUV, just in case I want to use them at a given practice.  These, like my other pucks, are contained in a different type of carrier, a small net bag.

Oops, that picture of the blue puck reminded me that this season I’m now carrying around a collection of those, because they’re required at my Mighty Mite team’s level.   In the beginning I put those in an inexpensive canvas bag.  But, it took only a few weeks for the constant wetting and drying of that canvas to make it fall apart.

And that thing about a bag falling apart (at the very worst time) brings me to one more point…  Most canvas bags won’t last long (I’ve even tried — and ruined — some very heavy duty ones).  My black bag is a heavy vinyl, and it’s elevated on heavy plastic feet that keep it up off the ice.  Plastic buckets get brittle in the extreme cold, and they fall apart if hit by a puck.  My game bucket never touches the ice, though, since it goes from the lockerroom (where kids grab their own warm-up puck) to the top of the game bench (where the kids each deposit their own puck later).  As for the little guys’ blue pucks?  I think I’m going to get another small bucket for those.  Although it may go on the ice at times, the beginners aren’t nearly as apt to break it with an errant puck.

Oh, as for where I’ve come by these aids…  I stumbled across and purchased about a dozen of those huge bags in the baseball/softball area of a sporting goods store.  (I think they were made for carrying softballs.)  The plastic buckets are free at a local company that makes pastries for area doughnut shops.  I know that some coffee shops also sell them for a dollar or so.  The net bags I use for those odd colored pucks are just small launder bags, and they can be found in any department store.  (I generally buy those by the cartload, because I use them for all kinds of small balls and such, especially up in The MOTION Lab.)

Now, again, to explain myself..  Appreciate that I don’t want to have to bring all the different kinds of pucks into a rink if I only need one type.  Nor do I want to have to sort-out pucks from one large container whenever I only need a few.  So, because these ARE part of the tools of my trade, I really do go to at least some small extremes to carry my pucks around as conveniently as possible.

PS:  Talk about the tools of MY trade, wait until you see what I have to show you next!

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Okay, you know how much I love your feedback (and other members do, too).  So, please add your comments below, and even share with us any ideas you might have in this area!

Ya, that’s pretty much what the pitchman said on the radio this morning…

– Dennis Chighisola

On Sale:  Hockey Skates & Sticks!

  The reason I’ve decided to comment on this particular advertisement is because I immediately thought of our buddy, Jerry Z, as I heard it!

Actually, the sponsor was a well known hockey equipment super store, but the message wasn’t really for us serious hockey players, coaches or parents.  Naw, what they were peddling was “pond hockey gear”!  I mean that, and that’s exactly the expression the announcer used: “pond hockey”.  And, as best I can recall, that equipment was/is selling for $40 to $60, or thereabouts.

Now, why did I choose to raise this issue here?  It’s because Jerry owns two pairs of in-lines skates, with one pair being of pretty good quality and the other pair being rather questionable.  (You can go back and see about our previous exchange on Jerry’s sticks and skates by clicking here.)

Okay, I know that sophisticated members usually know exactly what they want when they enter an equipment shop or store.  But I can’t blame any new hockey player or parent from being confused when he or she sees the wide array of products carried by some merchants.  (I suspect that’s what happened to Jerry his first time around.  In fact, why would a new skater even realize that some of the stuff made by a reputable company could be junk?)

Anyway, that’s the point of this article, to help save anyone who might be fairly new to such things.  And, if I had to advise new players or parents of new players, here are a couple of things that come to mind immediately…

1) Even though a company might be known for their high quality gear, there’s the likelihood that they also produce low quality equipment for recreational type players.

2) Most of the pro shops (or those located inside local rinks) primarily carry gear that is more suitable to competitive players.  They may have some lower priced articles for real young players or adult rec skaters, but even that gear should meet player needs for a time.

3) It should make sense for a customer to ask plenty of questions wherever he or she does shop.  Armed with the above information (and loads of other equipment advice distributed here at CoachChic.com), he or she ought to have a better sense of what’s needed before even arriving at the store.

4) All that said, I’m going to share one more thing I’ve noticed…  A lot of the so-called super stores hire athletes to wait on their customers.  That’s the good part.  Perhaps the not-so-good part might be if a family is trying to get “expert hockey help” from a tennis player or swimmer.  This again probably suggests going to a rink pro shop when you need advice.  They’re almost always manned by current or former players, and usually by people who really like what they do.

Man, where has this article — or this line of thinking — been all my coaching life?

!!!

Now, I’m going to bite my tongue (for as long as I can stand it), and let you read this unbelievable piece by Mental Edge’s Shaun Goodsell.  Thereafter, you know I’m going to have LOTS to say!

– Dennis Chighisola

Shaun Goodsell, MA

President and CEO of Mental Edge

Blinded by Winning

As the winter sports kick-off I am preparing for the many questions I will field as teams and individual athletes seek to chase their ideal success.  Athletes, coaches and parents will invest enormous resources of time, energy and money to climb that ladder of whatever they are chasing that defines success. Some will determine success by wins and losses; others will use a post-season appearance or a championship and still others will dig deep to frame success in ways that cannot be defined in visible ways. However each team or individual defines success, there is no doubt there will be ups and downs along the way.  The small successes and disappointments experienced on the journey are significant in dictating the overall success at the end of the season.

Recently, I have been looking for a mental paradigm that can help people look at their season in a way that helps to prepare them and their teams to play better at the end of the season than at the beginning. Here is the challenge as I see it:

For years I have been hearing that each time a team or player sets out to perform they should be their best. Coaches talk about bringing your best game day in and day out. Parents go watch in the hopes of seeing a quality performance and a win. There is no doubt that watching a winning performance is fun and exciting. However, winning can at times blind us to what makes us vulnerable as an athlete and as a team. It is as though chasing the Win becomes the goal instead of seeking to use the contest as a learning opportunity to reveal to us what requires work to make us most invincible at the end of the season. Wins, although important, often blind teams and individuals to vital points of development that if not fixed sabotage teams and individuals from the ultimate goal they may be chasing. What might be true is that a well timed loss or short term disappointment may be more critical leading to success of the team because of the focus it creates on what makes a individual and team vulnerable later on in the season.

We need to value the learning that can occur through points of defeat and disappointment. To do this requires us to lessen our focus on winning and increase our emphasis on learning. Every athlete and team should ask themselves after a win or loss, “What did we learn about ourselves and our team?” Subsequently, “What do we need to do in order to get better in that aspect of the game?” Becoming seduced by the short-term success of a win can alter our ability to learn crucial lessons about ourselves that can be bridges to long-term success. Every moment needs to be seen as part of a bigger picture. Doing this allows learning to be a viable goal each time we perform.

This season consider learning from disappointments and team losses and resolve to use them to improve yourself and your team. You will find that you will elevate your game with this mindset when in the past you had become frustrated and disappointed and missed those vital points of learning that kept you stuck.

At Mental Edge we desire to challenge people to experience breakthrough in their lives by establishing new thinking skills and thought patterns leading to a renewed energy for their lives and what is possible. If you are ready to make breakthrough changes in your life, please call Dawn to take the first step at 763.439.5246!

Until next time, here’s to your possibilities!

Shaun

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Okay, let me begin by saying that a “young Coach Chic” would have taken the “W” over anything else.  Thank God I changed my ways by the time I started working with my second generation of players!

Now, let me tell you a few things that should help validate Shaun’s comparison of wins versus losses (or learning experiences:

1. I started using video-tape back in 1979.  And, back in those days, I had a great dad who followed my high school hockey teams, and he was also really into video.  So, we arranged that he’d tape all the games he could attend, while I spent countless hours studying those tapes.  A funny thing happened very early-on, however.  I discovered that games in which we won big were of almost no value to me.  I mean, it seemed as if only tough opponents really exposed our weaknesses or showed me the things I had to do to help my kids back at practice.
2. By now, members know my penchant for note-taking.  In fact, there’s an entire category here that allows me to share some of the things I record.  Anyway, much like what I discovered from the study of videos, I’ve come to realize that my notepad is nearly blank after an easy win, and it is crammed full whenever we suffer a setback.  Ya, again, it takes a stronger opponent to expose the things we really need to work on.
3. Next, I need to say that a combination of things have helped me become a better coach…  Number One — and what I see as a main part of Shaun’s article — is that This Old Coach has had to be open to learning.  Secondly, and as you should have gathered from the first two points, I’ve needed to face some tougher opponents each season in order to learn or to grow.  (In actuality, I don’t think I’ve have ever arrived at some of my training inventions or training manuals unless I first found I was failing at something.  Ya, think about that one, if you would.)
4. Lastly, I know my players are better today than they were on opening night, mainly because of the very “mindset” Shaun describes.  Thankfully, I have managed to convince my players and (most of) their parents (as well as myself) that “Development comes first.”  If you think about it, “winning at all costs” usually requires shortcuts, or shortchanging players.  You know what I mean:  a coach only skates certain kids in a tight game, he or she arranges lines or defense pairs solely for the sake of winning, or a coach pays more attention to the best players during the practices because they’re the ones who spell “W-I-N-S” for him or her.  On the other hand, I can’t tell you what a relief it is to put development first…  With that, I probably pay a hair more attention to the kids who need to catch-up with the rest of our roster; our practices are mainly dictated by what the kids need for the long-term; I spread my talent evenly over all the lines so that kids are learning from each other; and — until the last minute or so of a close game, I just keep rolling my lines with no regard for the “W”.  (FYI…  I do one thing each week that might seem like it’s for the sake of winning, in that we do have a set powerplay unit for each game.  However, that’s actually used as a reward for practice attendance!)

Finally, as for my comment about “where has this article been all my life?”  Well, I’ve lost a few hockey families through years, mostly due to the fact that I couldn’t convince them that long-term gains were far more important than stats, championships or trophies.  And, while I wish I had Shaun’s article to help sway them back then, I plan on using it to save some future folks in need.

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Double-dare you to argue this one in our Comments area! 

As promised (at least to Eric S), here are some video clips of the speed oriented drills I described in the earlier entry (High Intensity Skating Drills).

– Dennis Chighisola

High Intensity Skating Drills – Part 2

Take-off 1

In the initial one, my kids work on their forward take-offs by first moving backwards.  As you should notice when watching the video (click on the nearby photo), a shift in upper body momentum is needed in order to start the forward motion.  Also know that I’ve dictated which way the kids should stop — with their skates in a vee, with the right skate or with the left skate.

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Take-off 2

The second video happens to show one of my quickest young skaters (an 8th grader).  His technique is first shown in slow-motion, but you can really see how quickly he shifts his weight and moves his feet in the second part shown at normal speed.  (Please click on the second photo to see that video.)

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Jump Take-off 3

As noted in my earlier post, I oftentimes allow my players to work on their own when they’re practicing their take-offs.  Yes, I like races at most times, to get the kids really working hard.  At the same time, I’ve found they sometimes cheat in order to win races, and in this sort of drilling that likely means they’d avoid concentrating on technique.  Anyway, clicking on the third photo will show some of my junior high school kids leaping while going backwards, and then immediately (or as best they can) taking-off forward as they land.

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Jump Take-off 4

Photo four (and the linked video) isolates another 8th grader executing the latter exercise.  And, as I also said in the previous article, I feel there’s a slight plyometric component to this form of drilling.

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By the way, I go easily with — or limit — jumping exercises like these when it comes to my junior high school kids (or younger ones).  So, at most, such a group will do something like this only once per week.

Finally, I just shot some additional video at our weekly off-ice practice, but that still needs to be edited and doctored for posting here.  I promise to do that soon (as Part 3), because it shows some awesome twists to the above exercises, and I’ll also show you the way my kids work on that earlier noted “towel drill”.

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Be a friend:  EVERY worthwhile Comment really helps Coach Chic and our membership!

Now, I hope you’ve had a chance to read my earlier entry on Whole Body Vibration, because — as I said there, it’s pretty fascinating stuff.  And, as I also intimated there, it sort of sets the groundwork for how I ultimately arrived at my WakeBoard.  So, please do that if you haven’t yet, and then come back and read on…

– Dennis Chighisola

WBV Leads to Coach Chic’s “WakeBoard”

Long before I located an affordable Whole  Body Vibration device, I thought to build one — I mean a really high tech and heavy duty one, and one that might accommodate hockey type movements.

So, I called my brother, Lou, a genius when it comes to inventing any kind of electronic or computerized contraption.  We must have gone back and forth on various ideas for at least a half-hour, until he asked me to do something pretty interesting…

“Dennis, just think about the times you’ve spent fishing out on a small boat,” Lou suggested.  “You sat for most of the day, yet you were totally exhausted when you got home!”

True enough, and we laughed about that — about how I often hurt in places where I didn’t even know I had muscles! 

I thought long and hard about that over the next few days — about the soreness one gets from being out on a nearby pond.  And I began thinking that the movement of the boat — even in the calmest waters — forces a body to constantly wrestle to hold its position.  I mean, I wouldn’t even be thinking about it, but I know that every tiny part of my musculature was working overtime to keep me upright and fairly steady.  (Interestingly, a few days after talking to my brother, I shared the gist of that conversation with a Lab visitor who happens to be the commander of a US Coast Guard ship.  And he pretty much agreed with what I was thinking.)

Next, yet another thing went into my want to create a special gadget…  In studying countless hours of high level hockey play via video, it was quite obvious to me that players are subjected to something pretty similar to what happens in a boat.  In other words, there’s this gut-wrenching of core muscles that goes on throughout any individual player’s shift — with every learn, cut, stop, and with every bump or wrestle with another player.

Furthermore — and while I’m not downplaying the benefits of traditional lifts — like Olympic ones or squats and presses, I realized that hockey players have to exert tremendous force while in a myriad of less than convenient postures.  Doing my best to say that in another way…  A player might make contact with an opponent while leaning x-number of degrees off his or her best squatting posture, and he or she may need to continue resisting or pushing while rocking from forward to back and from side to side.  Actually, I think the same can be said for a player when he or she attempts to execute a high speed skill — like shooting, passing, pass receiving or making wide moves with the puck.  So again, I know that traditional lifts have proven helpful for hockey players; however, they don’t exactly replicate the way our game is played.

In reference to the above, I just had a little fun with some video..  So, clicking on the thumbnail to the right shows one of my former players wrestling with a very light sandbag while some on-ice college players go through their typical on-ice wrestling in the background.  (Okay, the video ain’t great, but I was just having some fun.)

The next photo (to the left) shows what I arrived at as a device for mimicking the frequently changing postures a player might deal with in the game action.  If you click on that photo, you’ll see a former student in The MOTION Lab moving a 10-lb weight in random patterns.  This is just a basic exercise for work on the WakeBoard, but you might envision the unbelievable full body workout that’s taking place here…  I mean, imagine what every leg muscle is going through, not to mention this student’s core and upper body muscles.  Ya, it’s a lot like being on a boat — his having to constantly wrestle with staying steady and erect.  And, while the weight makes it all the tougher, moving the weight around makes it even more so (and more game related, I’ll suggest).

The next photo shows another Lab student using a sandbag.  I’ll cover this interesting training tool in another future entry.  However, I will tell you that, as light as the shown sandbag is, it introduces a challenge beyond the barbell plate, mainly because the sand shifts around within the bag as my guy heaves it all around.  Click on the photo to see that student in action with his sandbag, the earlier guy moving the weight again, and then a close-up of the WakeBoard as it rocks with each movement of the athlete.

Then, two final things…

1) I haven’t totally satisfied the ways I think the WakeBoard can be used.  To date, the exercises I’ve shown surely do work (as do a few Todd Jacobson and I have used with our goaltenders).  However, I sense a lot more things can be done atop that awesome unstable surface.

2) Because I want to continually add value to your CoachChic.com membership, I’m going to include the following sketches in hopes you might be able to build your own version of the WakeBoard.  Dimensions aren’t critical here; as I’m so often heard to say, “It’s the doing that makes a player better!”

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If you have any questions or ideas concerning my WakeBoard, let’s get a conversation going here in the Comments area!

I’ve had the chance to grow-up through many generations of training approaches, and it’s amazing how things have changed over my 50-ish years as both an athlete and a coach.

I’m actually shaking my head at the atmosphere and thinking that dominated my youth — mainly through the 1950’s and 1960’s.  Back then it was believed that work with weights would slow a skilled athlete.  (Ha!)

Even years later — when elite athletes began seriously training for strength during their off-seasons, a prevailing belief was that the weights should be abandoned as athletes played and practiced during their regular seasons.  Ya, that was the case until some studies were done (within the NFL, I believe) that showed most players “de-trained” or lost body strength during their playing seasons.

With that, most pro sports teams (and other elite athletes) have shifted to “maintenance programs”, or programs aimed at maintaining strength levels over the course of a long regular season.

Then, I love the point Scott Umberger makes below, in that an in-season program will help an athlete take-off from a much higher level once he or she ends the season and heads into the off-season.  So, have a read, ’cause I have a sense this is going to put you far ahead of what most other amateur hockey players know.

– Dennis Chighisola

In-season Hockey Strength Training

Scott Umberger
Umberger Performance LLC

So you have busted your butt to get into shape for camp. You were “jacked” and strong when the season started and you end the season smooth and all sucked out. Maintaining your strength levels are vital to your post season training as well. If your strength levels are down it will take 4-6 weeks to get ready to train hard. If you are “familiar with the bar” by having trained all season, that time can be cut in half.

Here are my thoughts on keeping your weight up and trying to maintain your strength levels throughout the season:

• At minimum you must continue to squat, press (bench, dumbbells, etc), and clean or snatch. I prefer box squatting closer to games (2-3 days before a game) over back squatting, due to the potential soreness from squatting.
• Keep reps on the lower end with these lifts. I’ve slowly dropped the hang clean and squatting reps for my hockey players. We are performing around 5-6 sets for 2-3 reps depending on their game schedules. This will eventually drop to single reps.
• If you feel great on an off week you can go over 75-80% of your pre season maxes. Don’t go crazy here, you aren’t maxing out. I’m simply saying that if you have on off week and you feel great, it’s ok to go a little heavier.
• Don’t start incorporating new exercises that you haven’t done in a while and get out of control with them. If you haven’t lunged in a while, take it easy on the weight and volume (sets and reps) for the first week. The new movement alone will get you sore and you don’t want to be to sore during the season.
• Always perform a dynamic warm up before practices and games. These warm ups really help keep the body working like it should. Let’s face it, skating isn’t a natural movement.
• Make sure that you continue to perform assistance or accessory exercises that maintain wrist/grip strength, ankle mobility and strength, hip mobility, and shoulder mobility and stability.
• Buy and use a foam roller.

This insert is courtesy of Dennis.  Scott and I knew you might not be all that familiar with the foam roller, so I found a few videos on YouTube that should prove helpful…

Although Scott and I can’t necessarily endorse a given foam roller, Scott prefers the shorter one over the longer, because he feels it easily fits into your hockey bag for weekend tournaments, etc.  Anyway, Dennis has done a little of the work for you…  The image on the left (below) is linked to a popular model, while the image on the right takes you to the results I received from a Google search.  (Neither Scott or I have any commercial interest in a certain roller brand, and we even suggest you comparison shop after looking at these)…

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• Do workouts to recover from long weekends. My guys hate life when they walk into Umberger Performance after playing 4-5 games at a weekend showcase. After a complete dynamic warm up they feel a little better. I’ll have them perform a few sets of a barbell complex and they’ll feel much better and on the road to recovery. A barbell complex can be many things…. A typical complex can be a dead lift, Romanian dead lift, push ups on the bar, bent over row, push press, and back/front squat. You can also add some Olympic movements if you prefer. Perform all of the movements until you have gone through every exercise. Perform 5-10 reps for 2-5 sets in a workout. They are tough but they won’t kill you.
• Don’t forget to eat the right food at the right time. Post practice and post game meals are very, very important. Shakes are a great and convenient way to maintain vital nutrients and calories during the long hockey season.

I know the season is long and it’s very hard to stay on top of the things that I’ve just outlined. If you can stay disciplined and maintain a training and eating schedule you will finish the season the strongest and healthiest that you have ever been. Remember that players get “paid” for consistency. Point a game is great production in any league. However, it’s hard to be consistent if you loose 70% of your strength and 10 pounds over the course of the season.

Good luck and shoot me an email if you have any questions,

scott@umbergerperformance.com

Best Regards,
Scott Umberger
Umberger Performance LLC
www.umbergerperformance.com
412-523-0060

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Be a friend:  EVERY worthwhile Comment really helps us!

That said, the following excerpt explains a little side project I’ve been into for about the past 5 or so years.  It’s from an article entitled “History of Whole Body Vibration Technology” (from the website History of Whole Body Vibration Technology).  I’d like you to have a read, because it should introduce you to something that I find absolutely fascinating:

“There’s nothing new about the benefits of whole body vibration technology; it’s been around for over 47 years.  The world first saw its effectiveness when the Russians started winning all the Gold at the Olympic Games in 1960.  Then, they started keeping their cosmonauts in space longer and longer — eventually, over a year longer than we could.   However, the Russians kept the technology of whole body vibration a secret until after the Berlin Wall came down in November 1989.  Therefore, the world didn’t learn the secret to the Russian’s superiority at the Olympic Games or in outer space for 30 long years.  It was one of Russia’s key sports scientists, Dr. Vladimir Nazarov, by experimenting with a vibration system, who began the research of this technology.   Nazarov was an active sportsman, a member of the Soviet gymnastics team and occupied a chair for sports biomechanics at the State College in Minsk.  Finding his experiment a success, he introduced this technology to competitive sports, ballet, and medicine in the former USSR.  The Russian Space Program continues to use the technology — while the cosmonauts are in space — as physical therapy to help the cosmonauts overcome the considerable decrease of bone mass and muscle tone that they risk during extended periods of weightlessness.  After the fall of the Soviet Union, Nazarov’s research on whole body vibration made its way to Europe in the early 1990’s…”

Now, the following YouTube video starts out a little corny, but the guest really knows his stuff about WBV benefits and methods.  So give him a minute, and the be prepared to have your eyes opened to what Whole Body Vibration technology promises do…

If you’re interested, here are the final two videos in that Youtube series…

I actually stumbled across this rather new (to the Western world) strength training approach long ago, from an unrelated Internet search.  And as I soon discovered, all sorts of Whole Body Vibration (WBV) machines are currently available.  Professional models can go for well over $10,000, these made for heavy duty use in busy sport clubs, etc.  I actually managed to eventually find and purchase a smaller, far less expensive type more suited to individual or small group use.

Now, I’m not really here to promote this form of training; again, I find it fascinating, and I love the workouts I get from my machine.  However, there are as many studies out there downplaying the benefits of WBV as there are supporting it (so it’s up to you to decide if it’s right for you or your player/s).  Also, while I personally think there’s a huge difference — in the way exposure can be governed and in the way settings can be controlled, we’re all likely aware of the potential for injuries from overexposure to driving heavy equipment or operating some vibrating machines.

So, why have I posted this particular entry — if I’m not really promoting it?  It’s because I needed a way to set the groundwork for my own invention.  For, as you’ll soon discover, my “WakeBoard” came about because of an interest in Whole Body Vibration technology.

Look for that article and related videos to appear here very shortly.

Okay, by now you probably know I like to be descriptive — or maybe colorful — when it comes to hockey technique.  That’s the teacher in me, really.

I’ve done that with the following skill because I want my players to picture a given kind of movement as they practice.  But then, you’ll see…

– Dennis Chighisola

“Bunting” the Hockey Puck

From the first photo you can probably already guess that I’m talking about my players learning to tap the puck out of the air and into the goal.  And, you might also guess that I use the “bunting” tag because I want the kids to think of the movement as a rather short rap at the puck, not a wild swing.

Also, you might notice from the way I set-up this drill (and numerous others) that I like to have control.  In other words, players needn’t be moving all around or dealing with pucks that aren’t placed right in a good area to practice with.  In fact, the way I arrange this and a lot of other drills ensures my kids get far more repetitions than do players I see in other practice formats.

The Basic Drill……….From the picture you should see how I like to organize this drilling…  Pairs of players are very close to the boards, with one partner kneeling and holding about 3 or 4 pucks.  That “feeder” must take care to lob the puck –  between waist-high and chest-high, so that the “bunter” can practice tapping the puck towards an imaginary net.

Now, you can click on the photo to see a short video of that pair in action.  These are actually two pretty good young players, yet the one doing the bunting is achieving so-so results.  You might also notice that he needs reminding to shorten the stroke, and to be sure to keep his stick down.

Batting the puck out of the air (or a regular basis and with some accuracy) really is a skill.  And, as such, it should be practiced often.  Also, I’ll suggest that all the tricks players do with a ball or puck — like keeping it balanced in the air for a good length of time — will also help with stick dexterity.

A More Game Related Drill……….The set-up in the next drill is exactly the same as the previous one.  This time, however, I’m going to have the bunter jog in place as he attempts to bat pucks towards an imaginary goal.  The purpose is to get my players moving and to cause their hands and eyes to bounce a little, thereby making the focus and contact with the puck a little more difficult.  I say this form of drilling is more game related because — in a game — players only get a quick glimpse at the puck and only an instant to swipe at it, and they don’t get any time to really focus their eyes are pretty their posture.

That said, you can click on the second photo to see some players jogging in place and attempting to bat (or bunt) the puck out of the air.  (By the way, we could create similar game-like conditions by having a player step back and forth over a low obstacle, or by having him or her spin a different way just prior to each toss.)

Now, having seen the two videos, I’ll bet you know how you’d have corrected the youngsters who appeared in them.  I give them credit for just starting to learn that skill.  However, I think we can see where they made some nice “bunts” or where they swung a little too wildly, and we can both likely recognize when they needed to carry their stick a little lower.

Finally, and as I suggested previously, this really is a skill.  And, as such, it requires lots of practice.

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I would love your Comments or thoughts!

One of our outstanding strength coaches and good friend, Jason Price, wrote this piece for Athletes Equation, and it does have a slant towards strength training.  However, I’d like players, parents and coaches to look at it more from a “player’s” perspective — in other words, as this same line of thinking might apply to correcting hockey skill-type errors.  So, give it a try, huh?  I think you’ll see what I mean…

– Dennis Chighisola

The Difference between Error Recognition & Awareness for Athletes & Coaches

Jason Price, MS, CSCS, ATC, CPT, USAW Club Coach

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“There is a great difference between recognizing an error.. and accepting an error as an error — an acceptance that implies full responsibility for correcting that error. Full awareness implies willingness to change, and we may not be ready to do that.”

As a coach I can’t make an athlete correct an error. I can only direct them towards making the correction. It is easy for an athlete to say they understand or recognize an error taking place. But, it isn’t until they are fully aware of the error that they can correct it.

So, why is understanding this difference between recognizing errors and becoming aware of errors important for coaches and athletes? It is because ultimately it is up to the athlete to make the correction, not the coach. The coach can only teach proper technique or how to do a skill; they cannot “make” the athlete do it correctly. Making errors and mistakes is what athletes must do to learn, grow and improve. But the athlete must want to understand their body and what they are asking it to do.

An example of this is one of the simplest drills in the weight room. The Romanian Deadlift (or stiff legged deadlift) is a simple exercise which requires only movement at the hip while stabilizing the other joints involved. Seems simple, but wait, because it is actually one of the more difficult exercises to coach. Simply, it’s because many individuals are not aware of what their body is doing. They think they are doing one thing and then they do something completely different.

This is where understanding the difference between error recognition and awareness comes into play. Coaches mostly recognize errors and flaws in what is being asked of the individual. That is what we do. But, how many coaches try to teach awareness?

Now this may not be appropriate for all levels of coaching. For the personal trainer, strength coach, athletic trainer, physical therapist and some sport coaches this is exactly what is missing from their instruction on some drills. If an athlete just doesn’t seem to get it and you are hammering home the same points, change it up. Put it on their shoulders to truly become aware of what they are doing. If the athlete or individual doesn’t understand they are making an error, they can’t become aware. Again, using the Romanian Deadlift example, my goal as a coach is to try to make the person aware when they don’t move at the hip or don’t fully stabilize. I can tell them all I want what they did wrong. However, unless they are aware they won’t make the correction.

So next time you are coaching a drill or exercise, instead of focusing on telling individuals what they are doing wrong and how to correct it, ask them what they are aware of, or that they are doing. Ask them how it feels for them try to make the correction without you having to tell them or position them over and over. Yes, this may take a little longer at first, but it will save you time in the long run.  For, as the trainee or athlete learns this skill, they will be ready to be aware of what they are doing as they are learning any new skill.

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Be a friend:  EVERY worthwhile Comment really helps Coach Chic!

The following question was submitted by member Eric S.  It’s a good one, but it can be difficult answering long distance (or without being able to actually see where his players are at a given time).

Nonetheless, I do know that Eric works with a fairly talented teen group, so I’ll approach things from that perspective.

– Dennis Chighisola

High Intensity Skating Drills

Q: Eric states that, “We always spend the first 7-10 minutes on the ice having our boys run some high intensity skating drills without pucks. Currently we have them run overspeed circles, once forward, once backward and once transitioning @ the hash marks. Then they do two sets of iron crosses and then one other high intensity start/stop drill that we developed. They have been doing these for about 3 weeks and we want to replace one of the drills with a new one every few weeks to keep things fresh. Can you suggest a few other drills of this nature that we could incorporate?
Thanks, Eric”

A: First, Eric, when you say that you do these rather intense exercises in the first minutes of a practice, I’m trusting that effective (and long enough) warm-ups are done prior to the hard skating.  As you’ll read in some of what Scott Umberger and I have said, (other than the obvious injury prevention) more growth is gained from a workout if the muscles are properly warmed.

Continuing on that first point for a moment…  Members might like to know that I begin most skill oriented practices with drills that need to be done slowly, and ones that tend to enhance skating technique.  So, instead of using specific warm-up exercises on the ice, I kill two birds with one stone by having my guys do useful drills at a gradually building intensity.

Now, as for some drill suggestions, I’ll first remind Eric to refer occasionally to my video on “29 Must-do Advanced Skating Drills“.  A goodly number of the exercises shown there would likely suit your needs.  You might also check the few entries I’ve done in reference to speed training or over-speed training for some really good tips.

Then, a couple of things come to mind for specific drill ideas…

- It sounds like you’re attempting to satisfy my first suggestion.  I mean, remembering that players need to be able to go quickly in four different directions (forward, backward, and in both lateral directions).  My “2-step Drill” (shown in the above linked video) is a great one for lateral work.

- What I like to do with those directional drills is to also incorporate quick changes in direction.  For example, if I want my players to work at quick, short forward bursts, I’ll begin the drill with the players first skating backwards, then breaking and shifting their weight to go forward.  Sometimes we coaches will run races and oversee the drill with whistles or voice commands.  However, a lot of the time I’ll let my older players work on their own.  In other words, I’ll tell them what to do, and then I’ll allow them to do the drill in their own area (which frees me and the other coaches to move among them and to offer tips or feedback).  Again, these can be done in all four directions, with the players beginning with a movement in the opposite direction.

- Now, I only do this next one with my older guys (because it’s pretty stressful).  Actually, it’s the same kind of drilling I’ve just described, but with a plyometrics component added.  For example, adapting the drill I just explained…  My players will start skating backwards, but then they’ll jump in the air and immediately dash forward upon landing.  Again, it’s pretty stressful, but it’s also pretty effective.  And it can be adapted to use in all directions.  (I’ll try to get some video of this form of training later this week and attempt to update this entry — or do a follow-up one — as soon as I can.)

Oh, by the way…  When left to their own devices, most players will turn towards a favorite side to do their stop and take-off.  Knowing this, I dictate ahead of time how they will stop — with a vee, turned to the right or turned to the left.

- Oops, one more great one just came to mind…  By now, I’m sure you know how I like to adapt ideas from other sports.  Such is the case with a sprinting exercise called “The Towel Drill”.  In the gym or on a track, one sprinter has a towel around his or her waste, while a partner holds the ends of the towel to provide resistance against a short run.  Part way through that brief but intense sprint, the partner lets go of one towel end, thereby letting the runner really burst out.  (I tend to think there’s an over-speed component to going from lots of resistance to no resistance.  ???)  I like to use this drill both off-ice and on.  And, when we’re on the ice, I have my guys hold their mates’ jersey-tails instead of using towels.

Come to think of it, the above drill could be adapted to accomplish a little striding technique work as Jerry Z is shown doing (using a bungee rope) in a recent video (click here).

Finally, Eric, I like the fact that you are attempting to rotate drills (much like I’ve also described elsewhere, or a lot like strength trainers use in “periodization”).  Hopefully these few tips get you started.  However, if there’s anything more specific you’d like me to deal with — or a drill you might want me to invent for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.  Good luck!  (Oh, I just remembered to ask:  When are you going to send me some video footage of that “high intensity start/stop drill” that you developed?  I know I’d love to see it, and I’ll bet others would, too!)

This PS to my members:  Something evidently has (at least on occasion) gone wrong with the submission of questions.  I mean, they sometimes aren’t immediately relayed to me as they should be.  So, if you don’t see your question dealt with in a day or so (and I should answer that quickly), please email me.  I really want those questions, and I especially don’t want anyone to think that I’m not responsive due to some technical snafu.

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Be a friend:  EVERY worthwhile Comment helps me in the search engines!

Today’s entry is just sort of a muse on my part…

You see, besides being an incessant not-taker, I also clip and save a lot of little bits of information from the nightly newspaper or from other on-line sources.  These usually contain ideas I either want to explore more for my coaching, or they’re on subjects I might like to comment on here at CoachChic.com.

Such is the case with a news clipping that just fell from my notebook…  It’s a beauty, as you’ll discover, and something I’d at least like for you to ponder.

– Dennis Chighisola

On Lopsided Hockey Scores

Okay, hold onto your hat as I tell you the headline on an article I long ago clipped from the local Brockton (MA) Enterprise newspaper.  For, it reads:

“An 82-0 score… in hockey”

Yup, you read that right!  And the article begins by saying, “With more goals than minutes in the game, Slovakia’s women’s ice hockey team claimed an amazing 82-0 victory over Bulgaria in Olympic qualifying.”  It further states that Slovakia outshot their opponents — yikes, 139-0!

Now, I know you and I are going to have very different views on that game’s outcome.  I mean, I can image you being outraged that a team would pound on another squad like that, especially if you’re from North America.  Ya, it only seems that we in North Americans get bothered by lopsided scores — I mean, as if a team is trying to run-it-up.  On the other hand, I’ve noticed a lot of really out of whack scores abroad (although none probably as bad as that one), and I don’t think I ever got the sense that the losers felt insulted.

That said, let me offer some thoughts of my own here…

To begin, I thought the idea of a game was for two teams to go out and play to the very best of their abilities.  ???  And, if that’s the case, why should one feel insulted by that game’s outcome?  Again, it’s just two teams playing as hard and as skilled as they can.  From there, you win some and you lose some, and you sometimes either win or lose by a wide margin.

Oh, I suppose that we could enter a game with the idea that we’re only going to play our best if we’re evenly matched or inferior to the other team.  (Wanna read that one again?)  But, somehow that just doesn’t sound right (does it?).  In a way, however, that seems to be the North American mentality:  Only play your best if the game is close or if you’re losing.

If you think about it, a team (or at least a youth hockey team) practices all week to ready for an opponent.  And, pretty likely their hope is to beat the other team with the skills and tactics they’ve learned to that point.  So, what a downer it is — or would seem to be — if a team discovers that it has to play other than it’s very best.  In a way, it almost seems a waste of time (as in, how can we NOT score today?).

Actually, my sentiments are very much like the Slovakian coach, Miroslav Karafiat, who is quoted as saying, “We took it as training.”  Yup, there is nothing better for a team than to get to practice against just a slightly less than equal amount of resistance.  We coaches do this all the time in our practices (perhaps having a shorthanded group play with their sticks reversed so that our powerplay unit’s plays work a little easier than usual).  It’s one way to build confidence in what our players are trying to learn.

Now, I’m not saying that there aren’t times when a lopsided game isn’t badly mishandled by the stronger team’s coach or individual players.  For sure, they can do or say or act in ways that are degrading to the losing side.  But, to be upset because the stronger team keeps playing hard doesn’t seem right to me.

As a matter of fact, many years ago I tried doing off-the-wall things in an attempt to not run-up a score.  And, I ended-up discovering several problems with this…

First, an opponent can be all the more embarrassed if the superior team overtly tries to hold back on the attack.  Secondly, I’ve actually seen some of my teams have difficulty getting untracked in subsequent games after I’ve made them do some odd-ball things.  Thirdly, there is a huge danger in players getting hurt when they’re too relaxed, or not playing with full intensity.  (I think pro teams in most sports feel the same about this one, so they oftentimes pull their regulars at some point.  Of course, I don’t think it would be fair — or even possible — to bench a youth team’s best players once a game gets out of hand.)

Of course, it’s my hope that no member takes me wrongly about all this.  I usually hate being on either end of a lopsided game.  However, if we’ve come to play, we ought to let the kids do it to the best of their abilities.

Actually, I’ve experienced both sides of this as a coach over the past two weeks…  In our big win, I looked for my kids to polish certain areas of their game in preparation for more difficult opponents.  In the one where we got trounced, I used a goodly number of our mistakes (or shortcomings) as “teaching moments”, and I also gathered a boat-load of notes from which to help my kids further at coming practices.

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Okay, no fairs sending firebombs to my NEHI PO Box!    At the same time, I really would like to hear your impressions on this topic!

Last week I lightened the training for my NEHI High School Prep guys.  Hey, they were in good enough shape (actually, better than good enough), so I just wanted to keep them working some without risking a last minute injury or sending them off to their respective school team tryouts being either physically or mentally drained.

We did plenty of puck work and shooting at our last on-ice skills session, and our last mid-week X’s and O’s practice has traditionally been a fun oriented intra-squad thing I call our Red