My Equipment Cart

By Dennis Chighisola

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!