To begin, a few seasons ago I had a young player who demonstrated a ton of physical shortcomings — I’m talking some serious motor-skill problems, and mostly things that I suspected as genetic.  (It’s also quite possible that for some unknown reasons he missed-out on certain critical periods in motor learning.)

As an FYI, I would say he was 12, 13 and 14-years old during the years I worked with him.

Actually, over those 3 seasons, the boy, his parents and I managed to lop-off a number of coordination issues, with most of the lad’s gains made at home and in my off-ice training center, The MOTION Lab.

As examples of the things I had him work on…  He rope-skipped a ton (as do all of my players), and I had him do lots of balancing and proprioception work, especially on inflatable disks, on a teeter-totter, and on a mini-trampoline.  To improve his sport vision, I had him wear an eye patch over one eye at a time — while catching a ball and bouncing on the mini-tramp, while doing some simple juggling movements, and while dribbling a ball or puck on the trampoline.  Again, we made some nice headway in those areas.

However, there was always one thing that truly bothered me, it was something I wasn’t quite sure about at the time, but it’s something I’m thinking very, very seriously about right now.

That boy, like lots of others I regularly see, seemed to have a serious problem with his strength.  Not that he was small or really weak (actually, he was decent sized for his age).  But it was more like he — or his body — didn’t really know how to generate strength or deal with the slightest resistance.  (I can still see his legs tremble as he did some pretty simple exercises.)

So, what I’m wondering about right now is whether a very basic weightlifting program might benefit such kids (or maybe all kids).  Not that my aim would be to have them lift seriously, or to put on added muscle.

To understand what I’m getting at, perhaps adult members could envision a time when they readied to lift something rather heavy — be it a barbell in the gym, or a piece of furniture or equipment at home or at work.  Picture what you initially did…  You likely adjusted your body position and your grip, and you likely did that a number of times before you felt ready to give that heavy weight a serious try.  To me, there’s some learning going on there — as we adjust and re-adjust to the expected resistance.

Can you appreciate what I’m getting at here?  I mean, I have a sense that younger athletes would gain by just learning to address resistance, be it in the form of a very lightly loaded half-squat movement, in a few Olympic lifts, or in some other full-body movements.  Again, I wouldn’t be aiming to make the kids bigger or stronger, and I probably wouldn’t use anything heavier than an empty bar.  But it is that sense of addressing some resistance — and learning to adjust the grip and posture — that I think might help a lot (if not all) young athletes.

All that said, I would love to hear other opinions (especially if we have some members who are truly knowledgeable in this area).

The other night I happened to notice one of my centermen reversing his lower hand on his stick just before moving in to take a face-off.  I’m sure you know what I mean…  He switched his lower hand in the opposite direction, supposedly to gain more strength for pulling the puck rearward.

The good part of this was that my young guy was at least mindful of drawing the puck back amid his teammates.  However, the bad part of this ploy actually reared its ugly head once the puck was dropped.

You see, for a lot of years now, most coaches have steered their face-off men away from this technique for a couple of very good reasons:

1. Going in with that kind of a hand arrangement is a dead giveaway as to what a centerman plans to do;
2. (as happened in the ensuing play) that sort of grip gives a player almost no chance in the battle for a loose puck.

Yes, the latter is exactly what happened…  After an initial swipe at the puck, the biscuit remained between the two combatants until the rival centerman walked away with it.

So again, while a face-off man might be able to gain more strength from that grip, the negatives seemingly far outweigh the positives.

A: Not that there is a single piece of UNimportant hockey gear, but…  If I had to prioritize equipment purchases, I’d allot the majority of my budget to 1) good quality, properly-fit skates and 2) a safe helmet and mask assembly.  Thereafter, go with used or hand-me-down stuff.  (As an FYI, my next focus would be on those articles of equipment that can either slow or help quicken hand and foot movements.)

Now, passion for the rink is paramount to any player’s growth.  I mean, it’s essential that he or she really look forward to getting to their next practice or game.  However, as this hockey mom is discovering, skates can have a huge bearing on a youngster’s comfort and enjoyment during the learning process.  They’ll even affect a beginner’s ability to execute various movements and to thusly gain the confidence to take-on far greater challenges.

So, starting with the initial problem, let me bet my house on the likelihood that my young Arizona friend’s skates are either too small or they are being tied improperly.  I’ll deal with the first point shortly, but let me initially explain the skate-tying process…

Appreciate that nothing — I said nothing — can be done to overcome skate-boots that are either broken-down or too large.  Additional support can’t be found in extra pairs of socks.  And, pulling the laces too tightly over the arch-area will likely cause pain in of itself, and also cut-off blood flow to the toes.  This in mind, the lowest eyelets should only be tied like sneakers or dress shoes.  Just about all of a skate’s support is found in the boot’s ankle-area.  So, it’s essential to seat the heel all the way back into the boot, and then snug-up about the top three eyelets so that the leather (or whatever) is pulled firmly around the ankle.  Don’t wrap excess lacing around the ankle, but instead tie a double-bow or acquire the correct length laces.

As for proper fitting, appreciate that we can’t feel through the toe of a skate as we might shoes or sneakers.  So, it’s necessary to reverse the measuring procedure…  Remove most of the lacing so that the tongue of the boot can be pulled all the way forward.  Next, have the player slide his or her foot all the way forward until the toes hit the end of the boot.  This done, measure the excess space left between the player’s heel and the back of the boot.  To derive the most support and feel from the boot, this excess space should be no more than about the width of a pencil.

Then, on socks and growth…  Fitting might be done while the player is wearing thin sport-hose.  As growth occurs, the thickness of the socks might be reduced.  (FYI…  A lot of my advanced players have worn women’s knee-highs — for a lot of reasons.  And, a great many advanced players prefer making themselves feel “one with the boot” by going barefoot.)

Finally, I’m guessing something within the above helps that hockey mom solve her lad’s problem.  Still, if she or her husband has a related question or needs clarification, I invite them to email me directly.  Good luck!

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m an incessant note-taker.  First, I don’t trust anything to memory.  Secondly, the times I’m jotting notes to myself are hardly ever the right times to address whatever I’ve recorded.  So, I need those little memos — for a lot of reasons…

As a coach, the game-bench is not the greatest place to really discuss something important.  Oh, sure, I can briefly talk to a player if he was involved in a noteworthy play, and I might even be able to spread the word to a few guys within ear-shot.  But again, it’s not the place to have a meaningful conversation.

I’m no different as a hockey parent…  For example, as I’ve watched my grandson, Anthony, play through recent years, I’ve also kept a pencil and small notepad available in my pocket.  I take notes a little more subtly as a parent (my aim isn’t to appear obnoxious in front of other parents or his coaches).  And, since Anthony reached high school level, I’ve hardly ever discussed my notes with him during the season.  Naw, he belongs to another coach in-season.  At the same time though, those notes have always come in handy once that schedule is over, giving us plenty of fodder for the off-season months.

So, whether you’re a coach or a parent, I highly recommend jotting notes when you see something worthy.  Hey, don’t trust those things to memory.  And, consider using them as ideas for a time when they can be addressed accordingly. If you’re an adult player, you might want to record a few notes immediately after playing a game, or while watching a televised game.  For sure, we all need ideas for when we have the time to work on our game.

Among the points I hope you’ll gain from this:

• I hear an awful lot of complaining — from parents, and especially from coaches — about the shortage of available practice ice-time.  I understand that, and I frequently find myself faced with the same dilemma.  However, I usually quickly get over my sulking about a given problem, and get on with some sort of resolution.  Of course, my answer — when it comes to dealing with the high costs or availability of extra ice-time — is OFF-ice training.

• I wanted to show the opening section for each of my Lab promo videos, this so I could unveil to you what I’ve dubbed “Training Terms for a New Millennium”.  In most instances there’s a lot of science behind a given term, so I plan on addressing or explaining each of these — within this section and in the area set aside for General Skills.

• Continuing with the idea expressed in the first bullet…  I’ve always felt that some practice is better than no practice at all.  And, I’ve even joked that, “Minus ideal conditions, I could still get the job done — in a dawgoned closet, if need be!”  So, laughing at myself here a bit, my point is that The MOTION Lab probably isn’t much larger than the space you have available at your home.  In fact, over coming months, I’ll show you some unbelievably effective drills that can be done within very limited space.

• Although special training equipment isn’t always required for off-ice training, there are probably more gadgets available for this purpose than for on-ice use.  Actually, as you watch this video, notice how many training aids seem to be homemade.  The truth is, many of them are.  So, look for future entries in this area to include gear ideas, as well as how you might make your own.

Hoping this video helps you gain a sense of how much can be accomplished away from the ice…

1 – For sure, skating is the name of the game.  So, it should come as no surprise that I see this skill as the foundation for all other areas of effective hockey play.  And, without capable skating skills, it would be difficult for a player to be an elusive attacker.

(Actually, if we were talking about defensive skills here, I’d also have to point out that great skating mobility/agility is required in order for a defender to keep-up with dangerous rival attackers.)

2 – What might surprise you is the significance I place on puckhandling — as the second most important offensive skill.  Please think about this, though…  Without the soft hands that usually come with great stickhandling ability, it’s difficult for a player to be either an effective passer or receiver.  (Since “puckhandling” includes proficient use of the skates, players demonstrating this quality add even more moves to their attacking bag of tricks, and they are also more often able to corral errant passes.)  Nor can a player be a truly effective passer if he or she isn’t able to handle the puck with his or her eyes up, thereby seeing rival defenders and open teammates.  Then, consider the fact that a great many goal-scoring opportunities require a puckhandling fake or deke.

3 – Next on the way to developing a very talented offensive player, I ask you to view passing and receiving as “skills”.  Sure, these are important parts of tactical play.  But, great passes — sent dart-like and flat, right to a teammate’s stick-blade — require great hands, or great skill.  And, as I hinted earlier, skilled players just tend to control more passes under difficult conditions.

4 – Then, with great skating mobility, with the hands of a good stickhandler, and with the sweeping motion acquired through proper forehand and backhand passing technique, a player ought to be a lot better able to sweep, wrist, snap or slap the puck on-goal.

Finally, consider addressing each skill within these Building Blocks areas both separately and in combination.  In other words, each progression within a given category should initially be mastered separately.  However, since our game calls for executing numerous skills in combination, drilling should gradually include these combinations.  (Take heart on the
latter; I’ll ultimately be providing you plenty of ideas for complex skill drilling.)

Note:  If you haven’t already, I’ll highly recommend that you take a look at a related post, The Best Advice I Could Ever Share.  I it really is appropriate to all levels of our game.

Now, the above diagram shows my “X” defending against a puckcarrier shown as the “O”.  My guy’s positioning is pretty good here, since he’s in between his man and our net, and he’s also holding something close to a 45-degree angle on that man.

When it comes to terminology, I say that my guy’s location — between his man and his own net — puts him on the Plus side of the play.  (As an FYI here, his holding the 45-degree angle assures us that the puckcarrier is trapped towards the boards, and that he isn’t going to easily make his way to our goal.

However, here’s where things can sometimes get tricky — and go terribly wrong — in my Plus and Minus view of things…  Very frequently, two rival players such as these get involved in a tussle along the boards.  And, in the middle of that brief wrestling match, it’s a no-no if my guy at any point gets rolled towards the Minus side.  And, all it takes is for the attacker to gain an advantage for a brief moment.  For, if our guy does get rolled towards the Minus side, it’s quite likely our opponents will have something akin to a man-advantage from that point onward (as indicated by the green line in the sketch below).

Of course, these brief skirmishes can happen anywhere along the boards, in any of the three zones.  Yes, I feel the situation is just as dangerous if our man loses his Plus side positioning far down behind our opponents’ net.

Perhaps this short story will give you an idea of where I’m heading, here…  You see, a lot of years ago, I happened to be watching a video-tape of the great Denis Savard executing his famed “spinarama” move.  If you’re not familiar with that move, don’t worry (and I will show it to you sometime later); the point is that video showed a fairly high level move, done by a very high level player.  As I watched that tape a number of times, though, I realized that Savard’s move was really a combination of a few very simple moves, and moves that some of my intermediate level students were already working on.  So, upon returning to my clinic, we spent a few sessions perfecting those basic movements, and then I started showing the kids how to combine them into a spinarama.  Yes, within a few weeks, some of my 9- and 10-year olds were making that move as nicely as the great Savard.

Now, I wouldn’t blame parents of very young players for seeing the likes of an Alexander Ovechkin, and wishing they could help their youngsters gain such great skills.  What I’m here to promise you, though, is that — barring insurmountable physical or learning limitations, it’s absolutely possible for a young one to be gradually brought to elite level abilities.

Of course, the key word in that last sentence is “gradually”.  For, as you’ll learn elsewhere at CoachChic.com, rushing through — or skipping — progressions can result in a player being extremely frustrated, or downright discouraged.

So, going back to that little story about Savard again…  My suggestion is to look at any desirable skill, and attempt to break it down into little parts.  “Do-able” is a favorite term of mine when it comes to those part-skills.  I mean, while we’re trying to gradually help a young player grow, we also want him or her to gain a great deal of confidence.  Hey, let’s face it:  a confident player loves practicing, so the combination of skill growth and added confidence tends to snowball in a really positive direction.

If you’re getting the feeling I’m preaching patience here, I surely am.  In fact, when it comes to helping young players to become highly skilled and smart, I’ve learned that, “Slow and steady definitely does win the race!”

In re-capping the best advice I could ever share with you…  Know that it IS possible to bring an experienced player to advanced or elite status; the secret is to do it in small, do-able steps — or parts.  Over time, those parts can be gradually put together into more complex skills.  All the while, confidence-building patience is the key.

Finally, know that you’re not going to be alone here.  Naw, let’s take the trip together…

Since about 1975, I’ve been affixing a referee’s whistle to my lower- hand glove.

Trust me: that I can get this kind of whistle to my lips quickly, as opposed to having to fish for one that’s dangling from a lanyard.

One player attempts a long-bomb pass to a teammate flying through the neutral zone.  The problem is that the pass is off its mark by several feet, and the potential receiver gives-up chasing it.  Of course, that team is called for icing, and the ensuing face-of is brought back down in front of their goal.

Now, to me, that’s a significant penalty to pay for something that just might have been avoided.  Oh, there are times when I feel that an icing call is justified (and I’ll go into that at another time).  On the above play, however, I think it’s well worth the extra effort to save us from that infraction.

That’s part of the reason I usually discuss this topic a few times per season with my players, suggesting that busting their buns to just make contact with an errant pass on the offensive half of the ice is going to help us big-time.  And, besides saving us from a possible icing penalty, a tipped puck is going to eventually fall somewhere in the offensive zone.

So, while some of the above might seem like it doesn’t need saying, I’ve discovered these  concepts aren’t always understood by all players.

I can’t tell you how psyched I am to kick-off this section.  We’re going to explore some really interesting training concepts here, and I can’t wait to show you some drills that are sure to quickly elevate any intermediate level player’s game.

For example, I have an awesome video planned for next month; it’s something I created a few years ago, and it’s aimed at teaching young players how to be goal-scorers.  I think you’re going to love it, but there’s some stuff I feel compelled to explain beforehand…

As I’ll tell you in that video, I’ve worked with guys right through to pros.  Yet, even though I know all sorts of high level tricks, I don’t show them to my younger students.

As an example, I’m thinking right now about one trick a pretty nifty professional player once shared with me.  However, the interesting thing about that trick is that it would only work against a really experienced goaltender.

What I’m getting at is that the exact same move that pro described would hardly ever work in youth hockey.  And, I’m betting it wouldn’t even work at the high school level.  The reason?  It’s because elite goalers tend to think differently than younger ones.  Appreciate that the challenges they face in games are far different than those experienced by their younger counterparts.

So, why waste time teaching these kinds of things to younger players, especially when they have plenty of more important problems to worry about?

As a matter of fact, I want to remind my good friends to heed some of the advice covered in earlier posts…  For example, don’t forget to stick with a slow, methodical approach to each skill’s progressions.  Don’t forget that jumping ahead on progressions is sure to cause a player at least some frustration.  And, I’m sure we’ll agree that confidence suffers when a player becomes frustrated.  Yes, in a way, the frustrated player is feeling that he or she is not good enough.

All that said, here’s what I’m really getting at today…  A Mite is basically competing against other Mites.  And, so is a Pee Wee competing against other Pee Wees.  So the secret to helping a player feel REALLY good is to help him or her succeed against their own age group.  Plain and simple.

In fact, I think that last suggestion — about just competing against the current age group — makes the whole thing easier to focus upon, and subsequently very do-able.

Now, looking ahead to next month, I promise a video that is going to really simplify goal-scoring — for any decently skilled youngster in about the 8- to 12-year old age range.  I’ll suggest that learning just 3 basic moves will get a player through traffic and to the net.  Then, once at the net, I’ll provide a couple of great ideas for beating a goaltender IN THAT AGE CATEGORY.

Finally, as you get to know me, you’ll likely appreciate that there’s little I do without good reason.  Said yet another way, I’m hoping you really dwell on the points I’ve made today, because this line of thinking is truly going to help as we move forward.

Coming next month… Creating The Early Goal-scorer – In 5 Easy Step!