In a game like hockey, speed kills. My favourite quote which brings both speed and hockey together is: “A loose puck doesn’t know who is bigger, stronger, or drafted higher. A loose puck only knows who gets to it first!” Brilliant… And so true. When we talk about goaltending, speed also kills. Maybe even more [...]
For many families, minor hockey is a 12-month a year endeavour. Despite the fact that the science tells us playing a single sport year round is detrimental to our child’s development, we feel that just to have a chance to play at a competitive level, we can’t let our kid take a couple of months [...]
Very little glory is paid to the lowly technique of dumping a puck in. From comments like "Why would you give up the puck in the first place?" to "Only 4th line grinders need to dump the puck.", respect for this element in the game of hockey probably couldn't be much more diminished in [...]
Photo by Selena N. B. H. via Flickr A number of coaches advocate using a small subset of drills and practice plans throughout a season to train their players. I don't think this is the best way develop high quality players and here's how I came to that conclusion. The advocates of the [...]
We have 3 hours this week where we will be running our high performance training sessions for 2004's, 2005's, 2006's, and 2007's. SESSION DATES, LOCATIONS, & TIMES Thursday, April 16th, 2015 - Mohawk Quad Pad 7:15PM - 8:15PM Friday, April 17th, 2015 - Morgan Firestone A 6PM - 7PM Friday, April 17th, 2015 - Morgan [...]
Junior Tryout Prep Training Camp The key is not the "will to win" - everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important. ~Bobby Knight The Tryout Prep Training Camp is designed to get players ready to show next year's coach their best. Whether trying to make a new team [...]
Confidence is huge in hockey. Regardless of skill level, age, or experience; players with confidence not only perform up to their potential, but they have more fun. As a coach, it’s important to identify which of your players have high levels of confidence and which need your help to develop it. Here’s one technique that [...]
Beaumont 2-on-1 Drill Description Continuous Flow - Green = 2nd cycle D1 begins drill skating with puck and makes cross-ice pass to F1 D1 follows play up ice to take 2-on-1 coming back F1 carries puck through NZ and passes to D3, then curls deep into zone F3 cuts cross ice above F1 and receives [...]
A little while ago I wrote about the relative age effect (RAE) in hockey and I thought I'd take another quick look at it. I think at an organizational level, it's something that those hoping to grow the game should take a good look at. From a development perspective, we're leaving a lot of kids behind [...]
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin A key component to any coach's toolkit is a season plan. It outlines the path the coach will take in developing his players and takes into consideration the physical, mental, technical, & tactical aspects of the game. By using a season [...]
