For some reason the site hides some posts (or parts of them) if you're not loged in or registered. Contact Tom, I had some problems with registering to this site, but the admin made it work (there was some problems with my e-mail or something....)
Quote by: DmanHappy New Year Guys,
Kai-Thanks for sharing your practices. Strangely, your last post was blank except for the quote....this happens quite a bit with Dean's posts too, and I wonder if it has to do with not being able to log into the site? Attached is a screen shot that shows you what I see on this end.
Went to see the Sharks and Kings right after Christmas and the Sharks were so flat their own fans were booing them. Shots were 15-1 in favor of LA after the 1st, and I think the 1 was a dump-in. I know they have a boat load of talent, but they sure looked like a soft team in an important game, and I won't be placing any $ on them for the cup this year....
This leads me to my new area of focus...intensity! What are your thoughts? Can you teach intensity & competitiveness? What do you do in your practices to instill it?
Thanks in advance,
Dave
Dave,
As Kai says, contact Tom to let him know. I looked at your screen grab and it is indeed odd.
I believe intensity & competitiveness CAN be taught. Last man in to the coach when you blow your whistle - skates HARD over and back / 1 lap / does pushups, etc.
Try to find a way to make your drills / games in practice 'count.'
When you play SAG's, choose captains for each team and have them do a rock / paper / scissors. The winner decides which goalie they want to start with (if it is a transition game, this keeps changing); if they want to start first on O or D (I always switch half way through if the SAG allows for it); this sort of thing. Then play the game. Each individual has to remember if they score and at the end of a pre-determined time, have them report to their captain. The captains come and tell you their totals. The goalies keep score for GA too. The "loser" goalie and "loser" team have to do a punishment. Skate them / pushups / situps / buy gatorades after practice for the winners / undo the skates of the winners / losers pick up pucks / move nets, etc. Get creative
As a coach, in a "drill", you can demand execution and have the players keep track of their own execution- on a warmup shooting drill, if the shooter misses the net, they owe the team 5 pushups / 5 situps for each miss. Same goes for each goal the goalies let in. (You could also look for rebound control / stopping rimmed pucks, moving the puck / etc. - depends on the "drill" or game.) For each pass made to the intended target "on the tape, in stride, in the right area", they get a point (or subtract a point for a pass "not on the tape, breaking stride, not in the right area".) Things like this nature... pit the F's vs the D's vs the G's or break them up into two (or more) teams... make sure you figure out a way to hold the goalies accountable - either to their "team" or between each other to encourage them to outwork / outperform the other guy. You need to have the assistant coaches to watch for certain things here to help you out (need to plan prior to practice)... so you (the head coach) can manage the drill itself.
By adding competition / scoring and putting the onus on the players to FAIRLY / HONESTLY self-report... (this helps develop leadership), you reinforce accountability. This leads to the players "bearing down" and demanding intensity - which is good!
I have started doing this since 2003-04 (at the university level for 4 years) and in minor hockey / skill academies - on and off-ice. It absolutely blew me away as to how effective it is. I did some of it with the pros (Flames) prior to training camp this year and it worked with them too. BIG DIFFERENCE in the levels of compete and intensity at all ages / levels.= (beginner to pro.) It takes time to evolve into this thinking / model of coaching, so start small and grow it into all aspects of your coaching as you gain confidence.
Another way to increase focus, intensity, accountability, etc. - I only explain the drill ONCE, ask if they have questions, then punish the WHOLE team (including goalies) when someone screws up the drill / game. I stop it immediately, everyone does the punishment, then I ask "Who screwed up and why are we doing this?" If they can't figure it out and tell me, I lead them toward the answer. If they don't ID who "did it", I do - and I thank that person for screwing up for the betterment of the team ("Dave, thanks for screwing up that drill by doing this ____ OR by NOT doing this _____ - as now YOU have eliminated one future way to screw up this drill. This means there is NO excuse for it to happen again and you guys being smart people, I expect that you will all learn from Dave's mistake... because if it does, you will all be doing double the punishment next time. Understand? Any other questions?"
This demanding stance has worked from grade 7 on up. You want focus / intensity / competitiveness? You got it! In spades. It is up to you, the coach, to set the environment. You MUST follow through on what you say though - otherwise you lose credibility.
Dave, all the best to you in the new year. Please let me / us know how it goes - or if you have any questions (don't worry, I won't make you do pushups - just buy me some microbrews if / when we ever meet - as your "punishment!")
PS drop me an email to let me know what team you are coaching so I can look your team up online. How are you doing?
Tom
It's good to hear your getting things revved up at your way.
I am in transition this year. I took some time off due to work, etc. I am being asked to coach for next year already and I do truly miss it. I needed to get more individuals involved into my academy at the administrative level.
Last season we had two teams, both had 9 players and one goalie. My minor team made it to the playoffs in their league. The major team made it all the way to nationals. The players deserved a lot of credit.
I am looking forward to getting things up and running in the future. How is everyone? It's been a while and I've missed our time with the summer sessions.
Are you still doing camps in the summer out of your own area?
Presently I have been asked by a few individuals to assist with a presentation to an organization. They have a lot of ideas like ours, too many games, not enough practice. Need to efficiently use the ice during practice, etc. I have presented to this group and they want me to come to their next meeting with the organization. I am going to go and see if I can get things started there.
How is Jusso?
I'll keep updated through this site now that I know your "home"
Happy New Year and all the best my friend
Craig
Focus of the practice today was the roles 1 and 2 and passing and recieving.
Off-ice we had two groups
a group did core and middle body work out
b group played "american football " we played, last time too
15 mins and then we would change
See Attachement for our ice practice
--------------------------------
Kai, you are keeping them active and making them think and support.
Kai,
Regarding the 2 vs 0 Random Passing Drill: I add a player at each 1/2 board, which allows for a lot more options on the breakout or o-zone tactics.
Also, I use it as a 2 vs 2 pre-game warmup drill: Defencemen in the corners so that they take up position at the bottom of the ring, make outlet pass, jump up and play the attack. F's go the the 1/2 boards after attacking.
Works well, keeps everyone busy.
Paulie
Paulie
Thanks Paulie, sounds good I need to try that out. I used it 2v2 also but from that formation. the two passing players from the low circle must get to blue and defend and then leave. Pair that attacked defends.
We had a practice on Wed. with lots of 2 on 2. We had one goalie and 8 skaters. About 5 players are still out of town.
Started skating around the ice handling the puck all around the body and shooting at one end. 2 times around each way.
- 2-0 leaving from behind the red line and making at least 4 passes without gliding first and then a shot by the has marks and sprint back to the blue line.
- 2-0 around the middle circle, cross and drop and continue around the circle, gain the blue line, then cross and drop again, then a cross pass and a one timer shot.
- 3-0 weave from the end with the goalie and regroup with the 2 D who do a hinge out and back to the middle before passing. Attack 3-0 on the goalie,
- 5 minute game of rebound.
- 2 on 2 game with 4 on each team. White attack purple and 2 puple follow to the top of the circles. On a goal or a breakout pass from the defense the supporting players skate and regroup with the 2 coaches at the top of the circles at the other end. These two players now attack vs the original attackers who are given passive support by 2 teammates.
- Point shots with a screen. Pass to the point from the corner then screen. Alternate sides. Later the screener went to a dot for a one timer.
- Perry Pearn 2 on 2 with supporting players behind the red line.
- Moved up to the blue line and now played 2 on 2 with a pass to the point to transition from defense to offense. Each team lines up near the faceoff dots outside the blue line and the coach dumps the puck in. Two from each team race for the loose puck and play a low 2-2. Shifts 20-25". Hustle out.
- Elimination shootout.
We have only played 3 games since behinning on Sept 13. We have 15 league and 4 ex games now before the middle of March. I will attach schedule which doesn't have the three home games vs Manitoba that have to be played because they couldn't travel.
Commentary on my High School Sports Performance Class
I see them twice / week for 50 minutes each time - a total of 25 ice times in semester 1. All are Europeans - primarily from Switzerland with a few Latvians and Americans and only two Canadians. The Euro's overall skill set (skating, puck control under pressure and hockey sense) is better than average when compared to the majority of Canadians.
I have been focusing on skill development with the head up, then playing lots of 1 vs. 1 games (several 1 vs. 1's occurring at the same time - helps keep the head up and overloads the goalie(s)) to help provide situations to practice the skills under pressure. I also played some 2 vs. 1 / 2 vs. 2 / 1 vs 2 / 3 vs. 3 situations in the first couple of weeks when I had some bigger numbers (I went from 2 G and 16 skaters initially to 2 G and 11 skaters as some kids got hurt / switched courses.) I like to focus the majority of the time on 1 vs. 1 for the first 15 practices as it really provides the kids with some prime opportunities to learn the offense and defense game-playing roles. Then I move into involving more numbers...
For the last several years, I have been embracing the Game Sense model, which is an evolution of the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) model and these games really allow me to 'direct' the group in their 'understanding-by-doing' or experiential learning, about the game. I was more of a motivator-style of coach in my early days. Probably becasue I was interested in sport psych and used it when I played... not to mention the coaches I played for weren't well-versed in x's and o's, so my tactical knowledge was lacking. We are a product of our environment! (Dump and check or dump and change!!!)
Since 2003 when I was exposed to it first-hand via my coaching friend John Castrillon, I am really trying to focus even moreso on this pedagogy as I have seen it work so well for myself and other coaches in soccer and hockey. Not only am I trying to wean myself from the whiteboard, I am also trying to shut up and let them play... no longer yelling at them, telling them what to do while the drill is going on - instead asking them questions before, sometimes during and certainly after. It is really tough to bite my tongue as I still 'get into' practice and this was how I used to coach! The Game Sense model asks the coach to take a step back - the focus is on the athletes doing; not the coach telling. I find the Game Sense approach much more effective than barking out orders while running mindless, patterned 'drills' all the time (like I used to do as that is how we are trained in our certification programs... and sadly, the tradition in the hockey culture continues to embrace this way...) as these have little to no carry over to the situational play in a game - other than to learn a skill in a static environment. (These skills are not as easily replicated in a fluid, dynamic game environment!)
Now when I run a 'skill drill', it is right at the start as a warmup - and I like to involve decision-making while performing 'skills within drills' - if possible, make the 'drill' into a game. I challenge myself to attach some measurement to these 'drills' so I can use rewards and punishments - this accountability / demand to perform under pressure - matches what is found within the game. If possible, I try to either have the players compete against themselves (personal bests, etc.) or put them into teams to compete against each other. Anyway, enough background...
Tom, I used a similar game / rotation to what you described last week. I only had 5 skaters and 1 goalie when they returned to school (gear got lost by the airline!) so I played out of 1 end. It was a 1 vs. 1. As the rush crossed the offensive blueline, a new player moved up to the blueline (from 'home base' at the far blueline) to support the defensive player. When the D player got the puck, he had to move it to the support player on the blueline.
It had to be a tape-to-tape pass - no rims, banks, area passes. If it wasn't a direct pass, the waiting player (or myself) dumped the puck back in below the crease line. If the goalie covered the puck, he could give it to the D player behind the net or try to pass tape-to-tape to the player on the blueline. (The O player had to give the goalie or D player 2 stick lengths / 2 seconds.) We had two teams of 2 players each (white vs blue) - the fifth player (purple) was a joker who played against both teams (but kept his score for the team he was representing.) I walked the kids through the rotation (I have also tried to get away from using a whiteboard!), gave them the parameters or "Rules of Engagement" and asked them if they had any questions. When they asked their questions, I answered them with questions - "What do you think you should do?" and the kids figured it out for themselves. We played for 12 minutes before the kids got too tired and the game became ineffective - I love 1 vs. 1's as there is no hiding! - then moved on to other things. I didn't stop the game once - even through I saw a few things that I wanted to address - as they got the hang of the "Rules of Engagement." I felt it was important for them to learn through the experience. I would store those things in my memory banks for later. This rotation introduced them to the next game of 2 vs. 2 (when we had more numbers!) a few days later...
The next practice, I followed up with a 2 vs. 2 (11 skaters and 1 G.) Two teams - one with 5 and one with 6 skaters. Same concept. Attack one end 2 vs. 2 then as the attack crosses the blueline, 2 new players move up the blueline - from 'home base' - to support the defenders. Again, a tape-to-tape pass was required for the transition.This forces the support players to remain focused and slide along the blueline to try to present a passing option. After the pass was received by the support players, they raced down ice to the far blueline - sometimes not as far; sometimes farther; to reduce the predictability and 'pattern' - turned and came back to attack the two players who had just been attacking (no regroup with me as a coach - unlike your games Tom). Upon a successful tape-to-tape pass, the first two defenders were done and went back to 'home base.'
I questioned them about time and space from an offensive point of view (where is the open ice - in front or behind?) and defensive p.o.v. (pressure vs contain) and what principles of play would help each group. Both groups focused on transition (Offense: speed / support; Defense: gap control / support.) We played for 4 minutes, then I stopped it - "freeze!" - as I wanted to ask the teams a couple of things concerning their positioning / decision-making; then restarted it again and let them play for another 12 minutes. I stopped it again - "freeze!" - to question them on how to handle a recurring situation (as they hadn't successfully figured it out yet); once they provided some good answers, I let them play again for another 6 minutes. It was a see-saw battle. The game was 2-0 after 22 minutes. 20 pushups and 20 situps to the losers. The goalie had to do 10 technically correct (not fast) up/downs.
The pace (and decision-making) was exceptional! All told, they had competed hard for 22 minutes. This was the best 22 minutes they had 'played' since they started with me in the middle of September - lots of communication with their teammates, lots of urgency and focus, and boy did they TRY! I was pretty impressed. The neat thing was, they knew the answers to the questions I asked... and they APPLIED them to the situations. Too bad it was the final practice before Semester break. I will have half of these players back in the next semester; along with a bunch of new ones, so it will be interesting to see where we are! At least we ended on an extremely positive note!
This helps reinforce that when compared to traditional drills, the Game Sense model, while chaotic, does take a slightly longer 'incubation' time before it really shows it's benefits (developing independent, thinking players who make more 'good' decisions!)
----------------------------
Dean, sounds like a great session of pracitce and thinking. Now I have to convince my wife there was a good reason for us to stay out in a blizzard and discuss the game for 4 hours after our game.. Life is hard and old hockey players aren't that smart.
Just watched the tv show about Don Cherry something like "Keep your Head Up." I think it will become a classic like "Slapshot" The scary part is that it is a true story and Slapshot is about the kinds of things that actually happened. (I played for a living for a while in that era)
We had 3 goalies, 4 D and 12 F's so a lot of things were possible but with only 4 D I couldn't do some things I would like to because they wouldn't get a rest.
They get there right after work so no warm up before the ice. We haven't had a full practice for 3 weeks so I wanted a lot of touches and skating.
Warm up: Get the hands and brain going.
-2 pucks each in the nzone, weaving thru everyone and controlling the pucks.
-Leave extra pucks there and handle one puck in chaos between blueline with hard 5" sprints avoiding players and pucks.
-Exchange pucks randomly 10 times in nzone. Goalies are crease skating at this time.
Shots:
-3-0 with one puck from both ends in nzone. After everyone has gotten a pass the player with the puck goes in and shoots and the other two save ice and get a pass from the corner and shoot. (Dean did this with the pro's in the summer)
-1-0 and 2-0 at each end with the players passing across the nzone then opening for a pass at the red line against the boards and going in for a shot. Bothe sides at once and alternate ends. 2-0 Pass and passer to the boards as before and first player in the other line across. Pass to middle player and attack 2-0 but must shoot before the has. Alternate ends.
-3-0 weave and regroup with players at the other end and attack original end. When the far end passes they leave.
-2-0 passing lined up at the 4 blue line spots. 2-0 cross and drop, pass up boards and across while the two cross in nzone and get a long cross ice pass and attack 2-0. Alternate ends.
-Pass to D1 and 3 players regroup with one D2 who passes up and attack D1.
-Breakout options with a 5-0. Dump it in and breakout then turn back after the red line and dump to the other D's corner and attack 5-0. Return 3 vs 2. Later pass to the D who hinge and up x2.
-2 on 2 transition game with active support for the 2 offensive players from the point. Point players only have 1 second with the puck and must pass or shoot. On a frozen puck, or breakout the orignal defenders attack 2 on 2 vs the players supporting at the point. Stress sealing sticks to the outside and identifying coverage on D and good puck support, screening, tipping, rebounds on offense.
Push ups for each goal you lose by.
-Shootout. Change on the go. 8 pucks on each blueline and players in the bench. Max of 3 shots then puck back on blue line. On a goal race to the bench and when within one stick length the next player leaves. Across and back for every goal you lose by.
I didn't use as many games as usual but we accomplished our goal. tonight we play a midget AAA boy'a team and take turns on pp, pk, 4 on 4 and 5-5. I am going to change our forecheck to a 2-1-2 with a pinch on a wide rim as 3 of our original D are now gone and we can't play that system with only 4 D.
We have only played 3 of our official 18 league games so far. The rest of the league has played 12. We have had about 5 specialty scrimmages with minor midget boy's AAA teams and a few ex games with Edmonton. Today we have another ex game vs Edmonton and then we play 6 weekends in a row.
They rescheduled the 3 home games vs Winnipeg for Feb. 19-20-21.
I just got an email from a girl who scored the second most goals in NCAA history, 42. She was supposed to start playing with us today and emailed to say she has changed her mind and is too busy righ now. It would have been nice to add a proven goal scorer as everyone can use them.
On the plus side my D who got injured vs Finland in the 4 Nations Cup started skating with a brace on Wed. and if all goes well will be back by the end of the month. She said it felt pretty good. We added a player who just finished her degree at Maine and another who played in the Provincial college league. Another winger who scored a lot in the NCAA is going to join us after next weekend. We signed them all by Jan. 10 which is the last day.
We had a really good specialty scrimmage last Tuesday vs the boy's and it seemed like everyone now understands the difference between killing penalties either one or two short vs one player at the point and vs 2 players at the point. We got the proper rotation with the triangle up or reversed and the players stopped chasing sideways vs the mid point player on a 5-4.
I have had to change our forecheck as it was based on 6 highly skilled D who skate well. I now only have 4 D so they can't be expected to join the forecheck all of the time. We practiced the 2-1-2 with a pinch on a wide rim. It seemed to work as we tied the 5-5 part of the scrimmage vs the boy's 2-2. Personally it is the way that I prefer to play as it is based on reads of 1-2-3-4-5.
We are also focusing more on the overload pplay than the diamond as some of our better one time shooters are no longer with us. They can still rotate to a mid point pplay but it isn't the first choice.
So it has been the most unusual season I have ever coached. Lots of practice without games that tell you what you are good at and what you need to work on. Tough on the players as well.
Now we have 14 league and 2 ex games Before the end of Feb. and 1 of each the third week of March. The top two teams in our WWHL play the top two teams from the CWHL on the eastern side of the continent, the March 25 weekend. Minnesota is undefeated so far and has a lot of the USA Olympic team players. So it is between us, Edmonton and Winnipeg to get the other spot in the final four. There is no playoff.
This is going to give a lot more urgency to our practices.
Tom,
Ironic that you post today's daily drill (Jan 19 2011) as we did something similar (accidentally) to this today! Actually, the kids decided to scrimmage before we came on the ice and we just stood back and watched them.
They divided the teams equally by skill (6 vs. 5 skaters). When one of the goalies moved out of the net to fix his equipment, the team attacking that net gained the O zone, saw the empty net and instead of shooting, tried to maintain possession. Then when it was taking too long for the goalie to get back, they started to shoot for the posts / crossbars (these are grade 9 kids.) Neat to see kids demonstrate this sense of sportsmanship naturally! They played for 15 minutes and it was better than our regular warm-up: two half-assed laps doing various moves then a static stretch in the middle - followed by ... wait for it... the dreaded "horseshoe" or some variant. (In my opinion, they should warm-up and stretch off the ice so we can better use our ice time! I am trying to suggest to the head instructor we gas the horseshoe and come up with something that (1) involves more players at once - less standing around; (2) something that involves 'multi-skills' and put it into a competitive (game-like) situation so the intensity and enjoyment quotient is high from the onset; (3) keep track of the score - again to reinforce accountability (try your best) and increase competition / intensity.) Kids love to compete...
We had a goalie coach in the one end with the two goalies and two shooters.
The rest of the kids partnered up and did neutral zone chaos puck control between the blue lines (head up, get creative, add speed, look out for other players). We had the 2nd goalie net, lots of extra pucks, four garbage cans (stuck extra sticks in the handles to create a horizontal barrier about 3 feet high), three rolled up shooter tutors, the puck and pinny container, etc. scattered randomly all over. The kids took turns at 60" intervals doing creative moves; then on the whistle, they switched with their partners. (While waiting, the partners should do some passive 360 degree stick handling.) After six minutes, We challenged them to "perform" their best, most creative skills in a 30" window - each kid had the 'stage' and demonstrated what they could do. We judged them for effort, difficulty, etc. The best one got a Gatorade (most skill / creativity) and replaced one of the two shooters at the other end. 2nd place (effort-based as we have a huge disparity in skill - from Minor Midget AAA (15 year old) to beginner (don't play hockey at all / just learned to skate and this program twice a week is all they get), to Ringette player, to Bantam levels 3-7 - replaced the other shooter. Then we repeated the sequence again (with another 30" challenge at the end.)
The kids really liked this - except the Ringette girl (but she never puts in any effort and really shouldn't even be in the class. Nothing against Ringette - this individual just isn't interested.)
I am trying to encourage more games to be used to warm-up; even possession games in confined spots (two teams - count the number of completed passes 0-1-2-3... turnover, 0-1-2-3-4... turnover, etc. and after five minutes, the team with the highest number of completed passes in a row, wins... change the space and keep score again... losers do pushups... goalies can stretch out and get some shots by the goalie coach at the other end.)
We have a 3 game series vs the Minnesota Whitecaps. Last year they were the Clarkson Cup champions of the WWHL and CWHL . We handed them their only two losses last season and this year they are undefeated. They have 10 present or former USA National Team players. Last year the ones on the 2010 Olympic team were with that team but this year they are on the Whitecaps. My national team player is back skating but can't play for another week.
They basically play the game at a higher pace than my players have ever seen before. We lost 8-3 last night and most of their goals were on turnovers where my players passed up the middle or hung onto the puck too long and got stripped. We have 5 more games against them in the next three weeks.
5 on 5 we were almost even with them outscoring us 3- 2 goals but we took a lot of penalties and they got 3 pp and 2 sh goals (last player trying to win a 1-1 twice). They led 2-0 after the first, scoring there second goal sh with less than a minute left. We tied it the first 5 min. of the second and had something going but took 2 penalties on the same play and they scored a couple and deflated our surge.
We play again today and my important points are: move your feet, backcheck hard to the slot, make the easy play quickly, close srupport to create 2-1's both on offense and on defense.
I knew what they play like and that is why we played full ice and only 2" with the puck at this weeks practices.
Theme for the game. "Rise to the Challenge."
-------------------------------------------------
They rose to the challenge. We got beat 6-3 but outshot and out competed them. They got twice as many pp's as us and finished their chances. We probably had more chances but a few posts and missed open nets. Another tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. so they can fly back to Minnesota and get to work tomorrow. (such is the state of professional women's hockey)
One forward got a slash and maybe broke her fingers so won't play tomorrow. One D is leaving on a hockey tour to Europe and three forwards will play tomorrow who couldn't play today. Today we had 8 F and 4 D. Tomorrow one F will move back to D so we will have 9 F and 4 D. Only problem is the one D leaving is our only D who isn't a forward that has agreed to play D.
----------------------------------------------------
Game 3 - repeat game one. We got 39 shots but only 3 goals again.
Nice to see Lee Sweatt score the winner for Vancouver in his first NHL game last night. He played for the Red Bulls when I was coaching in Salzburg, Austria two seasons ago.
We have one game this weekend vs the Edmonton Chimos in Bonneyville which is about a 6 hour bus ride. They say they have the arena sold out so that will be nice for the players.
Had a good practice last night. Lots of individual and team skills for the 4 forwards I have playing D to get them used to the position. Hinging and shooting from the point and 1-1's.
We also played 3 SAG's, one with 2 nets of the goal line, one with the nets side by side and one with the nets close against the boards and 2 on 2 battles.
Quite the day. We were supposed to drive the 6 hours and stay overnight and play the next day at 4 but there was a major blizzard here and -25 so we left Sunday morning at 7 and drove to our game. Played Edmonton and lost a close one with a bad call on a goal that only the ref called in and all the players and fans at that end said was on the goal line. What can you do?
The driver thought he had enough fuel for the drive back but we were empty 30 minutes out of Calgay and it was about -30 or colder. No heat, lights running out etc. My players called their boyfriends, parents etc. and got picked up in about an hour. I stayed with the driver because I didn't want him there alone. His boss came in about 90 min with someone else and drove me back to my car. I spent 30 min. walking up and down the dark aisle to keep my blood flowing. Luckily I pack some warm thing just in case thing like this happen. Got home at at 4 in the mornig.
Funny thing I couldn't sleep in and played at 10:30 and think it was the best I have played in a few years. Maybe the key to playing well is to have no sleep or food.
Had to book my flight to the coaching seminar at the IIHF World's at the start of May. Last day of the seat sale. A hundred more than yesterday but 400 less than usual. Land in Vienna. Conference in Brataslava, return from Salzburg. $1200
The players flew from Calgary to Winnipeg then stayed in a hotel and got up to leave at 6 in the morning to drive to Minneapolis Minnesota to play the Whitecaps. Halfway to the border the bus lost control on the highway which was a sheet of ice from the rainstorm the night before followed by freezing temperatures.
After two and a half 360's the back wheels of the bus ended up in the ditch. Trucks and cars were in the ditch all over and the players got out of the bus to help but were falling all over the place because everything was ice.
After about an hour a sanding truck came and put sand in front of the tires and they got out and followed the sander to the border.
No time to check into the hotel so they went right to the rink where I had submarine sandwiches for them (I flew in the day before to visit a friend). We played and Minnesota picked up two more Olympic team players including Jenny Potter. It wan't pretty for us.
Another game today and tomorrow.
Quite the story Tom. Glad to hear nobody was hurt. Keep us posted on how the weekend went when you get back. Plus we need to meet to discuss the IIHF conference, etc.
I heard that Hockey Canada's International Coaching Conference is to be held in Halifax the third week of July. Don't know the exact dates yet.
We've been doing alot of different passing themed games for a few months now. And now it's starting to show in our playing, it's great to see that we have done something right!
So Tom and Dean are you going to youth conference or to the other one?
--------------------------------
Kai, I am going to the youth conference. It is a little cheaper and on April30 and May 1. They give you a password to the IIHF site and post the presentations from the advanced seminar there. So it is like going to both.
Tom, are flying to Vienna? 29th of April?
I'm flying to Vienna on 29th. And it should be rather easy to get to Bratislava from there.
Kai,
I hope to talk to Tom this week and then discuss this potential trip with my wife. Her family has offered to come to Calgary and stay at our house AND look after our kids for a week!!!!! We just need to look at costs and logistics... if we are traveling that distance, it would be nice to take 2 weeks and see more sites! We are usually in Spokane WA visiting relatives and running Bloomsday (12 km road race) the first Sunday in May... which happens to be at the same time as the Youth Conference. So I might still go to Spokane and then head over for the 2nd conference... I will let you know once we hammer it all out. Would be nice to meet you in person and get a photo of the three of us (you, Tom and I) with BIG beers to use on this site!
---------------------------
Dean, I looked up the dates I am going.
Leave here April 27 and arrive next day in Vienna. Calgary, Ottawa, London, Vienna
Leave Salzburg, May 5, Salzburg, Frankfurt, Calgary same day.
My asst. coach sent a few pics of the bus in the ditch on Friday. Instead of checking into the hotel and relaxing a few hours before playing the team had to be on the bus 12 hours and go right to the game. The bus did a big S across the highway which was coated in ice. A sandtruck came and they put sand under the wheels to get out and then followed the sander to the USA border. They were rattled but not injured.
In my mixed junior high class (grades 7-9), we have been playing one of Tom's continuous games. With our numbers and wide disparity in skills (overall - not very skilled - only 1 bantam AA skater, 1 midget 1 skater and a couple of bantam division 2 players - the rest are bantam division 3 or lower - several beginners and a couple of ringette girls too), we are having good results by putting similar skill levels in groups of three and setting up the rotations such that equally skilled groups compete against each other. Typically, this results in 3 or 4 'lines' of three players per 'team' (18 - 24 skaters) but sometimes when we have an odd number, we use them as a joker or two (they wear a different jersey / third colour and are always on offense, helping whatever team has the puck) to create an odd-man situation) so we utilize everyone.
This particular game is a 3 vs 3 in one end zone with 3 supporting players (defensive) waiting on the blue line for an outlet pass from the defenders. Upon the outlet pass, all 3 support players (breakaway) attack the opposite end... the 3 attacking players have to backcheck; the 3 original defending players support the rush until it crosses the far blue line, then hustle to the bench and get off the ice. Our "rules of engagement" stated that the 3 breakaway players had to make two passes once they enter the offensive zone (onside) before they can try to score. This demands some passing skill execution and slows them up a bit so the 3 backcheckers have a chance to apply some backpressure (to increase the intensity / urgency.) It has gone very well. This continuous drill is fun, challenging and has allowed for many teachable moments.
When the last of the three attacking players cross the offensive blue line, three more supporting players (defensive) enter the play; lining up on the blue line to wait for an outlet pass from the defenders, and the game repeats.
The next stage in the evolution is to have the breakaway players touch the puck once each as they attack through the neutral zone before (smart) dumping the puck once they cross the red line. They will be encouraged to dump to an area they feel they have a good chance(>50%) to recover, using a chip, x-ice, rim, or aerial. (We will have a coach 'playing' D against the rush - forcing them to dump.) This will require decision-making; reading the pressure and support. Then we will work on OZ puck recovery. One above, one below and one on the puck... then spread out, perhaps change the point of attack (if warranted) and try to score. This will again provide backpressure and the backchecking players can start to read how to set up a defensive triangle / rudimentary DZ coverage principles.
[Further options for a 'team' setting: one could progress to explain the concepts of 5-man DZ coverage, using the #1 - #5 'numbering' system in Tom's book and outline various forecheck schemes and principles.]
Since we are a skill academy, we don't teach systems; our focus is on individual skills, individual and team tactics.
Overall, we feel quite impressed that this group of kids has shown they are capable of performing this game fairly well. They understand the rotation / adapt to our "rules of engagement" and are learning principles of play about transition, offense and defense. The Game is the Best Teacher! We coaches are merely the facilitators!
I just came back from the arena where I was going to do my school skills session. It is cancelled today because of the pancake breakfast at the school the day before the start of lent. I got told about it a few weeks ago but I have been doing most of the sessions alone. The teacher in charge is also the VP and has to be at the school most mornings because the principal is undergoing cancer treatment and misses a lot. Because I am a certified teacher they don't have to send a teacher when he misses.
Last night was my women's teams last on ice practice. We have a specialty scrimmage with a boy's AAA midget team tomorrow night and the final two games vs Edmonton on the weekend. The season has turned out to be a train wreck. Last month we were supposed to have a 6 game home and home vs Manitoba. They had bus problems again and didn't come here and the team was expelled from the league; so we didn't go there. We did play two ex games vs Edmonton which we won 4-2 and 8-4.
I have a small roster as it is but with 5 concussions and a shoulder injury plus some working at night it really restricts what I can do in practice.
Apparently there will be some kind of reorganization of the league next year. It took the fun out of it when the eastern teams decided to send only one team west for the nationals. Minnesota is so strong with all their current and former Olympic team players that they wrapped up first place before Christmas. We were competing with Edmonton for the other berth in the final 4. It became just the first place team eligible so the rest of the season basically has been a wash.
The league was trying to get the NHL to sponsor it like the NBA did for women's basketball. Pay the players about $500 a week so they could work part time and practice every day. Carry the league a few years until it established a fan base and then the league could go on it's own. The NHL decided the women's game isn't worth the cost of a second line left winger. Maybe some day.
We played a minor midget AAA boy's team a controlled scrimmage last night. 2x5 min. 5 on 4 each, 15 min. of 4-4, 10' of 5-5 and a shootout. We had 11 skaters and 3 goalies and they 18 skaters and 2 G's.
We were winning the specialty team part 2-1 and then ran out of steam plus our best player on our team who is a national team D stopped playing because her shoulder is sore. They won the 4-4 and 5-5 part.
It is a good way to focus on team play. These scrimmages have really helped everyone on the team understand our systems.
---------------------
Morning practice with 12-14 yr olds.
- the first 10 min. I let them work on their shots and give ind. help. I brought them all together because about 4 bend their bottom elbow on the slapshot. They mirrored my technique and then went back to individual practice all over the ice.
- While the goalie coach worked with the goalies for 15 min. I demonstrated various moves and the players skate around the ice and do the moves pretending the face off dots are opposing defenders. We practiced going 3 times around each direction.
-hard fake and back toe drag.
-puck on forehand in triple threat position then give a hard fake and pull it across to the backhandl
-fake slapshot and around on the forehand.
-fake slapshot and a backhand tight turn and accelarate around.
-We did the B600 (4 bue lines) pass, pass, regroup and shoot drill I posted earlier this week and then added the shooter rebound for the next shooter before returning to the line up.
-16 min. game of full ice 3 on 3 and 4 on 4 with one minute shifts. Pass to the goalie on the whistle. Rule is there must be at least one pass in each zone.
-Shootout. 2 shots, one at each end. 0 goales skate 2 laps, 1 goal 1 lap, 2 goals 0 laps.
It has been that kind of year. I just got this email from my most solid forward.
She just got back from snowboarding.
We play our last two games this weekend.
Coach,
I won't be playing this weekend...I took a nice little tumble snowboarding today and just got home from the clinic. I have a concussion, whiplash and muscle spasms through my back.
I will be at the game. Just no playing.
Tom,
That sucks.
I think this sums up your team / this league. I realize that this was another accident away from the rink; they aren't being paid; and know they want to do other sports. Not sure female hockey after college will ever have a future - other than "it is what it is." If the NHL or some other corporate sponsors don't come forward with a big pot of money so these girls can get paid a bit and have their expenses covered, it will never evolve into what the players say they want it to become: a 'pro' or 'semi-pro' league. And until then, coaches have to accept the current level of commitment from it's players (IE only a handful show up at practice; teams unilaterally decide to cancel travel plans, etc.)
I find it extremely sad that you have had such a trying season. You deserve better.
Dean,
What you say is true.
I always have to adapt to small numbers and can only do about half of what I would like to do. It is hard to accomplish anything but help the ones who show up to keep their skills sharp and get some conditioning.
But as you say "it is what it is" and I am contracted to do the best I can for one more game.
Just got a text from another player. She has to head north as something has happened with her grand mother. So 9 or 10 skaters today vs a full squad from Edmonton. Lost 0-3 last night with 11 then 10 when one got injured. (beat them twice two weeks ago when they had only two lines. Huge difference in energy available). The girl who went to the hospital last night for xrays thinks she can play today as her ankle isn't broken.
At least there isn't difficult coaching decisions to make about which line is up next.
This is what I am doing this spring with some former NHLers. My name is in small letters on the bottom and I am a drills coach. ( I will probably get fired when they realize I am Not a drills coach)
It should be interesting.
http://www.maxgoalscoring.com/index.php/home/
Also I land in Vienna April 28 and then go to Turku, Finland to meet Juuso, Kalle Kaskinem and people from the educational system in Finland to discuss how to teach PE effectively.
When and where is HC having their conference?
Jihlava, Czech Republic hasn't let me know if they still want the coaching clinic or if they want me back for the camp in the summer. They got eliminated on Thurs. night so maybe they will start focusing on the spring and summer. They told me they were really happy with everything last year and gave me a lot of gifts etc..
That's life in the big city.
"Have skates. Will travel."
Tom,
Sorry to hear about your wife - I hope she is OK.
Let's talk this week. I have some stuff on the go and if things prove positive, I might be able to get you involved this spring. I also want to talk about Jusso, a coaching clinic, etc.
The HC conference is in Halifax - third week in July.
---
March 4, 2011
NR.024
2011 INTERNATIONAL COACHES CONFERENCE
COMING TO HALIFAX, N.S.
CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada, in partnership with Hockey Nova Scotia and the Atlantic Regional Centre, has announced details for the 2011 International Coaches Conference, scheduled for July 14-17 at the Westin Nova Scotian and Dalhousie University
in Halifax, N.S.
More than 300 coaches will travel to Halifax to participate in presentations, workshops and hot stove sessions that will focus on topic areas like strategies, tactics, practice plans, and strength and conditioning addressing the needs of coaches at all levels of the game.
Presenters will be announced in the coming weeks. At previous ICC events, names like Pat Quinn, Tommy Boustead, Mark Johnson and Melody Davidson have headlined the list of keynote presenters.
The registration fee to attend the 2011 International Coaches Conference is $475. Please note there are a limited number of registration spots available.
“The goal of the International Coaches Conference is to create an exciting and interactive learning environment for coaches at every level of the game. Coaches who continue to increase their knowledge ultimately create a better development experiences for their players and a more effective and productive team environment,” says Paul Carson, Hockey Canada’s vice-president of hockey development. “The ICC provides a terrific forum to help coaches at all levels of experience to enhance their coaching skill set.”
“The interaction from coaches from all countries – including your own – is just phenomenal. It’s outstanding,” says Portland Winterhawks head coach/general manager Mike Johnston, who has presented at the last four ICCs. “There’s always something to learn. For me personally, it’s helped me immensely as a coach.”
The 2011 International Coaches Conference will be the 12th edition of the event, with Halifax joining past host cities Calgary, Alta. (1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2004), Montreal, Que. (2002), Quebec City, Que. (2008), Saint John, N.B. (1998), Toronto, Ont. (1996, 2006) and Vancouver, B.C. (2000).
Dean, I think I will go to that seminar if I can use the credit I have from Westjet. I was going to the opening of the new arena in Bemidji, and flying to Winnipeg then driving down. All former players were invited. My team scheduled an ex game vs a AAA midget boy's team a week before and I had to cancel the trip.
The camp in Jasper starts July 18. I just have to find out if I am going back to the Czech Republic and when.
Those conferences are usually good. I only missed the one in 98 when my spring team was playing a tournament in Vancouver.
Happy New Year Guys,
Kai-Thanks for sharing your practices. Strangely, your last post was blank except for the quote....this happens quite a bit with Dean's posts too, and I wonder if it has to do with not being able to log into the site? Attached is a screen shot that shows you what I see on this end.
Went to see the Sharks and Kings right after Christmas and the Sharks were so flat their own fans were booing them. Shots were 15-1 in favor of LA after the 1st, and I think the 1 was a dump-in. I know they have a boat load of talent, but they sure looked like a soft team in an important game, and I won't be placing any $ on them for the cup this year....
This leads me to my new area of focus...intensity! What are your thoughts? Can you teach intensity & competitiveness? What do you do in your practices to instill it?
Thanks in advance,
Dave