Thanks Tom & Co.,
Glad I could contribute.
Here's another SAG called "Picket Fence" that a coach mentioned at the clinic.....It's essentially a 2 v 2in tight quarters. I like it because it uses very little space and the players in line need to be alert to keep the puck in play. It also has all 4 player roles in use.
Hope the diagram works....
DMan
Woops....looks like the description was truncated. On the whistle players 3 & 4 from each team round the net and play begins again. I haven't used this yet but will this season for sure.
DMan
Sorry, guys. I posted comments on today's video in the wrong place. it should have been in this thread. Maybe Tom or Dwight can just delete it. Anyway, this is what I said:
Nice drill. Simple, yet effective. I would be tempted to have D-Men use this at practice with some degree of frequency. First you have a shot from the top followed by a skating/receive pass/ pass maneuver that could mimic a Regroup or even a Break Out. All shots after that could be one-timers. You could easily add going D to D on the pass up top, followed by a one-timer or even have D-1 walk the puck down to the 1/2 wall and then set up D2 for a clean one. I need to invite this Dukla group over to my house for about a year or so, until I can finish picking their brains.
Pops on this drill the coach just had the D on the ice. There were lots of players there. Some play in North America and some in the KHL, so he divided them into D and F's for the skill sessions. Now I am sure he is down to his team. They usually start the season after the first week of Sept.and finish by the end of March.
This used to be the top team in the former Czechoslovakia and was like the Red Army team in the Soviet Union. The would win the championship almost every season. The clubs associated with the army are called Dukla in honour of a battle where thousands of soldiers died. I got told the story but can't remember which war.
I like to take some video when I am in Europe and share it because most coaches don't get the opportunity to see how teams on the other side of the pond practice. I have been fortunate to get the chance and everywhere I go the people have been fantastic.
Probably not the place for it but tonight is one of those tough nights for parents. Tomorrow morning my son flies to Toronto and I won't have my buddy to go to the Flames games with or play hockey with. We played our last game together on Friday at noon. We just had all the family over in the back yard and had a fire and everyone wished him well. I take him to the airport early tomorrow morning. I was blessed all these years.
Tom
Thinking of something hockey related to say is just not working. I can't come up with a thing - I can only think of your son. In my life I have been involved in a lot of hockey games. None can match the first time that I took a draw with my twin sons flanking me on the wings. So I know exactly what you are talking about. One of my boys went to Australia for his Junior year of college. That ride to the airport was plenty tough. Trust me, Tom, you are in my prayers tonight.
PS - Is he moving there permanently? Hope not. The Leafs don't even have a Johnny Cash song when they score a goal.
Pops, thanks for the good thoughts. He is going to go to university there but hasn't been accepted yet. His girlfriend goes there and they have an apartment downtown rented for 12 months. He was on the Deans list last year so hopefully if he shows up they will let him replace someone who doesn't come. Otherwise he has to work and try to transfer in the winter semester.
Australia is far away. My son was in Japan teaching english while I was in Austria. Toronto is a lot easier to get to than Japan or Australia.
He doesn't know anyone involved in hockey in Toronto but would like to play some men's league and he also wants to coach. He was my assistant at college and is great with kid's.
In the video just shown the only thing different that I might try to make it a little more challenging (for the big kids) is putting a tip-in/screen/rebound guy down near the goalie. When we do this type of scoring drill I have the guys receive the pass as they hit the blue line and have them release their shot at the top of the circle. I say that it is more 'game-like' and then I tell them that I need to be a little bit of a head case to make myself feel 'creative'..
Tom - I wish your son all the best in Toronto and hope that he is selected by the university. With a 12 month lease, he will be in Toronto a bit longer than Tomas Kaberle and maybe a lot longer than Ron Wilson. Speaking of coaches who just aren't clicking, how's Brent Sutter these days?
Pops, in this drill as in most you can add screen and tip,passes or situations but once you get to the 2-0 things really pick up, especially with the age you are coaching and they get back to the line and have to go again. The 3-0 can be two quick passes and a one timer shot.
On 1-0 shooting I like the shooter to look for the next shooters rebound.
Jim and Georgia are now in their apartment and got a bed and some furniture delivered today. He is going to Ryerson tomorrow to find out about his status. Hopefully he gets in.
Dean Holden, who contributes to this board once in a while just ran a practice for the Flames and their prospects who are doing some pre season conditioning getting ready for camp. I think it was the best run practice I have ever seen the Flames do. They wanted lots of puck touches and passing and he did a great job getting that accomplished. He did the drills for 45 minutes and then John ran a few battling games.
Dean and I met after for a few hours and I went over transition games with him and he is going to do some transiton with them in future practices..
Tom,
Thanks for your kind words. One of the Flames coaching staff called me tonight to share his insights after watching practice today. He too liked the content and tempo of practice as we got lots of reps for many players. We will sit down after the rookie camp in Penticton to go over my drills and games as the staff wants to incorporate some of them into their yearly practice plans.
We had more NHL players today (a total of 25 skaters and 3 goalies - some of these are AHL'ers and a few NHL'ers from other teams), so the pace and skill level was even better. I had to adjust on the fly as they wanted more drills (less games?) and we had more bodies to deal with. I focused on puck control while transition skating - we ran a sequence from the four bluelines as warmup / skill drills, then went to some more full-ice 2 on 0's, 2 on 1's, 3 on 3's which all incorporated transition skating. John Castrillon (a National Level soccer coach who I work with) ran some of our competitive Smart Transitional Games at the end for about 15 minutes; then we ran a 4 on 4 full-ice scrimmage with 45 second shifts. The pace was the highest it has been since we started two weeks ago.
Unfortunately, the players want more "old-school drills" as opposed to the stuff you and I went over after practice yesterday... but I am ready to unleash it on them if I sense an opportunity (realistically at next years Summer Development Camp. I forgot how structured the pro's minds are after not working with them since 2003!) I am hoping to also run our off-ice games for the players to teach them (and the coaching staff) the 'right way' to coach...!!!!
Regards,
Dean
Dean
The guys that you describe have survived years of drill oriented coaches and still made in to the top. Maybe they do not see anything wrong with the methodologies that got them there. As we all know, however, these players represent a small minority of the hockey playing population. If we were to poll the 80% of youth players who drop out of the game before reaching High School, those boys may offer a different story. My honest hope, Dean, is that the Flames organization publicly endorses your work; not only because you and Tom deserve the recognition but also because you can now say "Look, the Calgary Flames do SAG's. Look, the NHL and AHL players use the ABC's."
Tonight there was a midget team who came on the ice after us. In a 60 minute skate they had 19 minutes of down time. They ran a grand total of two drills - neither of which have anything to do with an actual hockey game. You and Tom need to be successful so that coaches everywhere can become aware of better options. You need to be successful so that practices like this one become obsolete. I wish you the very best, Dean. Please let us know how things progress.
Pops in the practice I watched the drills Dean had the pro's doing kept them very active. Time at the board was minimal because he was able to explain about 3 drills at once and they just moved from one to another. Not many coaches can run and effective drills practice but Dean did a great job of it. It isn't a team but guys who want to skate a lot and get many touches. It is different than when you coach a team and are trying to teach skills or implement systems because these players just want a high tempo practice.
When they had the games part of practice with John they competed hard in the one on one and two on two battles. About half the players stayed out at the end to play a 3 on 3 with transition from offense to defense by passing to a player at the point. The players organized that game.
Most drill practices are much slower paced than this and waste a lot of time at the board.
The players want drills so that is what he has to give them.
I totally agree with you that it isn't the best way to practice but pro's like what they are used to and want whoever is coaching them at the time to run good fast paced drills.
Thanks Pops, I appreciate your sentiments. Our pictures have been in the paper a few times but nobody has spoken to us... and we all know the players speak in cliches when discussing practice! Besides, I have already had my kick at the cat in major junior, university, National team, Europe, etc. Now it is time to raise my family (I actually enjoy the anonymity and lack of pressure!) and focus on my skill academies. I don't coach for recognition by the public; I am motivated by trying to provide a positive sporting experience for everybody I come in contact with... players, coaches, parents, officials and sport administrators. I consider myself a student of the game and learn everyday.
I do wish more people in positions of influence would remain open-minded about "how" to teach as I know it is an area that is overlooked in Hockey Canada's coaching certifications. (Please see the book "Mindset" by Carol S. Dweck.) Tom shared a letter from Mike Hartman with me a year or two ago (in fact it might be somewhere on this site). Mike, a colleague of Tom's, wrote a concise 1-page letter concerning that we (hockey governing bodies) do not do near enough justice to the job of 'teaching coaches how to coach.' I have been on several committees for Hockey Alberta and Hockey Canada since the mid 1990's (and continue to do so), constantly revamping the coaching curriculum at various levels and certification standards based on the requirements put forward from the Coaching Association of Canada, and while I know we do a good job in some hockey-specific areas (skills and tactics, etc.), we do not show people how to teach this stuff (the 'art' of coaching... let alone my personal belief that we should be following the ABC curriculum of Tom and Jussi - not all this system specific stuff at far too young a level!)
Unless I am in a power position at the top of an organization, I cannot make the sweeping changes I would like... With the Flames, I am only one person of influence... and those I influence have to be 'ready' to accept what I espouse. (As Tom points out, this isn't a 'team'; rather a bunch of pros who want to get ready for training camp.)
Much of life is a series of opportunities being presented to people at various times... if one of these factors isn't present (opportunity, right person, right time), it results in a missed or unrecognized opportunity. "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink!" Anyways, my personal philosophical rant is over as I realize this isn't anywhere near the topic posted, so sorry for the thread hijack... and again Pops, thank you for your kind words. Keep being a person of influence in your locale.
Tom if I need an agent, I know who I should hire 
If anything of note occurs with the Flames, I will add a note in the future. Until then, best wishes!
Dean
Pops, wondering where you have gone. Have you started practicing yet. I start tomorrow night.
Seems like the discussions aren't going on anymore. It is nice to share some ideas.
Anyway I am trying to go through the videos that I uploaded last year after someone destroyed the site and wiped out years of work. I had the videos and it took many, many hours and days to put them on the site. I didn't do the diagrams or descriptions and I added over 100 from my time coaching in Europe. So I am working on doing one a day to have the diagram and description with the video. I have made pdf's of all of them and send them to coaches who donate to help pay for the site and the site name or buy a book. So a grand total of about 10 coaches have been sent the pdf's. No one asked me to do this so I really can't expect any help. It does help me to keep my things organized.
Anyway it is nice to see that by the end of this month the site will have over 1 000 000 hits in about 13 months. Dwight is the computer guy who keeps the site up despite attacks from hackers. (why ruining things floats their boat I don't understand).
A new season is starting and I hope the ideas about running efficient drills and incorporating games and transition games throughout practice keeps gaining momentum.
Personally my teams started on Monday and my hockey class on Tuesday, so after a 5 week lull I am busy again coaching kid's and adults.
I lost some players on my WWHL team but some very good new ones came to the first ice session. My only problem is that there are 5 goalies trying out and they are all good. They have all played university hockey except one who came all the way from Australia where she was on their National Team. One is a returning goalie and the other 4 are new. The hard part is I have to cut two of them and there are no other leagues for women that practice. They are all good enough to play.
My hockey class has 22 skaters and 2 goalies. It is about one half returning players and one half new players. Tony who is the Vice Principal hired me and is on the ice with me. I coached him in university, so there is no poblem having 2 groups because he is very good and has coached midget AAA and Jr. A. So it should work out.
Tom,
And to all others who are starting their season - Good luck. I pop in once or twice a week to see what people are discussing but enough of the non-essentials. Have any of you guys worked on puck recovery (the opposite of puck protection) I have been working on some individual skill drills to get players to utilize and strengthen their bottom hand. It gets a little sketchy because playing the body is so important but strong sticks win pucks. Just trolling for ideas and thoughts - over and out Steve
steve
Steve,
Nice to hear from you. When you say "puck recovery" I think of a player approaching a loose puck to gain possession; then make a play. Not sure what age / level of player you are working with; or if you are specifying "puck recovery" in a certain area (OZ, NZ, DZ) of the ice ie: on a dump-in (for either a breakout or off a forecheck?)
Regardless of your meaning, this is what I do to allow reps on puck recovery:
I will spot the puck into different areas of the ice during my drills and games. Sometimes I like to spot it right along the wall - even flipping it up on end - tight against the wall. Sometimes I jam it right against the side or back of the net. Sometimes I spot it close to the player; sometimes far; sometimes I lift it into the air so it bounces; sometimes I rim it hard. It is up the to player to have their head on a swivel and read the checking pressure / time and space available prior to getting to the puck. Sometimes I pass the puck to the unsuspecting player - hard on the tape - when they are expecting a loose puck... just to keep them on their toes!
If I am training kids to take the puck off the wall (on a rim or on a breakout pass into the skates or on the stick), I demonstrate how I want them to do it and let them practice. Two ways to do this - bum on the wall with the stick facing the middle of the ice, or turn and skate up the wall, timing the approach with the puck / with the situation. Then I try to incorporate a game-like drill or a game itself that lends itself to puck recovery along the wall (or wherever I want to work on it.)
Hopefully, this helps answer your question.
Dean
The Rejo 1 v 1 is a nice drill and it can easily be expanded into a 2 v 1 or 2 v 2. If any of you guys use a Forward up top on the PP, it may be worth it to have him play the role of the D-Man here and get used to the inevitable defensive responsibility that he will face even when up a man.
As for puck recovery, one thing that the players have gotten a kick out of is when they line up back to back down in the corner with a puck in between the 4 skates. On the whistle it is pretty much 'the best man wins'. Throw a goalie down there with the net angled to face the corner and you have a few minutes of practice that sharpens a sometimes neglected game related skill. Puck Recovery was a good suggestion. I am attempting to come up with ways to use that concept in Backchecking Drills and am open to any thoughts.
Lucky me..Tom has been showing 1 v 1 videos for the last couple of days and .tomorrow night we are spending 15 minutes working on just that. Now I have 2 new drills to show the boys and can pretend that I am actually creative.
To me, gap is the key to all man on man coverage. If you are not within a stick length of their puck carrier then he can pass easily to his team mates. While the videos focus on preventing high percentage shots and moves into the scoring area, tight gap on their puck is always a good thing.
Hey, Tom...on Wednesday night we are working on breakouts....have any good videos ??
Pops, I just used the one where the D passes then defends vs the forward coming from the other end at my practice tonight. I then progressed to a continuous 1-1 with active support.
On Wed. I will be doing work with breakouts and use my hockey friend Bob Murdoch's sequence. He liked to use it at the start of practice instead of aimless skating around.
Various breakout sequences by Bob Murdoch
http://hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?s=20080720200745971 breakouts with one defenseman.
Two defense working together http://hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?s=20080720200746400
Breakout drills and other thoughts by Mud.
http://hockeycoachingabcs.com/filemgmt/index.php?id=5
Breakout routines
http://hockeycoachingabcs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=274&topic=274#274
http://hockeycoachingabcs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=275&topic=275#275
http://hockeycoachingabcs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=278&topic=278#278
TomM
I posted this to a Daily Drill section two:
http://hockeycoachingabcs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=906#906
You can do all kinds of variations with this drill. You can run it as 2 on 1, where the other D plays against the two Fs from the other end.
You can set one player to take away one of the passing lanes from the D (so he has to read and react where he can play the puck). etc. etc.
here's some more break out drills ( in istd.pdf drills 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6):
http://hockeycoachingabcs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=551#551
Kai
After my skill academy, I went downtown to watch the Flames pre-game skate vs. Phoenix (they play tonight.) Seeing as how it is training camp time, the skate was uncharacteristically long for game day; it was almost 1 hour long. Not much tactical stuff, more skill work today. Flames play 4 games in 5 or 6 nights and still have over 30 players in camp. They only skated the 20 guys playing tonight.
While there were some 'new to me' DRILLS, there were no GAMES or competitive drills. Since I embrace the ABC Philosophy, and the teachings of Horst Wein, I find 'normal' practice drills short-circuit my mind... and make me a 'dumber, patterned' coach! Although I understand that the accepted hockey culture is very ingrained, especially at the pro level, it never ceases to amaze me that the pros still feel that these sort of practices (no scoreboard; no accountability so far as winners or losers; little or no pressure; no randomness - mainly patterns) prepare them for the pressure-filled, unpredictable chaos that is an actual game!
Even though Dave King was there (Phoenix A/C) - he is an old friend and his son married into the family, I had to leave... I didn't want to 'de-train' my mind any more... I would rather eat lunch at Spolumbo's and visit a used bookstore (where I found a used copy of Tom's Book 1 for sale!)
The more I see the pros, the more I love coaching kids!!!!!
Last night Gaston worked with my team on backward skating trying to correct the old way of C cuts (which work against you) and a smooth transition turn that works much better than the Mohawk most of us taught.
The players really worked at it and I could see a big improvement. Bkwd skating may the the weakest part of player development.
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Dman, thanks for posting the link to the ebook by USA hockey. There are a lot of good ideas there.
'Enjoy the Game'