Kai,
I am always in Spokane WA the first Sunday of May for the Bloomsday 12k road race and to visit family so these clinics aren't timed very well for me. I looked at the itineraries and they looked interesting - especially the Damien Farrow presentation. I have the book he edited (Developing Sport Expertise) so make sure you take good notes and share them with us afterwards!
I am going to try to attend a TGfU conference instead. This year it is north of London England but due to London hosting the summer Olympics, several of my friends and colleagues have advised me against attending (security, etc); so I am instead looking to the next one which will be in New Zealand in 2014. (This also gives me a reason to visit my friend in NZ, a strength and conditioning coach for the All Blacks rugby team.) This year's event would be awesome as I think the 'founding fathers" of TGfU will be in attendance and perhaps interacting with delegates (Bunker and Thorpe).
Announcing the 5th International TGfU conference
TGfU Conference (14th-16th July, 2012)
Loughborough University, UK
Bookings are now being taken for the fifth International Teaching Games for Understanding Conference to be held at Loughborough University, UK in July 2012.
Register now to secure the early booking rate via the Conference web site at:
www.equity-events.co.uk/tgfu
If interested in presenting at the conference, the Scientific Committee are inviting abstracts for both oral and poster presentations. The deadline date for abstracts is 31st January 2012 but early submission is encouraged. (On receipt, abstracts will be considered as soon as possible and normally within approximately 6 weeks of submission). For details of the conference themes and submission requirements and process, please visit the Conference web site.
If any individual or organization is interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at the conference, then again please see the Conference web site for further information and details of the packages available.
The Conference Organizing Committee look forward to welcoming you to Loughborough in July 2012..
I am heading to Helsinki for the IIHF World Championships next Tuesday. I will arrive on Wed night about 9 and then go spend Thursday with Juuso in Turku and return for the weekend coaching symposium and then back to Turku on Sunday and fily back Wednesday. So lots of travel in a short time.
When you register the IIHF sends you a link to their conference website which has video of all of the previous conference since 2004. Yesterday I watched a lot of the talks and really liked the ones from the 2006 sessions in Riga, Latvia. There was a lot of practical information and on ice demo's which they edited down to the essentials.
Deniz Ince the long time captain of the Turkis national team will be in Helsinki tomorrow for the youth symposium and is staying for the advanced as well. I will meet up with him at the conference. He is bringing a small group of youth players to our hockey camp in Jasper, July 22.
Juuso is doing a lot in hockey development and PE with the Finnish educational system and we are meeting with some former Nokia employees when I am in Turku. It will be interesting to see the proposed interactive system they have been working on.
It is always interesting to meet coaches and renew old acquaintances at these conferences. There are always new ideas. Last time Dan Coyle talked about the Talent Code and I had a pop with him after. He is an interesting guy. So who knows what will happen this time.
We have tickets for 2 games each evening and I will be able to watch Canada play Finland and Kazakhstan and a few other games.
I have attached the details for the IIHF coaching symposium.
I leave tonight and with the 6 hours layover in London it will take about 17 hours to get there. The time difference from Calgary to Helsinki is 9 hours. Sometimes the jet lag really bothers me and sometimes it isn't too bad. I have found the key for me is to drink water and orange juice on the plane and stay awake until bed time at the destination.
It looks like an interesting agenda including tickets to 6 games.
Ball hockey a bigger draw than worlds
TERRY JONES, QMI Agency, May 8 2012
HELSINKI - Alexandre Burrows was talking about the last time he wore the red maple leaf on his chest representing Canada internationally.
"The crest was almost the same, except it had a ball on it," he said holding out the stylized Hockey Canada logo on the front of his bright yellow don't-hit-me-I'm-coming-back-from-a-concussion jersey as he returned to the ice Tuesday.
It was the 2003 world ball hockey championships in Switzerland, he pointed out.
Asked to describe the difference between the world ball hockey championship and the world ice hockey championship, Burrows deadpanned what may be the line of the tournament.
"There were more fans in the stands."
At ball hockey. In Switzerland.
"In Switzerland, at ball hockey, it was packed. There were a lot of fans."
Burrows sat in the stands with the crowd of only 2,314 Monday watching Canada's 7-2 win over France. And his line of the tournament is fast becoming the story of the tournament.
When Canada plays Switzerland here Wednesday, in world championship ice hockey, it's likely there will be fewer fans here for the game that counts than packed the buildings in Fribourg and Kloten for two pre-tournament games between the two countries. And the environment in the Swiss rinks, particularly in Fribourg, was wonderful.
Here the environment is a heavy blast of public address and dialed up music to cover up the lack of energy. And there's no hiding the sea of empty seats other than the Skoda cars in the stands in the corners.
The first world hockey championships being shared by two nations has had some exceptionally small crowds as fans in Stockholm and Helsinki have refused to pay NHL prices to watch games involving the so called "minnows" even if there's a line-up full of NHL players on the other side of the ice -- in Canada's case, a lineup featuring players who made $74,636,962 this past season.
The 130 Euro prices are about 100 Euros more than what it costs for the same seat for a Elitserien (Swedish Elite League) or a SM-liiga game here in Finland. The average Joe can't afford to come and the television coverage on Canal+ and MTV3 is so massive it is almost 24-7.
The average crowd to watch Italy in Stockholm so far has been 1,955. When you consider Edmonton and Calgary just finished filling two NHL rinks for every game for the world juniors, regardless of the nations involved, offers quite the contrast.
Despite having their most star-studded team at the world championship for a non-lockout year, Canada has averaged only 5,552 for their three games so far against Slovakia, United States and France.
Imagine. Canada. The ninth best draw of the tournament.
They'll pay it to go watch defending world champion Finland here. The Finns have averaged 12,604 in the 13,349-seat Hartwall Arena including the ones you can't see watching the games from behind the darkened windows from a seat in the sauna.
But they'll wait and watch the rest of the counties involved when they play Finland.
Sweden, however, has only averaged 8,655 in the 13,850-seat Globen Arena. The Russians rank as the 12th best draw at 4,828. At least that's closer to a KHL attendance figure.
The tournament average going into games Tuesday was 6,202.
"The people in charge of pricing completely missed the market," said Team Canada G.M. Kevin Lowe.
"I don't believe it affects the player's performance at all.
"Possibly in a lesser opponent situation it might affect them a little. But I really don't think it would change their mindset for preparedness between a lesser hockey nation and the countries we need to beat.
"I haven't heard our players even speak about it."
On one hand you have hockey banners and murals all over town, a very visible celebration of the 200th anniversary of Helsinki becoming the capital of Finland as you walk around town. And the event is massive in the media as players being involved in a minor bar incident becoming big news would suggest.
And then you go to the rink and it's almost empty in the only country other than Canada where hockey is the No. 1 sport. It just seems such a contrast and such a contradiction.
"The Finns won the gold last year and they are a favourite again this year. Clearly they have the hockey on the ice figured out but have failed miserably in identifying something just as important, and that's the fans," said Lowe.
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Safe travels Tom. I will email you... looking at a Jokerit jersey and / or hoody online and seeing as how you are at the Hartwell arena...!? I played against them in the mid-1980's in Junior while we did a tour of Finland and Sweden. I received an old Jokerit jersey from one of their players as we traded stuff after our last game, but would like a modern one to add to my collection!
Got here. I will
Look for
A Jokerit jersey. Heading to Turku now by rail for a
Day with Juuso and Deniz
Thanks Tom, will forward you an email with links to the merchandise and looking forward to hearing about your trip!
Good sessions. About 150 coaches here. Most from European pro teams. Lots of assessment tools and sports psychology and well as wholistic training ideas from other sports like basketball and formula one racing.
Went to the Canada + Finland game last night and wore my Canada jersey amongst thousands of Finland jerseys. It was fun.
Only the IIHF tournament jerseys were on sale at the arena and in the tents after. I will see if I can find a sports store with one.
Sounds great Tom! You were brave to wear your Canada jersey! Good thing Canada won. I think there is a store in Hartwell Arena that is "the Jokerit store". On their website, they mentioned another store where Jokerit stuff is sold but don't sweat it - you have more important things to do. Have you run into Kai at the clinic? Say 'hi' from me!
The symposium is finnished and I am visitin Juuso in Turku for two days and. Fly back on Wednesday morning.
The conference was good with a few of the talks terrific and a few average. It all depends on what you are looking for.
Juuso, I and Kalle met with a Nokia man and discussed how to put the material and discussed how to put the ABC material into a simple to use interactive form for teachers and beginning coaches. Some interesting ideas were thrown around.
I talked with Kai quite a lot and met the men he coaches with.
No Canada or USA in the Medal Round
The conference was very good. There were about 125 coaches there and I think the majority were professional coaches from all around Europe.
Sessions covered topics like off ice training, skating, mental preparation, team play and team organization. I really liked the session Chris McSorley gave where he showed us the systems he uses and his philosophy of coaching both games and practices.
We got tickets to five of the games and a transit pass that let us travel all over Helsinki and take the train to the Hartwell arena were the games were. Lots of NHL coaches and GM’s met in the concourse where the coaches sat. I ran into a coach from the Salzburg Red Bulls and sat with him for most of the sessions.
The four teams playing for the medals are; Russia, Finland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Today Canada was eliminated by Slovakia (has about as many players as in Calgary) and the USA was beaten by Finland on a goal with 9 seconds left. That game was followed by Sweden being beaten 3-2 by Czech Republic (about twice as many players as Slovakia) with about 30 seconds left. Russia earlier beat Norway 5-2.
It is the third year in a row that Canada has not made the final four. It looks like the USA and Canada thrive on the small 200-85’ ice and struggle on the bigger 200-100’ surface.
I went to the TPS Turku training facility. TPS is a sports club. There was a U18 team practicing off ice. I talked to the coach about what stage of training they are in and he answered it is for next season. The players got 3 weeks off after their season ended and then practices for 12-13 started. They will get one more break before the season starts.
Most of these players are also in a sports school where they also get on and off ice hockey training.
The club system is unique because the players are in the club and progress through the various age groupings together. The goal is to develop players for the pro team. Some TPS grads are the Koivu brothers, Sami Salo, Mikka Kipprusoff.
It seems that few members of this forum are attending to these symposiums. I'll be attending the Coaching Symposium May 11th to 13th. I was at the Youth Coaching Symposium last year in Bratislava, Slovakia. In 2007 I attendet International Coaches Conference in Vierumäki, Finland. Where I had a pleasure to meet Tom in person. Both of the Symposiums have been very instructive and fun.
This year I'm really looking forward to presentation of Damien Farrow
Kai