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Connecting & Communicating with Players
In order for a coach to be effective, he/she must be able to communicate effectively with his/her players. Coaches need to know who they're coaching - not just names and faces, but also personalities, goals, and desires. When a coach begins to understand the "why's" of his/her players, then the lines of clear and effective communication can begin.
NHL Proposed Rule Changes
In Mid-August the NHL held a camp for prospects where the league tried out lots of new rule adjustments. Lots of hockey people have very strong opinions about the league messing with the rules, but I think there are some very legitimate ideas proposed at the camp which could benefit the game .
Bad Habits to Eliminate
"How you do anything is how you do everything." -source unknown This is a great quote, and one relevant to everyone in the hockey coaching field. With so much happening on the ice, it's often easy to overlook small bad habits that creep in to teams. Eliminating these habits will not only make you a stronger team, but also help form players with better character.
5 Tryout Tips for Coaches (Part 3 of 3)
In part 3 of 3, we cover tips for coaches during tryouts. It's no secret tryouts can be one of the most stressful points of the season. With a few well-planned parts to your sessions, you can eliminate a lot of the difficulty typically associated with this time of year.
5 Tryout Tips for Parents (Part 2 of 3)
This post is part 2 of a three-part series revolving around tryouts. These posts will cover tryout tips for players, parents, and coaches. This focus is on tips/thoughts for parents. Parents have one of the most difficult parts of the process - they're utterly helpless, everything is in the hands of the player and coaches.
5 Tryout Tips for Players (Part 1 of 3)
During the tryout times, I get a lot of players who ask me about the tryout process. Over the past year or so, I've written several pieces about tryouts, but I wanted to give players (hopefully some of my own trying out as well) a couple quick tips for entering tryouts.
Pins & Needles
As I sit in the lobby observing about a hundred kids coming in (some I've coached, some I've coached against), one thing is very apparent....everyone is on pins & needles. This is the final tryout camp for one of the teams in the North American Hockey League. Players enter with the hopes of making a high-level US-based junior team. Parents wait nervously in the stands and lobby, sometimes pacing back and forth, chain smoking, or just sitting there fidgeting. It's fun hockey to watch because every player on the ice is competing.
How to Watch a Professional Game
I think if most coaches went around their locker room and asked how many player watch NHL games, a good number of kids (generally speaking) would raise their hands. I would venture to guess if you asked who watches a game without texting their friends, updating Facebook, or Tweeting - the number of hands raised would be drastically decreased. Players (and coaches) who watch professional hockey have tons of opportunities to learn from the best in the game every time a game is televised.
Taking a Lesson from the Capitals
If you're a Washington Capitals fan, the last couple days have probably been pretty tough to handle after their first-round exit from the playoffs after being up three games to one in the series. While surfing through the latest hockey headlines online, I came across a question from Dave Hodge on TSN.ca titled Does the Caps' Loss Make Mockery of Regular Season. The question is an interesting one - one which I'm sure will stir up some debate and emotional responses (especially from the Caps' fans).
Tryout Overview [Part 2]
So, now you have taken the time to properly plan out your tryout sessions, and now find yourself with an evaluation sheet in hand. Many coaches get overwhelmed during this process - after all, there is a lot to watch. Assuming you're breaking your tryout into three distinct drill categories - skill, competitive, scrimmage - we will take a look at what skills and subtleties to watch for in each of these three areas.
How to Approach Off-Season Training
Often when the season wraps up, I'll get asked the question: "Coach, what do I need to work on in the off-season?" I usually respond to this by reversing the question and asking them what they think they need to work on. When they look at me with a blank stare, I usually try to guide them through a series of questions to help evaluate their play and identify "holes" in their game - and of course share my feedback with them after they've started to identify things for themselves. The off-season provides a great opportunity for committed players to develop and improve their fundamental skills. I believe players need to approach off-season training in the following sequence...
Fellow Hockey Friends
I had the pleasure of catching up with fellow hockey coach and blogger, Coach Nielsen this past week at the USA Hockey U18 Tier I National Tournament down in Woodridge, IL.