Dean,
Teaching anticipation is part of a feeling that one person has. The 5 senses (taste , touch, sight ,smell, hearing.) If a person uses his senses to listen watch or study movements of other players it would help. Structured drills at a young age can teach a player bad habits , with no free thinking. But I these same young players were to play pond hockey everyday and the free thinking or anticipation would be a natural learning process. They would use their senses on their own and determine what action to take.
You could help teach this with games . If a coach was to sit back and let platers figure out in a game situation (practice), they would teach themselves sometimes. If you were to take away senses players would adapt using , using their vision or hearing or what ever sense wasn't taken away.
This has to be a new daily feature - Question of the Day !
RK
RookieCoach
The good stuff keeps coming... impressive!
I like the idea of "Question of the Day." I think it should be "Quandry of the Week" (or bi-montly)
Are there more senses then the five you mentioned...??? What are they?
Dean,
Some people say we have a sixth sense ( intuition ) and some say they're many more senses (non physical) . But we only use our 5 physical senses for most things. I can use two wires and dowse for water and I can't explain it . I get a very Strong pull when I get near water, so strong the wires turn in my hands even when I grasp them as tightly as I can.
Are you going to make me look up the other senses ?
RK
RK
Balance, kinesthetic sense.... is there more??
Backtracking a bit here........my guess is that silence is the best way to teach anticipation because it can't really be taught. I would call anticipation an instinct rather than a sense or a skill, and they (students, players etc.) already have it. The job of the teacher / coach is to set up the environment that hones it and activates it, rewards it when it's used properly, provides feedback when it's not.
On the flip side, I enjoy asking players "why" and "what if" questions about the game, and then giving them lots of time to respond without giving them the answer (off the ice, of course). I learn a lot about what they know and don't know, or how they view the game, and I don't think they get asked to do this enough. Comprehending the "why" adds meaning to why we practice what we do. The silence and the situations set up by the coach / teacher are the art of coaching / teaching. Just my two cents....
To add to the additional senses........Spatial Awareness
Visualization helps prepare for anticipation. Going over movements in your head (visualizing ) the movements or actions of other players and how you can counter correctly.
Visualizing set patterns of plays , go over how things are done correctly and visualize being successful while doing this.
RK
RK
RK, I have seen people 'witch wells' using willow sticks. It is crazy! I don't know how, but we have had several wells 'witched' and they all turned out to be excellent wells! I put my hands on the guys hands as he held the sticks and couldn't believe how much force I could feel through them as he got closer to water. Kind of freaky...!
Yes Kai, there are more senses (including balance, kinesthetic sense). You and Eric (spatial awareness) are closing in on more of them. See the rest below...
DaveM - great answer! I also like your questioning approach, when used by a skillful coach, can go from general to more specific when trying to draw out the proper focus to the intended questions; without giving the players the answer... let them think about it first (kind of like this damned exercise we are doing now, eh?!) Adding the 'why' (or better yet, eliciting it from the players) adds to a much greater depth of understanding about the game on behalf of the players.
All of your answers have made me think more and added to my depth of knowledge. Thanks guys! We all learn from each other on here...
So here are the additional senses (thanks to Wikipedia).
http ://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense
I will try to provide my 'answer' about silence later tonight...
-----
Humans have a multitude of senses.
(I believe Daniel Coyle covered these in The Talent Code...)
In addition to the traditionally recognized five senses of sight (ophthalmoception), hearing (audioception), taste (gustaoception), smell (olfacoception or olfacception), and touch (tactioception), humans are considered to have at least five additional senses that include: nociception (pain); equilibrioception (balance); proprioception and kinaesthesia (joint motion and acceleration); thermoception (temperature differences); sense of time; and possibly an additional weak magnetoception (direction), and six more if interoceptive senses (see other internal senses below) are also considered.
(Equilibrium (balance), proprioception and kinaesthesia (joint motion and acceleration) are the three that interest us coaches most; after the first five senses.)
Pain
Nociception (physiological pain) signals nerve-damage or damage to tissue. The three types of pain receptors are cutaneous (skin), somatic (joints and bones), and visceral (body organs). It was previously believed that pain was simply the overloading of pressure receptors, but research in the first half of the 20th century indicated that pain is a distinct phenomenon that intertwines with all of the other senses, including touch. Pain was once considered an entirely subjective experience, but recent studies show that pain is registered in the anterior cingulate gyrus of the brain. The main function of pain is to warn us about dangers. For example, humans avoid touching a sharp needle or hot object or extending an arm beyond a safe limit because it hurts, and thus is dangerous. Without pain, people could do many dangerous things without realizing it.
Balance and acceleration
Balance, equilibrioception, or vestibular sense is the sense that allows an organism to sense body movement, direction, and acceleration, and to attain and maintain postural equilibrium and balance. The organ of equilibrioception is the vestibular labyrinthine system found in both of the inner ears. In technical terms, this organ is responsible for two senses of angular momentum acceleration and linear acceleration (which also senses gravity), but they are known together as equilibrioception.
The vestibular nerve conducts information from sensory receptors in three ampulla that sense motion of fluid in three semicircular canals caused by three-dimensional rotation of the head. The vestibular nerve also conducts information from the utricle and the saccule, which contain hair-like sensory receptors that bend under the weight of otoliths (which are small crystals of calcium carbonate) that provide the inertia needed to detect head rotation, linear acceleration, and the direction of gravitational force.
Kinesthetic sense
Proprioception, the kinesthetic sense, provides the parietal cortex of the brain with information on the relative positions of the parts of the body. Neurologists test this sense by telling patients to close their eyes and touch their own nose with the tip of a finger. Assuming proper proprioceptive function, at no time will the person lose awareness of where the hand actually is, even though it is not being detected by any of the other senses. Proprioception and touch are related in subtle ways, and their impairment results in surprising and deep deficits in perception and action.
Temperature
Thermoception is the sense of heat and the absence of heat (cold) by the skin and including internal skin passages, or, rather, the heat flux (the rate of heat flow) in these areas. There are specialized receptors for cold (declining temperature) and to heat. The cold receptors play an important part in the dog's sense of smell, telling wind direction. The heat receptors are sensitive to infrared radiation and can occur in specialized organs for instance in pit vipers. The thermoceptors in the skin are quite different from the homeostatic thermoceptors in the brain (hypothalamus), which provide feedback on internal body temperature.
Other internal senses
An internal sense or interoception is "any sense that is normally stimulated from within the body". These involve numerous sensory receptors in internal organs, such as stretch receptors that are neurologically linked to the brain.
Pulmonary stretch receptors are found in the lungs and control the respiratory rate.
Peripheral chemoreceptors in the brain monitor the carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in the brain to give a feeling of suffocation if carbon dioxide levels get too high.
The chemoreceptor trigger zone is an area of the medulla in the brain that receives inputs from blood-borne drugs or hormones, and communicates with the vomiting center.
Chemoreceptors in the circulatory system also measure salt levels and prompt thirst if they get too high (they can also respond to high sugar levels in diabetics).
Cutaneous receptors in the skin not only respond to touch, pressure, and temperature, but also respond to vasodilation in the skin such as blushing.
Stretch receptors in the gastrointestinal tract sense gas distension that may result in colic pain.
Stimulation of sensory receptors in the esophagus result in sensations felt in the throat when swallowing, vomiting, or during acid reflux.
Sensory receptors in pharynx mucosa, similar to touch receptors in the skin, sense foreign objects such as food that may result in a gag reflex and corresponding gagging sensation.
Stimulation of sensory receptors in the urinary bladder and rectum may result in sensations of fullness.
Stimulation of stretch sensors that sense dilation of various blood vessels may result in pain, for example headache caused by vasodilation of brain arteries.
Quote by: hockeygodOne of the best ways to teach anticipation is to teach using SILENCE!
Why?
OK, here it is: my rationale for using SILENCE in sports. I have been training in silence, starting in 2003, with unreal results. I don't do it all the time, but I probably should...
When you eliminate auditory cues, what happens? Your other senses take over. In this case, you rely more heavily on the other senses - in this case, one in particular.
Which ONE of the five (now four since we have removed audition) primary senses will you rely upon most in the absence of audition?
What will the athlete be forced to do? (This forces one to develop game sense / anticipation skills, through experience...)
Thoughts?
More later...
Beating my self with a book: "Transforming Play: Teaching Tactics and Game Sense" 
Quote by: Kai K:roll: Beating my self with a book: "Transforming Play: Teaching Tactics and Game Sense" :oops:
I have that one... I read the first chapter (introduction) and it doesn't say much about silence. Then it goes into specific sports (netball, soccer, etc.).
Boy, when it comes to hockey it would have to be sight, wouldn't it? Given the fact that most communication is non-verbal we humans are pretty much hard wired for interpreting visual cues. Now you have me wondering what, how and when you practice in silence Dean. I'd love to hear more.
Quote by: hockeygodQuote by: Kai K
I have that one... I read the first chapter (introduction) and it doesn't say much about silence. Then it goes into specific sports (netball, soccer, etc.).
Sorry for lazy posting....
I think you mean by silence the Game Sense approach. Where you don't shout nonstop to player what they should do. Players are allowed to make their own choises and mistakes.
Netball, basketball and soccer are invasion games just like ice hockey. So they share same "laws of nature".
The book reference for off ice games and modified games to on ice.
I'm really working hard to shut up......
DaveM wins first prize! Sight is the correct answer! Thanks to all for 'playing!'
Hear you go, DaveM!
The Silence Methodology is one of several cornerstones of my coaching philosophy - "THE MATRIX OF CREATIVITY". (I thank John the Colombian for sharing it with me.) I will post more of this one day when I have time; it will be in the book I am writing.
My personal coaching mantra is: "Execute skills... with HEAD UP... at speed... under pressure... consistently."
The absence of auditory cues forces one to get their head up; so they can see and read the play.
This goes against what we have all been taught in hockey... CALL FOR THE PUCK / TALK, etc.! I thought it was BS myself... until I tried it as a participant; then as a coach. WOW! What a difference! (This is why I insist on doing coaching clinics with the coaches as participants... so it enables them to 'feel' what it is like as a player.)
When I train dryland, I usually insist on playing the games "in silence" to encourage heads up play. With your head up, you see more of the game and this helps develop your read and react / anticipation abilities. I don't use "open games" (allowing talking) near as much as in the 'old' days, but I still use them...
I challenge each one of you to do the same (start with dryland first) and see what you think. if you have the ability, video the session as an 'open' game; then using 'silence'. When you are done, go back and look for differences. (You will also see it even if you don't record it. Ask the players their impressions afterwards.)
As a coach, if / when you hear 'something' other than silence, "STOP! 10/10 for everyone. I asked for SILENCE!" Keep upping the ante. You will get silence!
Silence means no talking, banging, grunting, whistling, etc. NOTHING! All you should hear is sneakers on the gym floor, and the players puffing. (You can do this in the rink too. No calling out, no banging the stick, etc.)
Silence FORCES one to get their head up and keep it up - it improves their cognitive processes. It allows for creative discovery; space awareness; reading of the game and other player's body language; enhances self control and composure to increase creative play / develop one's personal style; stimulation of problem-solving skills UNDER GAME SITUATIONS; over time, it promotes self-esteem and self-confidence because the players are now used to getting and keeping their heads up!
Now imagine when it is a 'real' game and it is so noisy, you can't even hear yourself think. No problem... now everybody is used to having their head up... less dependency on audition (doesn't mean I am 100% against yelling if someone is going to get hurt!)...head on a swivel... see the entire play!
When we coaches use constant feedback, we tend to strangulate (more than stimulate) the player's capacity of CREATIVITY and INNOVATION! We need to SHUT UP more often than not and let the game be the best teacher (learn from experience / implicit learning). Next best thing is to use DaveM's method of asking the players certain questions - starting with general questions, then moving to more specific (guiding the process).
"Without the gift of silence, they cannot hear the guidance of their inner spirit; which speaks softly but with great wisdom."
Try it - you will be amazed at the difference!
I think you mean by silence the Game Sense approach. Where you don't shout nonstop to player what they should do. Players are allowed to make their own choices and mistakes.
Netball, basketball and soccer are invasion games just like ice hockey. So they share same "laws of nature".
The book reference for off ice games and modified games to on ice.
I'm really working hard to shut up......[/p]
Kai, you are 100% right! "When you don't shout non-stop to a player what they should do". EXACTLY! Let them make mistakes and learn from them. Smart players learn more quickly...
Wally Kozak talked about "F.I.O."
FIO. Feeeee-O
FIGURE IT OUT
As in, let the players figure it out!
Yes, all of the above are invasion games, so they share similar laws of nature. Although American / Canadian football is a scripted sport with lots of discrete breaks in the play, players would still benefit from training with Game Sense and silence! Most 'athletes' would!
And hey, I am not perfect either. I still find myself having to work hard at shutting up... more often! I am a product of my upbringing under all of those coaches who used to yell non-stop! (Although I just try to keep it to cheering now...)
Great discussion guys. Joan Vickers talks a lot about limiting coach input to only the extremes. Comment way the players execution is exceptional or really poor but now on every decision they make. (in her Decision Making booklet) When yoou comment do it like Dave says and ask for the reasons they made the choice.
My Tuesday practice focuses on game playing roles one and three. Individual offensive and individual defensive skills. We do a lot of small area and transition games.
I will try the 'Silent Treatment' in some of them and see how it works.
I have a couple of players with Tunnel Vision and it may be a way to help them.
Artists have been known to block certain senses to help develop the other senses. Sculpting blindfolded or painting with ear plugs. I have to use ear plugs from time to time with my work. Sometimes I will leave the noisy area to grab something at my desk, where it is quiet, and it is interesting how different my surroundings are when I cannot hear a thing. I have typed a quick email before without taking ear plugs out and I am not sure if I think clearer but I can tell I think differently.
If one was to have a scrimmage or SAG with the players wearing ear plugs, I would think that it would need to be stressed that there is no checking for safety. Just a bump here and there would work to let you know that you could have been hit. I could imagine that skating to the corner and not hearing anything would for sure make you turn your head to see where the defenders are prior to picking up the puck.
As far as the silence in coaching, I always think back to the days where most everyone involved in hockey, played pond hockey. That is as silent of a game as one can get. The movie Pond Hockey has a few scenes where there is only the sounds of the puck and stick and blades.
RedWingFan
Quote by: TomMGreat discussion guys. Joan Vickers talks a lot about limiting coach input to only the extremes. Comment way the players execution is exceptional or really poor but now on every decision they make. (in her Decision Making booklet) When yoou comment do it like Dave says and ask for the reasons they made the choice.
My Tuesday practice focuses on game playing roles one and three. Individual offensive and individual defensive skills. We do a lot of small area and transition games.
I will try the 'Silent Treatment' in some of them and see how it works.
I have a couple of players with Tunnel Vision and it may be a way to help them.
Back when I taught with Joan, she talked about "Bandwidth Feedback" - it starts out fairly wide (generic) then gets narrower (more specific) as time goes on. Kind of like fine-tuning; it requires participants (and coaches) to pay LARGE attention to small details. I recommend you read her booklet or her latest text, "Perception, Cognition and Decision Training" from Human Kinetics (even if she misspelled my name inside...!)
I will be interested to hear how your silent treatment goes, Tom. When John and I come out to your skill academy, perhaps we can try something there... although the best approach is to try it in a gym off-ice (much more quiet).
Let me know if you want to bring your "Turk" out to our "Supergroup" session on Friday morning. Email me for more info.
Quote by: RedWingFanArtists have been known to block certain senses to help develop the other senses. Sculpting blindfolded or painting with ear plugs. I have to use ear plugs from time to time with my work. Sometimes I will leave the noisy area to grab something at my desk, where it is quiet, and it is interesting how different my surroundings are when I cannot hear a thing. I have typed a quick email before without taking ear plugs out and I am not sure if I think clearer but I can tell I think differently.
If one was to have a scrimmage or SAG with the players wearing ear plugs, I would think that it would need to be stressed that there is no checking for safety. Just a bump here and there would work to let you know that you could have been hit. I could imagine that skating to the corner and not hearing anything would for sure make you turn your head to see where the defenders are prior to picking up the puck.
As far as the silence in coaching, I always think back to the days where most everyone involved in hockey, played pond hockey. That is as silent of a game as one can get. The movie Pond Hockey has a few scenes where there is only the sounds of the puck and stick and blades.
RWFan,
Welcome to the site and thanks for posting! Nice to see some 'new blood' around here!
Interesting observation from your workplace. I too can 'feel' the difference between a noisy work environment and a loud one. I think each individual has their own environment in which they work best. Sometimes it helps to 'shake it up' to see what a change will do... if anything at all.
I never though about scrimmaging with earplugs - neat idea. You are right on the money with the safety issue. We just say, "No talking, etc." and it usually works fine - after a few 10/10's or so! Then they get it!
Yeah, pond hockey... those were the days! I remember when you didn't know anybody, and you were younger then the majority, you just shut up and played. I haven't seen the movie, but I would like to look it up.
Dean,
Very informative post. I must say that I read great deal of new info. just looking around at different articles. I will have to practice being quiet , or in your words "SHUT UP" and let there be silence.
Great job.
Thanks
RK
RK
RK,
That's the principle of implicit learning (or the game teaching the game)... I could have 'told' people my 'answer' here (explicitly) at the outset; but instead I used the principle of guided discovery to help 'lead' people to think / read / research for themselves. I think most of the guys posting here on this thread did just that... my intent was to get people thinking for themselves and everyone contributed some excellent points. I learned too. So - mission accomplished!
I look forward to hearing reports on the use of silence during training AND how people do with 'less talking' as a coach and more 'letting the game teach the game' - followed by guided discovery for the players!
Glad that I was of some help...
Regards,
Pretty good documentary. Follows the US pond hockey championships and a few of the players that take part. Interviews players on their thoughts of todays game and pond hockey Gretzky Broten Lou Nanne
http://www.pondhockeymovie.com/trailer.html The Trailer
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/pond_hockey Full Film on Snag Films
http://www.hulu.com/watch/118204/pond-hockey Full Film on Hulu
RedWingFan
Apparently, Hulu doesn't work from Canada... 
Aren't we (USA) still at war with you guys? Oh wait, that was just a movie....it's tough keeping track of all our wars these days.
DaveM
Quote by: DaveMAren't we (USA) still at war with you guys? Oh wait, that was just a movie....it's tough keeping track of all our wars these days.
What movie are you referring to? The one with both of our windsurfers patrolling the arctic?? Some navy... 
Regarding 'real' wars from history... all I can say is, "Scoreboard DaveM - we won the last one!" 
Isn't Sarah Palin at war with everyone?!
Trap play causes standstill in Tampa
Sportsnet Staff | November 10, 2011
A bizarre strategy from the Philadelphia Flyers drew the attention of the hockey world during their 2-1 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.
Early in the first period, the Lightning lined up in a 1-3-1 defence. To counteract this, Flyers defenceman Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen held the puck in their own zone to avoid the Lightning's trap.
The Lightning chose not to attack the Flyers and the play came to a standstill.
After 30 seconds of the Flyers holding the puck in their defensive zone, the refs blew the play dead. The Flyers used the same strategy later on, and the play was again blown dead.
It is unclear if the league will get involved after this strange sequence of events.
http://www .sportsnet. ca/hockey/2011/11/10/bizarre_trap_play/?source=video
A game of trap
Mark Spector, November 10, 2011
BOSTON -- We'd like to begin by thanking Philadelphia Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette for the free seminar he conducted Wednesday night in Tampa, revealing to the hockey world this salient fact: The trap is boring.
Where would the game be without Peter Laviolette? No doubt wandering in darkness without a forecheck or a flashlight, forever ignorant of the fact that coaches like Tampa's Guy Boucher value winning over entertainment value.
We can only be thankful that Laviolette had Chris Pronger slow the game down to our level, so the rest of us could recognize what Prof. Laviolette had been able to detect at game speed: That Tampa plays a 1-3-1.
"They have a set forecheck in the neutral zone, so we have a set breakout," Laviolette told reporters in Tampa after Thursday's game. "As soon as we get some pressure, we'll get into our routes. … They should come after us. Otherwise, we can just stand there."
Well, they CAN just stand there -- if being part of the problem is going to be Laviolette's grand contribution to the game of hockey. But we're not sure how that furthers the goal of scoring, and by extension, winning. (Which, by the way, Philadelphia did not do Wednesday.)
One would think, with a brilliant tactician like Laviolette holding the chalk, the Flyers might be provided with a system of attack that exploited Boucher's risk-averse trap. But perhaps Laviolette's ploy was not aimed at instructing the hockey world on how boring Boucher's game plan is?
Could it be that it was simply an admission that the Flyers coach has no answer for the Lightning's defence?
So, behind the veil of self-righteousness and "keeper of the game" sanctimony, what Laviolette has really admitted Wednesday in Tampa was, "I can't devise a system to beat this system under the existing National Hockey League rules."
Tampa is 8-5-2. So five other guys out there have figured out a way to deal with it, Pete.
Look, no one is standing around in admiration of Guy Boucher this morning. Guys like him, Jacques Lemaire, Ken Hitchcock when he was coaching the obstructionist Dallas Stars… They are, at worst, bad for the game, and at best, conflicting forces.
They sell the game in their own markets, because winning is the best sales pitch -- no matter how it is accomplished. But they do/did so at the expense of the game's greater good. They ruin the game for everyone else, by draining it of its speed and skill.
Lemaire's trap was dependent on obstruction; on "getting a stick on him" as a player made his way into and through the neutral zone.
In response, the NHL spent hundreds of man-hours aimed at devising a rule to outlaw the trap, but was unable to accurately define an "illegal defence" penalty, the way they have in the National Basketball Association.
So instead, the NHL took the teeth out of the old trap by eliminating obstruction and taking out the red line. It has worked well enough, though we knew a time would come that someone like Boucher -- and every other coach in the NHL, because they all trap to a degree -- would find a way to return the game to what Mario Lemieux once referred to as "a garage league."
There are tactics that exist, however, that can pry a trap open far enough for a player to dart through with the puck. Then the pendulum swings, and a group of Tampa forwards who are standing still are apt to take a penalty on a speedy Philly puck carrier.
Score on the resulting powerplay and you've got the lead, and like Tylenol for a headache, the surest way to stop your opponent from trapping is to get ahead of him on the scoreboard.
But, either Laviolette does not have the confidence in his team to use speed and skill to attack the trap. Or (gasp) he hasn't game-planned a way to do it.
The latter is highly unlikely, however. Because the Flyers coach is, as we are all aware, one of -- if not THE -- sharpest minds in the game.
Don't believe it? Just ask him.
http:// www .sportsnet.ca/hockey/2011/11/10/spector_mind_trap/?source=video
The Trap...
I didn't like it from either side as presented by the Sportsnet video - the fans are paying good money to be entertained and this is not entertainment. While it is within the rules and Tampa has been doing this since Guy Boucher took over last year, it makes for boring hockey. The Sportsnet staff refers to a rule that allows for the officials to stop play and force a faceoff (no penalties) and perhaps it's time to get rid of the 'trap'. I don't think it's fair to make a rule change during a season as teams make decisions on their style and personnel ahead of time. I hope they do change things after the season.
That all said, I tend to agree with Doug MacLean: if they don't know, Philly needs to learn how try to solve Tampa's 1-3-1 trap - because they will be facing Tampa more during the regular season and maybe in playoffs. The coach ultimately needs to figure out how to beat this system... not mock the other team (who is within their 'rights' to play this system); if they were indeed mocking them. Maybe Philly / the coaching staff just didn't know how to play it?
It is all about winning at the NHL level (and sadly, at a lot of minor hockey levels; even when hypocritical lip service is paid to 'development'). If Tampa is allowed to use this system, and it gets them wins, the coach gets to keep his job. They might even win the Cup with it! (Thanks to the NJ Devils of the 1990's... BORING... but can be effective... especially if the high foreheads being paid good money behind an NHL bench can't figure out how to beat it... or ask around for help!)
Back 'in the day'...
When I was coaching Team Canada with Tom Renney in the early 1990's, I remember the topic of conversation one day in particular. It was NJ who was trapping big-time in the playoffs, with much success - can't remember the opponent - and Tom was mystified why the coach of the opposition team couldn't figure out how to 'beat the trap' - as it was really played up in the media as a new system. Since we played lots of European teams, we had seen this style of play - we could play it ourselves and we could play against it. Tom wondered why that coach never called him (Tom knew the guy)... or figured out another resource to get the solutions. That team subsequently lost the series.
I was amazed that a head coach involved in a series during the Stanley Cup playoffs (lots on the line!) wouldn't / didn't call someone for help!!! (Maybe it was ego? I don't know... But I do know that if that coach had looked at video from a European hockey game, he would have seen the trap (among other things 'novel' to the NHL - perhaps from the soccer influence) and how to beat it. Now I have come to see this lack of communication between coaches as endemic; it seems to be the norm (more on that in a minute.)
Interesting fact: Eventually, this conversation with Tom turned into an addition to the "40 of the Best" booklet (in hindsight, ironically, a 'drill manual'!) we put out at Hockey Canada. At the end of the booklet is a brief overview of how to beat the trap - spurred by our discussion that day and it's topical nature at the time!
What does this mean to me now?
Thinking about this today really emphasized to me that coaching (hockey) at the highest level was (and still is) a 'closed shop.' Head coaches didn't talk too much between the teams regarding their systems and strategies. They will talk about other things, but not the guts (systems / strategies) of their team. One of my friends, who coached in the NHL for 12 years, said that he got so caught up in the day to day minutiae, that he rarely took time to 'think' about things, get outside the box, or make time to share with other coaches. Sad that the sharing and open-mindedness isn't there. Perhaps it comes down to ego and / or to a fear of losing a competitive edge and subsequently, losing one of 30 jobs to someone else?
I see this in other levels of the game - junior, (a little less in college / university, but it is still there) and of course, in minor hockey too. Heaven forbid the 'volunteer coach' share info and lose their edge to a colleague / competitor... or appear weak if they don't know it all... they might never get another volunteer coaching position again! Not a lot of ongoing coach support / forums / PD opportunities for coaches. That's why this site is so invaluable!
One of the only times 'the veil gets lifted' is when people attend a coaching conference. And even then, I remember listening to Scotty Bowman speak less than a week after the Rangers beat Vancouver (at Roger Neilson's coaching conference in Windsor, 1994); he talked for 1 hour WITHOUT REALLY SAYING ANYTHING! Granted, there were lots of other NHL, AHL, ECHL and college coaches in attendance, (pens poised over paper) but... I was SO disappointed! I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the genius to impart some words of wisdom upon myself and the audience... and it never came. I imagine everyone else was disappointed, too. I couldn't believe it. He might as well have been the Prime Minister of Canada (a politician); in other words, a master of saying nothing of substance about the topic du jour! (The topic was, "The Playoffs" and aside from common-sense stuff... the best thing about the whole thing was Harry Neale's intro: "Makes me sick to go to his house to see six Stanley Cups on his mantle. Most of us have a picture of the Cup somewhere in the house..." Actually, re-reading some of these older presentations and my notes was kind of neat!)
I approached Scotty afterward and had 10 minutes with him on the front steps of the university. He knew my grandfather; so once I introduced myself and made him aware of this connection, we had a great conversation. (He had signed a Montreal Canadians photo of himself, along with autographed, individual photos of all the players for me; then had the team mail them to me - wish I had kept the envelope with the Habs logo and address on it!) He really opened up; perhaps because I wasn't a direct coaching threat, or a relative of a friend, or a much younger person... I don't know the reason why. But I gained much more insight of 'who' Scotty Bowman was (is) in that 10 minutes than anything I heard in 1 hour! Not a bunch about hockey tactics, but what type of a person he is.
Our challenge, as coaches and educators, moving forward:
Game Intelligence doesn't just refer to the players vis-a-vis Hockey Sense: it starts with the coaches educating themselves so they can develop a deeper understanding of the game and transmit this to all the stakeholders: players / coaching staff / parents / administrators. You can't learn everything (anything?!!) from a 'drill manual' or 'the existing culture'. We need to be lifelong learners - take the 'hockey only' blinders off - challenge ourselves! Look to other sports and additional ways and means on how to improve ourselves and the coaching profession. Spreading the word of GI starts with us coaches!
Quote by: hockeygodTrap play causes standstill in Tampa
Sportsnet Staff | November 10, 2011
A bizarre strategy from the Philadelphia Flyers drew the attention of the hockey world during their 2-1 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.
Early in the first period, the Lightning lined up in a 1-3-1 defence. To counteract this, Flyers defenceman Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen held the puck in their own zone to avoid the Lightning's trap.
The Lightning chose not to attack the Flyers and the play came to a standstill.
After 30 seconds of the Flyers holding the puck in their defensive zone, the refs blew the play dead. The Flyers used the same strategy later on, and the play was again blown dead.
It is unclear if the league will get involved after this strange sequence of events.
http://www .sportsnet. ca/hockey/2011/11/10/bizarre_trap_play/?source=video
Dean, Thanks for posting this video. I had a buddy ask me if I had watched the highlights of this. I was going to check it out tonight.
On a similar note ,I went and watched a few different games last night at different rinks. Thae last practice I worked on a tandem forechecking transition drill with accountability between forwards and D. ( pressure). I go and watch the game and the team is doing a semi aggressive ( at times ) 1-2-2 forecheck. They did an ok job , but the problem I found was as the game went on they seem to play more passive. When the other team picked their game up , we struggled and had a hard time getting our feet moving.
I think it is ok for this forecheck some times with a combination and certain situations when the other team has full control and are breaking out (ie- line change , dump in , no close support on forecheck). But young players can fall into a passive trap and not even realize what's happening.
I n Minor hockey young players will make mistakes under pressure , why would we make it easier for the opponent ?
Coaches always talk about keeping your feet moving , but then we slow their feet down with passive systems.
RK
Anticipation:
I guess my thought would be that if you were talking then they wouldn't be anticipating but rather following your directions.