Stickhandle puck while kicking a soccer ball.

Putting the puck between your legs while stickhandling.

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Great ideas.

Quote by: TomM

Great idea Kai. I am sitting in a hotel room in New York waiting for my wife and son to wake up. All of the walking yesterday must have tired them out.

Daniel Coyle wrote another book called 'The Little Book of Talent' where he condenses everything about the centre's that produce champions.

I want to set up a 'Mission Impossible' circuit where the players go from one station to the next and do activities like you suggest and if they fail they have to return to the station they started at to move on. Possible ideas are to score on a breakaway, saucer pass over something to a target. If you have more suggestions I would love to hear them.

Have you tried the videos from this site on your smart phone. I am wondering if they run well in Finland.

I brought my wife to NY instead of going to Stockholm for the coaching conference. We picked up our son in Toronto and brought him here as a graduation from university present.

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I love the Mission Impossible circuit idea. Love the breakaway as the last station, and the saucer pass is good, I like to start with " Quick Hands" where the players stickhandle through 6-8 pucks. They have to start over if they hit any of the pucks.

Keep the ideas coming...this could be good.

Quote by: peter

Recently finished reading the Talent Code, and love the idea of deep practice. My 8 year old son is in his second year Novice, and loves to practice, and talk hockey. So the two off us decided to practice his wrist shot in the garage, the plan is to take 100 shots a night.

My thought on how to make this DEEP PRACTICE was to have him aim at the 5 hole on his shooting tarp, the 5 hole in this tarp is really small, so he will try a task, fail, learn, adjust, and then repeat. Well this DEEP PRACTICE is really working.

First night he was able to get 3 pucks out of 100 through the 5 hole, now as I said the hole is really quite small, and was just missing on most of his shots.

2nd Night 4 out off100

3rd Night 11 out off 100

4th Night 13 out off 100

5th Night 15 out off 100

6th Night 22 out off 100!!

Thank you Tom for suggesting this book.
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Peter, it sounds like a good example of deep practice.
Tom

I watched documentary about Finnish soccer player Jari Litmanen. He used to stay on the field after practices and practice shooting. He took ten balls and tryed to shoot all ten balls e.g. to top left corner. If he got 3 first and missed 4ht he would start from the beginning and do this as long as he got all the 10 balls in a row to the top left corner. I think this is also a good example about deep practice.

So we modified the idea little and we came up with a skills game for our morning skills practice: Group of players each of them with e.g. 5 pucks. one of the players calls the spot where to shoot. First one to shoot all the five in a row to the target spot wins ( if you miss you have to start from the beginning).

Quote by: TomM

Peter this is a really good clip about what 'deep practice' is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8x2-OyZz4A&feature=related Daniel Coyle is being interviewed and they go to some of the talent hotbeds to demonstrate this method of practice.

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Very interesting. I love being a coach.

Quote by: peter

I’m just starting to read The Talent Code, but have read a lot of comments about the book. Love the idea about DEEP PRACTICE, and would like to set up drills to accomplish this, but not sure on how to do this. I like to use the following drills in my Novice hockey practices, and feel these do relate to Deep Practice: Would love to hear comments.

Cross Ice 2-2, 3-3, or 4-4 is the equivalent to Futsal, making and correcting errors, lots of puck touches.

2 – 2 Keep away – same reasons as the cross ice.

Circle Monkey in the Middle - 1 or 2 players in the middle of a faceoff circle, 4 to 5 players making one touch passes through the circle. Start with the players in the circle without sticks.

Target Shots - Have the players aim at targets on the boards, kids are really focused to hit the targets. Targets can get smaller as the players get better.

Quick Hands – Players stickhandle through pucks that are spaced out 1.5 feet apart, they see their mistakes when they hit a puck.

I am thinking about doing time trials with the kids for quick turns, and any puck control circuits???
In this way the kids will work on beating their best time. Is this something that coaches in hockey do? Do you guys think this makes sense?
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Peter good to see you taking part in the forum.
I think all of the ideas above are good practice activities. If the players focus and work on correcting any mistake they make right away then it is deep practice. So trying, failing, trying to correct the mistake, failing again, modifying what you are doing to correct the mistake is deep practice.

Do things really well before focusing on speed. If they are competent at a skill then do time trials as it is a way to set up deep practice at going full speed.
Tom

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Thank you Tom, love your ideas.

This is from one of the best all around Conditioning Coaches in the business. A great blog to follow on Twitter or Google Reader. Lists three books on talent development.



http://www.functionalpathtrainingblog.com/2012/10/talent-development-skill-learning.html

Hi Tom,

I've been quite busy with coaching these few months. I'm assistant coach in U20 team that plays in Finnish U20 Championship league.
But I'll try to bee more active with the forum in future.

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Kai, it sounds like you are really busy. I look forward to your input from the OTHER side of the ocean.
Tom
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Tom,
"The Talent Code "was a great read. So good I went over it a second time.

Just received the small hard cover book "The Little Book of Talent" in the mail. After reading the first book I had to read this book.also.

RookieCoach

I read the digital copy of "The Little Book of Talent" and really enjoyed it.

It is a quick reference book to 52 important points about coaching or teaching a person or a group on how to focus and how to practice to become very good at whatever a person wants to become good at.

I really enjoyed it and will keep my reader close by so I can refer to it during the season.

There are some great videos here... Nike Soccer / Joga Bonito (a campaign launched in 2006). I have been using these videos as part of my teaching and coaching toolbox.

http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2006/nike-football-joga-bonito/

I particularly like this one: http://youtu.be/NQxlnd-DK8I as it provides many examples of skill, creativity and passion as the players prepare for a game.

What World-Class Practice Looks Like, Part 2

Daniel Coyle, The Talent Code, July 17th, 2012


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RNfaIW5k1g&feature=player_embedded

One of the beautiful things about great practice is how simple it is.

This is especially true with soft skills — those improvisatory skills of reading patterns and reacting instantly to them — which show up so often in team sports and the creative arts.

Check out this video of Barcelona (aka the world’s best soccer team over the past four years) as they do their regular one-touch keep-away workout, which is called rondo.

Here’s what I like about it:

1) It generates reps of the key skills (anticipation, quick, accurate decisions under pressure), over and over.

2) It’s played with 100 percent maximum intensity.

3) It’s really fun/addictive — check out those smiles and laughs at the end.

Xavi, Barca’s midfielder, says: ”It’s all about rondos. Rondo, rondo, rondo. Every. Single. Day. It’s the best exercise there is. You learn responsibility and not to lose the ball. If you lose the ball, you go in the middle. Pum-pum-pum-pum, always one touch. If you go in the middle, it’s humiliating, the rest applaud and laugh at you.”

For this team, rondo isn’t a mere drill. It’s more like their identity.

To me, the truly interesting question is this: How do you create a culture in which this little game — not ego, not showing off, not even scoring goals — becomes the most important and valued part?

How to Fix a Slump

Daniel Coyle, The Talent Code, July 1st, 2012

Ever see this diagram? (It’s from comedian Demetri Martin.)

I like this, because I think it’s true. From the outside, success looks like effortless progress; from the inside, we discover the journey is a lot more complicated. In fact, the most interesting part of the line is where it turns sharply downward, into one of those nasty-looking tangles where progress stops, development stalls, and frustration rises. It raises an interesting question:

What’s the best way to fix a slump?

Normally, when we hit a slump, we experience an overwhelming instinct to ignore it — to shut our eyes and just try harder, and hope things change. That makes sense — and it feels satisfying. But is it the best way?

We find an interesting case study from Andrew McCutchen, the Pittsburgh Pirates centerfielder. Drafted in 2005, McCutchen was a can’t-miss prospect, a first-round pick who performed outstandingly well for two years in the Pirates minor leagues — until, suddenly, he hit a dry spell. He stopped hitting. His average dropped to a puny .189. This was it: McCutchen’s slump, his crisis; his line was headed straight for the basement.

In this case, the Pirates organization used a surprising strategy. When McCutchen hit his downturn, they flew hitting coach Gregg Ritchie to visit him. Ritchie carried a piece of paper: a print-out of McCutchen’s hitting flaws — specific, targeted problems with his swing mechanics that Ritchie had noted a year and a half earlier.

Until that moment, McCutchen didn’t know the list existed. But now, working with Ritchie, he used this list of flaws like a blueprint. He lowered his hand position; he shifted his weight — together, player and coach fixed his swing. And it worked: McCutchen got out of his slump, and kept moving up. He’s now an All-Star.

I like this story because I think it gives us insight into how to best handle these downturn moments. We instinctively want to do it alone; to lift ourselves back on that upward track out of sheer will.

But what works better is to approach the slump more like a science problem. Cool off the emotion. Collaborate and gather information. Figure out the shortcoming, and start re-wiring the improvement. In a word, be agile.

I also like it because it shows the importance of organizational agility. The Pirates handled this well, because they understood when to make the intervention. Coach Ritchie knew all along McCutchen’s swing had potential problems, but he didn’t try to fix those problems early on because his swing was working (as McCutchen said, if coaches had tried to correct him, he would have ignored them — and rightly so). No, the Pirates wisely waited until the the problem arose — until they had McCutchen’s full and desperate attention. Then, together, they went to work and built a better swing.

Fixing slumps is not about solo strength. It’s about group agility.

What’s Your Coaching-Thought?

Daniel Coyle, The Talent Code Blog, June 8th, 2012


One strategy I’ve always found useful is the “swing-thought.” The term originates with golf; it refers to focusing on a single idea as you swing the club.

For example, one swing-thought might be SMOOOOTH. Or ROLL WRISTS. A good swing-thought works because it un-clutters the mind, clarifies focus, and captures the essence of your best performance.

Which makes me wonder: do the best coaches and teachers have the equivalent of swing-thoughts as they work? Are there key ideas coaches can use in the moment of teaching to help them coach better?

Based on my observations, I’d say that most master coaches have three distinct coaching-thoughts.

The first is CONNECT. They create a personal link; they use their interpersonal skills to capture the spotlight of the learner’s attention. Until that’s achieved, nothing useful can happen.

The second coaching-thought is ASK. The coach puts forth a task — it could be doing a drill or playing a song, or trying something new — it doesn’t really matter what it is, so long as the task 1) is unmistakably clear; 2) puts the learner on the edge of their ability (which is to say, it’s neither too hard nor too easy).

The third is RESPOND. The coach perceives what the learner is doing, and uses it to generate the next task. The next task might be more difficult, or it might be easier — all that matters is that it helps the learner navigate closer to the goal of proficiency.

Connect. Ask. Respond. This process isn’t a lecture from a podium. It’s more like a personal conversation that happens on the edge of the learner’s abilities.

When I coach, I find it useful to visualize what’s happening inside the learner’s brain: to picture the wires glowing, trying to connect, the new circuitry forming through each repetition. I know, it sounds sort of science-fiction-ish, but it works for me because it helps focus on the underlying process. Mistakes aren’t verdicts; they’re pieces of information you use to build the right connections.

Next question for you coaches and teachers: what images and ideas are going through your mind as you work? Are there any useful “coaching-thoughts” you’d like to share?

How to Build Resilience

Daniel Coyle, The Talent Code, May 29th, 2012


No matter what talent you’re building, resilience is a big factor; perhaps the factor. Defined as the ability to recover from adversity; resilience is the ultimate killer app because it allows us to adapt, to learn, to turn setbacks into progress.

The mystery is, where does it come from? How is it developed? And perhaps most important, is it possible to teach?

One useful way to think about resilience is to think of it as the skill of controlling your emotions in negative situations. In this view, negative emotions are “hot” — they cause the brain to spark and short-circuit, they cause performance and confidence to dissolve in a cascade of doubt and judgement. Resilience is the skill of cooling those “hot” emotions and reinterpreting setbacks in a positive, future-oriented light.

We normally think of resilience as a response. The surprising thing about resilience, however, is that the most important moment comes before the negative event — it’s pre-silience. Studies show that resilient people start controlling their emotions before the stressful events begin. In other words, resilient brains function sort of like smart thermostats; even before the emotional heat arrives, they provide an anticipatory burst of cool, calm control.

Check out this study about Navy SEALs

http://blog.usnavyseals.com/2012/03/navy-seals-found-to-handle-stress-better.html

who were found to anticipate negative events by activating their emotional-control centers — in other words, before they encounter the negative event, their brains are already in calm-down mode.

The other interesting thing is that it seems this ability can be grown through practice. For instance, professional musicians who are preparing for a major performance will often pre-create, as closely as possible, the performance conditions, right down to the time of day, the clothes they’ll wear, the chair they’ll use.

NFL kickers like Billy Cundiff of the Ravens, who use bio-feedback devices

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7649003/nfl-science-why-ravens-kicker-billy-cundiff-choked-afc-championship-game-espn-magazine

to help teach them to regulate their stress levels in pressure situations.

Then there’s the wonderful example of Susan Cain,

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/books/review/how-the-author-of-quiet-delivered-a-rousing-speech.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

an introvert (and author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking)

http://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking/dp/0307352145/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338259959&sr=1-1

who had to face her worst fear: giving a speech in front of a huge audience. (Long story short: she got coached, did nothing but rehearse for a solid week, and nailed it.)

They are all being pre-silient: creating the pressurized situation, over and over, to teach their brain to calm itself at the right moments. In this way of thinking, practicing resilience is not that different from practicing a golf swing. The keys are:

1) Pre-create the stressful situation. It’s not enough to imagine it vaguely — try to get every detail. Ideally, duplicate the atmosphere; if not, imagine it as vividly as possible: a golfer or musician might imagine the uneasy rustling of the crowd; a CEO might imagine the hush of an expectant boardroom.

2) No stopping allowed. Once the “performance” starts, you can’t give yourself an exit door; you need to endure it completely, get to the other side of it.

3) Repeat. Then repeat again. And again. Learning to endure and control spikes of intense emotion is like enduring any sort of stimulus: time and repetition are your best friends.

The New Report Card: Forget an “A,” Try for an “M”

Daniel Coyle, The Talent Code, May 23 2012


Four years ago David Boone was a homeless 15-year-old sleeping on a park bench in Cleveland, Ohio. This fall he’ll be entering Harvard.

His is the kind of heroic story that would seem over-the-top in a movie, if it didn’t happen to be real: David used his book-bag as a pillow, studied in train stations, figured out how to avoid local gangs. (Read his story here.)

http://www.cleveland.com/seniorstandouts/index.ssf/2012/05/david_boone_persevered_to_go_f.html

More interestingly, David’s not the only hero in this story. The other is his report card. Not because of its grades, but because of its design. You see, report cards at David’s school don’t have “A”s, “B”s, and “C”s. Instead, they have “M”s and “I”s.

M stands for Mastery; I stands for Incomplete.

This method is a product of remarkable new high school David attended called MC2 STEM,

http://sites.google.com/site/mcstemhs/

in which David is part of the first graduating class. The school, part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation STEM Initiative,

http://www.stemconnector.org/gates

teaches science and engineering through hands-on, project-based learning in cooperation with a General Electric R&D facility across the street (translation: they don’t sit at desks listening to teachers talk).

As they learn, students are graded on specific skill-sets — called benchmarks — that make up each 10-week subject.

“M” means the student has mastered the benchmark skill (usually demonstrated by a score of 90-plus on a project or test).

“I” means the student needs to work more until they master the skill. They don’t retake the course — instead, teachers provide additional activities and opportunities for mastery, until it’s achieved.

It’s refreshingly simple: the mushy, judgmental landscape of Bs and Cs is replaced with a clear goal: mastery is expected; if you don’t get it right away, you will get new opportunities to work until you do. As David says, “They don’t accept mediocrity.”

I think one reason this technique is effective is that it uses grades the way they should be used: not as an often-demotivating verdict on identity (“You’re a C student); but rather as an ignitor of effort, a motivational north star. “Incomplete” is a motivating concept, because it sends a strong signal that complete learning is not only possible but expected; that everyone is capable of top-level work. It nudges the culture away from judgement and toward continual improvement and reaching. It turns a school into a skill-construction zone.

The question is, how can other organizations put this M/I grading method to work? For instance, could a soccer coach build a team around the idea of mastering certain moves? Could a businesses do the same when teaching employees? A music teacher?

Also, I’m curious: do you know of other simple methods that schools, teams, and businesses use to promote the love of mastery? If so, I’d love to hear about them.