Reply To: Articles

[Tom Molloy]

Dean, great articles. I started this site to help coaches run effective and enjoyable practices so that the young players would look forward to coming to the rink and enjoy the experience.

There are two themes to the ABC's of International Hockey. "Enjoy the Game" and "The Game is the Greatest Coach."

I have been putting on a drill a day because when the site was hacked I wasn't finished doing diagrams for every video; so my efforts have been more technical. I am trying to have material for every level of coach from the guy or girl who works every day and has no coaching background but needs help to organize practice and understand team play to the advanced coach who is looking for some new ideas to change up practice a bit.

The emphasis is that players learn by drills but more through simulating game situations. Study after study has shown that a drill practice has the players moving from 7-12 minutes and the rest of the time standing in line or listening to instructions. Is it a mystery why 80% quit organized sport by 14. Small area, full ice and transition games change the activity time around 180 degrees. So the players move more, play in realistic situations and have fun. We ARE teaching a Game after all. Not a series of individual movements.

Anyway I am very happy to see more discussion here.

Dean I can't find my dvd of the NHL practices so I can't break them down unless I get a copy of the dvd I gave you.

'The Game is the Greatest Coach'
'Enjoy the Game'