Reply To: Developing a Season Plan

[hockeygod]

Kai,

Thanks for bringing this topic thread back for Aberdeen. Lots of good stuff in here!

Similar to what Tom has stated, your plan will change every year based on your personnel. You need to start by assessing their strengths (use these to their maximum when deciding on a 'style' of play) and weaknesses (camoflauge these when deciding on a 'style' of play), estimate where you hope to realistically be by season's end, then work (plan) backwards. (Pro golfers visualize the ball going into the hole; then the approach shot; then the tee shot – backwards!) Determine how many practices / off-ice sessions will you have as this will give you an idea of how much actual time you will have with the team… so use your time accordingly! Create microcycle time periods that work for you – hopefully you can achieve what you want within these as smaller parts of the whole.

Remember to keep the four principles of play (on both O and D) in mind:

O Principles

Puck Control
Support
Pressure
Transition

D Principles

Stall / Contain
Support
Pressure
Transition

Training should reflect game-like situations and a smart coach will learn from Igor's findings… practice the situations in accordance with how often they occur in a game. 'Game-like' means: Include pressure, keeping score and accountability. For instance, why do lots of 1 v 0 shooting if breakaways and shootouts rarely happen in an actual game? This is a mis-use of ice time.

I have referenced Igor's stats and posted them before, but here there are again:

1 v 1's

https://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/wp-content/uploads/forum/oVAGwnXZAZ1111161151.pdf

2 v 2's

http://www.sposci.com/PDFS/BR0202/SVEE/04%20CL%2003%20IA.pdf

RELATION OF SOLVING 2 ON 2 GAME SITUATION DURING MATCHES AND WITHIN TRAINING SESSIONS IN ICE-HOCKEY U 18 CATEGORY

Igor Andrejkovi? – Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Comenius University

"Proportionality of particular typical game situations within training sessions should be derived from the frequency of occurrence of these game situations in championship matches. For the junior category we basically recommend 1 on 1 game like situation (45 percent), 2 on 1 game situation (35 percent), 2 on 2 and 1 on 2 games like situations (10 percent).

• While improving offensive game activities in typical 2 on 2 games like situation, all drills and preparation games should be applied under conditions similar to matches."

Keep in mind he was dealing with the junior (16-20) age category (specifically in this study, it was U18 but in his 1 v 1 study, it was U20 I believe.) If you were truly anal, you would do your own study for your own age category – but who has the time? – so I would hazard a guess that his findings would be fairly applicable across many age levels.

When you practice lots of 1 v 1's (obviously covering off two playing roles), the athletes MUST perform many individual skills and tactics during their competitions… so lots of great training here!

When you progress to a 2 v 1 (now covering three playing roles), this provides the addition of team tactics on O.

When you progress to a 2 v 2 (now covering all four playing roles), this provides the addition of team tactics for both O and D.

If you progress to a 3 v 3 situation (I would suggest this is a great way to spend some more of the remaining 10% total time!) this allows you to work more on systems and strategy.

I know for many coaches that playing so many 1 v 1's in practice (and 2 v 1's and 2 v 2 / 1 v 2's – up to 90% of your time!) will 'challenge your personal comfort zone' but I started doing this several years ago and have seen the results for myself! John the Colombian has been doing this for even longer with his teams and academies – he never talks about or focuses on the outcome of 'winning' – yet by training this way, he consistently does win!

You need to commit or not commit – this is not a halfway thing as you will not see the full benefits with a halfway commitment. It is a leap of faith and it might not be for you… Each coach will determine their own (comfortable) guidelines concerning Igor's suggested numbers, but at the end of the day, 1 v 1's are the key building blocks (pure skills) for all other situations! Playing up to and including 2 v 2 allows all four game roles to be played.

A strong understanding of the four 'principles of play' for both O and D; and the execution of these under game-like conditions will make your team that much better in ALL situations; including PP and PK! If more of your players are skilled at 1 v 1's (O and D) – moreso than your opponents – than the odds are your team will be more successful than the others!

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."