Reply To: Hockey Camp, Elite Prep Camp, Coach Clinic

[Tom Molloy]

I ran the ideas about adding a coaching clinic and an elite prep camp by Gaston and he likes the idea. One thing he doesn't think will work is to have adults staying in the same dorm and the kid's. I can see his point. So the coaches will have to stay at hotels, hostels or camp but still can eat at the rec centre.

Deniz Ince who coaches in Turkey has let me know that about 6 youth players from there will be attending the Jasper camp. That should be fun for everyone. I am going to see if it is possible for them to stay with local families to improve the cultural experience; if not they can stay in the dorm.
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A typical day is;
– breakfast at the rec centre.
– one hour on ice alternating skating or hockey.
– 75 minute break.
– second on ice session.
– lunch and a break.
– third on ice session.
– dryland training outside focusing on the core.
– dinner
– swimming.
Wednesday morning they go white water rafting on the Athabasca River and have two on ice sessions in the afternoon. So they get 14 on ice sessions 5 off ice, in 5 days.
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There is a program in Calgary that gives 20 ice sessions and 10 off ice session over two months and charges $1200 per player and another that charges $1700 per player and both are very drill based.

I came back from Austria in 2009 and watched my grandson after his first year of hockey. He was walking on the ice and pushing the puck. I have taken him to this camp for 3 summers now and it was sad to see his teammates struggle with inefficient skating strides and poor puck handling technique while he flew by everyone and scored the last 6 goals of their season this year because he has learned good body mechanics in skating, puck handling and shooting. I think it is critical to get good mechanics as early as possible otherwise when you practice bad mechanics 'you get very good at being very bad' and have a limited ceiling on how much improvement you can make. It is like having an oblong tire on a car. No mater how much you work on the motor you will never be as fast as the car with the round wheels.

I see this in players all of the time. They push back too much when skating or they are bottom hand dominant with the stick and can only handle the puck efficiently on one side. Worst is the segmentation that happens from drill only practices. Players learn to do everything in isolation, i.e. they over stick handle and have to pause and coast before they can pass or shoot. They must dust the puck off when they get it before they can pass or shoot, etc.

Instead they need a proper sideways motion in their stride and passing and shooting are simply an extension of the stick handling motion (no tip off). They need big moves all around the body and the skating agility to be able to go in every direction very quickly.

All of these things require EFFICIENT technique and at the same time they are learning that they need to learn how to apply it in game situations vs. players who want to take the puck away from them.

That is my tirade for today.

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