Reply To: Statistics – Used for critical area’s on the ice

[hockeygod]

RookieCoach,

Here is another article on Transition that refers to Bjorn's study. The drawback: does the author definitively state 'how' to increase the amount of transitions in practice? He refers to drills containing transitions (which is a start) but for best effect, one should use games! (I taught this fellow how to skate as a U5… now he must be 30 something. Time flies! Nice kid!)

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Hockey is a game in 'a constant state of transition'

Posted in Alberta Edition, http://www.hockeynow.ca, March 02, 2009
By James Poole, director of hockey operations, National Sports Development

Although, it has been used to describe many different parts of the game, TRANSITION can be simply described as the instance the puck changes possession from one team to another.

It is a simple concept, but many good coaches often neglect the importance of being a good transition team. Well, here is a tip to successful coaching: to be good at the game of hockey, you've got to be great in the game of transition.

It is often said that stats don't lie, well think of it in these terms: the puck changes possession on average up to 450 times in a hockey game. Also of note, in an average shift of one minute, there will be eight turnovers that take place; furthermore, a turnover occurs, on average, every 4.7 seconds during a hockey game. These numbers were accumulated in a study done by Bjorn Kinding.

With this in mind, it could be stated that hockey is a constant state of transition. As a team, you are constantly transitioning from offense to defense, and defence to offence. There are many skills involved in transition hockey that coaches can teach their players, but even more important is teaching proper transition habits & instincts. At the highest levels of hockey, it takes a team three seconds to recover from a turnover and set up their defence no matter where the turnover occurs, whether it be offensive zone forecheck or defensive zone coverage.

So conversely, a team has three seconds to attack after a turnover before your advantage is negated. If you can teach your players the right habits in those three seconds, you're going to be a successful hockey team.

Your job as coach is to teach your players the importance of attacking immediately after turnovers. This habit is all based on attitude. Teach your players to immediately go forwards or sideways, never back, with the puck as the same study shows that 88 per cent of goals are scored within the 10 seconds after the transition has occurred.

Even tougher to teach, is the habit of your players transitioning from offense to defense. Every coach stresses to their players the importance of limiting turnovers, but do you also stress the importance following a turnover of limiting the time before you recover to your forecheck or defensive zone coverage? If you can cut the other teams advantage after turnovers to three seconds or lower, you're well on your way to being a good defensive hockey team. Many coaches work on defensive zone coverage, offensive zone fore-checks and wonder why these systems falter in games. The majority of your problems are because your players are slow at reacting in transition and the opposition is attacking before your team is defending.

When dealing with high-level teams from Peewee upwards, run multifaceted drills that simulate turnovers and teach your players to read & react accordingly. In hockey, good teams maximize their time with the puck and limit the opponents – great teams accomplish this plus also have a mental plan for transition. Best of Luck!

James Poole is currently director of hockey operations at National Sports Development and head hockey instructor. James also is in his second-year as head coach of the Calgary Midget AAA Buffaloes, leading them to the 2008 AMHL and Pacific Regional Championship, and most recently the 2008 Gold Medal Mac's Midget Championship.

(Poole is no longer with NSD but the head coach of the Okotoks Oilers of the AJHL)

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