Diary of a Season 10-11

[Tom Molloy]

Nov. 8 Practice: 75 Minutes

– Goalie Warm up – Semi circle shots on goalies at each end, 3 pucks each about 2 minutes.
B6 Chaos Pass and Shoot:

–
– 3 x 4 min. games of 2 pass at each end with modified rules.
– Game One: only backward skating allowed – Skill theme.
– Game Two: Maximum 2” with the puck then you must pass or shoot-Support.
– Game Three: All goals must come from plays originating below the goal line-offensive cycling and low defensive coverage.
–
–
D400 Breakout and Forecheck Contest

C3, 2-2 below the goal line.

D200 Cross Ice Game with Various Situations:

Shootout Below the Goal Line: Walk out or wrap around

Losing colour one figure 8 around the circles.

The pdf has diagrams

Attachments

• Nov. 8 Practice.pdf (508 KB)

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

[Tom Molloy]

Nov. 10 practice.

It is our last practice before the ex game vs Edmonton on Sunday. I have 15 skaters and 3 goalies. One goalie had to go to a seminar, one D is in Newfourndland at the 4 Nations Cup, I D has the flu, 1 D slipped in the bathroom and hit her head on the toilet and has a concussion and one forward had a university seminar in her education program. So we had 2G, 3 D and 11 F. My assistant coach jumps in when needed so 12 skaters for drills.

We had a fast paced practice with 10 different activities in 75 minutes.
1. Warm up with puck handling and shots
2. 1-0, 2-0 passing and shots
3. Full ice 2-0 regroup return 2-1
4. pp breakout 5-0 practice
5. pp practice in one zone 5-0 practice overload options and move into a diamond.
6. Full ice pp vs pk
7. Transition backchecking game of full ice 2-2 .
8. Transition game in one zone of 2-2 with a pass to the point to go on offense.
9. Overspeed puck handling with a shot.
10. Shoot out with betting and official shootout rules.

Attachments

• Nov. 10 practice.pdf (441 KB)

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

[hockeygod]

Tom,

Thanks for posting your practices. I always take something away from them!

For the coaches on the site, it is a good learning experience to see how you run practices with limited numbers.

Sometimes you post your numbers broken down by position, sometimes you don't. If you could – that would be great!

Thanks and good luck in Edmonton this weekend!

PS – I might have another player for you! Let's talk!
———————————
Dean, we usually have about 12. Monday 5 D and Wed. 6. Since Bobbi-Jo is with the National team and Alison has a concussion we have 3 or 4 D.

Let me know about that player. A forward is moving here from Ontario and I think that leaves us on forward from being a top team.

We had 9 skaters and 3 goalies on Monday and my asst. jumped in to make it ten. I have to modify practice with small numbers and focus more on skills and habits. With 12 I can go up to 2 on 1' continuous and with 16 2 on 2's and still give enough rest. you need 12 F and 8 D to have a good w/r ratio for a continous 3 on 2.
Tom

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

[Tom Molloy]

I was notified by Hockey Canada last night that my best player a denfenseman has torn her knee up playing in the 4 Nations Cup. Poor girl, she was on the national team the year before the Olympics but had two shoulder operation last year and couldn't play in the games. Another D has put her hip out of joint and another has a concussion. So what was our strongest position with 6 solid D is down to 3 and I have to move our top forward back to D.
I leave in a few hours for the 3.5 hour drive to an ex game vs Edmonton in a small town. So today 4 D and 8 F. I plan to go with 3 sets of wings, 2 centres and 4 D.

We will have 2 pplay units and I will have the wings kill penalties. A left wing can play D if a D gets a penalty.

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

[hockeygod]

Tom

How did you do? How did the rotations work out?

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

[Tom Molloy]

Dean we lost 5-3. 1-0 after one 1-2 after two then they had 4 minutes of 5-3. We had 9 F and 3 D so one of the F was playing D. It is a hard thing for a forward to do. We outshot them 42=39 and hit two posts and me and the timekeepers all saw a puck go in but the refs didn't. It will be good to get my 3 injured D back but Bobbi-Jo tore here MCL vs Finland and is gone 6-8 weeks. A new forward from Ontario is coming next week. Lucky it was an exhibition game. We got all three goals on the pp and them 2 on the 5-3's.

We play Manitoba 3 games here the last week of Nov. and have a scrimmage game vs a AAA midget team next Wed.

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

[hockeygod]

Tom,

Too bad to hear Manitoba didn't show this weekend. That is a lack of professionalism and they should lose their ability to play in this league. I don't know if teams have to post a performance bond, but perhaps they should – especially teams on probation – to the tune of $3000+(enough to cover lost ice rental / officials, etc.) That way Strathmore Rockies don't get hung out to dry on the expenses.

This really hurts the league as a whole; not to mention the perception of the viability of the women's game – with the Oval gone, with BC quitting mid season two (?) years ago… Saskatchewan folding a year or two before that… Unfortunately, "pro" or "senior" women's hockey looks like it may be facing some big financial struggles – especially here out west where the travel distances are so great. Out east, at least there are several larger centres that can support different teams (financially); plus have their own identity in each of these centres and still offer all the amenities for the girls to work, etc.

I think it is time for the league executive to sit down and make some tough decisions. Can Vancouver / lower mainland support four teams? Can Kamloops, North Okanagon, Kelowna and Penticton support another four team loop? Or can at least four teams in BC be made? Then can Calgary (Strathmore), Edmonton, Red Deer and Lethbridge / Med Hat make another four team loop? \\

Sask / Manitoba need to figure out if they can also make a division on their own. Flying is out of the question. The rule is you need to bus to play within your own division… set up a rule of X number of KM's max travel (and a guaranteed performance bond.) If they can't… they are out!

Minnesota needs to find three more US based teams to make a division. Then pull the division winners from BC, AB, Prairies (if they have a division), Ontario (I think they have one division?) and the US to have a round robin tourney like the M Cup.

Just my 2 cents.

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

[Tom Molloy]

Thanks for the input Dean.
It was unfortunate that Manitoba thought it was too dangerous to drive here for the games. We played a men's team to at least get a game in. It ended 6-6 and we won in a SO. Played them again on Sunday and I played for the men's team because they were short.

So it has been a lot of practice and a really good team Christmas party. We added a player who has led the NCAA in scoring last Monday and on Thursday she got a concussion in a car accident. So who knows how serious that will end up.

Lots of practices. I have used the various drills from the Washington and Detroit practices that I have been posting the last few weeks. We do drills and games and contests and have had 3 scrimmages vs minor AAA midget boy's teams. One league game so far and we play Edmonton an ex and a league game this weekend. So there will be more urgency at tonights practice.

Lucky most of our games are in the new year. We should get the two concussions and torn MCL back by then.

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

[Kai K]

I hope it 's ok to post to your Diary of a Season Tom

I'm trying to have a year off from coaching but I'm now helping out a U14 team. I'm with them only two times in week. It has been quite a change from U18 to U14. (i've coached U18 teams last four (4) seasons). I think I'm finally starting to find the level of training they can do that is challenging but not too hard.

Thanks Tom and Dean for the great Pro practice videos. I wanted to test few of them and see how the kids like them. They did quite well and we had a good practice yesterday.

———————-
No problem about posting here Kai. The more discussion the better. Post to the daily drill as well.

Attachments

• practice1.pdf (255 KB)

Kai

[hockeygod]

Tom,

Here's hoping Santa brings you some bubble wrap for your players… and I hope they get healthy for January!

Kai, sounds like you are like me… coaching runs in the blood! It's a (good) disease! We just need to infect more people with it! Please keep up posted on your exploits with the U14's!

(PS – trying to translate some of your Finnish on the practice plan. Looks like a good one! I hope you keep posting them – maybe you can start a "Kai's Diary" section?)

——————————–
Tonight we did a specialty team scrimmage vs a AAA midget boy's team. A 10 min. 5 on 5, 5 min. 5-4 each, 5 min. 5-3 each,and finished with a 4-4. They beat us 4-2. We had 11 skaters which is a clumsy number vs their 17. It was great to get game situation before our two game series vs Edmonton Fri and Sunday.

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

[Tom Molloy]

We played our second league game last night. Game time was warm up at 8:45 because my players had a 2.5 hr drive to get there after work. 8 F, 4 D and 2 G.

In the first period we were awful. You could tell that we hadn't competed at game intensity for a long time. We lost battles for the puck all over the ice and had no pressure. They outshot us 15-4 and scored on a shot from the point on the pp and a minute later we allowed a player to walk in from the mid slot and score even strength. So 0-2 after one.

We reviewed what we needed to do and came out in the second and had a breakaway the first ten seconds but didn't score. We played a solid period and really outchanced them but neither team score. Outshot them 17-11. It continued in the thrid. I changed the lines a bit and a new line scored on a tipped shot from the hight slot. We could have had a pp the last 2 min. but our player retaliated after getting chopped down so no pp. We generated lots of scoring chances but nothing and lost 1-2.. Outshot them 12-10 with a game total of 33-36. Play again on Sunday.

There is no playoff in the league. The top two western teams play the top 2 eastern div teams in March. Minnesot beat Edmonton 2 of 3 when the Chimos went there. Minn. has a lot of USA national team players.

Another note. My goalies mother introduced herself after the game and we talked a while. Her name is Kirstie McLellan Day and she is an author of lots of sports books and other books. Under the Mat, Playing with Fire (Fleury), Tough Guy (Probert) and is working with Ron MacLean on his autobiography. Interesting lady.

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

[Kai K]

Today I was with the U14 team. I tryed to work their offensive skills again.
here's what i planned for practice:

—————
Kai, looks like a good practice plan. Skills, transition games and small area games.

Attachments

• 12_16.pdf (281 KB)

Kai

[Kai K]

Todays practice was inspirated by TGfU and ABC's Hockey. Focus was on roles 1 and 2

Off-ice
5v5 and 4v4 game with American football. With these rules:
– you can run with the ball
– when you are touched by opponent you must stop and pass immediately
– I you fumble the ball you lose possession of the ball

we talked about individual offensive tactics of this game

On-ice

stared with the "piggy in the middle" 2v1 keep away
– puck protection
– and getting open for pass

Full ice continious 3v3
– defend – attack – forecheck -leave

SAG 2v2 goals side by side (see link/attachment for diagram)
– you can score to both goals
– you must pass at least once before you can score

1v1 win the dot.
-score when you touch the dot
– battle 5-10 seconds then skate fast to redline

_______________________
Kai, how are your players responding to the way you are now practicing??

Attachments

• 

Kai

[Kai K]

Kai, how are your players responding to the way you are now practicing??

Abc's is a part of FIHA's coaching materials. So this kind of training is not totally strange to the kids. You can still see some coaches doing drills from their (youth) player careers from 80's but I think that generally practices here are combination of technique and games approach.

Skills games are something that I have not used as much as I maybe should have. I mainly used transition and small area games for tactics and then flow drills for skills and some pure technique drills that have nothing to do with any game like situation etc. Now I have tried to increase amount of skill games and use less the technique drills.

Even simple game like "Piggy In The Middle" I very motivating and give more depth to coaching you’re not just teaching how to pass or how get open for the pass but it also some tactical principles too.

So players are having fun and are motivated and hopefully are learning too. Start is looking promising we've worked alot with passing and it has improved.

Kai

[Craig Campagnolio]

Tom

Good day to you my friend, it's Craig Campagnolio from the US. I hope you had a wonderful holiday season.

I was reading your post here and was curious to see how things work out with your women's team. As you know I did coach women back in the day and they are mostly all graduated from college.

I don't know if this is too late but wanted to see if maybe if I got the word out maybe one or two would be interested.

At your earliest convenience let me know.

I am sorry to hear you missed the opportunity at Bemidji.

Your Friend

Craig
——————————————
Craig great to hear from you. Is your hockey academy still going?

It has been a strange season. We only played 3 league games the first half. The other teams have played 9. This makes it hard to have a reference point in practice and to keep the players interested. I'm sure they are saying to themselves 'what are we practicing for. Almost 4 months and 3 games. Manitoba didn't drive here because of the roads or something like that so we should have had 6.

One good thing is my National team D got hurt vs Finland and should be able to play now, a girl that scored 42 one year in NCAA the second highest total ever got in a car accident and I think she will be able to play and another who faintedin the bathroom and hit her head on the toilet and got a bad concussion may be able to play. They are 3 of our top 4 players. We also added a new player who just finished at Maine and had pretty good stats there. So if they can play we will have a lot more talent in the line up. We start again on Wed. so I will have a better idea then.

Let me know how you are doing and what you have been up to.

[Author]

Posts