Good Habits at Practice? The Art of Coaching!

[Eric Fink]

I recently came across a copy of the Lener "Transition: Defense to Offense" and have found it to be a great resource. I'm not sure on copyright rules but if it is legal or if someone who knows him gets permission, I could scan and post it. But I would feel most comfortable with his permission.

I am constantly looking for handouts from coaching clinics, seminars, etc to add to my collection. If anyone has any or has a good website, (other then this one of course!) with some on it, I would love to get in touch and swap.

This site has several well thought out outlines and handouts for free.

http://www.omha.net/flash.asp?page_id=291

[hockeygod]

Eric wrote:
I recently came across a copy of the Lener "Transition: Defense to Offense" and have found it to be a great resource. I'm not sure on copyright rules but if it is legal or if someone who knows him gets permission, I could scan and post it. But I would feel most comfortable with his permission.

I am constantly looking for handouts from coaching clinics, seminars, etc to add to my collection. If anyone has any or has a good website, (other then this one of course!) with some on it, I would love to get in touch and swap.

This site has several well thought out outlines and handouts for free.

http://www.omha.net/flash.asp?page_id=291

Eric,

Slava's and Erkka's books are copyrighted. As a former employee of Hockey Canada (now a contractor) and as an acquaintance of both gentlemen, you shouldn't post them up here. For those who want to see if they still have some in stock, please contact Hockey Canada – The Breakaway Store: Orders 1-800-667-2242 Customer Service 1-800-667-2242

Don't forget Tom Renney and Mike Johnston also published "40 of the Best" in the same pamphlet form…

Check http://breakaway.hockeycanada.ca/ for manuals, videos, etc.

Thanks for sharing the OMHA site!

Regards,

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

[hockeygod]

DMan wrote:
Dean,

Thanks for the feedback. A few points for clarification.

Skating low: We have a relatively unskilled group for their age, and they tend to play the game very straight-legged. By skating low I'm referring to deep knee bend / low center of gravity. I think this improves every aspect of a players game, but it's a hard thing to change. We spent a good deal of time in the weight room in the off-season trying to improve leg strength. It still needs a lot of attention and work though.

Calling for the pass: I like your idea of silent hockey. Unfortunately we already play silent hockey, but it's a different quality. I agree that calling tips off the defenders, but we are not at that level yet. For us communication speeds up our puck movement, which is a primary challenge.

Minimizing puck handling: We tend to overhandle the puck in game situations instead of driving / transitioning with the puck already in passing / shooting position. As a result we are very predictable to other teams because we have to pull the puck into position before passing or shooting. Again, we're dealing with much lower talent level than you do though.

Thanks again…..looking forward to that video. Sure wish you could attach one of those beers to your post….they sound awfully good.

ps. I played some pick-up yesterday with that wood stick I picked up and what a difference! I was able to spend way more time looking up at the play (what a concept) instead of playing catch-up with the puck. I'm inspired to convert some players. Thanks again.

Dave,

Thanks for the clarification. What level / age are you coaching?

A deep knee bend / low centre of gravity is great! Hopefully they have strong "weapons platform" (core) so they can effectively transfer their gains in the weight room to the ice!

To speed up puck movement, encourage "heads up hockey." I.E.: perform the skills with the head up! This will allow the players to see the play and help them analyze the situations. It will also allow them to make eye contact, read body language, etc.

Puck control – if they are proficient with stationary and moving passing and receiving, then work on "one-touch" or "no-dust" passes. This means no stickhandling … you get the puck and it's gone! Or… you carry it / protect it as you drive around a defender / go to the net… set a wall / position your body between the defender and your puck… like Tom says, the "triple threat position" is the best approach once you enter the offensive zone! Practice, practice, practice!

Tom has downloaded some of my videos of the Flames / Caps / Detroit / Hitmen practice. I presume he will start posting them when he gets time. I know he burned them to a DVD as I didn't have the proper AV out to Firewire cable for him. He left me a voicemail this weekend, so I am going to try to pick one up… been busy evaluating coaches this weekend!

I hope you continue to be a disciple of "the woody!"

I will do my best to attach a beer to a future post… they were (are?) DEEE-LISHHH-USSSSS!

Cheers!

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

[hockeygod]

Fun Could Go A Long Way In Saving Hockey

By Ed Shamy- Burlington Free Press
Published: Thursday, October 18, 2007

Many Vermont parents dread the moment when their 6-year-old announces he or she would like to play ice hockey.

A youth hockey player poses the immediate threat of wrenching apart the tightest knit of clans, what with the bizarre hours of available ice time, the long road trips in hazardous winter weather and considerable expense of a heavily padded sport played on cold ice in enclosed rinks far from home.

And then of course there is the dividend: The privilege of watching 12 children under the age of 8 spread out on a full-size hockey rink, some barely moving for entire periods.

"It can be pretty painful," cedes Fritz Langrock, a hockey parent.

Parents and their children have reacted in recent years by steering clear of hockey in Vermont. The number of participants has slumped. Some towns have struggled to field teams because youth ice hockey developed such a reputation as an expensive hassle.

Langrock is president of the Vermont State Amateur Hockey Association, the group that oversees the youth leagues that are now beginning practices.

The members of the hockey association, peering into a Vermont future in which hockey — traditionally a cornerstone of the athletic kingdom — could become marginalized, have this year instituted changes to reverse the trend.

The youngest group of competitive hockey players, the mites, will play "half-ice" games with three players on each side rather than six. Goals will be half as far apart as they were a year ago, and with fewer players the hope is that the players will be able to get more involved. To skate more and to actually handle the puck.

This must come as a relief to some hockey players. After all, to be 45 inches tall and to be strapped into skates, gloves, sweaters, helmets, pads and high socks and to stare 200 feet down the ice must feel the same way Columbus felt peering through his glass searching for land on the far side of the ocean. Now it will be 85 feet or so, a much more do-able distance.

Langrock said the association hopes players will be lured back by the increased activity of the game. Full-size rinks could be used for two or even three games at once, he said, so tournaments could be held in less time, which could translate into less travel. And costs could drop.

Some basic rules, such as icing and offsides won't be strictly enforced. There will be no more state tournament for mites. And teams will be encouraged to bring practice jerseys with them so that if one town's team seems too dominant, coaches from the two teams can mix players to get the best competitive balance.

That, Langrock said, could defuse some of the more rabid fans by encouraging them to root for whichever team their child is playing for regardless of the mix, rather than for one program over another.

"Once the parents see it, once the kids see it, it's going to be a blast," he predicted.

But, too, he acknowledged that not everyone goes into this new world order as thrilled as he is.

Some see it as blasphemy, tinkering with the rules and diluting the competitive spirit. And besides, how will young puck handlers learn the basic rules of the game if they're just skating willy-nilly on a short rink?

Hockey has a bad habit of periodically shooting itself in the foot, whether through college hazing scandals or professional work stoppages.

The new rules of mite hockey are a breath of fresh air for a sport that too often seems so adept at withering.

If a 7-year-old doesn't learn to love playing hockey, it doesn't much matter that by age 9 he or she won't know all the rules. Won't be playing anyhow.

Get the kid hooked on the sport, then teach them the rules, goes the new philosophy. Kids learn easily.

With luck, we can teach some of the old hockey parents a new trick, too. The game is supposed to be fun.

Remember? That's why we "play" hockey.

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

[hockeygod]

Here is an article about values… too often, we adults forget just how influential (positive or negative) we can be on the kids…

Attachments

• Children Need Values.pdf (74 KB)

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

[hockeygod]

When smiles leave the game

By Tim Wendel, USA TODAY, Aug 22, 2005

Growing up, Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana pitched perfect games in Little League baseball and was so adept at high school basketball that North Carolina State offered him a scholarship.

Baseball slugger Mark McGwire quit baseball temporarily his sophomore year in high school to play golf. If he hadn't become caught up in the ongoing steroids controversy, he would be playing in more pro-ams and maybe eventually on the senior PGA Tour. He was almost as good with a golf club in his hands as he was with a baseball bat.

Deion Sanders was such a well-rounded athlete as a kid he became the only athlete to ever play in both a World Series and a Super Bowl. "Parents need to make the major decisions that affect their kids' lives," Sanders says. "But when it comes to play, they shouldn't discourage a broad approach. When a child wants to color, do you tell him to use just one black crayon?"

That's precisely what we're doing with our budding sports stars. Because of the influence of travel teams and the tantalizing hope of a college sports scholarship, the days when kids marked the seasons by the sport — football in fall, basketball and hockey in winter, and track, lacrosse and baseball in spring — are over. One wonders what would have happened to Montana, McGwire or Sanders if they were young sports stars in this day and age.

"We have reached the point of saturation — a vicious revolving door of never-ending seasons," says Fred Engh, founder of the National Alliance for Youth Sports and author of Why Johnny Hates Sports. "Children can't even take a couple of months' hiatus from a sport for fear of falling behind their peers and being excluded from teams the following seasons. Those elite teams, all those trophies — that's what the parents want."

'Dream for parents'

Summer hockey, fall baseball, indoor winter soccer, elite year-round teams that travel far from their neighborhoods — these are all part of a new kidcentric culture in which specialization supposedly breeds success.

Says sports psychologist Rick Wolff, author of Coaching Kids for Dummies: "Excelling in sports has become as much a part of the American dream for parents as getting their kids into the best school and living in the best neighborhoods."

But here's the dirty little secret: According to the NCAA, in men's college basketball, 2.9% of athletes make the jump from high school to the collegiate level. Only 3.1% of players make it in women's basketball, 5.8% in football and 5.6% in baseball. For most sports, the odds of a college athlete playing professionally are less than two in 100.

"Parents are using their kids as a lottery ticket," Sanders says. "Before all this money came along, moms and dads didn't go crazy at games. They didn't curse their kids and get on them to play better. It was just fun. Now, there's a Yellow Brick Road, and parents think it's their ticket."

In making youth sports so specialized, so adult, we're killing our children's joy for the games.

More than 70% of those who begin playing sports in elementary school will have quit by high school, according to the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan State University. "Starting out, most kids just want to play. It's the parents who keep score," says Christopher Andersonn, author of Will You Still Love Me If I Don't Win. "They can kill the love a kid has for a sport. Once that's gone, it's very hard to recapture it."

The American Academy of Pediatrics cautions about overuse injuries (tendonitis, stress fractures) in children who were specializing or training year-round in sports.

As my two kids have grown up, I've coached them in soccer, basketball, baseball, lacrosse and ice hockey. I've told the stories about Montana, McGwire and Sanders to the parents who have children on my teams. Afterward they smile, as if I'm teasing them, and then the puzzlement creeps across their face as they realize I'm dead serious. Most of the best athletes of our time played just about every sport growing up — usually in the back yard, in the street.

That's not to say my family hasn't been affected by our society's single-sport obsession. In almost every sport my kids have played, high-powered coaches and commissioners have tried to steer us away from local leagues to more elite, even travel teams. They've often urged my children to play their particular sport year-round and attend intensive sports camps.

Sometimes, we've said no. But other times we've been caught up in the sports hype, occasionally with disastrous results. My son, who is a pretty good swimmer, recently announced he had had enough. Swimming just wasn't fun anymore.

What stays with players

At such times I vow to do a better job as a parent, and I remember something Montana said years ago, when he was as All-Pro quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. It was after another game in which Montana had rallied his team for a last-minute victory.

When reporters asked Montana about one of the pivotal plays, when he evaded a blitzing defender coming from his blindside, he smiled that Cheshire Cat grin of his and said, "Didn't you guys recognize that move?"

Puzzled looks all around. Nobody knew what he was talking about.

"It's an old basketball move," Montana explained. "Spin away from your man, remember?"

"You guys forget I was a pretty good basketball player. They offered me a college scholarship in that, too."

Tim Wendel is a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors. His books include Castro's Curveball and The New Face of Baseball.

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

[DMan]

Dean,

I have a group of high school players in a community where hockey is relatively new. Our rink is 7 years old, so our oldest kids (18 years) didn't start playing until they were 11. The younger kids coming in are better skilled on the whole (14 year old-s who started at age 7) but they are smaller and not quite ready for the physical aspects of the game.

My biggest challenge is: How much time do I spend on strategy and game play concepts, and how much do I spend on individual skills. Our skill deficiencies always seem to get in the way of execution, both offensive & defensive.

Thanks for leading the charge on the discussion board.

Dave

[hockeygod]

DMan wrote:
Dean,

I have a group of high school players in a community where hockey is relatively new. Our rink is 7 years old, so our oldest kids (18 years) didn't start playing until they were 11. The younger kids coming in are better skilled on the whole (14 year old-s who started at age 7) but they are smaller and not quite ready for the physical aspects of the game.

My biggest challenge is: How much time do I spend on strategy and game play concepts, and how much do I spend on individual skills. Our skill deficiencies always seem to get in the way of execution, both offensive & defensive.

Thanks for leading the charge on the discussion board.

Dave

Dave,

If you can't execute the basic skills, you are wasting time on strategy and team play concepts and increasing everyone's frustration levels… they won't be capable of executing them consistently (on-ice.) Why don't you rent a gym, or go to a parking lot, and do all of your team tactics using floor hockey sticks (unihockey / floorball) and or just using a walk through with a ball as they can all walk, right??!! You can also use European Handball to teach principles of play… I run an entire sequence of games off-ice that I can also use on-ice. I have done these with soccer and hockey and it can also apply to basketball as it is very similar (continuous team play.)

My suggestion is to judge your time accordingly. So more time, especially early (now) on skills. Stationary (but with heads up), then once they become competent, get them moving. Then once they get competent, try to get them to execute the same skills more quickly (heads up.) When they get better, put pressure on them… like keep score (accountability) – how many shots hit the net, passes can they make on the tape out of 10, use time limits to put pressure on, etc. Be creative!

Not knowing exactly your skill level, it is tough to say. But I would spend 10-15 minutes doing a skill warmup (skills in combination – individual skills progressing to individual tactics – skating, puck control, shooting); then some team tactics (2 or more players involved) for another 10-15 minutes; then I would spend the rest of the time on Smart Transitional Games. These improve intensity, competition (keep score and losers have to do something – winners get a break / water), fitness and require the individuals to perform skills and tactics in a real-life setting (under pressure / on demand) so the game becomes the teacher! Plus they are fun!

Remember… SKILLS first with heads up. Then increase the speed / pace expectations with heads up. (Try the silence rule.) Then increase the pressure while they perform the skill with heads up at speed. Then they should be able to perform these under demand.

Just my 2 cents…

PS If you haven't bought Tom's book, you should! He has a ton of good stuff in there and it is presented in a logical, progressive manner!

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

[DMan]

Thanks Dean,

I have both of Tom's books, and they have helped me a lot over the last two years. It's easy to fall into a rut though, and to keep repeating the same activities so I'll go back and look at book 2. In terms of our skill I'd say we just meet level 4 criteria by Tom's book standards.

We have 90 minute practices so there's lots of time for skill development. I have been following a routine pretty close to what you outlined, shooting for a minimum of 30 minutes of games & scrimmage per session. Today I tried using 2 v 2 cross-ice games as a warm-up and it was great…..the kids loved it, the intensity was high, and I think it made for a better practice on the whole.

I appreciate the feedback on the development issues. The hard thing is we can usually hang in games, but always get clobbered on special teams. It's pretty hard to run a powerplay effectively when you don't spend much time on it.

Dave

[Aberdeen]

Ha its hard to take you serious when your avatar is you with a huge beer.
🙂

[hockeygod]

Aberdeen, if you have coached for as long as I have, you would understand the need for a big beer!

Actually, I have a hard time taking my beer seriously when it is so… small. I am always searching for a bigger beer mug!

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

[hockeygod]

Enclosed are two articles from my friend Igor Andrejkovic; (Department of Games, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia) The first paper is his PhD Thesis while the second is a further scientific paper he published.

Article 1 – RELATION IN SOLVING A 1 ON 1 GAME SITUATION DURING MATCHES AND WITHIN TRAINING SESSIONS IN ICE-HOCKEY JUNIOR U 18 CATEGORY

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

Original scientific paper
Sport Science 2 (2009) 2: 20‐26

Pay particular attention to the conclusions; particularly in Article 1, where Igor discusses the proportion of time spent in practices on 1 vs. 1 / 2 vs. 1 / 1 vs. 2!

In rationalization of the training process:

• Dominant attention in the offensive game phase should be paid to solving a typical 1 on 1
game situation. From the point of view of results of championship matches, it is a critical
game situation. A successfully solved 1 on 1 game situation in the offensive game phase
means outnumbering, winning space, better position of players towards opponents’ goal
cage and many times an individual penetration.

• 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 situations (45
percent), 2 on 1 game situations (35 percent) and 1 on 2 game situations (10 percent).

• While improving offensive game activities of individuals in typical 1 on 1 game situations,
game exercises and preparation games should be applied under conditions similar to
matches.

Attachments

• Solving a 1 on 1 game situation.pdf (176 KB)
• Relation of solving 2 on 2 game situation during matches and within training sessions .pdf (257 KB)

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

[Aderdeen]

I hate the way academics write. Sounds like useful information, if only I understood it

[hockeygod]

Try reading it after a BIG beer!

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

[hockeygod]

This submission is based on Kai’s question (Nov 11, 2011) under the “17-1 loss” thread.

“What is your opinion, should the practice after the game reflect the game you had?

I really would like to have some other views on this. Because we followed our weekly plan quite to the letter.
our week looked like this: (this was U18 team)

Thursday: off-ice + on-ice (team play)
Friday: off- ice + on-ice (pre game team play)
Saturday: Game
Sunday: Game
Monday: off-ice (aerobic/recovery) + on-ice (skills / low tempo)
Tuesday: off-ice + on-ice (individual tactics/ sag etc)
Wednesday: no practice

We would do some adjustments depending on the games but the Monday was always low tempo skills.

So any thoughts on Monday sessions or how do you see the whole week program?”
—–

I like how Kai outlined his weekly template. I wondered what he thought of it?

His question, “What is your opinion, should the practice after the game reflect the game you had?" I see this as a “what comes first – the chicken or the egg" big picture question – i.e.: what comes first. I certainly think that there is a great inter-relationship between performance in games and what you do in practice (both before and after the games.)

Good practice habits and a high level of work ethic are non-negotiables in my world. I have to communicate my expectations, then reinforce them. It doesn't happen over night. But let's assume these are now in place. How you practice is how you will play. If you tolerate sloppy passes in practice; if you allow kids to play a puck OTHER than the one that glanced off their stick and went down the ice, etc., you are setting yourself up for problems.

Now you keep working on skills and tactics following my mantra of SKILLS with HEADS UP; increase the PACE of EXECUTION; add PRESSURE; and then the players must be able to PRODUCE SKILLS WITH HEAD UP, AT SPEED, ON DEMAND (consistency.) Based on what went well and what didn't in the game, these are areas you should address within future practices.

Games are like final exams; practices are preparation for the exams. Games provide feedback on how practice went. So if your PP was brutal during the game, ask yourself why. Look at the individual skills, tactics, team tactics and systems you have – do you have the personnel to execute your systems – where are their skill sets and hockey sense? Are the ‘right’ guys playing at the ‘right times?’ Do you construct practice to force your PP to play under pressure – hopefully in a similar style to your opponent? What did the opposition do that shut you down? Can you adapt your system / personnel to overcome their play? Were you flat and didn't execute (mental issues?) Or did you perform well, but the other team flat out was better than you on that day (it can happen!)

It has been that my experience, even with an Annual Plan (or Yearly Training Plan), the coach still needs to be constantly aware of the ebb and flow of his team and the individuals… it could be personal issues (family, girlfriend, school, work, etc.) or team issues, fatigue levels, lack of hydration / bad nutrition, injuries and rehab, etc. There is an inter-relationship between the YTP, the game and practice. The coach needs to be making ongoing evaluations of his individuals / team and comparing / contrasting this awareness to his YTP. How you performed in a practice and / or a game might cause you to (1) stick to the YTP, feeling this is a blip on the radar or you are plateauing and just need to work through it; (2) you might have to move away from your YTP for the short-term (or even the long-term if you under or over-estimated where you would be at a given time.)

I see the YTP as an overall guide. You need to see where your team / individuals fit into it and then the "dance" between practice and game begins… and continues throughout the year. It is something that you gain experience with over time. The ability of a coach to "take the temperature of the team" as Tom Renney used to tell me, is critical. Then you must apply it (the "art of coaching" ) to your YTP.

This is how I operate: I take notes during the game; between periods, I use a notebook or whiteboard and get the input of the coaching staff for the good and the bad; then summarize it at the end of the game. Then I look at my YTP and my practice / game schedule, and refine the areas I think we need to work on that week (practice by practice.)

Again, as Tom replied above, a coaching situation where you play 1 or 2 games per week and have a structured practice time (in our case at the university / college level, it is the same opponent for both games) helps make it 'easier' to adapt.

For the eight years that I coached at the university level, we typically played Friday and Saturday nights. Sunday's were off (travel home / school work.) Monday was a very tough, competitive practice where we choose two teams and kept score for every rep of every practice (Red / White Day.) Losers were held accountable (pick up pucks, undo winner's skates, buy and serve winner's a Gatorade, etc.) The kids loved it. Then Tuesday we worked on individual offensive skills and tactics (and used games focusing on those.) Wednesday's we focused on defensive skills, tactics (and used games focusing on those.) Thursday's we "played" two teams against other, even strength (paying attention to systems) plus PP vs PK. We finished with some battle drills.

Being removed from coaching university for a few years, but gaining additional wisdom through exposure to my mentors, my work with skill academies, mentoring other teams / coaches and my research, I would alter this template to try something in line with the recent research. I would be interested in seeing how it turns out. (Please see the document(s) my friend Igor provided as it is his Ph.D thesis and another scientific article. His overall conclusions are at the end of this post.)

Initially I would spend 5% of my time on pure individual skills / skills in combination (repetition / quality touches) as a warm up; then 45% of my time would be spent on 1 vs. 1's; then 35% spent on 2 vs. 1; 10% spent on 1 vs. 2. The last 5% would be spent on principles, systems / face-offs… stuff from my YTP that needs to be addressed on-ice. (I will have covered all of the systems off-ice in chalk-talk sessions and then walk-through's in the gym / parking lot.

As the year goes on and I see improvements in my team, I would cut down my 1 vs. 1 by 5%; my 2 vs. 1 by 5% and my 1 vs. 2 by 5% to put towards 3 vs. 3 / 4 vs. 4, 5 vs.5, special teams, systems and face-offs.

When I told one of my mentors, John, who is a National level soccer coach, about this research, he laughed and said that this is the approximate proportion breakdown he uses to train his players – to much success and critical acclaim from the players, parents, and other National level soccer coaches! He consistently develops kids (from U7 up) and many of these kids have gone on to play pro in Europe, National Team level, CIS and NCAA. I have worked with John for several years and have become a believer myself. It was an evolution though – just like finally accepting Joan Vicker’s research and increasing the proportion of time to Smart Transitional Games that Tom and John promote.

So coaches, don’t be afraid of taking a risk. Start embracing these ideas a bit at a time, play with them, adjust them, see how they work! (Skill academies are an excellent laboratory to try these, modify them and try again!) I found that the more I followed these guidelines (proportion of time / use of Smart Transitional Games), the more the players enjoyed practice, and they also seemed to make big gains in understanding the game (hockey sense) – one of the elusive qualities that all coaches gravitate toward when it comes time for player selection!

Check out Igor's 'bottom line' in his thesis in an earlier post (above). Like I said, my personal experience since 2004 (anecdotal) is congruent with Igor's findings.

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

[Author]

Posts