Musing and Motivation about Hockey and Life
May 7, 2013 Leave a comment
A fantastic post by Seth Godin. We hate fear so much that we avoid situations that will even trigger the thought of fear. Rather than avoid fear, attack it. I believe that we are more likely to be successful in these situations than we think we can be. Attacking fear will build confidence (success in the face of believed failure).
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/05/avoiding-fear.html
May 7, 2013 Leave a comment
Is there anything more controllable for a team on the ice than staying onside? Smart, simple plays at the offensive blue line will ensure that a team never goes offsides and is able to attack the opponent effectively.
Teams and players with high hockey IQ rarely, if ever, go offside. They read and recognize plays as they develop and they make the appropriate move with or without the puck to prevent an offside call and maintain their attacking momentum.
Plays that I frequently see resulting in an offside call include the following:
Staying onside allows you to attack your opponent with speed – the momentum you have gathered moving up ice can be continued into the offensive zone. Getting the puck over the blue line with smart, effective plays can create a good forechecking opportunity or a great offensive chance off the rush.
May 6, 2013 Leave a comment
A great article on Gregg Popovich and a look inside his coaching style went up today on the SI Basketball Blog. The full profile of Popovich is in Sports Illustrated this week, but this article sheds some light on how he goes about his business and why he is one of the most successful coaches in the game.
http://nba.si.com/2013/04/25/gregg-popovich-spurs-sports-illustrated/
May 6, 2013 Leave a comment
When you begin a workout, what is your mentality? What are you thinking about? What are you focusing on?
It’s easy to go through the motions in the gym. You walk in, loosen up, go through the lifts, add/subtract weight, do some abs, stretch and leave. But is that an effective workout? Is that a good use of your time?
When you’re in the gym, fuel yourself with thoughts of beating your opponents. Push yourself to go harder by thinking of your goals and what you will accomplish. Focus on the task ahead of you and use it as motivation to power through every exercise you do.
As coaches, we don’t allow our athletes to simply go through the motions on the ice during practice. Time in the gym is just as important – why should we allow our athletes to go through the motions there? Attack lifts like you would attack a game – squeeze every ounce of benefit out of time in the gym that you can.
May 2, 2013 Leave a comment
I hate to disappoint my readers but the blog will take a quick break for this week. I am in Naples, FL, learning from friends and colleagues at the American Hockey Coaches Association Convention. The blog will return on Monday, including thoughts on what I learned from the best minds in the game.
April 24, 2013 Leave a comment
This week is a continuous shooting drill. Ducks Shooting is a good drill for getting the legs and hands moving, working on passing, working on timing, and letting the goaltenders see some shots.
Players line up on the goal lines. One player starts on each blue line. The drill begins with a whistle where the X on the near blue curls up near the red and presents himself for a pass. He receives a puck from the corner and then immediately passes to the X on the far blue who has timed the start of his loop so that he can catch a pass in sync from the near blue. He then goes in and takes a shot on net. Meanwhile, the player who made the first pass skates up to the near blue, the player who made the second pass skates up to the far blue and then each goes on a similar timing loop, passing and receiving, going in to shoot. The drill moves continuously, and runs out of both ends. After you pass, you take the place and the pattern of the person you passed the puck to. This drill flows nicely and can create a good pace to start a practice.
April 23, 2013 2 Comments
One of the backbones of my goaltending philosophy is the three H’s. When goaltenders move, they should follow the progression of Head, Hands, Hips.
First, a goaltender should track the puck with their eyes (head). The head snaps to the puck and allows the goaltender to see the play and react accordingly. Your body will always go where your eyes and head are going, so this should be the first reaction to any change in play.
Immediately following the head snapping to the puck should be a goaltender’s hands moving to the new position. It is imperative that the hands get there first. I have two reasons for this: 1. The hands will guide the body into the new position. 2. If the body is late, the hands will still have an opportunity to get there first and are the most reactionary/mobile part of the player to attempt to make a desperate save.
Finally, the hips need to open and move to the new position on the ice that the play dictates. The goaltenders lead hip should open and adjust to the new angle with a strong push coming from the trailing foot/leg to propel the goalie to the new position on the ice.
This progression is a critical habit for goaltenders and should happen almost instantaneously. It is taught slowly, but in game situations should happen instantly. Goaltenders need to be able to immediately get their Head on the puck, put their Hands in a position to get to the puck and use their Hips to propel their body to the new position on the ice.
