I have moved from Girl's Hockey back to U15 Bantam AA boy's. They start with a body checking clinic in a few weeks and then try-outs. Calgary is a city of 1.2 million people and the players have to play in the organizations which have boundries. All of the hockey up until U13 Pee Wee is organized in these area, I live within the Trails West area and two of my kid's played for Trails West. They have multiple teams for each age group. I think they had 14 Pee Wee teams last year and the kid's are evaluated at the start and play in divisions where the evaluator decide they belong.
When they are done Pee Wee they can move on to what are considered elite organizations that have from U15 Bantam to U20 Jr. B teams. The city is divided into 4 Quadrants and the players must play within the boundaries of the organization. I am coaching with the Royals organization.
The Royals have 3 AA Bantam and one AAA team of U15 players. Because the U18 Midget level is 3 years they have one Minor Midget U16 team, two Midget AA teams and one AAA team which are U18. They have two U20 Jr. B teams. Players wanting to play Jr. A or Major Jr. U20 play in Provincial Jr. A leagues (they can play NCAA from these) or to Major Jr. where they are considered pro and can't play NCAA.
Parents and players really want to be drafted by the CHA major junior teams and they draft Bantam age players. It isn't that big of deal in my mind as the three most successful players I have worked with a lot were never drafted and did pretty well. i.e. Dany Heatley, Mason Raymond, Ryan Duncan (Hobey Baker now playing in Europe).
I am coaching a Bantam AA team and have a good coaching staff and look forward to the season. Jim, my son who has coached college women with me. Ron Gerlitz who played at the U of Calgary and pro in Germany and Alex McDermott who is from Nova Scotia where he played defense and wants to get into coaching. Gaston Schaeffer will be our skating coach and the Roays have a company that works with the goalies and another company who do the off ice training.
Some coaches like me to post my practice plans and comments and this is where they will be.
I am looking forward to the season.
Good penalty killing presentation by Keith McAdams. 30 minutes.
I have asked my coaches to watch these two clips of Detroit practicing team play. This is our model to work towards this season.
We are running a conditioning camp this week prior to the try-outs. Coaches take turns. Last night I did one with first year Bantams; 26 skaters and 4 goalies.
Tonight I am doing second year Bantams. I counted 23 skaters and 3 goalies. I will use the same practice plan with this older group.
The players seemed to like the practice last night and most of them came up to thank me after. Of course they want to make a good impression as none of them have played for the Royals before.
2. Skate on all of the edges and use big moves by reaching the opposite.
i.e. Skate left and reach as far as you can to the right.
4. Exercises are done while zig-zagging in and out.
a. Forward skate and alternate on the front inside edges.
b. Backward skate and alternate on the inside edges.
c. Skate forward and cross-over alternating on the outside edges.
d. Skate backward and cross-over alternating on the outside edges.
e. Open hip turn each way.
f. Slalom and reach as far as possible with the puck the opposite way.
your side. Keep a strong skating position with the knees bent and head up.
of 4 is the smallest.
1. A and B skate down the ice in passing while skating.
2. A is on the inside and continues on with a shot while skating.
4. B shoots and C partners with D the other way.
# This can be done in tandem on both sides of the ice.
B6-600 Flow - Breakout 2 F Shoot - D Point Shot – Finland U20 I wondered if they would catch onto this one but they did after a walk through.
follow shots for rebounds, stop at the net, screen.
the net to D2. D1 goes to the corner.
follow then circle back to the corner.
the middle circle for a pass from D2.
to F1 who skates down ice and shoots.
the corner then drag and shoot – F1-F2 screen.
communicate and cover one attacker each.
practice these situations. Upt to 5-5 is possible.
waiting behind the blue line.
on how to stop the attack.
play as much as possible.
support or add dump ins and regroups.
hooking or tripping. Skate to get D side and get the puck.
one colour vs the other.
coach puts on the middle dot.
Great Prakky Tom . The Finland drill is a good one . It is a little challenging for first year Bantam !! Good for them !!
Thanks SMAC. I like to try a chlenging one each practice. I did the same practice last night wit a second year group. 24 skaters and 4 goalies. Before this practice I got half of them to where white with half the D and half F in white and dark. It made the games easy for everyone the quick transition game was percect with 12 at each end. I only did 2 on 2 with the full ice transition game and had 8 F and 8 play D on each team. It takes a rotation or two for everyone to catch on that there are zero whistles but once they got the flow it was great.
I made sure we did a walk thru with 2 d and 2 f for the Finnish drill and it went well. Any time u show really new things the first time they do them is to learn the flow, then u can focus on teaching points. The drills and games kept them moving and gave me a good idea who cam play and think at the same time.
I have the younger group again on Friday and will try to have 4 nets the first 45 min or so.
I was looking through some pictures and put some together about various hockey teams and experiences with them and family.
What got me thinking was when I came back from playing hockey in the USA I got a call to coach a Bantam A (they called it then) team. The coach quit because he said they were no good. I agreed to coach. That was about 1973 and I have gone full circle and am coaching basically the same level for the same organization this year. There is a picture of that first team in the pdf. plus a lot of other teams and places.
I was asked to write an article for the Royals magazine both in print and online. I refer to a previous posting 'What is Hockey.' for most of the article.
I am excited to coach the Bantam AA Blue team this season.
I was asked to write an article for the Royals Magazine and think the topic ‘What Is Hockey’ is relevant to consider as we start a new season. If the coaches and players are going to put their time and effort into becoming ‘elite’, it is important that we know what skills we need to constantly improve.
I play hockey a few times a week with Rich Preston who was a very good NHL player and was assistant coach with the Daryl Sutter and Mike Keenan in Chicago, San Jose Calgary and Major Jr. Head coach in Regina and Lethbridge. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=4380 I met for coffee with Rich at Tim Hortons and brought my coaching board with me and listened as he showed me his thoughts on how the game should be played.
Rich stressed that it is critical that a player has to learn to play with speed in all aspects of the game. He must be a great skater, have solid habits where he is always ready for the next play and skates so he can see the ice at all times. Players need to have seamless skills which means that you puck handle, pass and shoot while skating without having to glide between each skill. The game is played with team mates vs. opponents and you have to know where you and everyone else is on the ice. So individual skills have to be appropriate to the situation.
As an introduction I have posted one minute of Detroit vs. Pittsburg video that shows the constant transitions in a hockey game. All of the skating, offensive and defensive skills and good habits are needed to be effective.
Detroit vs. Pittsburgh - a demonstration of the transition between the 3 game situations, and 4 game playing roles in one minute of an NHL game.
Yellow – battling for a loose puck.
It is a great example of what really happens in a hockey game and why it is a game of transition. The video link is below.
Here are some hockey facts.
-	The average for someone to carry the puck is about 2.5".
-	The average for the team to have the puck is about 4.5".
-	Each team has possession and loses possession of the puck about 180-200 times during a game.
always in one of these roles. There is never a time when a player has nothing to do.
Role One: player has the puck.
Role Two: players supports the puck carrier.
Role Three: player checks the puck carrier with either a pressure or contain decision.
Role Four: player gives either close or farther support to the first checker.
un-organized defense as compared to an organized defense.
Good technique - at game speed are the tools you need.
So if you want to become an elite player the understanding that hockey is a game of constant transition will help you reach those goals.
I am going to a Hockey Alberta Coach Seminar in a few hours and will leave Friday afternoon to get back for this practice. We have 4 goalies and 26 skaters so I am going to use 4 nets the first hour.
Notes: Use 4 nets the first hour.
26 skaters and 4 goalies.
Key Points: Shoot at the nets on the same side.
Shoot at the nets on the same side.
1. F1 attack D1 at each end.
1. Players line up within a stick length of the red line if you have 2 groups or only ½ ice; otherwise behind the red or far blue line.
2. Three players attack three defenders.
3. Defenders must carry the puck out of the zone before passing to team waiting team mates.
4. Three new players attack vs the original offensive players.
5. Keep score, implement skill (only forehand passes) or team play rules (goals originate from below the goal line).
This is a scoring contest that seems to be loved by players of all ages everywhere in the hockey world.
Make quick shots and one timers and goalie read the play.
1. Players line up on both side in the slot with one shooter at the top.
2. Play games to 5 between the goalie and shooter.
3. If the goalie freezes the puck or it hits the boards behind or at the side the goalie gets a point.
4. Players get a point by scoring a goal on a shot or rebound. Only one pass is allowed.
5. Shooter stays if he scores and players rotate if there is no goal.
Play a full ice game with the extra players on the bench. Change on the whistle or on their own.
Pass back to the goalie when changing on the whistle.
1. Play from 1-1 to 6-5.
2. Change of the whistle or players change on the go.
4. If no face-offs then scoring team touch the red line before checking.
The purpose is to attack as quickly as possible and pass and shoot while skating.
1. Start from one end and when everyone is gone go the other way.
2. Attackers 1 and 2 leave from above the hash marks.
3. Defender 1 is inside the top of the circle with his stick upside down start forward and turn to back skating.
4. Defender 2 start from below the circle and back check.
5. Attacker 1 and 2 race down the ice to score and only ONE PASS is allowed.
The seminar was worthwhile. I am not sure if my association will pay my travel expenses so I stayed in a dorm room for $50 with one thin blanket on the bed. It was ok.
There was a hot stove lounge with all of the presenters answering questions on Thursday night followed by a social. Bill Peters, the new head coach of Carolina was there. Domenic Pittis, the Flames skill coach, other coaches, a sports psychologist, goalie coach. (I will have to check the spelling of the other presenters names) On Friday morning we rotated through four one hour presentations and they threw out a lot of good ideas. Corey McNabb from Hockey Canada showed the new skill video resources that they have put on their website and they are very good.
I drove back to Calgary and ran the practice that I posted before. The four nets kept everyone moving the first hour and I finished with a 20' 4 on 4 scrimmage with 45" shifts and then did a speed scoring shootout.
Today there are 4 try out games that I leave for in 30 minutes. The draft is Friday.
There isn't any time to do anything but the tryouts today. I was at the rink 9 am to 7:30 pm Saturday and it will be the same today with a little longer lunch break. We are identifying 40 out of the 70 13 year olds who will move on to the next phase which is scrimmaging with the 14 year olds. That will happen M to Th evening with one game each per night and then there is a draft of Friday night after the scrimmage.
Just remembered I also run a conditioning camp practice right after the last tryout game.
Thanks Iceman. It is a grind picking th 4 teams.
Long day at the rink. 12 hours.
This mornings paper has an article about Aaron Hyman. He has done the Jasper camp for about ten years. Aaron is making a great impression at the Calgary Hitman Major Jr. camp. He is 6'5" and they talk about what a great skater he is. Good job Gaston.
The 90 minute conditioning practice was with U18 players. I did two passing drills, one 1-1, 2-1 drill and we played various games the rest of practice. There were 25 skaters and 4 goalies so we used 4 nets until the last 20 minutes when we did a full ice 4-4 with 45 second shifts. For the SAG's the players were in 3 groups of 6 and one of 7 and the games were 2 on 2. We did some 3-3 in the cross ice games where half the players were at each end.
We went from 70 13 year olds to 40 and starting tonight they will scrimmage with the second year Bantams and the draft is Friday. So every evening until 11 at the rink this week.
Conditioning camp, Game situations, fitness. I will use one zone, cross ice and full ice games to keep them moving. With 4 Goalies I will use 4 nets starting with 2 on each goal line the drills and one zone games then move them across from each other and then remove 2 nets and time 45 second shifts on the main clock.
Key Points: = Shoot at the nets on the same side.
The resting players attack right away when they get a pass and the original attackers must communicate and cover one attacker each.
1. Offensive team attacks 3 on 3. It can be 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2 or 2-3 also if the coach wants to practice these situations. Upt to 5-5 is possible.
2. On transition to offense the defenders pass to their teammates waiting behind the blue line.
4. Original attackers now defend and communicate with each other on how to stop the attack. 5. After a goal the defenders is allowed to pass to the new attackers.
This game allows the coach to focus on the attack or defending deep in the zone. You can play this game in situations from 1-1 to 5-5. It is a great rotation to practice specialty teams if you have 3 lines because it gives the players some rest and they alternate between pp and pk (one F would leave the zone) The defenders have to clear the zone with control of the puck. With situations over a 3 on 3 I would move the resting players back to the far blue line.
Switch between all four game roles.
4-cover away from the puck.
Situations: offense, defense, loose puck.
1. Start with the players line up along the boards in the neurtal zone.
2. Play situations from 1-1 to 4-4, including uneven situations like 2 on 3.
3. Play for 30" and pass to teammate on the whistle.
4. On a goal defenders must touch the red line.
I am pretty sure the players had never had this type of practice before. There were some very skilled guys there and most of them came up and thanked Jim and I after.
Nice meeting you in Red Deer . Wish we had more time to chat .
It was great meeting you Steve. Too bad we weren't in the same breakout group. I had to leave at 1 to get back for practice.
This is a PDF with the individual skill drills,partner skill drills and team play drills vs. zero opponents that I will choose from this season.
They are the best of what I have stolen from other coaches and about ninety percent have video demo's. You can also add the Swedish Skill material that is posted on this forum.
I am in Ardrossan a town close to Edmonton playing in the +55 Canadian Championships. We qualified by finishing second in the Alberta games two seasons ago. We split the two games yesterday and have two more today. Final is tomorrow.
I have to go back to the Bantam evaluations right after our game where the top 40 of the 115 trying out are playing and then we have a draft to select the one AAA and three AA teams. Finally we will have a team that starts practice next week. I was evaluation for 30 hours between Sat. and Wed. and the first years played two games a night the week before. So a long time in the rink.
We had the draft and each team has 26 players. The AAA team has 31 and must drop down to 19. The three AA teams will draft the 12 players that got cut and add 4 to their roster, so we will have 30 and have to get down to 19.
We are getting nasty emails from parents of boy's who didn't make the try-out roster. A lot of good players have already been cut and all of the players that are left are pretty good. I don't think there is anyone that you would say is a terrible player. Just some are better than others, or work harder, etc.. Even if they all are great we can only keep 19 per team and we are all doing our best to pick the ones who deserve to make it.
The ones who don't make it can go back to the community association hockey which is very good in the first few divisions.
Last year 12 000 players participated in Calgary Minor Hockey Week. So there are a lot of good players around. I am coaching what is called Quadrant hockey. The city of 1.2 million people is divided into 4 quadrants so our pool is about 400 000 people with about 15 arenas. About five large hockey associations with 25-50 teams from U6 to U20 each feed into our organization which has Bantam U15, Midget U18 and Jr. B U20 teams. Most of the kid's aspire to play quadrant hockey and it starts at Bantam U15.
Everywhere organizes their programs differently and this is how we do it in Calgary.
We are still in the try-out phase and have 26 players. 3 goalies, 7 D and 16 F. We will get 4 more players when they are dropped by the AAA team. They will drop 12 and the three AA teams have a draft.
Today's practice has skill warm-up, some situation drills a transition game and a full ice game. I will run the full ice game and allow my assistants to evaluate and rank the players. It is our first session with this group. We practice Friday, play Sat. and practice again on Sunday which is the day we will draft the players coming down from AAA. So I need to drop at least 4 players by then. The feeder organizations are asking when the players will come back as they are also going thru evaluations.
We have seen the first years play about 10 scrimmages and the second years 4 times; so we have a pretty good idea where they rank from those sessions. Now we have to see where they stand on our team. All of the players are good enough to play in the league so we are looking for the ones that have an impact when they are on the ice, work hard, have a positive attitude and are coachable. We have done our homework by asking people about attitude and work ethic and that influenced who we took in the draft. We avoided a few players because of that.
We have about 4 small very skilled players and a lot of bigger players who work hard. We have to see if the small ones can compete and who are the most effective players in the games. We have practice next M-W and play 3 games in a tournament the next weekend. We have be down to 19 players by Sept. 11.
3 goalies, 7 D, 16 F Evaluation practice with 23 skaters.
Warm up and game playing situations.
reaching as far as possible.
opposite. i.e. Skate left and reach as far as you can to the right.
Players must challenge themselves out of their comfort zone.
Breakout from both sides and practice all the options including D to D passes.
5. Coach dumps the puck in the other corner for another breakout.
Defender must maintain a tight gap and stay of the defensive side.
defense play against each other at both ends.
C3, 3-0, 3-1, 3-2 - Total Hockey – Alex rank your D.
make plays early while defenders delay the attack.
1. One group on each side in the neutral zone.
2. Everyone attacks and defends. D will play defense.
3. Play rebounds until a goal or the puck is behind the net or outside the dots.
4. Coach pass new puck if a goal is scored.
5. One defender follow the rush on 3-0 and two follow the 3-1 rush.
3 on 3 and 4 on 4 45” shifts – Pass to goalie on whistle.
Play a full ice game with the extra players on the bench. Change on the whistle.
Jim rank forwards and Alex rank D from bench. Tom on ice.
- Talk with them - see how they are personally.
- See how they treat other teammates, coaches.
- When it comes down to it, if a player maybe a little "slower" - speed wise, do you take the player with more or better hockey sense or the quicker/faster player.
Iceman, I just read that blog. I coached college for 17 years, 9 as a head coach and when you recruit you have the opportunity to look for the characteristics the various coaches talk about. Character was the most important factor I focused on because I was watching good players already. Early in my coaching career I didn't pay attention to character and ended up with lots of very selfish players with zero team concept. I remember talking with Willy Desjardins quite a few years ago and his team in Medicine Hat had the poorest season since he got there. I asked him why he thought they didn't do well and right away he said 'It was my fault, I picked Talent over Character'. His record shows that he didn't do that again.
Picking this team is very different than recruiting. They pay the money and then about 150 showed up to to try out. I did as much digging around as I could. I got info from one of my former asst. coaches whose son played last year. My son helps with a skills group that a lot of these kid's train with, so he knows quite a few of them. In the spring camp I saw how one player refused to take his earphones off when the coach was talking and that made him an automatic scratch. So I get as much info as I can and then watch them play.
The first years played a lot of games and we cut that group from 70 to 40. They joined the second years and were in 6 teams and played 4 games and then the draft. We looked for players who could skate and were first on the puck and ranked them according to skill. I have Alex my defenseman coach watching the D and Jim, my forward coach watching the F to see who is most effective in the game situations. Last night we had a lot of 1-1's and 2-1's so Alex could observe the D because he just got back from vacation. He ranked the 7 D the same as Jim. They both watched from the stands and I stayed on to run the scrimmage. It was 15' of 3 on 3 and 5' of 4-4. I had them both rank the players after. We have another practice on Friday and I will have a 30 minute scrimmage. We get 4 players from the AAA team on Sunday. They realease 12 and we get the 1-6-7 picks.
So we only drafted players who compete. Now we are trying to identify the ones who make something happen when they are on the ice. We have a game on Saturday and I have to decide whether I dress the top ranked players to see how they are vs. other AA players or the bottom ranked ones to decide who gets cut.
I just talked with Jim and he needs to see the bottom ranked F's in a real game to see who can play. So we will do that.
Final practice before first ex game and cuts.
Give and go pass. Give a target and make eye contact before passing. Goalies participate.
1. Blues start with half on each blue line.
2. Reds weave around in the middle.
3. Red pass to each blue player.
4. Alternate sides each pass.
*Compete to see who makes the most passes.
lanes are about a quarter of a zone behind. Force the backchecker to make the proper decision.
1. Players leave from the red line.
2. R1 pass wide to R2 or R3.
3. R1 skate hard to the top of the goal crease and stop.
4. R2 and R3 follow in a second wave behind R1.
5. R3 pass across to R2 who one times the puck on net.
8. Create a contest to see how many goals they can score within the time limit.
Defense shoulder check when going back for the puck. One forward support on the boards and the other from the middle. D skate to the big ice between the dots before passing.
1. F1 or F2 dump the puck in and D1 skate back for the puck.
2. D2 follow the play.
3. D1 make a breakout pass to F1 or F2 and follow.
4. F1 and F2 regroup with D2 in the neutral zone.
5. F1 and F2 attack 2-1 vs. D1.
6. F3 or F4 dump the puck into the far end and D2 skate back for the puck-pass to F3-F4.
7. F3 and F4 regroup with D3 in the neutral zone and attack 2-1 vs. D3.
• Vary the number of F from 1 to 3 and use either 1 or 2 D to create more game recognition situations.
Defense shoulder check when going back for the puck. Forwards support on the boards middle and far wing. D practice D to D options and hinges as well as quick ups. D skate to the big ice between the dots before passing.
1. F1, F2 or F3 dump the puck in and D1 and D2 skate back for the puck.
2. D3 and D4 follow the play.
3. D1 or D2 make a breakout pass to F1, F2 or F3 and follow up ice.
4. Forwards regroup with D3 and D4 in the neutral zone.
5. F1-F2-F3 attack 3-2 vs. D1-D2.
6. F4-F5-F6 dump in far end and D3-D4 skate back and breakout then repeat flow.
Post practice comment. I gave a little extra time for each drill because I didn't know if the players would catch on to them. They had no problem and did a great job and I didn't have to waste time explaining things again. This added ten minutes that we did a change on the go shootout. I posted a link below. I am sitting the top ranked players and giving the players on the bubble a game before doing our cuts Sunday. I get 4 cuts from the AAA team and that will give me 30 players and we can carry 19.
Played first ex game today and won 7-6. Wasn't pretty but a lot of players showed well. Former NHL player coach Rich Preston talked to the boys between periods and they went out and scored three quick ones. I sat out 7 players who were ranked as our top ones. I have to cut ten or eleven of the ones who played today. We have decided to drop four tomorrow and we get four from the AAA team in a draft tomorrow night.
these exercises is to increase the size of the reach with the stickhandling moves, and to separate the upper and lower body.
3. B pivots facing the puck and continues the other direction passing to C.
can’t go in and score.
6. Play 20-30” and on the whistle the players pass to the coach and skate hard out of the zone before the coach shoots a new puck in.
over a 3 on 3 I would move the resting players back to the far blue line.
Forwards cover D and D cover F's. One D should join the attack to create triangles. Defenders play tight gaps and attackers create 2 on 1's on the rush.
3. When the puck enters the zone defensive F1 and F2 support D and attacking team D1 and D2 support F's.
4. Play 4 on 4 in the zone.
Cut two F and one D tonight. Then a draft of the 12 players the AAA team cut. We chose 1-6-7-12 and got three of our four top ranked players. Two F, one D and one G. Now we know the make-up of our team. We have a practice Monday, Wed and a tournament F-Sat-Sun. We have to get down to 19 players by Thursday.
Release 4 skaters and 1 goalie after practice.
6. F4-F5-F6 dump the puck into the far end and D3-D4 skate back for the puck and breakout.
7. F4-F5-F6 regroup with D5-D6 in the neutral zone and attack 3-2 vs. D3-D4.
• Instead of the first regroup D3 or D4 could dump the puck in the other corner and D1-D2 break out again before the regroup and 3-2.
Players are divided into two teams of Green vs. Various Colours.
Play a full ice game with the extra players on the bench. Change on their own.
Face-offs and review Dzone FO alignment.
We identified the team we want but weren't able to make any cuts because of a technicality so we will have to release 6 skaters and 2 G after the Wednesday practice. The other teams get 2 ex games and we only got one. So that makes it harder even though we have done lots of game situations they are never the same as a game vs. opponents with enough rest between shifts and a score clock, fans, etc..
The plan for our one hour ice time tonight was to warm-up, have a 45 minute scrimmage and then make our final 8 releases BUT we had a big SNOW storm. The wet snow has destroyed the tree that I sit under all summer and the arena had no power so practice has been postponed ti tomorrow. It is the deadline to get down to 19 players. (The most unmanageable number possible for hockey).
It seems like we aren't meant to cut anyone.
We are in a tournament playing one game each day F-S-Sun and have a league ex game Sat. Then we practice Monday and another league ex game on Tues. So five games in five days. We haven't practiced as a team yet and have done no on ice team play.
We also have a parent meeting Sunday when we get back.
I will have to get out my magnetic board to go over things and they will have to learn as we go. I think one concept at a time. i.e. Foreheck game one, dzone 2, pk 3, pp 4. Review 5.
Yikes!! now some parents didn't get the email that practice is cancelled today. Not happy campers but I don't think they want to complain too much given the team still hasn't been finalized. Not good.
Tough day at the Arena. We scrimmaged another AA team for an hour and then I had to cut our team from 4 G to 2 G and 23 F to 17 F. Some very sad 13-14 year old boy's. Most of the ones released can play at this level.
Now the team is picked and we can start to develop a team culture and teach them the habits and skills they need to be successful and able to move on to the next level. We play 4 games the next 3 days. One tonight, two tomorrow and one on Sunday. We practice Monday and play again Tuesday. So five games in five days. After the tournament we get on our regular schedule of 3 practices and two games a week for the rest of the month.
When we finally start to practice as a team my focus is going to be on Individual Defensive Skills.
The posting Practice Drills and Games to Teach Angling http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=6867&topic=6867#6867 has a lot of the activities we will do to work on these skills. You can't play defense until you can win a 1 on 1.
Won our first game 5-3 but lost one F (broken collarbone) and one D (concussion and neck injury) and they will both be out a few months. They got all their goals on the power play. We haven't done any team play yet. We play another game this morning and a third late this afternoon.and another tomorrow morning.
We chose players who compete hard and then ranked them on skill and the team did compete very hard.
I hope we don't get any more injuries.
The player with the broken collarbone is out 6-8 weeks and the player with the concussion had no structural damage but is very sore and will be treated for a concussion and the length of those varies.
Before the game I brought my 3 dimensional coaching board that has been used by so many famous coaches from around the world. We set it up on a table in the lobby and went over team play. We did the Tsunami forecheck, low press pk and dzone coverage.
I brought in two famous European coaches to show the Forecheck and Defensive zone coverage.
Famous Finnish Coach Mikko talks about defensive zone coverage. First 7 minutes using a white board and then he uses a 3 dimensionsional magnetic board.
Jaroslav a famous coach from the Czech Republic shows how you can forecheck aggressively using the concepts of Total Hockey. 1-2-3-4-5 read and react.
The other team didn't seem like it was AA calibre and we won 10-1. We played very well. We play another game at 5:30 and it will be our third one in 21 hours. Hope we still have some glycogen left in the muscles. The important thing is that they play well and continue to have good habits like facing the puck, taking 3 + hard stride to open ice when they get the puck, doing the middle drive. 4th man up on the rush, etc..
Game Three: This wasn't part of the tournament but was a league exhibition game and we played the team we beat 5-3 and injured two of our players. We just didn't have energy and lost 4-7. We had players covering their scorers but they played soft and lost 1 on 1's on the puck and covering away from the puck. We were very timid the first period and I think the players were afraid of getting hurt because neither injury was the result of a hockey play. I can't say that I blame them.
Game Four: Finished off with a 5-5 tie vs the home team, so we won the tournament wit a 2-0-1 record. We found out we can score but giive up way too many goals. Another ex game on Tuesday and we finally have our first two practices Wed. Th. We have no affiliate players yet, so we will have to have 2D play F again and run with 13 skaters.
We got another injury (deep charlie horse) and a player is gone on a school field trip all week, so we had 7 F and 6 D today so two D played F.
The boy who got hit from behind has some damage to his cv 4 and 5 and a concussion and will be out 6-8 weeks.
It is such a chicken sh-- play to cross check someone from behind into the boards.
Update on Injury: Injured player needs a walker to get around in the hospital and has trouble getting a drinking cup up to his mouth. Today they are allowing him to go home. We are waiting for a prognosis from the doctor.
The organization had a parent meeting to explain fees, fit for track suits and bomber jackets then introduce the coaching staff. We talked a little bit about our philosophy and I explained that our goal is to help them all become better players and winning will take care of itself.
All of these games have showed what we are good at and what we need to work on first which is individual defensive skills. We are not getting outnumbered on the scoring chances against but are losing 1 on 1's and not tying up sticks on rebounds or boxing out in front, etc. I have to get Gaston to work on a few players stride. They don't push sideways initially and that really makes for a short weak push. I have one player who is only 4'10" and 85 lbs. and he is one of the best skaters I have ever coached. We call him little Scott Niedermeyer. One of our forwards is 6' and 200 lbs. So this 13-14 year old age group has the biggest size difference you ever see and the hockey guru's of our country have decided that this is the time to start body checking.
Tuesday game: We had 6 D and 7 F. Dominated the first period and led 2-0. Kind of ran out of gas in the second and the game was tied. Went up 3-2 then they tied it and the game ended 3-3. Two D played F and struggled there.
I tried to do the last few paragraphs on my I phone but make way to many mistakes in spelling.
This is one of the most important exercises a player can do to develop puck handling skills.
We will do this drill next practice as Wally Kozak came on the ice with us and did some drills that show controlled skating while angling that were a nice lead into the angling drills and games.
Mirror the attacker from behind. Keep the attacker on the outside, approach toward the inside shoulder with the stick on the puck, shoulder in front and body on body.
1. Line up in the neutral zone with a defender following an offensive player with the puck.
2. Offensive player make moves and dekes and then turn either way to attack.
3. Defender mirror the offensive player and turn staying on the inside.
4. Defender close the gap by approaching from about a half stick behind at the inside shoulder.
5. Defender keep the stick on the puck and body on body to angle the attacker and take the puck.
1 - Players line up just outside the blue line near the dots, puck are in each corner. 2 - F1 leaves and picks up a puck in the corner then skates up the wide lane. 3 - F2 follows from slightly behind and steers F1 along the boards. 4 - F2 approaches at the back shoulder with 'body on body and stick on the puck.' 5 - F2 angle checks F1 with the inside leg in front then picks up the loose puck. 6 - F2 skates into the slot and shoot - rebounds. 7 - F2 picks up a puck from the opposite corner and F3 becomes the checker.
Defender create an angle from inside to cut the ice in half, deflect the play wide, angle at the back of the inside shoulder with the stick on the puck and finish. Second checker mirror from a little behind.
1. Coach shoot the puck across the ice on the attacking teams half or dump it softly.
2. Red 1 race for the puck and attack the Blue net.
3. Blue 1 and 2 tag up at the blue line then arc slightly behind the puck carrier to cut the ice in half.
4. Blue 1 close the gap approaching toward the back shoulder with body on body and stick on the puck.
5. Blue 1 rub out Red 1 and Blue 2 pick up the puck.
6. Blue 1 and 2 attack the other way while Red 1 back checks.
7. Repeat with Blue 3 on offense vs. Red 1-2.
* This can also be done as a 1-1 drill to teach the concepts of angling - deflect-steer-angle-finish - body on body stick on puck.
We redesigned the practice because the goalie coach had a cancellation and showed up for ours, so I had to make some changes to free up one end for him.
Wally Kozak, who is our team mentor came on the ice with me. I have known Wally for 40 years; played against him, helped him coach etc. He was Dave King's asst. with the Men's National Team. He worked with me the practice before on angling techniques from the skating to the stick on the puck and angling drills. This practice he did a Dave King defensive zone play drill that was excellent as well as helped with the rest of practice.
Tying up sticks in the slot. Cover one player	Each. Maintain the defensive side. Hinging. Angling. Stick on stick.
Wally Kozak runs Dzone play section	Goalie coach work with one tenders at the other.
Each player name 4 who they think would be	Good captains.
1. All play at the same time.
2. Use two pucks and throw another on the ice when one is scored. Leave the pucks in the net. Count pucks when all three are scored.
3. When the goalie freezes the puck the attackers back up behind the hash marks.
4. Only one shot at a time. If the goalie isn’t watching then a goal doesn’t count.
Protect the puck with the body on offense. Cut back turning toward the boards. Defender stay lined up with the back of the inside shoulder and stick on the puck.
1. Leave on the whistle and practice cut backs, tight turns. Go to the net on the second whistle while the next players leave.
2. Two players leave and the second player stays on the D side with the stick on the puck and gives passive resistance.
3. This is a battle and the defender tries to get the puck. On the second whistle whoever has the puck go to the net.
*Without goalies both sides can go at once and with a goalie alternate sides. Players switch sides after doing both offense and defense.
Defensive player must quickly close the gamp and maintain defensive side and with stick on the puck, body on body.
1. Defender or defenders start on two knees in front of the net.
2. Attacker stands waiting for a pass from the coach. If multiple attackers then spread out.
3. Coach passes to the attacker and defender stands and defends.
4. Add another attacker and defender.
6. Add a third attacker.
7. If the puck is cleared, frozen or a goal the coach quickly passes another puck to an attacker and the play re-starts.
*Option is to have uneven situations and add attackers and defenders as you go.
*To create more space the coach and waiting players move back to the blue line. You can go up to 5-5 with this drill.
2. The next player in line plays the joker at the point and must pass or shoot within a second.
Defenders do not check the joker as he can’t go in and score.
the puck can shoot right away.
*We added the rule to this and the next game that if anyone turned their back on the puck or lost D side all had to do 1 push up and the offender 5. The offending player had to do these without being told.
Pick captains before practice each player gives me 4 names of good candidates. I agreed with their choices and we named captains before going on the ice.
Yikes!! Won 6-5 vs. my two former asst. coaches. We took zero penalties because we had the stick on the puck and hands down. Gave up 5 goals because of throwing the puck away blindly in our end and everyone watching the puck and not getting a man. We didn't lose 1 on 1 battles but were just sloppy in our zone. Last man carrying the puck a few times trying to beat two guys and winger making blind passes into the middle of the ice on breakouts.
Haven't worked on breakouts yet so can't expect better but the game really showed our offensive ability and defensive warts.
Ended the pre-season with a 3-1-2 record.
This is the last practice before we open the season. It is the first time we have done either power play or penalty killing on ice. Only 60 minutes so we have to be efficient.
Give a target, face the puck, follow the shot for a rebound before getting a new puck, pass hard.
Players line up along the boards and the middle with two lines facing each way.
1. #1’s Start with a shot from the far wing.
2. Get a new puck from the corner and pass to 2 in the middle.
3. #2 make a quick up to 3 in the wide lane.
4. #3 shoot, follow the shot, get a new puck in the corner and pass to 4.
*Continue this flow and players rotate shooter to boards and then to the middle. Do this from both sides.
7’ Rule must be enforced by coaches.
To transition from defense to offense all the players must come out over the blue line and stay on side when they turn back to attack.
The coach can designate modified rules for the game to work on either individual or team play skills.
1. One team attacks with the puck and tries to score.
2. The defending team must breakout over the blueline and then turn back and attack.
*Individual skills can be worked on. i.e.
- Always face the puck give a target, give and go.
5’ D at one end with Alex F with Jim at other end for 10 minutes.
Key Points: Principles for the Wheel, Go and Counter, with Terry Johnson a former NHL Defenseman. The key is skating hard to force the checker to commit and then choosing the option.
1. Coach shoot the puck in and the D skate to the puck and then at a 45 degree angle to force the checker to cross over.
2. Wheel behind the net, cut up near the far post and pass to the point for a shot on net.
3. Critical point is to make the checker do what you want them to. If you skate to where you are going to pass first then the checker can get a good angle and steal the puck.
4. Go by skating hard one way and then tight turn away from pressure. Pass to the point for a shot.
5. Counter when the checker doesn’t chase behind the net.
6. Coach shoots the puck in and the player drive skates behind the net and then tight turns to come back the original way.
7. Pass to the wing who skates out and passes across to the point for a shot on net.
The defender must drive skate when they get the puck and read whether the checker chases behind, goes in front etc. Skate at a 45 degree angle to the net to make the checker cross-over and decide to wheel, go(cut back) or counter.
1. Shoot the puck into the corner and the coach or player gives pressure.
2. Shoulder check and read inside pressure then skate at a 45 degree angle toward the net to make the checker cross-over.
3. Tight turn away from pressure and pass to a player on the boards who passes to another player at the point who shoots.
4. Counter by skating behind the net and out the same way if the checker doesn’t chase behind.
5. Read if the checker is taking away the middle or the boards and pass to the open player.
6. Use a backhand pass if you need to miss the defenders stick in the passing lane or to protect the puck from a checker.
7. Quick feet make everything possible. If everyone is covered then carry the puck up the middle.
6. Play a rebound or a new puck shot by the coach and work together to score within 12 seconds from the start.
Create intensity by only giving 12" for the offense to score. Attacking team uses the middle drive.
1. Start from the red line and attack 3 on 3.
2. Offensive team use the middle drive.
3. Attackers get 10 seconds to score.
4. Coach blow whistle if it takes too long.
5. On transition or whistle pass to the players at the blue line.
6. Team who was on offense now skate to the blue line and defend.
Centre must mirror the D from the middle skating parallel and give a target. Stay behind the D so he can skate into the puck. D must drive skate when they get the puck.
1. Coach pass to D1 who drive skates at a 45 degree angle to the net.
2. D1 pass across to D2 who hinges up ice.
3. D2 pass to the C.
4. Forwards attack 3-0 at the far end.
5. Add D1 to D2 back to D1.
6. Add coach cover one of the D so they either go D to D or tight turn and up to the wing.
15’ Each group work on pp and pk for 5’.
Practice options where every player gets a shot. Begin with a rotation attacking the seam between the D and the F and read what they give. If the D forces then the low play is available, if the F forces then the point is open. If the pk box is passive then there is a 2-1 at each corner, a 3-2 on each side and seams between players to attack. Force the pace by taking a shot by a different player every 3 seconds. Coach in each zone.
- Line A at one end practice attack options.
- Line B at other end practice attack options. Both walk through pp 5-0.
- Line C in middle passing practice.
- On whistle line A dump the puck to the other end and breakout returning to the original end while group C replace group B at the far end and group B pass in the neutral zone.
- Group 1 will practice the pp with Jim while group 2 is active on the pk and group 3 are the Jokers on the pp.
10’ Use red and green pinnies and 5 whites together to make 3 units of 5.
Rotation is Attack-Defend-Rest. Number the players so they know when to not defend. In even numbered situations you can require the defenders to breakout into the neutral zone before passing.
1. Power play attack vs 2 Fand 2 D.
2. Defenders ice the puck and rest.
3. Group waithing at far blue attack.
4. Original attackers now defend 1 short.
6. Create any situation by changing the number of attackers or defenders.
7. Even strength can also be practiced.
*Option is to have waiting players breakout from behind the goal line and do a pk forecheck.
1. Fake the slapshot with a convicing fake and finish with the stick hitting the ice.
2. Fake the slapshot and accelarate around the defender on the forehand.
5. Use only the backhand.
9’ Forwards at one end go only one direction.
9’ Defense at one end.
2. D1 leave from diagonal corners.
On transition all the players must go from offense to defense and defense to offense.
Sequence: Forwards - give passive support - attack - backcheck - defend - make breakout - rest.
Defense - give passive support - defend - join attack - forecheck-rest.
In the diagram the F are circles and D are triangles. Positions are labelled.
1. Blue F1 and F2 attack vs Red D1.
3. On transition, after a goal or frozen puck red D1 pass up to red F1 or F2.
4. Red F1 and F2 attack vs Blue D1.
5. Original attackers blue F1 and F2 backcheck and original defeder red D1 join the attack.
8. Red D2 and blue F3 and F4 support from above the circles ready to go the other way. Continue this rotation.
*This game can be played full, cross, half ice.
The main goal of this shootout is for the goalies to battle and never give up on shots. It is more realistic if only one pass per shot is allowed but if the goal is for the goalie to battle put no restrictions on the shooters.
1. Half the team in each box and as many pucks on the blue line as the number of the largest team.
2. Two players leave from the box, get a puck from the blue line and shoot until they score.
3. After scoring race back and touch the player box gate so the next two can leave.
4. First team to score all the pucks wins.
5. Losers do a chore or exercise.
Most of the practice went well but I wasn't pleased with the Point Shot Drill. We need to have the next pair ready to shoot right away and the pair that just finished rotate. We have 6 D now so 2 groups of 3 would have been much more active with more shots. First time I have done it.
The transition game was a disaster. These players haven't done full ice transition games and I should have started with a simple continuous 1-1, 2-1 instead of having the D join and F backcheck. They need to learn the flow and then adding more players is easy. I started at step 3 instead of step 1. We played the 2" game 3 on 3 but had to with only 14 skaters. One was sick. It is a real challenge for them right now as they are not used to doing things right away like moving to open ice, getting their head up, getting open, give and going. We will do this game in different forms all season.
Fitness testing tonight, a practice Friday, game Saturday, practice Sunday, Monday and game Tuesday. We lost the first game 2-1 even though we tied it with 12" left. The ref blew his whistle for some unknown reason as we were shooting the puck into the empty net. He apologized after but the goal didn't count. We played very well.
Team was tested for fitness and was all over the place on the beep test. Excellent to poor.
Players must challenge themselves out of their comfort zone. Make as many moves as possible and continue until they have shot and looked for a rebound. Take the pass and shoot right away without over handling the puck.
Stress taking the pass in the sweet spot, keep the puck ahead so you can see it (not behind your skates) and shoot while skating. Always follow the shot for a rebound.
Skate forward inside the dot before pivoting to. Shoot low for a tip in or rebound. One time the second shot in option two. Hit the net. Everyone practice this skill.
a. One pass to two and then screen goalie.
b. Two drag and shoot.
c. One go to point for a shot then opposite corner.
d. Three pass to four then screen goalie.
e. Four drag and shoot.
f. Two stay at the mid point and get a pass from four and shoot before rotating.
Each team has two jokers at the point. Introduce the game allowing jokers to check jokers and then add that jokers can come in for one timer shots.
Part One: Each team has jokers at the point.
4.Jokers can jump in for one timer shots.
5. Defending joker should cover the attacking joker when he jumps in.
This is a good routine to use at the start of practice instead of just skating around the ice aimlessly.
- Work for 5-10 min. and get in a lot of reps.
- D shoulder check on the way to the puck.
- Forwards funnel through middle lane and watch puck before swinging up the boards.
take turns getting the pass on the wing. Then do D to C.
C. Coach dumps the puck in and the D gets in and drive skates hard to the back of the net and up the ice between the dots. Pass D to C to D to W.
D. Coach dumps the puck in and the D gets it and drive skates to the back of the net to draw the forechecker then passes back off the boards to the other D who has called reverse from the front of the net. D2 passes to C to D2 to W and out.
New players don't leave the line-up until the puck enters the offensive zone. On dump outs no one change but go back and regroup with the same players. Changes occur when the puck is over the offensive blue line or controlled over the defensive blue line.
1. Attack 1-1 with D getting support from 1 F and F from one D.
2. Defending F1 cover the point.
3. New offensive D join and play point.
4. On transition attack 1-1 thru nzone.
5. Continue flow with new O and D support. -Continue the flow of 1-1 in nzone and 2-2 at each end.
-Dump-ins and regroups can be added.
10’ Goalies rotate at the other end.
outside body on body and stick on the puck.
stay in a tight 2-1-2 formation.
B. Closest defender pressure the puck right away while teammates form a box behind.
When the puck is passed away drop to a corner of the box or take the player to the net.
drops to the hash marks to cover the front of the net.
8’ Goalies alternate at far end.
- You can also decide the winner by saying the most goals in a certain time or the first team to 10 or another total wins.
This was the best practice we have had so far. Tempo was good and the players were engaged. They were working so hard in the full ice transition game that I let it go longer and we didn't do the shootout at the end. I let the coach work with my goalies a little longer and we didn't use a goalie for the team play drill at the end.
Instead of positions for the continuous 1-1 and 2-1 I had the whites vs. the darks and the next players left and had to play either forward or defense according to reading the game 1-2-3-4-5. We are teaching 'Total Hockey', so it was perfect for that. I am going to use this flow but vary the situations by sending out different numbers of players from each team. We did this with a different transition game when I was coaching with Willie Desjardins at the university. 1-2 or 3 players support the rush or the defense and they have to communicate. I am going to write it up for the Daily Drills section .
Scoring, escape moves, team breakouts.
Do various moves with the puck and finish with a shot.
Description: One group rotate clockwise and the other counter clockwise. 1. Do various skating moves with the puck. 2. Big moves all around the body, in the skates, through the legs etc.
Principles: Pass while skating and then follow the pass and take the ice behind the puck carrier.. Fill the 3 lanes. Skate to the “big ice” between the dots when you get the puck. Pass to the outside lane, skate to the inside lane.
B. 2 skate to the big ice, pass to 3, follow the pass taking the ice behind.
C. 3 pass back to one, follow the pass.
D. 1 regroup with 4 and 1-2-3 fill each lane.
E. 4 pass to 1 or 3 on the strong side.
F. 1-2-3 weave the same way and attack with a triangle and shoot at the oringinal end.
G. 4-5-6 follow and repeat the other way.
Alex take the Defense do the various breakout options and read where the pressure is coming from. Pass the puck back to the coach and move thru everyone. Forwards work on puck handling in the middle with Jim. Instead of a goalie coach Tom work on scoring skills.
B. Group in middle do stick handling.
C. third group do scoring.
– Keep track of wins.
7’ - Play 4-4 at two ends.
slide backward, sideways, tight turn etc.
Rules: You must make two passes before you can score and the puck must stay in the zone.
2” only with the puck.
Rule: Only one pass allowed in the offensive zone.
1. Players are in the box and one puck on each blue line for every player.
2. Player from each team leaves the box and tries to score.
3. If they score they race to the box and touch the boards and then the next player can leave.
4. If they don't score they pass to the next player who comes out of the box.
5. Losing team do something for every goal they lose by.
*To make it realistic the goalie should practice starting from the goal line and coming out.
Played the night before and won 3-0. 51 shots for and 29 shots against. Their chances came from sloppy blind passes or turn-overs on high rish/low reward situations. We work very hard and only got one coincedental penalty because our sticks are on the ice and on the puck for the most part. This creates great checking angles and lots of turn-overs. Their goalie played very well. Our goalie had to earn his shutout because of the turn-overs.
We did this practice this morning and it had good tempo and we accomplished a lot. Jim said that a lot of the players have a hard time stick handling around their body becaue the hands are too wide apart and gripping the middle of the stick too tightly. I focused on offensive zone team play and introduced more power play options that are also good for even strength. Alex said the breakouts were good except for players passing much too softly. Many players struggled with the weave and didn't get into the wide lanes.
So we have lots of work to do. 30 SA is too many and we should be scoring more with 51 SF. Enforcing the rule that they must do 3 push ups every time they miss the net in drills has been effective because we hit the net on almost every shot in the game.
Lotsa practices in a row with no game til Saturday so I want to really get the players better at puck handling and playing with good offensive habits. We are going to work in stations with the goalies at one end, Jim doing stickhandling and Alex and I a game with the stick upside down for D side practice. We then play 'games that teach the game.' the rest of practice. I have three more sessions this week before our Saturday game vs. a very skilled team.
360 degrees, puck support	Keeping defensive side with stick upside Down.
B202 - 3 on 0 Neutral Zone Passes - Pro Key Point: Make one touch pass to each player. Face the puck and give a target.
1. Players line up behind the blue line in 3 lines.
2. On whistle leave and exchange one touch passes in the neutral zone to each player.
3. Attack 3-0 at the original end.
One end Goalie work Jim – in middle Puck handle.
JF with one goalie at a time.
Defend with Stick upside Down turn stick upright after the first shot.
6. F2 Attack vs. the original attacker F1. Practice various situations.
8’ Take 1’ to put pinnies on two teams.
This game causes a few things to happen. Transition from puck carrier to pass support, checking the puck carrier to covering away from the puck happen very quickly. The puck carrier must use pivoting, escape moves and puck protection skills to pass on the forehand and everyone must face the puck and give a target.
In this game the rule is that you can only pass on the forehand. If a player does a back hand pass the other team gets the puck.
D4 Two Pass Regroup with Jokers Below the Goal Line and Escape Moves Required before passing.
This transition game requires on ice awareness and constant switching between game playing roles as well as loose puck situations. Escape moves create time and space for the player. The puck carrier must slide backward, sideways, tight turn etc.
Rules: You must regroup with a Joker to go on offense. Before passing or shooting you must make an escape move. Jokers battle jokers but must stay behind the line. Two passes must be made before scoring.
Transition to offense requires the player must regroup with the player below the goal line.
Two second game with goals only on one timers.
This is a game that the Finnish U17 played last Christmas morning on the outdoor ice near my house. It requires close support, facing the play and quick thinking.
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