A Coach’s Notebook

Is Sleep More Important Than Practice?

By | August 18, 2023
Is Sleep More Important Than Practice?

If you’re a hockey parent or coach, and if you’ve ever tried to nail that perfect golf swing or master those dance moves, you know it takes practice. What you may not realize is that sleep plays a huge role in reinforcing those motor skills and muscle memory…

A Few Off-season Training Thoughts

By | August 17, 2023
A Few Off-season Training Thoughts

Of course, amateur players approach hockey with varying degrees of devotion. Working mostly with pretty dedicated kids, I’ve designed a very long-range, off-season plan to include age-specific speed, agility and strength work…

The Merits of a Family Slideboard

By | August 12, 2023
The Merits of a Family Slideboard

How about the merits of having a slideboard around this lady’s house?  Ha…  What do you think I had to say about that?

Creating Positive Hockey Habits

By | August 8, 2023
Creating Positive Hockey Habits

Boy, do I have some advice! In fact, I’ve always made it a point to warn my kids every year about this, suggesting that it’s possible a player could someday lose his or her position, solely because a replacement played well while the regular dealt with a broken skate lace, whatever…

About That Student-to-Coach Ratio Thing

By | August 4, 2023
About That Student-to-Coach Ratio Thing

Personally, the student:coach-thing didn’t work for me.  So, I’d explain how I cared more about getting different jobs done — correctly, I mean…

An Interesting Tip From a Sports Medicine Doctor

By | August 1, 2023
An Interesting Tip From a Sports Medicine Doctor

When tennis player Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon in July 2023, commentators pointed out he was drinking pickle juice during breaks of the grueling almost five-hour final match…

One Aspect of Ice Hockey Goal Scoring that Coaches Often Find Most Challenging to Teach

By | July 29, 2023
One Aspect of Ice Hockey Goal Scoring that Coaches Often Find Most Challenging to Teach

Here’s one aspect of ice hockey goal scoring that youth coaches often find most challenging to teach…

One Aspect of Passing and Receiving That Hockey Coaches Find Most Challenging to Teach

By | July 25, 2023
One Aspect of Passing and Receiving That Hockey Coaches Find Most Challenging to Teach

While coaches can teach the technical aspects of passing and receiving, such as proper hand positioning and stick-to-puck contact, there are other areas that represent a greater coaching challenge.

Parent Concerns Hockey Coaches Should Know

By | July 24, 2023
Parent Concerns Hockey Coaches Should Know

Well, some common questions youth hockey parents may ask of their coach or youth hockey organization would be among the following…

Stride Length Versus Stride Frequency

By | July 18, 2023
Stride Length Versus Stride Frequency

A recent question submitted to our friendly Professor Bee asked, “What can I do to increase my stride?”  Our mascot did his best to answer that query — and he went to some lengths to do so, but he kinda missed sharing the most important advice when it comes to hockey skating.