Every so often I like to dig back into my video vault for something that offers some solid teaching principles. And for today, I have a doosy from way, way back
As I reflect back on the hundreds of outstanding players I’ve had through the years, I’ve always found they had a few things in common. Oh, I’m not talking about great genetics here; actually, I think most of my best players overcame some shortcomings to achieve what they did…
A Pee Wee level coach was looking for help in a hockey forum. And, after noticing few others offered him anything that would really work, I decided to step in, troubleshooting the problem his kids seemed to be having with their backchecking…
The exhilarating moment has arrived. You’ve just been named a youth hockey coach, and now find yourself standing at center ice before your very first practice…
I want to introduce something I doubt many members have ever seen before. Yes, it’s a training device that was long ago developed by a Canadian speed skating coach.
Coach Jim wrote me recently with the title question. And, he might find it interesting that my staff and I have made much the same general observation over recent years, about kids in our camps and other programs — in that young players today just don’t seem to shoot all that well…
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…
How about the merits of having a slideboard around this lady’s house? Ha… What do you think I had to say about that?
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.
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.