GENERAL SKILLS ADVICE

Hockey Smarts = Ice Time!

By CoachC | November 9, 2024

As many of you might know by now, I once ran 2-teams under the New England Hockey Institute banner.  The high school guys were with me from late-May until Thanksgiving (when the local school teams began), and my junior high school aged kids were with me for almost 11-months. For sure, I did a lot for my players when it came to their skills and playing smarts, but I also did quite a bit to improve their psyche.  And it’s the latter — my trying to help my kids carry themselves and act like true athletes — that I’d like…

How to Maximize Resistance with 1 Band

By CoachC | November 6, 2024

Dave Schmitz, known as The Band Man, introduces us to his Stabilization Program by way of three separate videos…

Reversed Grip on a Draw

By CoachC | November 4, 2024

One night I happened to notice one of my centermen reversing his lower hand on his stick just before moving in to take a face-off.  I’m sure you know what I mean…  He switched his lower hand in the opposite direction, supposedly to gain more strength for pulling the puck rearward. The good part of this was that my young guy was at least mindful of drawing the puck back amid his teammates.  However, the bad part of this ploy actually reared its ugly head once the puck was dropped. You see, for a lot of years now, most coaches…

Coach Chic’s Hockey Podcast 56

By CoachC | November 1, 2024

Within “AI” circles “Michael” is viewed as a good one, and don’t forget to view this post as an introduction to September’s content…

Games! Games! More Games!

By CoachC | October 28, 2024

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The 10 Commandments of Hockey

By CoachC | October 25, 2024

I’ve seen versions of the following numerous times over the years.  And, while each point is valid, I’ll suggest that key “commandments” in hockey probably aren’t limited to just ten (in fact, I’ll someday let you know my rather extensive list). Anyway, I some time ago happened upon the following graphic on Facebook.  And, although I shared it with my many friends on that site, I thought I’d try something a little bit differently for my CoachChic.com faithful. With that, I’ll show the original graphic down below, and then I’ll do what I can to better explain each of the…

The Value of Keepaway Games in Hockey

By CoachC | October 23, 2024

To begin, I like to use drills that simulate real game conditions. Secondly, I like to use drills that sorta force players to deal with problems, consequently forcing them to solve those problems on their own. Thirdly, I’ll quite frequently just toss players into a set of conditions and let them initially sink or swim without any help.  However, once they experience the challenges — as a frame of reference, the advice I’ll then provide tends to mean all the more to them. – Dennis Chighisola I hope the above sequence makes sense to hockey coaches and parents.  I mean,…

Joint Stabilization Training – a 3-parter

By CoachC | October 20, 2024

Dave Schmitz, known as The Band Man, introduces us to his Stabilization Program by way of three separate videos…

Playoff Hockey Preparations 3

By CoachC | October 17, 2024

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Playoff Hockey Preparations 2

By CoachC | October 16, 2024

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