Ya, thatâs pretty much what the pitchman said on the radio this morning⌠The reason Iâve decided to comment on this particular advertisement is because I immediately thought of my buddy, Jerry Z, as soon as I heard it! Actually, the sponsor was a well known hockey equipment super store, but the message wasnât really for us serious hockey players, coaches or parents. Naw, what they were peddling was âpond hockey gearâ! I mean that, and thatâs exactly the expression the announcer used: âpond hockeyâ. And, as best I can recall, that equipment was selling for $40 to $60, or…
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This is about a note I took as I watched my beginner (or Mighty Mites) team play one day long ago⌠Let me start by stating that my kids seemed as though they already skated faster than most opponents. What caused me to jot that note, however, was that I knew my little guys could be much faster, and that Iâd want them to be far, far faster as we got deeper into our season. As an aside here, I think this might be a way of conveying how helpful note-taking can be — for a coach like me, for…
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Q: An Arizona-based hockey mom writes me seeking some oft requested advice⌠She says that her boy has been complaining about his skates a lot lately, and that heâs even cried at times because his feet hurt so badly. Then, noting that the current skates are hand-me-downs from a cousin, she asks for advice in the purchase of her sonâs first pair of new hockey skates. A: Not that there is a single piece of UNimportant hockey gear, but⌠If I had to prioritize equipment purchases, Iâd allot the majority of my budget to 1) good quality, properly-fit skates and…
If you’d like a crash course on strength training for hockey, this is it. And, as I so often promise, you’ll find ideas and advice here that you’re not likely to find anywhere else… Below please find the Show Notes for Episode 30 of Coach Chic’s Hockey Secrets. Please remember that this podcast might be well over a decade old, but as the intro says, most of the principles shared within are just as valid today… During the recording of this show, a dad and his son stopped in to visit. PS: I got a kick out of saying during…
The reason I jumped on that question was that I could just envision the answers that would soon roll in. I mean, I can see some coaches quoting numbers — like 15, 25, 40, 80, whatever. And I can tell you that none of us would be right if we got hung-up on a number. What Iâm going to suggest instead, is our need to constantly troubleshoot our playersâ needs, or continuously help them solve problems. Ironically, I had a brief conversation with a few of my assistant coaches the previous night after a AAA Bantam practice, not realizing that…
Dean Robinson begins his article suggesting that pro athletes tend to have more influence on a gameâs outcome than the coach (think Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James here, maybe a Michael Jordan in years past, the stars who comprised the 1927 New York Yankees, the Islanders and Oilers during different parts of the â80â˛s). This isnât to say that coaches donât influence outcomes. But, as Robinson suggests, their contributions arenât measurable — or there arenât any stats we can go to for comparisons. True enough? Iâd say so. That established, Iâd like to look at amateur hockey. And, no, there…
Unfortunately, there are as many bad training devices out there on the market as there are good ones. And, by bad I mean that some gadgets arenât scientifically based — theyâre more hype than anything else, and thereâs even the chance that they can be detrimental to effective hockey play. Just briefly touching upon the scientific side of things (for now)⌠I hope you appreciate that there are specific principles that govern the enhancement of a quality like speed (see Over-speed Theory for a few tips). Hey, go against those principles and thereâs a likelihood youâre going to produce slowness…