Every coach collects drills — books, videos, binders full of them. I’ve got hundreds myself. But no drill library is ever enough, because every team is different and players’ needs change quickly. That’s why the best coaches don’t just use drills… they create them…
Long before video became common in youth hockey, I discovered how slowing plays down, freezing frames, and studying movement could reveal things the naked eye simply can’t catch in real time.
In this episode, we’re taking a fresh look at something every hockey player depends on but few measure correctly — stick length. Instead of guessing or using outdated height charts, we’ll explore a simple, functional method that matches the way players actually skate and handle the puck. If you’ve ever wondered whether your stick helps or hurts your game, this short lesson will give you a clearer, more reliable way to find the perfect fit.
Here’s another quick CoachChic.com podcast I think my hockey friends will enjoy. It’s all about the posture required of a backward skating defender when he or she has to cover an oncoming attacker.
Here’s a quick new CoachChic.com podcast I think you’ll enjoy. It’s all about a simple idea that can instantly improve any practice — it’s about knowing when a drill has stopped helping and what to do next.
Hockey players hear it all the time: “Have your stick on the ice.” But that alone doesn’t guarantee you’ll control a pass. In fact, most bobbled pucks happen even when the blade is down — because the blade isn’t turned to the correct angle. The real key to clean puck reception is simple, but almost…
I’ve been wanting to revisit this topic for a long time, because it goes all the way back to some great conversations I used to have with a sport psychologist. She was a coach, a college professor, and her specialty was parent–athlete communication. The two of us connected instantly, because I’d spent decades dealing with the same issues from the coaching side…
In this episode, I’m taking you back to a moment that shaped the way I’ve looked at hockey drills for decades. It started in a Boston meeting room, long before USA Hockey had its current name, when a simple question opened my eyes to the hidden negatives tucked inside even our best‑intentioned drills.
Every once in a while, a message from the past lands with surprising force on today’s athletes, parents, and coaches. That’s exactly why I decided to revisit one of the most quoted passages in sports culture — The Man in the Arena — and record a short podcast episode to go with it.
This might be the second most important teaching principle any hockey coach, parent, or player could ever know. But, let me take you back for a moment. Years ago, one of my old Physical Education professors warned us about a trap that coaches still fall into today. He’d say: “If you keep running the same drill over and over, you’re not teaching anymore — you’re just killing the clock.”