The Problems With Social Media In Hockey

A lot of years ago — actually, before USA Hockey changed to that name, I did a lot of work with their forerunner, AHAUS.  And one of those jobs — back when video was very new — included being in on the designing of some instructional tapes to share with their membership. (I mean, the small group I worked with back then was preparing training videos for coaches from the entire United States.)

So, we’re in a meeting one night in a nice spot on a pier in Boston, MA, and hashing over the topics to include in our very first video.  Guys quickly blurted out the need to include tips on the basic skills — like skating, puckhandling, passing and shooting, and then the room went fairly quiet.   

Hmmmmm…  

Eventually, when I sensed most guys there were stumped, I mentioned something that had been bothering me for quite a while.  So, I just offered them all a rough idea…  “Ya know, for almost every drill we coaches use, there is the obvious good it’s meant to do, plus a not so obvious negative.”

Man, you should have seen the squints I got with that, until I offered an easy example…  

“Okay, so almost every practice we run includes a short skate finished off with a shot on-net.  And if it’s a well designed drill, there’s some good being done.”  (I have to chuckle to myself now, but the other coaches in the room that night had to be eagerly wishing I’d get on with it.)  “And, after that, what do we usually have our players do?  They turn their backs on the net, and circle off to a line somewhere.”  (LOL…  Yes, the lights starting coming on for my fellow coaches.)

Now, is that what you really want your players to do — to shoot the puck, and then circle off somewhere?  Naw.

As an aside, know that I remedied the bad part of those kinds of drills by having a coach or an extra goaltender feed rebounds out to each shooter right after the initial attack.  So, my attackers soon learned to take their shots and then quickly look for a rebound.   

Okay, about the above picture (here goes)…

That pic is something I could easily grab from just about any video I see offered on social media — from LinkedIn to YouTube to Facebook to Instagram.   On the good side, we can usually see a player fancily flying all around the rink.  He or she might be jumping barriers and doing all sorts of puckhandling moves, and really impressing the unsuspecting.  Yup, for sure they get lots of “Likes” and an occasional “Wow!”  But, it’s those unsuspecting viewers I worry about.

The unsuspecting ones?   I’m talking mainly about new hockey parents, new coaches, and new adult players.  And what I fear for them is two-fold:  as in missing the bad that might be taking place in what they’re watching, and then being fooled by all those who signal their approval.  

Now, for what I see as the bad…  In the video I snapped the above picture from, the player was truly flying.  On the other hand, he had his eyes glued on the puck more often than on the teammates or opponents he should have been visualizing all through the drill.  

So, this second aside…  I mentioned one of my hockey manuals, “The Nature of Our Game…”, in a recent post, and that points out the many problems we coaches, parents and players frequently miss.  

The problem I’m getting at here, is that a hockey player doesn’t get to play in a vacuum.  No, everything he or she does on the ice is usually done amid lots of craziness.  And at some levels — like the one the kid above competes at, there are people out there on the ice trying to hurt you.  

What to do?  What to do?  

Well, I have no problem running a drill as I saw it in that social media post. I would, however, be sure that the player and the viewers understand that the emphasis was momentarily on speed or cleverness with the puck, and that work would be done at other times towards puckhandling with the eyes up. 

Then, before leaving, there’s one other area I see in constant conflict with “The Nature of Our Game…”  For, I don’t care where we turn within social media, there’s almost always a video showing a player standing still and shooting a puck.  Is that standing still thing necessary to the learning process?  Of course.  However, shouldn’t that be abandoned as soon as a player pretty much perfects the movement?  Of course!

The fact is, hockey goals seldom come off the sticks of players who are standing prettily in front of a net.  No, once again “The Nature of Our Game…”suggests that there are bad guys all around, and that we eventually might be better off practicing our shots while being mauled, while on the seat of our pants, while far off-balance on one skate, etc.

All that said, my hope is that everyone who gets to read this post henceforth carries with him or her a concern for the bad that might come along with some good drills.  And I hope they also understand how a drill needs to fit with what a player is really going to experience out there in the heat of battle.  

Then, as always, I’d love to receive some feedback down below.