Youth Hockey Practices and Drills 7, 8 & 9 years old

Youth hockey practices and drills. Hockey practice 2 of 72 during the first hockey season for young hockey players, 7-9 years old.

Youth hockey practice part 1. Hockey skating technique and skills (basic, one foot kicks, stops) and circles (not in the hockey drill / practice drawing)
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Youth hockey practice part 2 A. Skating with puck, shot, pick up rebound/new puck, slalom back. B. Skating round the cones. C. Skating round the circles and quick slalom on blue line. D. Stops facing the cone. E. Skate with puck, turns around cones, shot, pick up puck/rebound and turns with puck on the way puck.

Youth hockey practice part 3. A. Passes between cones, shot and rebound. B. Forward and backward skating. C. See above, with puck. D. Skating round the cones. E. Puck on one side body on other, backwards with puck back.

Youth hockey practice part 4. Game in all three zones.

Read more about the first season youth hockey practices and drills here >>

Ice Hockey in Denmark

I will continue with the learnings from the hockey coaching training, I attended during the World Championships in hockey. Next up Denmark…

Per Bäckman the head coach of Denmarks national hockey team and Esben Nedermark GM Danish National Hockey Team started their presentation, with talking about how small sport hockey is in Denmark.

Denmark hockey team and coaches, From right to left, behind the bench, Per Bäckman, Tomas Jonsson and Esben Nedermark.

Danish hockey has:
– 4400 registered players
– 16 teams
– 24 indoor rinks

While there are:
– 5000 hockey officials/referees in Toronto
– 296818 licensed football players in Denmark
– 5800 badminton players in Denmark
and 6000 Floorball players

Still Denmark is in the highest division in hockey, I will altough also talk about Norway, they have done an impressive work, with small or similar resources (6700 registred players!

What have Denmark done then?

One of the focus areas have been to have short and quick attacks, if you have not scored after 15 seconds you can give the puck to the other team, like the Norwegian national football team manager “Drillo” Olsen once said.

The Danish team have also been working with tactic and the discipline to stick to it, teambuilding, social environment and technical skills (opposite to Norway). What they are not good in regarding the national team coaches, is the physical part, they are too weak. The hard practicing culture is not there…

About the future…

Regarding the future for Danish hockey, Per Bäckman was quite negative, “we are at the top now, we will not get better, and we will not get more players or rinks, we need to take care of what we have now and try to maintain that.”

Wrong attitude…

In my mind totally wrong attitude, you will always need development and try to recruit new players and develop the game, players and teams (like Norway, coming in later post). When you think you can not develop or are satisfied, you will start your stagnation and to roll down the hill you are climbing and be eliminated in the end!

Denmark hockey and floorball Danish Hockey a good story (name of the presentation) – They have done a good work, but it will not last for so long, with the attitude I have described above…

“You have totally different view on game system and tactics than Sweden?” “Yes, I can not understand, why you would chase another players on the ice for 60 minutes” /Per Bäckman

Dave Smith, NHL Hockey Officials Health and Wellness Coach

During the International Hockey Coaching Conference, we had the opportunity to listen to David T. Smith, the NHL hockey officials health and wellness coach.

Dave Smith NHL Official Health and Wellness Coach

The NHL officials Health and Wellness program >>

National Hockey League Officials Fitness and Conditioning

  • This is a sample program for NHL Officials. As all people are different so are Fitness Programs, the following is used as a guideline with minimum standards for NHL Officials.
  • Consult your family doctor before starting any training program

Off season training

  • Start by setting some fitness goals for the start of the next season and focus on those throughout your program.
  • Incorporate and maintain good eating habits such as frequent small meals rather than a few large ones so your body is burning calories all day. Maintain a balanced diet between carbohydrates, fats and protein.
  • Incorporate a stretch and exercise routine before every training session.

Schedule

  • 5 days a week / Up to 2 hrs a day
  • Strength twice a week
  • Aerobics twice a week
  • Run, bike, roller blade or other activity once a week

Strength

  • Weight training utilizing a variety of programs with changes in repetitions, sets, tempo and exercises.
  • Push-ups using varying arm position and use of blocks
  • Sit ups, crunches – proper form is very important
  • Leg Strength (lunges, squats, step ups)

Aerobics

  • Use heart rate monitor to maximize training zones
  • Run – 15 min increasing to 60 min.
  • Ice sprints – 30 sec increasing to 60 sec.
  • Bike – 35 min increasing to 60 min.
  • Roller blade or Stairmaster
  • Jump rope and plyometric exercises with Resistance Bands to increase foot speed and agility

Cardiovascular Exercise (Run, Bike, Stepper or Glider)

  • Warm up (5 min)
  • 1 minute increasing intensity intervals for 30 min in your target heart rate zone
  • One minute work, one to two minutes rest intervals
  • Lower the intensity if you are not recovering to your original Heart Rate after first work/rest interval
  • Cool down (5 to 8 minutes)
  • You should monitor Heart rate at all times

Maintaining fitness during the season

  • 15- 20 minute warm up before games
  • Light jog, bike or jump rope to warm up muscles and joints and increase Heart Rate
  • Stretch and flexibility as a daily wellness program
  • Aerobic Exercise 2 or 3 times a week on non game days
  • Strength and Resistance exercises are done as travel and game schedule allows. Maintaining a base throughout the season will allow an easier transition into the off season training program and helps promote an overall healthy and productive lifestyle.

The program is picked from the NHL officials page >>

Dave Smith, NHL-official coach

Hockey Formation / System / Tactics

In the International Hockey Coaching Training, during the World Championships in Sweden, we also had the opportunity to listen to the Swedish National Hockey team coach, before each game.

Before the game against Russia, the team formation or system was discussed. Earlier Sweden have been playing 2-2-1 with defined or static roles, and with the mindset of putting pressure when the timing is correct. Since the statement “when timing is correct” can create confusion, he system has been changed, and the valuing part of “when it’s correct time” has been removed. Today Sweden play 2-2-1, but player 1 in top will always put pressure and the roles are flexible, the most offensive player will take the role of being P1 and the player that puts the pressure imediately, the other forwards will then adjust and take the two other roles P2 and P3.

Evgeny Malkin Russia, NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins against Sweden IIHF WC
Evgeny Malkin Russia (NHL Pittsburgh Penguins) vs. Henrik Zetterberg Sweden (NHL Detroit Red Wings)

 

Hockey Media Training

During the international hockey coaching training I attended, we also got some media training and some good advices regarding that. I will just keep this post short with some statements.

“You will never be a good friend with a journalist, you can have good contact, but never be true friends”

“You will never win against a journalist”

“Coaches that praise the other hockey team they have defeated, are also praising their own team”

“Be your self”

“Be open against the media, let them in. In NHL, the locker room doors are closed for 5 minutes after a game, then it’s opened up for media”

“In elite sports, media is your channel for visibility and from where you get most of your money… don’t forget that”

Sven Melander Hockey Journalist

/Sven Melander, Swedish journalist working for one of the largest newspapers in Sweden.

Hockey Goalie Trainer or Goal Scoring Coach, Part 2

…Hockey Goalie Trainer or Goal Scoring Coach, Part 2. If you look at the Nordic countries in ice hockey most of the teams and hockey players are very skilled when it comes to stick handling and skating, but there is lack of good goal scorers and skilled shooters, why? (of course with some exceptions)

This is simply a result of practicing focus, in USA and Canada a lot effort is put in this area in hockey practices, shooting and goal scoring, while in Sweden and Finland other areas are prioritized.

In the end it doesn’t matter how skilled you are with the puck, what counts is the amount of goals scored in a hockey game.

Of course the first step is to:
1. Create goal scoring opportunities (You need to be a good skater and a stick handler to create these goal scoring opportunities in a hockey game)
2. Score goal
3. Defend your own goal

 

I think a lot of focus in hockey is already put in area 3. Defend your own goal, and then 1. Create goal scoring opportunities, but what can be improved is, 2. Score goal when you have the chance.

“I will get ready, and perhaps my chance will come” / John Wooden

To be continued…

Hockey Goalie Trainer or Goal Scoring Coach

You can have a Head Coach in hockey, assistant coach, defense coach, goalie trainer and other coaching or support functions around the hockey team, but who is the hockey goal scoring coach or trainer?

Dennis Endras Goalie Germany / HIFK Hockey World Championships

This subject was discussed during the International Hockey Coaching Symposium I attended during the World Championships in ice hockey in Sweden / Finland, together with all the Swedish Elite hockey coaches.

Torgny Bendelin, a famous Swedish hockey coach talked about this topic. Hockey on elite level is changing, the game is faster, harder, quicker and the time players have to make their decissions is reduced to a minimum.

In hockey a lot of time has been put in to develop the defensive systems the teams are using both on National and International level and of course a lot of efforts to improve the skills of the goalies, with help from special goalie trainers. The goalies are good in positioning and working with different angles towards the shooter.

Therefore the hockey players need to:
– Shoot quickly or quicker than before
– Shoot with precision
– Shoot hard/fast
– “Hide” the shot
– Shoot unannounced

These are the areas you also need to practice if you want to be a good future goal scorer in hockey.

This topic will continue in later posts…

Hockey Coaching from different perspectives

Have you ever thought about how the hockey coaching role is seen from different perspectives? …Not? I have and these are just my personal thoughts… 🙂

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