PSA: Youth Hockey Players in Recent Poll Say They Are Not Having Fun(and how to fix it)
Trigger Warning...
This one is a little more direct.
But I want it to be truth with love.
And there are solutions at the end of this observation.
There is a youth hockey coach that needs to hear this. And based on my observation in the last 2 weeks, it's more than one.
Don't tag them directly on Facebook or Twitter, unless your intention is to upset them...
The Ask
If you're going to run drills your dad ran when you were a kid for 90 minutes of expensive ice time, consider giving the whistle to someone else.
The knowledge base of player development has improved since 1990.
We can do more as coaches to create an environment for player development.
Please evolve with what we know, your players will thank you.
The Poll
I've been in the rinks helping youth hockey teams recently and yesterday I polled about half of the 12u team as I was getting my skates on and they were headed to the locker room.
Practice consisted of:
routine drills
zone entries with one option (which the coaches explained to an audience that was picking weeds in the outfield)
players being explicitly told what to do
mistakes by players were met with coaches correcting everything (not considering what the player saw)
zero opposed practice scenarios(players having to go against an opponent)
zero small area games
I simply asked those 12-year-olds if they had fun?
They all said no to me. And 12-year-olds are reliably honest.
In a practice on the other rink, a defenseman dragged his stick, angled another player perfectly(skating forward) in a 1v1 situation, closed space, took a puck away, and escaped pressure...
And got yelled at because he's a defenseman and defensemen should skate backward.
(cue the Monday Night Football crew saying, "c'mon man!")
We have to do better... so let's talk about solutions.
Antidotes and Anecdotes
I sat in my level 1 and 2 and listened to small area games get beaten into my head.
Option 1
Work backward from the game, and when in doubt without fail...
Small area games look like the game.
Your players will protect the puck without having to go around a cone because they'll have a real defender trying to take it away.
Your players will try to create 2v1's on their own(or maybe with a little encouragement) because they want to score.
They'll protect inside ice(for the most part) because they don't want to get scored on
If you add constraints and keep score, they'll compete and work on things your team needs to work on.
Want to see your team play less 1v1 hockey?
Play 3v3 cross-ice and make goals scored off of a: stick pick, switch, scissor, or any other cross and drop play worth 3 goals.
Option 2
Say your youth team has 18 skaters.
6 are playing the 3v3 small area game.
6 are waiting to go next.
6 are using the next zone of the ice to rondo.
What's a rondo?
Taken from soccer(can be applied to hockey)
Can be one or two touch rules
Quick puck movement
Creating passing lanes
Defending passing lanes and limiting where the puck can go next
Scanning for your next play ahead of receiving the puck
All things you have to do in hockey.
A Rotation to Keep Kids Engaged
Rotate from in the 3v3 game to rondo
Rondo to resting at the blueline
Resting to back into the 3v3 game
You just created more skill development time in the same 90 minutes of ice that your players’ parents are paying ice bills for.
Consider implementing a small area game and a rondo at the same time at your next practice.
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