MAKING YOUR PRACTICEMORE GAME LIKE – NO

SLEEPWALKINGJamie Rice

USA Hockey Level 4

11 years youth hockey (boys LTP-Bantam, girls LTP-U10)

27 years college hockey (AC Colby, Dartmouth, Brown, Northeastern/HEAD Babson 2004 – present)

18 years USA Hockey/Mass Hockey

U9: why are we dribbling around cones? Coach: it's important to do that U9: when are we playing a team of cones then? Coach: .... #Brilliant!

Dr Martin Toms @drmartintoms · May 16

For the Golden State Warriors, Practice Makes Perfect Silliness

Scott Cacciola, New York Times May 30th 2015

“I told Steve, if someone came in and watched the way you practice, it would be embarrassing for you as a coach,” said

Bruce Fraser, one of his assistants.Yes, the Warriors typically turn the first five to 10 minutes of

every practice into something that looks more like middle-school recess.

Players cite those first few minutes of practice as surprisingly important to their success this season.

“The whole atmosphere of our team is very relaxed. It’s only basketball, so why not have fun.” Festus Ezeli

“I am not governed by fear of what other people say.”

Chip Kelly

“(The critics) all come out, they all come out screaming.”

Paul Westhead

Ability to Skate, Pass, Receive, Protect, Possess,

Retrieve and Shoot the Puck

Competitiveness, Passion, Coachable and Emotionally

Consistent

Positional Play:Basic Concepts, Defending

the Puck, Hockey Sense, Role of Play within the Game

Understanding of Concepts:Puck Support, Spacing,

Timing, Defensive Support, Situational Hockey

THE GOAL OFPRACTICE

THE GAME OF HOCKEY/YOUTH PLAYERWHAT ARE THE SKILLS THEY NEED

1 v. 1 Win the Puck30%

Make a Play/Team Play

20%System Play15%

Skills-Skating, Play w/ a puck

1 v. 135%

WHAT IS PRACTICE

“Words are signals, and the signal the word “practice” sends is “THIS WILL PROBABLY BE BORING.” “Practice” tells a story of dutifulness, obligation, of putting in the required hours. It is vague, devoid of spark or specificity…”

Daniel Coyle http://thetalentcode.com/2012/11/19the-one-word-you-should-avoid-using/

Thoughts on Practice• Engagement and Enjoymentü Creating a practice (and game) environment where the players are excited

and eager to participate. The “I can’t wait to go to ___” experience.• Skills ü Players should be active and performing their “skills” as much as possible

(without disrupting your drill). It is impossible to get EE if players are standing and waiting “their turn”. How much will a player perform an actual skill in your game?

• Conceptual Understanding of Principlesü TGFU playing “the game” they learn, develop and become better…Not

“you stand here”.• Coaching, not Over Coachingü Allowing for mistakes, failure, and teachable moments. Positive and

encouraging. Players can “figure it out on their own” if allowed to. You can coach more in a game than a drill.

“They (coaches) succeeded because they are tapping into the second element of the talent code: IGNITION. They re creating and sustaining motivation; they are teaching love.” Daniel Coyle, THE TALENT CODE, PG. 175

MOM, WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE

Your enthusiasm is contagiousMake it so the kids cannot wait to go.

If they are late on the ice, they are “missing out!”You have three minutes to “capture” their

attention and create engagement50 minute hours allow a short window, do not let

it slam on your fingers

SKATING, PUCKS AND STANDINGAROUND

PLAN YOUR WORK – WORK YOUR PLAN

THE NIGHT, DAY, WEEK OR MONTH BEFORE1. YOU DO NOT NEED 100 DIFFERENT DRILLS TO MOTIVATE

AND IMPROVE KIDS, YOU NEED 15 GOOD ONES2. WHAT KID REALLY NEEDS TO STRETCH?3. HOCKEY REQUIRES PUCKS4. WE BEMOAN HOW LITTLE KIDS “PLAY”, YET WE DRILL THEM

TO DEATH5. WHO WENT/GOES TO THE POND TO STAND IN LINE?

“You see that practice has the ability to PROFOUNDLY change peoples levels of talent, peoples level of skill.” Daniel Coyle speaking to US Soccer,

April 20, 2011

THE GAME METHOD OF TEACHINGWHOLE-PART-PART-WHOLE

Parents are pleased when they can see what they think are “valuable drills”, yet how many times in a game will a kid skate around all 5 circles consecutively in a game?

The COURAGE to relinquish the appearance of control.

Hockey is a GAME not a series of drills PLAY THE GAME1. Small Games with variables and controls2. Competition is ELEMENTAL to hockey

3. Every time they play they learn and improve

Our Kids Learn Differently and Science Supports New and Varied Learning Methods

COACHING IS NOT BLOWING AWHISTLE

Meaningful InteractionsSmall POWERFUL words

They don’t mean to make mistakesSee it through their eyes

They want to get better, the want to have fun

NO SARCASM, DEROGITORY WORDS, OR BELITTLING

IF THEY DO A DRILL WRONG, IT IS PROBABLY YOUR FAULT

THE GAME TEACHES BEST

Since hockey is a continuous, dynamic invasion game, it is imperative that players develop their ‘Hockey IQ’ to better

enable them to read and react to the ever-changing circumstances. It is extremely difficult, bordering on

impossible, to acquire such knowledge while performing technical drills within a closed, patterned training

environment common to traditional practices. Hockey drills are useful for those who are still acquiring skills or who want

to fine-tune them, but in order to best prepare players to be tactically and strategically aware, they must play in game-

like situations. The decisions they make, rightly or wrongly, will provide immediate, ongoing feedback to the player.

Game Sense Can Be Taught! Dean Holden, M.Ed (Coaching), Chartered Professional Coach

WHERE DO WE BEGINTAG AND KEEP A WAY

v THIS CAN BE DONE LONGER, WITH GREATER BENEFIT, UNDERMORE COMPETITIVE AND GAME LIKE ENVIRONMENTS

v IT TEACHES SPEED AND COMPETITIVENESSv IT IS INHERENTLY FUNv YOU CAN DO IT WITH 1-20 KIDS, AND IN SMALL AREASv WHAT BETTER WAY TO WORK ON SKATING THAN TO SKATE

COMPETITIVELY

THE GAME IS SKATING AND EITHER POSSESSING OR GETTING THEPUCK BACK, ELEMENTALLY AT THE 1 V. 1 LEVEL

60% OF THE GAME IS THIS

GAMING YOUR PRACTICEDRILLS GAMES YOU CAN PLAY EVERY

DAY

1 v. 1 (#’s +) Passing 2 v. 1/3 v. 2 Advantages Hockey SenseBeaney Beaney 2 v. 2 Hanger Coach Support

Games3 v. 3 EN

Touchdown Touchdown 2 or more multi

goal

Back Door Player Support Games

Either Net One Time Scoring

Only

Fish In The Pond

FINN and Mini FINN

Rover Odd Number Games

Levels

Tag & Keep A Way

USA AlwaysOffense

Use Players as much as possible

Always Offense

ASK YOURSELF

It may sound like a silly question, but “Why do we practice?” To see our players ‘perfectly’ execute a drill pattern without pressure or with token pressure? Or do we prepare to compete at game speed and intensity, under pressure and game unpredictability, with the scoreboard on and the clock ticking down, with playing rules enforced and ultimately, a ‘win’ or a ‘loss’ at the end of the time?

Game Sense Can Be Taught! Dean Holden, M.Ed (Coaching), Chartered Professional Coach

IN SHORT, IT LETS THE KIDS ‘PLAY’ THE GAME AND LEARN WHILE HAVING FUN!

WE ALL “KNOW” WHAT THEY CANNOT DO…WHYDON’T WE CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE WESEE WHAT THEY CAN DO, AND SEE WHAT THEY

MAY BECOME?

DRIVING RANGE VS PLAYING GOLF (MINI/PITCH & PUTT/PAR 3)

PLAYING 21, HORSE, KNOCKOUT

STREET HOCKEY RIPTHE BOOM OF BACKYARD RINKS

GOLF SWING, THROWING MOTION, SKATING STRIDE, RUNNING POSTURE…THERE ARE NO “COOKIE CUTTER”

MODELS OF SUCCESS

Why you should make your practices GAMES ?

• What are we evaluating? What are we practicing? Do we want kids who can drill, or kids who can PLAY…

• Engagement, excitement, difficulties, challenges, creating IQ, making it hard can make it fun

• Variations, constraints, specific parameters, isolating aspects of the game

• Tapping into the competitive soul…applying pressure• Creating an environment to increase the

desire/importance to win• You might see and get something you didn’t expect

CreativePotentialWithinEachChildPostedbyDeanHoldenatFebruary19th,2016byahockeyworld.net,17February2016

Horst Wein, first coach to be awarded the title of FIH Master Coach, was born in Hanover, Germany in 1941. The world of hockey and sports mourns the loss of this

legendary coach, who recently died on Sunday 14 February in Barcelona, Spain. In this article, we would like to share some of his teaching as we remember him as one of the

greatest coaches in hockey.

1) DECLARE WAR AGAINST THE 11 VS. 11 GAMEIn the “big game” on a regular field, the young player is generally condemned to become passive, participating very seldom in plays where he can exhibit his creative skills.

2) MORE GAMES AND LESS ANALYTICAL EXERCISESChildren should be exposed to more game plays (global method) and less practice with the analytical method. The practice should happen in the game.

3) LET THE KIDS PLAYWe should give children the opportunity to explore and to discover through “playing”, to infect them with the creativity shown by their teammates and opponents and without having the coach interceding frequently.

5) YOU MUST ENJOY THE GAME TO BE CREATIVEWhen the children play, they should have fun and be keen on the game. If the young player does not identify himself with the proposed game that the coach has designed, the creative capability will remain asleep.

6) LET THE PLAYERS CREATE GAMES AND RULESFrequent rule changes, introduced by surprise during the practise of the game, force the players who want to win to adapt to the rule changes, using their creativity.

7) DARE TO TAKE RISKS AND TO IMPROVISEThe young players, especially those of 7 to 12 years, should not be pressured by their coach to quickly pass the ball in order to allow a better team-play and winning. They should frequently have the opportunity to “be in love with the ball”, to dare to improvise their play and take risks, without fearing the possible consequences of having committed a mistake or to have lost the possession of the ball.

8) TRAIN THE RIGHT HEMISPHERE OF THE BRAINInstead of the coach being the main character in the teaching and learning process, he should often transfer responsibility to his young pupils and ask them, through systematic questioning, to solve most of the situations that he presents. A true master in teaching never gives the answers to the problems, but helps his pupils to find and discover them on their own, guiding them to correct results.

9) CREATIVE COACHES = CREATIVE PLAYERSAny flash of creative behavour in a player should be recognised by the coach who should do everything to encourage his players to be different and to look out for original solutions to the problems inherent in the game.

10) THE ENVIRONMENT AS AN ENEMY OF CREATIVITYThe environment of the young player is an enemy of his creativity. Nowadays most of our young talent grows in an atmosphere which is noticeably hostile towards creativity. Their familiar and scholastic surroundings, especially between the ages of 7 and 14 years, are characterized generally by a “intentional direction” of learning (with strict norms), which is limiting personal initiative, independence, originality and the value of trying to do things in different ways. Basically: “instead of presenting fishes to the children, the students, or the players, the parents, teachers and coaches should teach them how to fish.”

JAMIE RICE

JRICE@BABSON.EDU

781-239-5981TWITTER @RICER18

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