Luc Robitaille on the Red Carpet at Luc Robitaille’s Celebrity Shootout 2013

February 26, 2013 Video Content No Comments

IHD Newsletter – February 2013

February 21, 2013 Hockey Blogs No Comments

This month’s newsletter has been sent. You can read the February2013 Newsletter here.

Related articles:
Newsletter sign-up
Past Newsletters

New Half Ice Drills

February 20, 2013 Drills, Hockey Blogs No Comments

Spent some time on the ice with my buddy who coaches a junior team and he had about fifty players on the ice to run a practice. He ran a few half-ice drills on both ends to keep everyone moving and I thought I would share them with everyone. Hope these are helpful in your practices.

I will add these drills to the Half Ice Section of the site.

Swing Regroup: FAQ

February 18, 2013 Hockey Blogs No Comments

Some Frequently Asked Questions on the Swing Regroup

In our Coaches’ Training Course we outline the fundamentals of the Swing Regroup, which is one of my favorite regroup set-ups. Over the past few weeks, I’ve received a number of emails with questions on the Swing Regroup. So I figured it was time to put together an FAQ video.

The problem many coaches were having, was differentiating between the “textbook version” and the “read and react version.” In other words… in a perfect world, we draw up the play, and the players perform it exactly as diagrammed, AKA textbook execution. However, in the actual game, sometimes it happens as planned, but many times it doesn’t. In these cases there’s a degree of improvisation that needs to be accounted for… this is where the read and react comes into play.

So, let’s start with our ideal, textbook diagram, then we’ll go from there:

swing_regroup Swing Regroup
1. Defensemen drag skate puck back and toward the middle, passing D to D as needed
2. Forwards swing through the receiving zones, presenting themselves as options
3. Defensemen read pressure, and pass up-ice to one of the forwards
4. Forwards attack the offensive zone under control

Obviously, players must understand the textbook version in order to make proper decisions in the game. This idea holds true with any system you’re looking to implement. I recommend teaching and practicing the textbook version of your set-up, then also going through some of the possible variations in chalk-talk. Make sure your players understand that they’re allowed to adapt to the game situation! Your objective should be to provide them with the system framework, then to encourage creativity within it.

Good luck!

Technorati Tags: Chalk Talk, Coaches Training, Creativity, Defensemen, Execution, Forwards, Game Situation, Good Luck, Improvisation, Objective, Offensive Zone, Perfect World, Proper Decisions, Skate, Some Frequently Asked Questions, Swing, System Framework, Textbook, Ups, Variations

Where to Shoot to Score More Goals

February 17, 2013 Hockey Blogs No Comments

If you started playing hockey at a young age you probably had a dream to roof the puck. Young hockey players have trouble getting the puck off the ice, but once they learn how to shoot high it’s almost the only place they shoot. At a young age it is not a bad idea to shoot high, the goalies are short and give you a lot of room to shoot up high, however as the goalies get older they get much bigger and soon you don’t have the same advantage. At a young age shooting high is a good idea, but when you get older you need to know the best places to shoot. In the video below I discuss some of the best places to shoot to score more goals.

Shoot to Score

Some of the best places to shoot

Shoot for the goalies ears (if they go down easily and play in their crease)
Shoot just over the pad, either blocker side or glove side
Go 5-hole when you are in close

Why you shouldn’t always shoot high

If you shoot a bit too high the puck will end up behind the net, no chance for a rebound
If the goalie stops you he will usually catch the puck in his glove – no rebound
If you don’t know about the shooters illusion you may think there is a lot of room up high, when in fact it is covered
Shooting high through traffic usually results in a blocked shot
A lot of goalies anticipate high shots because they know players like to roof the puck

Thanks for reading, you can subscribe to our blog for more great tips, or share this article with your team mates using the buttons below

need a plan!

February 14, 2013 Hockey Blogs No Comments

Views: 2177 | Replies: 0

Product Review: Shooting Pad & Passing Kit

February 14, 2013 Hockey Blogs No Comments

I’m a big proponent of ‘off-rink’ workouts. Stickhandling, passing and shooting are critical parts of the game and ones that I stress to my players that they must practice on their own.

In the product review, I’ll demo the Hockey Passing Kit from the team over at HockeyTrain.com.
This is a valuable tool that will allow you to work on all these areas. I can personally attest to the difference they make. I received these in mid November and my 9 year old son started working out almost daily. The amount of comments he has received in the last few weeks about his puck handling and more notably his slapshot are a direct result of having the ability to work out off the rink.

You may be thinking that I can already work out in the driveway or basement and you are correct. But the true advantage is that you get the true feel of being on the rink. Pucks aren’t bouncing around and you aren’t damaging your sticks by grinding them into the driveway. Trust me, it’s worth it to have something like this as part of your workout.

Aging Hockey Player Can’t Eat Like He Used To

February 12, 2013 Coaches, General, Hockey Blogs, Players No Comments

One hour after I made my food choice I realized it was a bad one.

I’m almost 50 and fall under the old-guy category. Bobby Orr and Brad Park were my hereos. I cheered when Team USA beat the Russians in 1980. Many of my teammates weren’t yet born and ESPN was barely five months old.

I grew up playing ice hockey in Colorado and played a year of junior hockey in Sweden. My claim to fame was making the All-Area High School team but that was long ago. I’ve since migrated to a warmer climate devoid of Zambonis. In rural Northern California, we have more duck blinds than ice rinks. So, I joined the in-line epidemic, a sacrilege for any die-hard, old-school, ice hockey player. Hockey on wheels? In-line is akin to kissing a cousin, but I tried it and liked it, in-line hockey that is. The actual skating technique was surprisingly similar…but I couldn’t stop.

I’ve resurrected my routine from years past with some minor adjustments. I arrive at the arena thirty minutes early to limber up instead of looking for girls. Stretching is a key to my survival; so is pre-medicating with a handful of painkillers. I now compete against players who are faster than gazelles, gazelles that are 20 years younger. I hate eating their dust. I’m not easily embarrassed but still have pride.

Between my bantam and high school years I grew a foot taller and could eat anything. Pasta, fried chicken, horse-meat (I’m kidding)…the calories filled my hollow leg. I’m more careful today but occasionally suffer mental lapses. I eat my pre-game meal two hours before suiting up to make sure my body has enough time to process it. One day I ran late and hunted through the refrigerator. It was barren except for three Polish sausages and a jar of sauerkraut. Behind the mustard I stumbled upon fries and sourdough bread. I reckoned sauerkraut qualified as a vegetable. I scrounged a feast and demolished it.

I sped to the arena and arrived disheveled. At least I didn’t get a traffic ticket. My buddies were already warming up. I tied my skates and rushed onto the rink. Immediately after the face-off, stomach rumblings forewarned of impending doom. I ditched my teammates and raced to the men’s room. My wheels spun with no way to stop. The toilet did that job.

Had disaster struck on the rink, my teammates would have un-friended me on Facebook, or worse. I completed the game in good physical status albeit several pounds lighter. I can’t remember the game’s outcome but will remember what not to eat next time. My brain must remind my stomach it can no longer tolerate a haphazard diet. It’s great playing hockey again. Even if it means I need to use the commode to brake.

So, I offer my younger comrades sage advice: Never eat the entire recommended daily allowance of anything just before playing a game.

Eric Miller is a freelance writer from Chico, California and creator of Etc.Guy, about a father who tries to stay out of trouble with his wife and daughters. But he lives on to tell a story. Eric skates with the Hamilton City Hockey Club. For information on his blog contact him at [email protected] .

Video: Receiving a Pass

February 6, 2013 Hockey Blogs No Comments

In this video, we focus on the proper technique for receiving a pass.

‘Catch’ the pass
Don’t slap at the puck

Related Drills:

Video: Making a Pass

Passing Forward/Backward Tandems

Exercises To Increase Speed

February 5, 2013 Hockey Blogs, Players No Comments

Since the NHL lockout of 2005 came to an end, there were a few rule changes that brought about a new game of hockey. Less clutching, grabbing, and getting rid of all the unnecessary stick work made the game faster. All of a sudden, speed became even more important than it originally was.

In the past, defensemen were able to use their free hand to grab forwards as they tried to make a move around them. Forwards backchecking, used their sticks to hook sticks, arms, and hips. It was basically, do whatever you could so your man didn’t beat you.

Now times have changed. And in my opinion, it’s for the better. Sure, I miss the toughness element that came with that style of hockey, but now we get to witness more skilled players go at it. Or at least, the players in today’s game get to showcase their true skill more easily because they don’t have to worry about getting hacked or hooked.

So players these days need to concentrate on speed if they’re going to make it to any high level of hockey. In order to increase their speed, there’s many things they can do besides getting bag skated at the end of each practice.

Off ice training should be, at this point in time, a priority for players because of all the research that has come out proving how beneficial training away from the ice can be.

So here’s 3 exercises you can do to increase your speed on the ice:

1. Sprints

Maybe the most basic exercise you can think of, but it’s stuck around so long because it works. There’s nothing fancy about it. Just a guy and his legs. But before you move on to exercise #2, keep this little note in mind. Whenever you are sprinting at top speed for over 8-10 seconds, you are no longer working on speed. It doesn’t mean that you’re not getting some type of training effect, it just means that you’re speed gains won’t be as significant.

Try this: 10 rounds of 8-10 second sprints. After each sprint, rest a full 2 minutes.

2. Plyometrics

Another type of exercise that doesn’t require any fancy equipment. The benefit of using plyometrics for your training is that they focus on being explosive. Each movement is done in an explosive way. For example, a squat jump is basically an exercise where you squat down and explode back up by jumping as high as you can. But since hockey is more of a sport where you push off of one leg at a time, try alternating lunge jumps. To perform them, start in a lunge position where you step one leg out in front of you while the back knee is on the ground. From that position jump straight up as high as you can while switching your feet in the air. You’ll end up landing so that you’re now in a lunge position with the opposite leg now out in front.

Try this: 3 sets of 10 jumps (5 jumps each leg)

Progress by adding 2 jumps to each leg on each set.

3. Squats

Speed is one of those things that people have always believed you’re either born with or you don’t have it. Sure, some people are faster than others, but that doesn’t mean you can’t improve your speed. The best way to improve your speed is to get stronger.

If you can generate more force into the ground, you’ll be able to move at a faster pace. That’s just science. So the best way to build up strength in your lower body is with squats. Read this article on how to squat properly: http://starfactoryfitness.com/how-to-squat-properly/

Try this: 3 sets of 10 reps as a beginner 2x’s per week.

Once you get the correct technique down, move to 4 sets of 6-8 reps 2x’s per week.

So there you have it. Three exercises you can start using today to help you become a faster skater and start improving your performance as a player.

For more hockey training exercises and workouts, check out my program 1st Star Performance at http://starfactoryfitness.com/1st-star-performance/

===================================================================================
Conor Doherty, PTS, is an athletic trainer in Dryden, Ontario, who specializes in sports performance. The majority of his clients are hockey players. Conor has a well-rounded background in the training field with an Honours Bachelor of Kinesiology degree as well as being a certified trainer with Canadian Fitness Professionals. Learn more about his training methods and programs at http://starfactoryfitness.com

GearGeek – NHL Equipment Database

Jonathan Quick at the NHL Awards 2012

4 Corners – D vs. O

What evaluators look for during try-outs

Recent Articles: