Behind the Net Breakout

Drill:

1. Players work together as a team to bring the puck out of the zone
2. 1 Defensemen gets the puck behind the net to start the play
3. The other Defenseman has to hold his ground in front of the net
4. The 2 Forward will come down along the boards to the tops of the circles and cut back up.
5. Forward takes pass and they move it out
6. D in front of net joins the rush and the other is the last guy in the zone

Focus:
1. If they have time, the D can stop and set up the play
2. If they don’t they have to skate with the puck and make a good outlet pass
3. Forwards have to focus on where they need to be. If they do not get the pass, they should move toward the middle of the rink to cut the next pass length down

Notes:
This drill really focuses on getting the puck out of their own end. Players learn to make decisions on whether to carry the puck or pass.
Add a coach in as a fore-checker after they get used to it.
You could also start to add your own forwards into the play as well to work on their fore-checking skills.

Related Drills:
3 on 2 breakout
2 on 0 breakout

2 Man Long Outlet Pass

Drill:

1. On whistle Forward closest to the wall skate out toward the blue line and then across the rink
2. Player with the puck starts skating toward the blue line and looks for the Forward skating along the far blue line and makes pass
3. Player then follows the pass and drives toward the net

Focus:
1. Long outlet passes to the far blue line
2. Lateral movement along the blue line looking for pass
3. Entrance into the zone

Notes:
You can mix this up and add a Defenseman to defend against the long pass

Related Drills:
2 on 1 pass and go 
Shoot and break 

Should Kids Train for Strength?

Should kids train for strength?
By Fred Pletsch
Oct 30, 2001, 11:10

Fred Pletsch

Owen Nolan of the now-Denver Nordiques is a red-light flashing testament to the power and value of strength training for hockey.

The 23-year old right winger, a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, rediscovered his scoring touch in the abbreviated 1995 NHL season. After rededicating himself at the gymnasium last summer, Nolan finished tied for third in goal scoring this year, with 30 markers in 46 games.

The erstwhile Quebec sniper was first introduced to the benefits of strength training as a Junior player at a gym in Cornwall, Ontario, soon after the Nordiques made him the #1 overall selection in the 1990 NHL draft.

Bill Kennedy, who owns Maximum Fitness in Cornwall and a kinesiology degree from the University of Windsor, is often asked at what age young hockey players can undertake a strength training regimen.

“There are misconceptions about strength training that some parents need to have cleared up,” says Kennedy, who was shocked by Nolan’s poor fitness and strength levels when the Nordiques appointed him to supervise the program of their then 18-year-old hockey prodigy.

The first misconception is that weight training will stunt a teen athlete’s growth.

“A person is basically overloading muscles when they are strength training, so you’re doing the same thing as when you’re doing wind sprints on the ice or a set of leg presses in the gym,” states Kennedy. “This overload causes the muscles to grow larger in order to handle the stress placed on them.”

The long bones of adolescents—for example, the left femurs—are not fully formed, and contain growth plates which allow the bone to grow longer and increase height. “Studies show that hormones cause that bone to close off prematurely,” explains Kennedy. “Excessive use of anabolic steroids could very realistically cause that bone to mature before its time, and you would actually wind up with a much shorter athlete. I think that’s where the misconception started.

“Hormones are also stimulated from a vigorous strength training program, but in minute amounts, and the effects on stunting the growth of an individual is very minimal and is greatly exaggerated.”

Fear of injury is another concern that parents must overcome before allowing their teenager to start lifting.

“There is a lot of potential there for injuries to soft tissues, ligaments, tendons and bones,” acknowledges Kennedy. “But the individual must be made aware of this potential for harm so they can approach their training program in a mature manner, under qualified instruction and supervision. If a person is doing what they’re supposed to be doing in the weight room, the chances of injuring themselves is relatively low compared to (the risk in) a competitive game.”

Maturity is the key

So when can kids start working out? Well, the determining factor when assessing a hockey player’s readiness for strength training is maturity.

“Fifteen is probably a good general benchmark for when an athlete could start a program and derive benefits from it,” Kennedy believes. “There must be a guided approach, with instruction from a qualified person before any program is started. And it should be monitored closely.”

There have been instances where athletes as young as 12 have benefited immensely from a strength training program.

“What you have to consider is if the teenager is capable of handling that type of training—not only physically, but emotionally as well. Are they mature enough to have the dedication to go into a gym and actually do their strength training, as opposed to horsing around and running the risk of injuring themselves?”

Beginners are going to see improvement in strength by working out once a week, but three times weekly is ideal, according to Kennedy.

“That schedule allows a day off between sessions for muscle tissue to repair itself and grow.”

Many hockey players will bulk up in the summer, but slowly see their strength gains eroded over the course of the following competitive season.

“Teenagers don’t have a lot of time to spend in the gym during a season if they’re practicing three or four times a week and playing a couple of games,” admits Kennedy. “It’s what we call a maintenance program. Getting to the gym once or twice a week for 45 minutes to an hour is more than adequate to maintain your strength, or minimize the rate you’re going to lose it through inactivity.”

Hockey’s explosion in popularity in the 1990s means a multitude of opportunities from the collegiate and Major Junior levels right through to Europe, the minor pro levels and the NHL. Serious players now realize that, more than just playing the sport, they have to get into the gym and actually get stronger in order to be competitive.

Not everyone is blessed with the natural talent of an Owen Nolan. But strength training, introduced at the proper age and monitored correctly, can make you a more complete and powerful player.

Fred Pletsch is a veteran OHL and AHL broadcaster who currently covers the Cornwall Aces for CJFS radio.

This first appeared in the 08/1995 issue of Hockey Player Magazine®
© Copyright 1991-2001 Hockey Player® and Hockey Player Magazine®

On defense with Alan Leggett

On defense with Alan Leggett
By Bob Cunningham
Oct 30, 2001, 11:08

There are many subtle, and even not-so-subtle, differences between ice hockey and its thawed cousin, roller hockey. And the trick to effectively taking advantage of those variations, says defenseman Alan Leggett, is to know how you’re affected by the differences—rather than just identifying what they are.

For instance, notes Leggett, who skates with the San Diego Barracudas of Roller Hockey International, it is widely accepted that roller hockey is slower than the frozen version. The puck doesn’t move as quickly, and neither do the players. But that comparative lack of mobility in roller hockey is exactly why a defenseman is more likely to get burned if he’s not careful.

“It’s an adjustment to be able to learn to maneuver on roller blades, because you can’t cut and stop and switch directions,” says Leggett, a player-coach for the Barracudas. “I’ve been fortunate in that regard. I’ve been able to make the adjustment pretty easily.”

Not every RHI player, says Leggett, makes the transition so smoothly. Virtually every RHI player has significant ice hockey experience.

“Some guys will go the whole year without really getting comfortable,” Leggett observes. “They get frustrated. They can’t mentally adjust.”

Still, when you come down to the nitty-gritty, a fundamentally sound roller hockey defenseman has a familiar top priority: stop the opposing team from scoring. Then, if the opportunity presents itself, take advantage of your own scoring chances.

“Defense (comes) first,” Leggett confirms. “When the opportunity arises, sure, you go after it. I guess it’s a matter of jumping up in a play rather than leaving a play. Some defensemen, in this league as well as ice hockey, are very offensive defenseman. I’m more conservative.”

Leggett, a native of Wainwright, Alberta, has played professional hockey since 1989. His ice hockey roots go from Virginia to Czechoslovakia to the San Diego Gulls of the International Hockey League to Raleigh, NC. He joined the Barracudas prior to this season.

Before embarking on his professional career, he was a four-year member of the vaunted Bowling Green University ice hockey program.

Leggett’s best season, statistically speaking, was 1992/93, when he garnered 79 points in 64 games with the ECHL’s Raleigh IceCaps. So, he can play some offense, too.

“I certainly try take advantage of the opportunities,” he says. “I just don’t put scoring ahead of preventing the other team from scoring.”

At 6’2” and 205 pounds, Leggett has the prerequisite size to be physical, but he says he bangs only when necessary, again because in roller hockey it’s so easy to get locked out of a play through lack of recovery time.

“I’m not a Scott Stevens sort of guy, where I try to hit everything that moves,” Leggett says. “But I’m not a Paul Coffey, either. I’m somewhere in between.”

“A thinking man’s game”

Leggett notes that, overall, roller hockey isn’t as physical as ice hockey. The reason?

“I really think a lot has to do with not being able to take chances. It’s a thinking man’s game. Not that you don’t have to think in ice hockey, but I believe it might even be more important in roller hockey.”

Adding pressure to the roller hockey defenseman’s role is the lack of a blueline in the RHI. Offenses can pass the puck into the scoring zone immediately upon crossing the red line.

“Without a blueline, they can make a pass from the red line right to the goal,” Leggett says. “That makes it even easier for a defenseman to wind up out of position—and again, once you’re out of position in roller hockey, it’s tougher to recover.”

Leggett believes that, as in all sports, the mental approach to roller hockey is often more important that what a player is capable of physically. And the right mental balance, he says, is an attitude of confidence tempered by realism.

“That’s one thing that I see that gets to a lot of younger players. They go into a game with a lack of confidence,” Leggett explains. “You certainly don’t want to be overconfident. But you have to know you can play. You have to know that if you’re faced with a situation where you’re the only one that can prevent that goal, that you’re up to it.

“A lot of younger players lack that, because they don’t have the experience.”

Now that’s he an assistant coach as well as a player, Leggett, who will be 30 this month, wants to instill that confidence in younger charges on the Barracudas.

“It’s really important to believe in yourself and what you can do.” l

— Bob Cunningham

This first appeared in the 08/1995 issue of Hockey Player Magazine®
© Copyright 1991-2001 Hockey Player® and Hockey Player Magazine®

Power Play Tactics

Power play tactics
By Dean Chadwin
Oct 30, 2001, 11:03

At the foot of the master? Keenan listens to Scotty. ©BBS

^While perusing the archives at the Hockey Hall of Fame recently, I found a tape labeled “Mike Keenan/Power Play Tactics.” This was strange. Hadn’t Keenan always emulated his idol, Scotty Bowman, and refused to even teach the power play during the regular season? What could heknow?

My curiosity got the better of me and I pulled out the cassette. It turns out Keenan does know power plays—or at least he did in 1987 when he gave a lecture at a coaching clinic in York, Ontario. What I learned from listening to that lecture can help players and coaches at any level of hockey.

Keenan opened the lecture by emphasizing the importance of power-play efficiency at playoff time. His stats showed that teams win the Cup by scoring power-play goals, and it’s a trend has been particularly evident recently. In fact, the Keenan-led 1987 Flyers—which featured Tim Kerr’s ability to create traffic, deflect the puck, and jam home rebounds—is the last team to lose the finals while scoring more power-play goals than their competition.

Over the last seven years, the Cup-winning teams scored 41 power-play goals in 37 games, while their opponents netted just 18. Sure, great teams have great players, but the skills of a Leetch, Zubov, Coffey, Lemieux, or Gretzky are even more apparent on the power play. If you want to win games or titles, you have to have an excellent power play.

Plan ahead

The first thing you need to do is make your plans at the beginning of the season by asking yourself some questions.

Are you going to use all your players on the power play, or are you going to use special units?

At the NHL level, the game requires power-play specialists. Keenan stated that the most important quality of a good power-play unit is using the best players you can find. You may not have the luxury of coaching a Chelios or a Messier, but what you want are players with certain skills. Keenan prefers players who combine some of five key attributes; one-time passers, one-time shooters (including using the backhand), the ability to read defenses, maintain puck control and work under pressure. (The latter is the one attribute Keenan believes is the most difficult to teach).

The specialists must be players who understand the proper use of space, and puckhogs who are selfish with the biscuit and can control the play. Keenan rewards hard-working, but less-talented, checking lines with power-play shifts only when he’s got a significant lead.

Are you going to practice power-play tactics extensively, or will you work instead on the particular skills involved?

Even if you don’t have talented specialists on your team, you can work to develop the important skills. Keenan’s teams work on the power-play as a whole less than 10% of their practice time during the regular season. However, they run a number of drills that are designed to improve skills that are incorporated within the power-play, such as one-time passing and shooting drills. Keenan quotes his idol Bowman, who once wrote, “Hockey is a transitional game. Grandiose, intricate plays do not work.”

In other words, according to Keenan, instead of working on plays, develop your skills.

Do you have enough resources (ice time, assistant coaches, etc.) to practice the power play?

You may have limited ice time, no assistant coaches, or perhaps no coach at all. No matter. You can still use what you have to improve. In his last year coaching in the AHL, Keenan gave the responsibility for running the power-play practice to his most experienced player, the team’s captain. While Keenan worked with most of the roster, his captain took the team’s power-play unit to the other end of the ice and ran them through a variety of passing drills. Despite the fact that a player supervised the power-play drills, this team won the AHL championship’s Calder Cup.

How can you shape your power play to fit your talent?

Don’t be afraid to move players around to take advantage of their skills. When he coached the Flyers, Keenan often moved Mark Howe up from defense to left wing during the power play to take advantage of his good hands and brilliant hockey sense. This year, the Canucks often used the speedy Pavel Bure on the point during the power-play so their other forwards could set him up to shoot one-timers while moving to the net.

Emphasize your strengths. If you have someone with a big shot at the point, run screens and create traffic in front of the net so you can take full advantage of those blasts.

Scout your opponent

Even if you’ve planned from day one, you’re still going to have to play games one at a time. If possible, before any game, you should scout your opponent, the officials, and the rink itself. Does your opponent lay back or forecheck aggressively? Who will be penalty killing? Do they stay in their box or run any special plays? For example, when Gretzky killed penalties for the Oilers, he would break for the opponent’s blueline as soon as Edmonton gained control of the puck, even if the puck was along the boards or deep in the Oilers zone. To avoid getting burned by the long break-out pass, Keenan had to make sure his players would anticipate Gretz doing this.

Know the tendencies of your referee. How much does he play to the score? Does he look for make-up calls? How much will he allow the penalty-killers to get away with? Does he favor the home team or bend over backwards to be fair?

Ask someone the dimensions of the rink. Is it small? What about the shape of the corners? How much space is there to operate behind the net? On smaller ice surfaces, your power play unit should emphasize tips and screens because you’ve got less time for clean plays.

Make your players aware of the referee’s tendencies and the nature of the playing surface and they’ll be able to adapt accordingly.

Like any other element of the game of hockey, a good power play requires hard work. Hard practice will refine the skills needed to have a high rate of efficiency. Hard work during the power play—aggressive skaters anticipating the flow of play, with their feet in constant motion—will pay off with good results. And because truly hard work is physically draining, use quick changes to keep fresh bodies on the ice.

One lesson players at any level can learn from Keenan is patience during the power play. If you enter the offensive zone with control of the puck, don’t be afraid to turn and stop. This will buy time for your fellow attackers to get into position, and will create open space in the attacking zone.

Keenan stresses using the whole two minutes. Be selfish in maintaining possession of the puck, and don’t just take your first chance to shoot. Mike notes that even the most knowledgeable hockey fans often scream for their teams to shoot far too early on the power play. Even smart fans (many of whom are also players) are used to watching their favorite players attack whenever possible during even-strength situations. What they forget is that a power play is the only time in hockey when you can truly possess the puck.

So if there’s one key lesson to be learned for every player and coach, it’s to not just fire the first open shot. Instead, use your passing skills, screens in front of the net, etc., to get great position. Make the penalty killers work. Take your time, break down the defense, and then, when you have the shot you want, take it.

I bet you’ve learned something already. So although his teams rarely practice them, Mike Keenan understands power plays. The accompanying sidebar summarizes Keenan’s 10 principles of a successful power play. Keep them in mind when working on your own, and you’ll be well on your way to a successful power play.

Mike Keenan’s 10 Power Play Commandments

#1. Always provide support.

The puck carrier should never face a pressured one-on-one situation. There should always be good passing options. Another skater should be open nearby in case the skater with the puck gets into trouble.

#2. Work the seams.

Move players and passes through the areas that divide the box. This will confuse the defense or force them to move out of position. Maybe they’ll get puck-happy and two defenders will close on the puck carrier and one pass will find an open sniper near the net.

#3. Prepare the prime scoring area.

The prime scoring area depends on your talent. If you have a Tim Kerr, you need him to get in front of the net and feed him the puck. If you have an Al MacInnis, you’ll want to screen the goalie and set up a point blast. If you’ve got a highly-mobile Zubov or Bure at the point, create an alley for them to drive to the net and receive a cross-ice pass.

#4. Switch positions.

Confuse the defense by having your players weave around the ice. This will create screens and picks and may force the defensive players to make bad decisions.

#5. Avoid long passes.

The player supporting the puck carrier should always stay close because maintaining possession is all-important, and long passes mean high risk of interception.

#6. Control the faceoff.

To maintain possession, you’ve got to get the puck first. Do whatever it takes. Make sure you always have your best players on the ice for key faceoffs.

#7. Move the puck in deep.

Unless you have Gretzky-like talent, never stop right at the blueline when you first enter the zone. Always carry the puck at least ten feet in. You might move it back out to the high point later, but you want to establish control in the attacking zone first.

#8. Create movement.

The more motion you create with the puck and your players, the more disorganized the defensive box will become. That’s the way you break open the seams and create open shots in prime scoring areas.

#9. Initiate the action.

While it’s important to be patient and not take the first open shot (unless it’s a great one), pressure should be maintained at all times. Don’t allow one-on-one duels along the boards—offer support instead.

#10. Influence the goalie.

Make the netminder move. Force him out of position. All your other efforts will be irrelevant if the goalie is ready, square and unscreened. You need to disrupt the puck-stopper by creating traffic, moving the puck behind the net or from side-to-side, and attacking this weakness.

Dean Chadwin is the author of Rocking the Pond: The First Season of the Mighty Ducks of the Anaheim.

This first appeared in the 08/1995 issue of Hockey Player Magazine®
© Copyright 1991-2001 Hockey Player® and Hockey Player Magazine®

The Care and Feeding of a Groin Injury

The care and feeding of a groin injury
By Bill Ferguson
Oct 30, 2001, 10:59

A groin injury can stop you cold, as Randy McKay found out. © BBS

Certainly anyone who has played ice or roller hockey has felt a “twinge” in the large muscle area of the thigh at one time or another. Often it’s something that one can “play through” while the muscle recovers. But what differentiates the minor groin pull from the major injury that causes one to miss week after week of games?

Sometimes only the victim’s unwillingness to listen to his or her body. Case in point: me.

I recently went through eight weeks of physical therapy after trying to “play through” an injury that went from bad to worse. The most frustrating thing was that I have played competitive hockey for more than 20 years and had never had a knee or leg injury severe enough to keep me off the ice.

The first sign of things to come happened on the ice, in a play without contact where I merely stepped to my right and felt a “tear.” In mulling over the injury, I recalled a play perhaps a week prior when I was playing roller hockey and extended my leg more than I meant to. While I noticed enough discomfort to think, whoa!, it seemed like no big deal at the time—and I finished the game. Looking back, this may well have been the start of the injury.

A week later, when I felt the tear on the ice, I immediately went to the bench—yet still returned to finish the game.

I took it easy the entire next week, spending most nights lying on the couch. I felt well enough to play that week, but when I took my first shot in warmup I felt a big pop in my groin that scared the heck out of me. Nonetheless, I played the game without any problems, although skating gingerly. Another week’s rest, and a morning skate with the kids I coach, led me to believe the worst was over. But the worst was actually yet to come.

That night the leg felt great. While killing a penalty halfway through my game, I raced to tap the puck past an opposing defenseman. One stride short of the biscuit, while fully extended, I felt a pop that sent me through the roof. I knew I was done for the night. The following morning my thigh was rather blue, as the muscle tear had produced some internal bleeding.

Tricks or treatment?

A doctor friend of mine, who also plays, recommended rest. But in lieu of that—which I had been fighting tooth and nail already—he suggested a rubber thigh wrap made by Body Glove. The wrap helped me to play the next week without any further popping.

But the next morning my thigh was blue from the crotch to the knee, and from halfway through the front to halfway through the back of the leg. It was ugly, aside from being painful, because the internal bleeding causes soreness in whatever areas the blood flows to. So by this time my knee was hurting, too.

I knew it was time for my groin injury to receive some professional treatment. My family physician sent me to the physical therapist who would become my medical advisor and coach for the next eight weeks.

My first session consisted of heat, stretching, ultrasound and ice. Nothing more. The second week we added some light stationary bike work, exercise not intended to work the groin muscle. When I questioned the therapist about this, he explained that most of the treatment for this type of injury consisted of strengthening the supporting muscles, rather than the groin itself. Over the next few weeks we added leg presses, knee extensions and curls—but still nothing for the groin.

We were at least four weeks into therapy before we ever added a groin exercise, and even that was a very light one. While it was nice to know that my leg was getting better, I knew I wasn’t yet ready to return and desperately missed the ice.

By the time we hit week six of therapy, we were adding weight and reps to each exercise, and we added a slide board, which I had never done before. The therapist told me I was one of the worst patients he had ever seen at learning how to use the thing. “I’m not a goalie,” I told him. “We stride forward, not sideways.” A smart aleck, even in rehab! Over the next couple of weeks I had it down to where I felt I pretty much owned that board.

Finally, after eight weeks of therapy, I heard the magic words: “Now just a light skate…no hockey.”

I’ve never been so happy to skate in a public session with 250 kids. Of course my 7-year-old, who will be a mite this year, was very supportive—saying, “Ha-ha daddy, I’m faster than you!”

My therapy continued at home where we have both a stationary bike and a weight bench with the leg machine. By this time I was walking 18 holes of golf twice a week in addition to exercising. The next week I skated a pick-up game, although I followed my therapist’s advice and didn’t wait until my leg started hurting to quit for the night. The idea, he drilled into my head, is to quit before it starts to hurt.

As always, I continued to ice my leg for 20 minutes after each exercise until I was fully recovered.

It could have been avoided

By this time it had been at least 10-11 weeks since I first felt the muscle tear, and what became apparent in my weeks of therapy was that this could all have been avoided simply by keeping my legs in shape. That doesn’t mean playing ice or roller hockey two or three times a week, as I had been doing. It means exercising regularly.

A bike, swimming, and/or weight training are all effective means of conditioning your legs. Especially as we get older—and demand at least the same level of performance we are accustomed to getting from our muscles—the more important it is to increase our conditioning, to offset the natural effects of aging.

I now work out 2-3 times per week, incorporating the stationary bike and “lunges” into my usual routine of weight training. I believe that if the desire is there to improve your game, it can always be accomplished through hard work, regardless of age. It’s also nice to know I am now realizing something from my investment in all the equipment that had been sitting in the garage gathering dust! All that equipment, or your membership in a gym, does no good if it doesn’t get used.

I was of the mindset that I didn’t need that stuff, until this injury showed me otherwise.

The other most critical way to avoid this type of injury is by stretching before the game. For all my hammering the kids to arrive at the rink early to give them time to stretch properly, I wasn’t following my own advice! While I do a lot of skating in warmup before ever touching a puck, it clearly wasn’t enough to avoid a groin pull. Today, I will not play a game or even practice without fully stretching either on or off the ice.

The lesson I learned is one you’d think the pros would have learned long ago. Why so many injuries in the 1995 season? In the past, players had a preseason schedule and 40 games under their belts before the games ever became so important that they “couldn’t afford to lose.” This year, they had such an abbreviated schedule that every game was part of the “playoff run.”

Always be prepared

When players demanded more performance from muscles that weren’t prepared to deliver, something had to give. Many pros missed weeks of important games due to groin pulls this year. And weren’t there a lot of NHLers who, when the lockout was ended, said they had been playing golf for weeks—never expecting to play this year? I guess whatever the situation, the old Boy Scout Motto of “Be Prepared” still applies.

How can you stay in game-shape year round? One word: exercise. And here are some things to consider.

Jogging. It’s been said that if you run three miles per day on the days you don’t skate, you will never lose your conditioning—even over the summer months. Of course, you will lose some puck-handling and other skills, but you lose that anyway—even in mid-season—if you’re off the ice. It’s much better to come back with good legs, ready to work on the hand-eye stuff, than to start from scratch. Even during the season, running on days off won’t hurt you. In fact, conditioning the legs will give you added third period strength. Late in the game you might find you can go around players who you previously couldn’t beat. So what if you can’t beat them early in the game? If you can stay with them early on, then excel in the third period, this can be the edge you need to improve your status in your league.

Stationary bike. For those of you who are concerned about the detrimental effects jogging may have on the ankles, knees and back—or if you simply don’t like to run—the stationary bike is an excellent alternative. This type of exercise is not only helpful for the legs, it also improves the entire cardiovascular system. It will help your stamina and, if done at the start of a workout, is a great warmup. Many pro players, in fact, return to the bike even after games to further increase their stamina.

If biking is all you intend to do, break it up into segments. Start out with 10-to-15 minutes at between 50 and 70 rpm. Then add some resistance. With the heavier drag, try some sprints. Add weight until You’re getting the “good burn.” Then finish with a lighter-weight cooldown.

Weight training. Weight training is not for everyone. There are some who feel it reduces flexibility, resulting in stronger yet slower skaters. However, if done in conjunction with an overall workout, I believe it can do a lot of good. What’s the harm in being stronger? Cardiovascular exercises like running, biking or even aerobics can offset any harm done by building muscle mass.

The chair. This is an exercise that is more designed to strengthen the knees than the groin, yet it is one of my favorites for increasing overall leg strength. With your back straight against a wall, lower your butt until you have a 90° knee bend. Hold this position as long as you can. Remember to keep your head back against the wall, and don’t support yourself at all with your hands. Initially, you may be able to hold this position only for a count of 50. But work on it gradually until you can hold it for a count of 100. Then 200. Then do two sets. Feel good while your knees are burning, knowing you are greatly reducing your risk of knee injury.

Remember, exercising isn’t something you do for a while, then quit. It’s a lifetime commitment. Don’t do so much when you first start out that you are too sore to work out on your next scheduled day. Start out light, then add weight, then reps. It’s much more important that you continue your workouts than that you kill yourself every time out. And, as they say, consult a physician before attempting this (or any) exercise program.

Better conditioning means fewer injuries, and more time playing the game we love!

Bill Ferguson is a hockey player, and an occasional contributor to the magazine.

This first appeared in the 08/1995 issue of Hockey Player Magazine®
© Copyright 1991-2001 Hockey Player® and Hockey Player Magazine®

3-0 Drop and Crash

Drill:

1. Forward 1 carries puck into the zone, Forward 2 drives the net, Defenseman 1 is trailing the play
2. Forward 1 drops the puck to D1 and Forward 1 continues toward the net
3. D1 has 2 options:
    – Shoot on net with a low shot looking for a deflection from Forward 1 or 2
    – Pass to Forward 2 who should be coming in the back side of the goalie
4. Forwards look for rebound or chase loose pucks to the corner

Focus:
1. Get Defense involved
2. Drive the net and look for rebounds/deflections

Notes:
After you have run this several times, introduce 1 or 2 Defense to play against the 3 man team. You can also add a 4th player to the Offensive team.

Related Drills:
2 on 0 give and go
Cross overs enter zone

10 Reasons to Get Inline

10 Reasons to get inline
By Quint Randle
Oct 30, 2001, 08:01

(Courtesy: Bauer)

If you’re one of those people who thinks that hockey season ends when the Stanley Cup is awarded, then you obviously haven’t discovered inline skates. You may call yourself a hockey “purist,” or be afraid of injury because concrete is “harder than ice.” But it’s time to face facts: inline skating and roller hockey are becoming a combination of fun and serious training for players of all types—from beginners to NHL all-stars. In addition, inline skating is becoming an important first step towards ice skating for many start-up players.

So whether you’re a puck procrastinator or simply faint-of-heart, here are 10 reasons why you should quit messing around, and get inline with the rest of us!

#1. It’s more than a fad.

Discard the idea that your inline skates will end up on the shelf with your Pet Rock and mood ring collections. Inline skating is here to stay. More importantly, you really will get hooked. Just ask anyone who’s tried it. Not ready to take someone else’s word for it? Go to one of the increasing number of inline skate rental shops around the country and see for yourself. You really can try before you buy!

#2. It’s a great workout.

Inline skating is an excellent way to get in shape or maintain your level of fitness. Inlines offer fantastic aerobic benefits without the heavy pounding on feet, knees and back inflicted by many other types of exercise (not to mention the sore bottom that comes with an aggressive bike ride!). You can increase your heart rate and keep it at a specific pace, with very little wear and tear on the rest of your body. You can slow down, speed up, and if you get tired, just glide. You can’t do that in tennis shoes!

#3. Improve your ice skating.

Just about anything you can do on ice skates, you can do on inline skates—with some wheels you can even do “hockey stops.” On high-end skates, you can “rocker” the wheels to even further simulate an ice skate blade. On the ice, it takes time for the novice to “feel” and use the inside and outside edges of the skate blades. But on inlines, everything is exaggerated. You really learn to feel and use those inside and outside edges. Even without trying, your balance, agility and crossovers will all be better when you step back on the ice.

#4. Dryland training is in.

More and more ice hockey teams require players to have inline skates. In addition to recommending personal workouts, teams are holding dryland practices to focus on specific plays and positional drills. Skills and endurance can be greatly improved off the ice. Just imagine how good the old Soviet teams would have been if they had inlines back when they were pioneering dryland training techniques—and dominating the hockey world.

#5. Ease into the ice game.

Ice hockey can be very intimidating to newcomers. People in the South and West didn’t grow up playing hockey on the frozen pond in the back yard. But now inline skates—and a good street puck or ball—means anyone can take up the game. So you hockey watchers who have been aching to give the sport a try, try roller hockey. Your chance to get into the game is as close as your driveway.

#6. The “rink” is always open.

Forget about ice time and public skating sessions. With inline skates you can workout just about anytime and anywhere you’d like. If you feel like taking a midnight skate, or play parking-lot pick-up at dawn, there’s nothing stopping you. A friend of mine works out (stick, puck and all) during his lunch hour on an empty level of his office building’s parking structure. With inline skates, the game goes where you go.

#7. It’s great family fun.

One woman I know started to feel left out when her husband and two sons got skates, so she bought some herself. Now the whole family skates together on bike trails near their Chicago home. Is there an infant in the family? Why not start the tyke up early by pushing the pram in front of you while you roll around the park?

So if your kids, spouse or significant other is complaining that you don’t spend enough time with them, do something about it! Buy them inline skates. Just be sure everyone has the proper head, knee and elbow protection.

#8. It’s hands-free transportation.

Do you live close to work? Have you ever been stuck at home during a bus or subway strike? Is it hard to strap your briefcase or portfolio to that 10-speed? Why not commute on inlines?

#9. It’s low-cost fun.

For parents on a budget, youth roller hockey is an excellent alternative to ice hockey. Floor time is a lot cheaper than ice time, thus league sign-up fees and dues are a fraction of ice hockey costs. Inline skates cost about the same as ice skates, but the rest of the gear is somewhat cheaper. Besides, roller hockey doesn’t require as much gear.

#10. It’s a great way to meet people.

Why go to a health club or night club when the great outdoors is the best place to meet people who share your interest in—at the very least—skating? The way I figure it, any relationship that starts on wheels is destined to move forward.

Remember, whether you’re a veteran inline skater or a first-timer, it’s extremely important to wear proper head, knee and wrist guards. You’ll be amazed how much more fun skating is when you’re not afraid of falling!

— Q Bryce

This first appeared in the 08/1995 issue of Hockey Player Magazine®
© Copyright 1991-2001 Hockey Player® and Hockey Player Magazine®

2 on 1 Breakout

Drill:

1. On whistle, the Forwards in the each corner skate for the opposite dot, turn and cut back in the middle. Defense starts to skate backward out of the zone.
2. Goalie (or a Coach) looks to make an outlet pass to one of the players after they turn the dot
3. 2 Forwards now work out of the zone and Defense works to control their movement

Focus:
1. Lateral movement by the Forwards to get open
2. Puck movement by the Goalie. Goalie should focus on passes out toward the circles and not in the middle

Notes:
This drill is move for skating and lateral movement and is not recommended as a breakout option. Skating back and forth is wasted movement and moving the puck in front of the net is never a good thing.  What I’m trying to teach them is the side to side movement to get open.  Most young players want to head straight up the rink.

Related Drills:
3 on 2 breakout
Behind net breakout

Kelly Dyer: In Her Own Words

Kelly Dyer: In her own words
By Stan Fischler
Oct 30, 2001, 07:58

Although Manon Rheaume has obtained considerable publicity for a relatively minimum amount of goaltending against men, the real goods among female netminders in male leagues is red-headed Kelly Dyer.

The Boston native completed a successful season with the West Palm Beach Blaze, and is now with the Orlando RollerGators of Roller Hockey International. Dyer, who received a special citation in 1994 from USA Hockey for her contributions to the sport, stands above Rheaume as the most significant of the female netminders.

Those who have seen her in action over the past decade marvel at her dedication, perseverance and ability. She has excelled at every level she’s played, including a stint on the US Women’s National team. This summer Kelly is making her first appearance as a pro roller hockey player. Here, in her own words, she describes her fascinating growth as a goaltender and as a trailblazer in a male dominated sport.

My love of hockey began when I was eleven years old and was a direct result of the hockey mania in the New England town where I grew up. There was a lot of girls hockey played there. In fact, there were three teams—older girls, college girls and us little kids. We were the coolest and had the most fun. Because we already had a goalie, I played up front. But I really wanted to be in the nets, and every day I’d bug the coach about it. And every day he’d say, “No, no, no!”

But one day our goalie didn’t show up, so I hopped right into the crease with my forward gear on. Every so often the regular goalie would miss other practices so, finally, the coach figured he couldn’t rely on her anymore, and got me a pair of pads. That’s how my career began.

I give my father a lot of credit. At first he didn’t think a girl could play hockey, but then he checked around and found out about the all-women’s league and helped get me started. My parents never put pressure on me to play—I just wanted to in the worst way.

One advantage I had was that I was always real big for my age group. I’m almost 5’ll” now, and I was fully grown by the time I was 13. By that time I was already playing with college kids, and once traveled with them to Brampton, Ontario, for a tournament. I went up there to be backup goalie and I wound up playing in the semi-finals and finals, which we won. It was the first time a team from the United States had ever won the tournament.

In high school, I tried out for the women’s basketball team and the men’s hockey team at the same time. I made both teams but picked hockey. In my sophomore year I began practicing with the varsity once in a while. Three guys who eventually made it to the NHL were there; Tom Barrasso and Bobby Sweeney were sophomores, and Jeff Norton was my age.

Tom wasn’t too friendly to me and we hardly communicated. Despite that, I still had a great deal of respect for Barrasso because his work ethic was amazing, and he was focused on what he wanted to do. He wasn’t the only classmate who thought a girl shouldn’t be (on the team). But, from what I gather, it was a direct reaction from their parents. There were parents who wouldn’t talk to my mother and father when they were standing there at the games. So I can’t really blame the guys for their attitudes if that’s the way they were brought up.

Nevertheless, I was proud of myself. I considered myself a pioneer in women’s hockey because I was the first goalie ever to play for Women’s Team USA. I was part of the team that won the first ECAC championships at Northeastern. I was the first girl to play school Boys Division I hockey. And, after Manon Rheaume and Erin Whitten, I’m the third women to ever play in a men’s professional hockey league.

I’m not naive. I expected the men to be crude to me, and my theory on that is that the men didn’t invite me to be on their team. Actually, I feel better if the guys act as they would if I wasn’t there, than if they put on those happy little faces and only spoke in complete sentences without any swears in them when I was around. But I do want them to put on a towel if they’re walking through my dressing room area. Other than that, I’d rather they be themselves and not make a big issue out of it.

When I first came down to West Palm Beach to play in the Sunshine League, the coach said, “Listen, there’s a girl coming, no swearing!” As a result, the guys were total geeks around me during my first week with them. Then, one day I broke the ice after taking a hard shot off the knee cap and shouted, involuntarily, “Oh, bleep!” Everyone turned and looked at me, whereupon I simply said, “Females do swear, too.”

From third to first

I made my way forward and finally landed at Northeastern because the coach wanted me badly and they offered me a full scholarship. The University of New Hampshire had the best women’s team at the time, which was good for me. I thought it would be fun to be on a team that wasn’t tops because if you’re always number one, then if you do anything less, you’ve failed. But to take a team that’s third and work hard and take that team to the top, that would be the ultimate, I figured. And that’s exactly what we did!

All in all I had made a good move, although the coach and I banged heads quite a bit. The problem was that I had gotten a lot of publicity after Barrasso had graduated and I was the one who filled his shoes. There were all the headlines like, “You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby.” I was on radio and TV and the coach automatically figured that he had inherited an ego case. But by my junior year the team had come together beautifully and we went undefeated through the whole season and the playoffs. It was the first time Northeastern had ever won the ECAC title. Going undefeated was incredibly exciting. The undefeated streak continued into my senior year and came to 48 straight wins, before finally losing to Providence, 7-2, at home.

In retrospect, I can see that the loss was a good thing because I (couldn’t) imagine going into another playoff undefeated—the pressure was building and building. Fortunately, we beat Providence in the finals that year and I kept moving up, finally going for tryouts for Team USA in 1989.

That was my first exposure to international hockey and competing against European women. I was named MVP on Team USA in 1990 and was also named Best Goaltender in the World for ‘90. It was (also) in 1990 when I met Erin Whitten. I liked her style. She’s a real feisty little goalie; total butterfly, total quick mechanical-style reaction which is totally different from my style. She’s a strong girl and I respected her the first time I saw her play. Likewise, I consider Manon Rheaume a good goalie. She’s quick and has great reflexes.

What she’s done for women’s hockey is tremendous. She has opened the eyes of parents whose little girls want to play goal. And it opened the eyes of men as well. Guys didn’t even know that women played ice hockey. She helped educate an entire population. The fact that she’s very pretty helped the image of women hockey players as well. It used to be that we had been viewed as big, masculine, ugly-looking things with missing teeth and scars all over our faces. People react positively to the idea that such a good-looking woman could play such a rough-and-tumble game as ice hockey.

Some of the (off-ice) things she’s done I view less positively, however, like her appearing sleeveless in an ad. It’s not what I would have chosen to do for myself. If people want me to tell my story, then that’s talking about hockey and I love it. But when Manon leans forward in the white, sleeveless shirt or when she’s on those hockey cards with the guy in his leather jeans, leaning against the Harley, that’s selling sex, too. She has switched hockey brands I don’t know how many times. It’s sort of disrespectful, but I guess it’s also money in the bank, so it depends on your perspective.

I just watch the puck

By 1993/94, I was playing pro against men in the (Florida) Sunshine League. In my first game against Lakeland, the opposition thought they could intimidate me by shooting the puck at my face. Sure enough, right off the bat I took a blast off the face mask, but it didn’t faze me a bit. They thought that they’d scare the heck out of me with the high shot and then shoot the next one low into the net, but it doesn’t work that way with me. I just watch the puck.

As for my male teammates, they were a bit stand-offish at first—so polite. When I’m playing hockey, I don’t need them to be polite; I need to know who’s doing what and who’s going to react in what way. But after a while, we began to jell. Finally, one of the guys said, “Hey, Kelly, do you mind if I talk disgusting around you?” I said, “Not as long as you’re being yourself and you’re happy with that talk.” So, he turns around and says, “See, guys, I told ya!”

It didn’t take me very long to comprehend that there’s a big difference between playing women’s and men’s hockey. Because men shoot the puck harder, I have to step out another foot from the crease on my angles. In women’s hockey, I had progressed to a point where I felt that I could almost control the shooter at times. But against the men, I was getting smoked on breakaways. Finally, I stopped three breakaways by the guys and that was the highlight of my career up until that point. Against the men, you can’t make the first move or they’ll smoke you.

A big concern for me when I entered the Sunshine League was how the other goalies on my team would cooperate with me—or not cooperate, as the case may be. Let me tell you, it was amazingly positive. One of them, Todd Boycine, would stay with me for an hour after practice and if I was having a problem with a certain kind of shot, he’d shoot 50 pucks at me until I got it right.

I have many memories about my debut with the men. In my first start, which was a win against Daytona, one of the opposition broke in clean on a breakaway in the second period. I decided to give him the glove in an old give-and-take, and I read him the whole way in and I just picked it off with my glove. As one of the old-time NHL goalies once said, “It’s as easy as pickin’ cherries off a tree!”

Actually, it was a lot tougher than that, and I never did become a number one goalie in the 1993/94 season. I had a lot of self-doubts because I didn’t play all the time. But I sincerely believed that I could play in the pros against the men—at least in the Sunshine League.

I guess my mother and father did, too, considering what I had already accomplished. I helped the image of the female hockey player, got myself some good experience and I won some hockey games. The proof is sitting on the mantelpiece back home at my parents house.

It’s the puck I sent them after winning my first game against the men as a pro.

This first appeared in the 08/1995 issue of Hockey Player Magazine®
© Copyright 1991-2001 Hockey Player® and Hockey Player Magazine®