Post by Brian on Jan 18, 2012 3:00:22 GMT -5
What are stats? Stats are a measureable formula to determine which team is practicing right and which team needs to adjust their practice plan. Teaching + Conditioning = Coaching. Seems like a simple concept, but with the lack of resources available for hockey coaches to learn how to correct an improperly functioning body mechanic; most are forced to change the formula above to read: Conditioning + Motivating = Coaching.
Oddly, I recently discovered that I watch the game of hockey in a much different way than most. Regardless of whether I’m watching a mite game or an NHL game I see the physical body mechanics involved in executing each skill and what is being done wrong. It could be anything from a 5 second YouTube clip of Patrick Sharp keeping the top hand on his stick too close to his body (reducing his full puck-handling potential) to Patrick Kane’s habit of stopping his feet before he releases every shot, I see it all. I suppose sixteen years of studying the biomechanics and developing lesson plans along with verbatim to teach each body mechanic has taught me how to differentiate good from perfect and how to explain it so it can be understood by someone as young as 4 or as old as 74.
The word “learning” has a different meaning from the word “conditioning”; just as the word “teaching” has a different meaning from the word “coaching”. “Teaching occurs in a controlled atmosphere where players are given a testing platform to make mistakes; a teacher who can identify mistakes and provide solutions; and an atmosphere that offers additional repetition at a pace conducive to progressive learning.” “Conditioning is a process in which a stimulus that was previously neutral, as the sound of a bell, comes to evoke a particular response, as salivation, by being repeatedly paired with another stimulus that normally evokes the response.”
I’m not saying that motivating players is not important; quite the contrary. I’m suggesting more coaches add the “teaching” aspect into their current formula. Now, I’m sure there will be a coach or two that reads this and says “I do teach my players. I call my team up to the marker board and show each drill before we do it or I physically demonstrate every drill I ask my players to do” but that’s not what I’m referring to. Yes, the marker boards helps you visually demonstrate each drill and yes, it helps teach your player how to do a drill. However, it does not address how to perform each skill properly so players can improve their individual skills as they practice the drill they just learned.
Next time you step in a rink, watch a practice. When a player gets to the front of the line, they listen for the whistle. When the whistle blows, each player completes the drill and goes back in line. Rarely, do you see a coach stop a player for doing a skill the wrong way. Not long ago, I watched a player struggle to puck-handle around cones. The player was struggling because their top hand (on the stick) was glued to their stomach and their elbow (of the top hand) was bent and glued to their side. The player was not gripping the stick properly (reducing their ability to “cup” the puck) and was only using the bottom hand to puck-handle. The coach, who skated right behind the player, never stopped them to explain what they were doing wrong, but rather retrieved the player’s puck every time they lost it.
After ten minutes of practicing this drill, coach called the players over to the marker board and explained the next drill. Take a moment to break down what occurred in those ten minutes. Hopefully you realize that the player being observed got better at doing a skill the wrong way. With enough repetition, this boy will one-day master the skill of puck-handling the wrong way and eventually dismiss his desire to develop to his full potential. Hopefully another coach will catch the problem and fix it before repetition conditions his brain and body to memorize the bad habit making it more difficult to correct.
The point is you can already be a great coach with respect to the way you motivate players or perhaps with your knowledge of team systems. Understanding the body mechanics is just another skill that coaches should strive to add to their coaching repertoire. I am of the impression that once coaches understand this difference between teaching and conditioning, the “blinders” come off and they begin to evolve as a coach in a way that actually impacts every players’ individual potential for future success.
If your team stats aren’t favorable, there is an individual skill development issue that’s preventing you from running “team systems” effectively. The sooner you help your individual players that need to improve individual skills, the sooner your team systems will come together and your stats will improve.
Oddly, I recently discovered that I watch the game of hockey in a much different way than most. Regardless of whether I’m watching a mite game or an NHL game I see the physical body mechanics involved in executing each skill and what is being done wrong. It could be anything from a 5 second YouTube clip of Patrick Sharp keeping the top hand on his stick too close to his body (reducing his full puck-handling potential) to Patrick Kane’s habit of stopping his feet before he releases every shot, I see it all. I suppose sixteen years of studying the biomechanics and developing lesson plans along with verbatim to teach each body mechanic has taught me how to differentiate good from perfect and how to explain it so it can be understood by someone as young as 4 or as old as 74.
The word “learning” has a different meaning from the word “conditioning”; just as the word “teaching” has a different meaning from the word “coaching”. “Teaching occurs in a controlled atmosphere where players are given a testing platform to make mistakes; a teacher who can identify mistakes and provide solutions; and an atmosphere that offers additional repetition at a pace conducive to progressive learning.” “Conditioning is a process in which a stimulus that was previously neutral, as the sound of a bell, comes to evoke a particular response, as salivation, by being repeatedly paired with another stimulus that normally evokes the response.”
I’m not saying that motivating players is not important; quite the contrary. I’m suggesting more coaches add the “teaching” aspect into their current formula. Now, I’m sure there will be a coach or two that reads this and says “I do teach my players. I call my team up to the marker board and show each drill before we do it or I physically demonstrate every drill I ask my players to do” but that’s not what I’m referring to. Yes, the marker boards helps you visually demonstrate each drill and yes, it helps teach your player how to do a drill. However, it does not address how to perform each skill properly so players can improve their individual skills as they practice the drill they just learned.
Next time you step in a rink, watch a practice. When a player gets to the front of the line, they listen for the whistle. When the whistle blows, each player completes the drill and goes back in line. Rarely, do you see a coach stop a player for doing a skill the wrong way. Not long ago, I watched a player struggle to puck-handle around cones. The player was struggling because their top hand (on the stick) was glued to their stomach and their elbow (of the top hand) was bent and glued to their side. The player was not gripping the stick properly (reducing their ability to “cup” the puck) and was only using the bottom hand to puck-handle. The coach, who skated right behind the player, never stopped them to explain what they were doing wrong, but rather retrieved the player’s puck every time they lost it.
After ten minutes of practicing this drill, coach called the players over to the marker board and explained the next drill. Take a moment to break down what occurred in those ten minutes. Hopefully you realize that the player being observed got better at doing a skill the wrong way. With enough repetition, this boy will one-day master the skill of puck-handling the wrong way and eventually dismiss his desire to develop to his full potential. Hopefully another coach will catch the problem and fix it before repetition conditions his brain and body to memorize the bad habit making it more difficult to correct.
The point is you can already be a great coach with respect to the way you motivate players or perhaps with your knowledge of team systems. Understanding the body mechanics is just another skill that coaches should strive to add to their coaching repertoire. I am of the impression that once coaches understand this difference between teaching and conditioning, the “blinders” come off and they begin to evolve as a coach in a way that actually impacts every players’ individual potential for future success.
If your team stats aren’t favorable, there is an individual skill development issue that’s preventing you from running “team systems” effectively. The sooner you help your individual players that need to improve individual skills, the sooner your team systems will come together and your stats will improve.