ADM: Teaching Competitiveness – The Practice-to-Game Ratio

ADM: Teaching Competitiveness – The Practice-to-Game Ratio

Coaches' Corner, Philosophy
ADM: Teaching Competitiveness - The Practice-to-Game Ratio In my previous article on ADM, I asked the question “what is the objective of ADM?” Is it to improve our top end? (i.e. Better performance on the world stage; more NHL’ers; etc.), or is it to keep more kids in the game for longer. In that article I made the statement that those two objectives have vastly different courses of action. You can check out the previous article here: ADM: What is Our Objective? If the ADM is aiming to create a better top-end athlete, which will improve our performance on the world stage, then we need to be teaching competitiveness from a young age. In which case, there are four aspects of ADM that I feel need revamping: Practice to Game Ratio &…
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Defensive Tactic: Hanging a Forechecker on the Net

Defensive Tactic: Hanging a Forechecker on the Net

Defensive Tactics, Defensive Zone, Team Skills, Team Systems
Hanging a Forechecker on the Net While Initiating a Breakout Initiating a breakout is one of those situations that happens multiple times every singe game. It's important to "arm" our defensemen with the tools they'll need to be successful in these recurring patterns. One such tool is the tactic of hanging the forechecker up on the net, as shown in the clip above. This tactic involves two steps: "Baiting" the forechecker into thinking he's got a chance at catching you Cutting tight behind the net, at an angle that makes it so he can't stay with you When used properly, this will open up time and space, and make the other team have to make decisions––which is what we're all about. As the defenseman skated up ice, other players will…
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ADM: What is Our Objective?

ADM: What is Our Objective?

Coaches' Corner, Philosophy
ADM: What is Our Objective? I have been thinking about this series of posts for almost four years now. The reason it has taken me this long to write it, is that I wanted to be sure I understood my own position, and that I could properly articulate why I felt the way I did. I also wanted to see if my intuition turned out to be right, or if I’d be proven wrong over a few years. This will be the first in a series of articles about the ADM program. If you’re not familiar with ADM, it stands for American Development Model. In USA Hockey’s own words: “The ADM is USA Hockey’s nationwide player-development program for youth hockey associations. It’s based on age-appropriate, age-specific competition and training for boys and…
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