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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1 on 1 Strategy

1 on 1 Strategy

Defensive Tactics, Team Skills
Strategy and Tactics for Playing a 1 on 1 Properly Last week, I showed a clip from the World Junior Hockey Championships, which demonstrated a Well-Executed 1 on 1. In that post, I also made the following statement: Excellent defensive play is more about making the right pass, shot selection, managing gap, body positioning, controlling the front of the net, reading forechecking pressure, etc. These are all mental skills, and these are the skills that make for a great defenseman! In this video I show the X's and O's behind 1 on 1 strategy, and highlight a few errors that are commonly made among young defensemen (and older ones too!). Here are the main key points discussed in the video: Defenseman should quickly put some distance between him/herself and the…
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Leafs Warm-Up Drill

Leafs Warm-Up Drill

Hockey Drills, Individual Skill Drills, Shooting, Skating & Agility, Warm-Up
This One's a Fun Warm-Up Drill that Works a Bit of Everything This is a fun one that touches on quite a few different skills, including backward skating, pivots, passing, drive skating, and shooting. Here's the diagram and explanation: Leafs Warm-Up: 1. Players on each side of center at boards 2. First player leaves, skating backward, receives pass from second player in line--always receives pass on the side of his body he'll be turning to 3. After receiving the pass he/she opens up and skates forward around the cone, driving wide to the net. 4. After shot, player lines up on opposite side Variations: a) go around near cone instead of far cone; b) after pass, player joins for a 2 on 0 USE THIS DRILL IN YOUR OWN PRACTICE…
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Power Turn Progression

Power Turn Progression

Hockey Drills, Individual Skill Drills, Skating & Agility
This is the Power Turn Progression I use with My Players This is the progression I use when developing power turns with my players. Remember, to work on skill development, you must 1. Show the Skill, 2. Develop the Skill, 3. Apply the Skill. Here's the diagram and explanation: Power Turn Progression Players set up as shown. Designate which direction ALL lines will be turning toward. Lines 1 & 2 go at the same time, lines 3 & 4 go at the same time. Phase 1: Player skates out to the cone, power turns, and explodes back to the line. Run each player through 3-4 times, then switch the direction of the turn. Phase 2: Same as phase 1, but with the puck. Add a shot. Phase 3: Inside edges…
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Serpentine Drill

Serpentine Drill

Hockey Drills, Individual Skill Drills, Passing & Timing, Shooting, Stickhandling
Serpentine Drill is Great for Youngsters, and Helpful for Older Kids too! The Serpentine Drill is a great progressional drill if you've been working on power turns. This drill develops power turns with the puck, and can incorporate some passing and shooting as well. Here's the diagram and explanation: Serpentine Drill 1. Players line up as shown 2. Puck carrier drives deep, power turns around the low cone, and explodes up ice 3. Puck carrier passes to next player in line, then loops around the high cone 4. Next player passes back to the receiver, then skates up to the center line, picks up a puck, and starts the drill over USE THIS DRILL IN YOUR OWN PRACTICE PLAN:
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