Philosophy: When to Start Teaching Hockey Systems?

Coaches' Corner, Philosophy, Team Systems
How early can youngsters be taught to play "systems hockey"? Many people have varying opinions on the correct answer to this question... and, as is often the case with philosophical hockey questions, there is more than one correct answer. The answer depends on the physical skills of your players, the mental maturity of your players, and the manner in which the systems are taught and implemented. In this video, I discuss my own personal opinions on the matter, and why I believe what I believe. When I was 8 years old, my dad had this idea of taking the top-caliber kids from around the city, and keeping essentially the same kids together for 5 years. The end goal of his vision was to win an Ontario Championship at the "AAA"…
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Stickhandling: Dryland Flooring Tiles

Coaches' Corner, Hockey Equipment, Individual Skills, Off-ice Training, Passing, Puckhandling, Shooting, Skills, Useful Products
Dryland Flooring Tiles are one of the Most Versatile Hockey Products on the Market Today In this post, I wanted to introduce an extremely effective and versatile product, HockeyShot's Dryland Flooring Tiles. The reason I say this is such a versatile product is that you can literally design your "floor plan" to fit your training objectives. This might mean using six or eight tiles as a shooting pad, or it might mean going wall to wall with them in your basement for a fully functional stickhandling, passing, and shooting facility. Not only are the flooring tiles versatile in how they can be used, but you also get a lot of flexibility when it comes to timeline. You don't have to outfit your whole room all at once... These tiles are…
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