26Aug 2011 by Jeremy Weiss 7 Comments

Timing and Support Tactics

Coaches' Corner, Neutral Zone, Philosophy, Team Systems, Useful Products
Timing and Support: Two concepts that can greatly enhance a player's ability to read and react! Timing and Support are extremely important concepts for a hockey player to understand. Having a sound understanding of these key concepts will allow him to adjust to different coaching styles and systems, no matter what the positional set-up may be. In this video, I show an example of timing, support, and multiple receiving zones, using a simple "swing" regroup. ENJOY!
Read More
26Aug 2011 by Jeremy Weiss 6 Comments

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"…
Read More
26Aug 2011 by Jeremy Weiss 13 Comments

Philosophy: Utilizing the Hockey Development Pyramid

Coaches' Corner, Individual Skills, Philosophy, Team Skills, Team Strategy, Team Systems
The Hockey Development Pyramid is a great tool to help design your season's "Road Map" Before the season begins, it's a good idea to take inventory of your team's strengths and weaknesses. I use the Hockey Development Pyramid as a tool to help gather my thoughts, and determine what areas of play should be focused on over the course of the season. Skills within various tiers of the pyramid can be developed simultaneously (i.e. puckhandling and passing can be developed during a breakout drill). However, it is EXTREMELY important to build from the bottom up, not from the top down. Players who have not developed a solid foundation of Individual and Team Skills will never be as effective at performing the higher-level skills such as Team Systems and Strategy. ENJOY!
Read More
26Aug 2011 by Jeremy Weiss 7 Comments

Hockey Coaches Training Course Introduction

Coaches' Corner, Philosophy, Team Systems
Welcome to our Hockey Coaches Training Course! This course is designed as a pre-season "tune-up" to help coaches think through the Team Systems they plan on using throughout the upcoming season. So, our main focus will be on hockey systems, and what options might work well for your team. CLICK HERE to see our course syllabus, which outlines everything we'll be covering in this course. As we progress through the week, the individual topics will become live as more content is added. DISCLAIMER: Every team is different, and has different strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, what works well for one team might not work for another. There are many "correct" ways of implementing systems with your team. The things I'm showing you are based on personal experience as a player and…
Read More
18Apr 2011 by Jeremy Weiss 5 Comments

NHL Play Dissections

Coaches' Corner, Defensive Zone, Neutral Zone, Offensive Zone, Philosophy, Special Teams, Team Strategy, Team Systems
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE3A7B0E18F091206 Check the Embedded PLAYLIST Above, for Updated NHL Play Dissections This post is a little different than usual. I've recently put together a number of videos dissecting various NHL plays and situations. I've been posting these videos on my YouTube Channel, but I thought my blog readers might find them useful too. So... the video above is actually a PLAYLIST, which will update itself whenever I post a new play dissection to YouTube. When you hover your mouse over the video, you'll see the other play dissections I've already posted. Many of these dissections will refer back to concepts we've discussed in the Coaches' Training Course, so take a browse through the course if you haven't yet. I'm going to be posting more play dissections as we progress through…
Read More