27Feb 2019 by Jeremy Weiss No Comments
Drill Design for Hockey Coaches: How to Modify Drills to Fit Skill Capacity and Space Constraints

Drill Design for Hockey Coaches: How to Modify Drills to Fit Skill Capacity and Space Constraints

Coaches' Corner, Philosophy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qOVOe-OMYc "I'm a new coach. I played at some pretty high levels, including pro. Now I'm a dad, looking to coach my kids. I have lots of drills, but they're too advanced for the group I'm working with... I'm having a hard time scaling them down to the skill level of my team; and we're sharing ice too, so I need to downsize the drills for a half-ice or station setting." I received this in an email from a coach a couple of weeks ago. Modifying drills for less experienced players, or downsizing drills to fit in smaller spaces can be tricky. It definitely takes some trial and error, and can often push us outside our comfort zones. I've actually been functioning in this state of "discomfort" for the past…
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20Feb 2019 by Jeremy Weiss No Comments
“Precision” Practices, and When to Use Them

“Precision” Practices, and When to Use Them

Coaches' Corner, Hockey Drills, Individual Skill Drills, Passing & Timing, Philosophy, Regroups, Team Systems Drills
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hclx8eHPPnc I sometimes get questions about practice planning, and how to decide what to work on in a given situation. Here's a quick look over my shoulder for a practice I ran, as a guest coach, this past Saturday. I was asked to run a practice this past Saturday for my friend who coaches the local high school team. Their playoff schedule had changed, and this practice was scheduled at the last minute. Unfortunately, it was scheduled when he would be out of town with a prior engagement. Normally, this wouldn't be a huge deal. But in this case it was. This was what will end up being the last practice of the season. And if the team wins out the rest of their games in playoffs, it will have…
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14Feb 2019 by Managed WordPress Migration User No Comments

Sample U8 Station Practice

Coaches' Corner, Philosophy
https://youtu.be/LB9b7xtWqB0 Station Practices: Suggestions and Recommendations Our U6 & U8 program has grown extensively over the past few years. When my oldest son, Tyler, started playing in 2011, we had 3 teams total, and that was with the U6's and U8's combined. This year (2019), we've got 8 teams total; 3 U6 teams, and 5 U8 teams. Luckily our home facility is the Olympic Oval, so we have a ton of space and extra options that most programs wouldn't have as possibilities. I get quite a few questions about structuring a U6 & U8 program, so I thought I'd share a few of the key points that have worked for us. This has been (and still is) a work in progress. But, I've had at least one kid at U8…
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08Feb 2019 by Jeremy Weiss No Comments

The “Backbone” Elements of Hockey Development

Coaches' Corner, Philosophy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aurUNqgckVU We're diving into some "Coaching Philosophy" on this one... Anytime we get into philosophical discussions, I like to point out that there are many, many ways of doing things. So, as always, take this information and use it however makes sense with your players. You might decide it fits your coaching style, you might decide it's not for you... or maybe there's a nugget or two that you can plug in with your team... or maybe not! Also - some of the planning methodologies I mention in this video are talked about in more depth in our Season Planning Workshop. You can register free here: SEASON PLANNING WORKSHOP REGISTRATION Regardless... this stuff has been working well for me over the past 6 or 7 seasons, so I figured I'd…
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16Jan 2019 by Jeremy Weiss No Comments

It’s Not a Race to the Puck… It’s a Race to the LANE to the Puck!

Coaches' Corner, Philosophy
https://youtu.be/_K8kbnDluUE Sometimes a slightly different way of explaining things can make a big difference in a youngster's mind... We often talk about winning races and winning battles, but when you ask a group of players what are they racing to, most of the time they say "TO THE PUCK!" While gaining puck possession is the goal, it's not entirely true that we're racing to the puck, or that we're battling for control of the puck. We're actually racing to the LANE to the puck, and battling for control of the LANE to the puck. Furthermore, we're not actually racing to the net... we're racing to the LANE to the net. Once you control the lane, you control the route to the destination, whether it be the puck of the net.…
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