Backchecking Tactic: In Action

Backchecking Tactic: In Action

Neutral Zone, Neutral Zone Tactics, Team Skills, Team Systems
Perfect Backcheck and Angling in Action This is a quick clip that shows a perfect backcheck with excellent angling, executed by Team Canada's Jeff Carter in the 2014 Winter Olympics. In the clip we see a principle I teach my kids even as young as U6 and U8; that is the tactic of "Stick on Stick, Shoulder on Shoulder." Thinking about backchecking in these terms helps kids comprehend taking away the skating lane. Combine this tactic with our 5-Card approach to backchecking, and it'll be much more difficult for the opponent to create offensive opportunities. Here's a link to our 5-Card Backchecking video Enjoy!
Read More

Swing Regroup: FAQ

Coaches' Corner, Neutral Zone, Neutral Zone Tactics, Philosophy, Team Skills, Team Systems
Some Frequently Asked Questions on the Swing Regroup In our Coaches' Training Course we outline the fundamentals of the Swing Regroup, which is one of my favorite regroup set-ups. Over the past few weeks, I've received a number of emails with questions on the Swing Regroup. So I figured it was time to put together an FAQ video. The problem many coaches were having, was differentiating between the "textbook version" and the "read and react version." In other words... in a perfect world, we draw up the play, and the players perform it exactly as diagrammed, AKA textbook execution. However, in the actual game, sometimes it happens as planned, but many times it doesn't. In these cases there's a degree of improvisation that needs to be accounted for... this is…
Read More

The 3 Areas of Hockey Dominance

Backchecking, Coaches' Corner, Defensive Tactics, Defensive Zone, Individual Skills, Neutral Zone, Neutral Zone Tactics, Off-ice Training, Offensive Tactics, Offensive Zone, Passing, Philosophy, Puckhandling, Shooting, Skating, Special Teams, Team Skills, Team Systems
Improve your Physical Skills, Mental Skills, and Physical Conditioning to Dominate your Opponent! In this post I'm going to discuss what I call the 3 AREAS OF HOCKEY DOMINANCE… now I know that title sounds a little dramatic, but the reality is, if you implement the information I'm about to share with you into your hockey development strategy, you will be miles ahead of your opponent, EVERY TIME YOU STEP ON THE ICE! This video will be equally beneficial for both players, coaches, and even parents who want to be on-board with their players' development. So, let's go ahead and get started! The 3 Areas of Hockey Dominance The 3 Areas of Hockey Dominance are Physical Skills, Mental Skills, and Physical Conditioning. Now we can break each of these areas…
Read More