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.
It’s a small tweak in the thought process, but installing this mental shift in the minds of your players will help them win possession of more pucks, and more races to the net.
Try it and let me know how it goes!
