First Loss, Lessons Gained

Not every game can be a win.

That is something that every team must learn early in the season, and depending on team, it can be a hard pill to swallow. That walk to the dressing room after a hard fought loss is seldom fun. Heads hanging a little low, sticks are tossed with disappointment into the corner, the dressing room can get a little bit silent. Like any sport, hockey is a competition, and winning games is part of what every team strives for.

This was the scene after our game this weekend, the kids first loss of the young season. And the first one can be harder than most. Obviously no one is truly happy with a loss, but defeat can often teach better than a win.

We start off by giving the floor to the players, ask them what they though of the game. The kids are smart, often pointing out either why the think the other team came out on top and not them. Some blame the referee (easy scapegoat) or the dirty play of the other team. Perhaps surprisingly, very rarely do we hear "they were better than us" or "we just aren't good enough".
It is our job as coaches to bridge the gap between weaknesses and improvements. The loss exposes weaknesses that may not have been visible in a win, and will usually the next practice will be geared towards helping the team improve in this area.

Some of the most valuable weapons that a team can possess cannot be taught by any drills though. The success of the team depends on them. No matter how hard their parents push them, or how skillfully they are coached, they are the ones out there on the ice playing the game. No one else. Proper coaching and supporting parents are obviously important, but to see the kids grasp the fact that it is in their hands is always a pleasure.

It's a lesson that will serve them well all through life, but it can also be the difference between a winning and a losing season.

Stand Out Players

Sometimes these kids can really come out and surprise you. Watching them practice, you can evaluate them in many ways. Who are the fastest skaters, the best stick handlers or the hardest shooters? How well do they listen, and how quick do they pick up the skills that are taught? But something that often escapes notice is how much heart the player has.

The players that generally stand out the most are those who have that raw talent, those that seem to skate effortlessly around the opposition, .

We had only our second game yesterday and the player who stood out the most on the ice, wasn't one of these. It's only his first year playing ice hockey, and you can tell. Though he still may be a little unsteady on his skates, he stood out for another reason altogether. Not a player who you would think would show up on the score sheet four times, but he managed a pair of goals and another pair of assists. What he lacked in practiced skill, he more than made up for in energy and aggressiveness.

Seeing him at the first practice, you would have seen one of the weaker players on the team, but I'm fairly confident that by the end of the season, he may show quite differently. He was tenacious, seldom giving up on the puck, even if the opposing player was bigger and faster. He played smart, looked for openings and was constantly skating hard. This is the definitely the type of player that makes it fun to coach.

He wasn't the only player on our team who played hard, which is one of the main reasons why we won the game 5 -3, against a bigger and what seemed to be a more skilled team. The boys wanted the puck, and weren't afraid to work for it. They made some nice passes in front of the net, and even popped in a short-handed goal.

There are few things more exciting for a coach than to walk into an energy filled dressing room after a well fought win. It builds great confidence in the kids, and although not every game can be a win like that, I expect plenty more to come.

Tips for a Fun Hockey Season

As much fun as the game itself is, I thought I'd post a few ideas that we have used in the past to help make sure the players enjoy their season. In no particular order :

#1. Keep practices high tempo and upbeat - don't allow the players to just stand around becoming bored

#2. Organize family hockey games - players vs. parents / siblings

#3. Find a place to get the team together for a road hockey game

#4. Organize a trip to see a local upper level team play

#5. Attend one of the many tournaments being offered around Christmas and March Break - this is one of my personal favorites, while offering both extra ice time, we usually see a large improvement in the teams play after a tournament

#6. Pizza parties at the end of the season - end the season on a high note!

#7. Make it a habit to do at least one fun drill at the end of practice - Freeze Tag, British Bulldog, etc.

These are a few of the things that coaches, in cooperation with the parents can do to help ensure the players enjoy a fun, successful season. There are many more ideas out there, but these are some of what we have used in the past, which always seem to be well appreciated by both players and parents.

A Winning Attitude

The way a coach approaches the game can have a deep effect on their players. Hockey is a deeply competitive sport, and an effective coach must strike a balance between the desire to win, whilst always trying to keep the game fun and exciting. Teams at the minor level are sometimes an uneven mix of talent and beginners, which can definitely pose a challenge to coaches to keep all the players happy.

The start of a season, even with recreational hockey, can always be a bit of headache. This year for example, we have but twelve players, for two of whom this is there first year playing ice hockey. Practices must be balanced, challenging enough not to bore the more skilled players, but not too complicated for the players who are still learning the basics. Things are disorganized, players are still trying to figure out what position they will play, and who they'll be playing with.

This where skilled coaching comes into play. The same balance must be struck between winning and just going out there to have fun. Only one team can be number 1, and someone always has to finish last. While winning isn't everything, it is one of the reason why we play the game. So this is how we stress it: Play hard for the win, but don't be too disapointed with a loss. There are many things that can be learned from a loss, and there's always the next game.

I've seen certain coaches who can just rip into their players after a loss (we've all had coaches like this, no matter what sport, or what level) - but yelling about everything that went wrong often has little positive impact. After a loss, I find it best to find both things that could be improved upon, and always stress the things that were done right. Even after a win, we usually take the same approach, just because you've won the game, seldom means that everything was done to perfection. Improvements can always be made.

While coaches interested only in winning can often suck a great deal of fun out of the game, making sure that all the players are enjoying themselves and are having a fun season can be an essential element of winning. Many forget this simple fact, hats off to all the coaches who haven't.

Steve Downie Gets 20 Games

It seems that someone of local fame is making the headlines again, this time at the NHL level. Steve Downie, who was a 1st round draft pick for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2005, is again becoming renowned as one of the scoundrels of hockey. Having seemingly moved on from the incident during a Windsor Spitfires practice, where he blindsided teammate Akim Aliu with a cross-check to the mouth, he has been trying to make a case to the Flyers to give him a shot at an NHL job.

Apparently he hasn't grown up much since the incident, which saw him suspended for 5 games, and refuse to step onto the ice again in a Spitfire uniform.

Check out this vicious hit on Dean McAmmond of the Ottawa Senators below.

Steve Downie Destroys Dean McAmmond

As last season featured a number of injuries caused by hits to the head, whether intending to be vicious or not, these dangerous hits have been a kind of hot button issue for the NHL this summer. And surprisingly, they have made a bold move in handing out a 20 game suspension to Steve Downie (the 5th longest in NHL history). All too often, the NHL finds itself only dishing out minor (2-5 game) suspensions for dangerous hits such as Downie's, frightened a bit perhaps by the thoughts of alienating the many fans who enjoy the brutal aspects of the game.

But a fine line has to be drawn between 'dangerous' hits (often with an intent to injure a unsuspecting opponent) and the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em attitude which can bring fans roaring out of their seats. Hockey just wouldn't be the same without the thunder of of the shaking boards after a jarring hit, but attacks akin to Steve Downie's should not be tolerated, and it is nice to see the NHL taking steps to discourage these.

We try to teach our kids respect, both for the game as well as their opponents. Players should never be going into a hit with the intent to leave the opposition senseless, or injured. Players that do so are rightfully referred to as goons and thugs, and take out a lot of fun for the game.

How to Avoid the Hockey Grin - The Equipement's There For a Reason!

This weekend was the annual Early Bird Tournament, one the first travel tournaments of the season in Essex County, and so our local league team has the week off to give the travel teams a chance to shine. A good day to watch some hockey, but arriving at the rink something was going on.

It's always a somewhat frightening scene to drive up to the arena, only to discover ambulances waiting outside of the doors. It's a sharp reminder that for all the joys of hockey, danger is always a possibility. Few other sports can boast such a combination of speed, physicality and high flying emotions. Sometimes, disaster can be the result.

Ideally the ambulance is only a precaution, but rarely, when something serious happens, their quick response is always appreciated.

Luckily, in this day and age there are many rules and instructions provided to make these paramedics at the doors a rare occurrence. I've seen my father's hockey equipment from thirty years ago, and things have come a long way since then. From top to bottom, helmets to skates, equipment must meet exacting safety standards. Dr. Thomas Joseph Pashby was instrumental in pushing for improvements to the game that would lead to fewer injuries at both the professional and recreational level.

Mandatory visors have been around at the recreational level for a number of years, and even 10 years ago or so, while I was still learning the game, new measures were introduced, such as enforcing the use of certified mouth and neck guards. Mouthguards in particular, although sometimes irritating, (I hated wearing mine when they were first introduced) are important. For a small piece of plactisized rubber, they can be quite effective at preventing the classic hockey player grin. (see Danny Heatley - shown right - or Bobby Clarke)

High sticks, pucks which can reach speeds of 80mph at the peewee (ages 11-12) level and hit the teeth with the force of 1250 lbs, and sharp skates can all present dangers; which is why hockey players wear the layers of armor that they do.

Respect is a large part of the game, both for oneself and one's opponents, and practices such as attempts to injure, cross checking, kicking and high sticking are penalized harshly.

Potentially the worst of these can be a check from behind. Sometimes the victim is barely aware that he is about to be hit, and the impact of a soft body, no matter how well protected, and the rigid boards can leave a defenseless player seriously injured.

There is nothing scarier for a coach, parent or player than watching a prone player on the ice, after being sent headfirst into the boards. Many of these are the result of a check from behind, an illegal hit which carries stiff penalties. In any league which belongs to the OMHA, a hit from behind carries with it an automatic Game Misconduct penalty. The player is ejected, whether the hit was intentionally from behind or not.

Harsh penalties and education both serve as deterrents for hits from behind. It can be especially dangerous when it happens near the boards, as often players are unable to put up their arms to cushion the impact, and the force of impacting the boards when absorbed by the head or the neck can be quite debilitating. The biggest scare is the possibility of spinal cord injuries,which have left players no longer able to play, and in a few frightening cases, even unable to walk. These injuries happen very rarely, but are the reason why programs such as STOP (the little stop sign shaped patch you might see on the back of minor players jerseys - a constant reminder to not hit from behind) exist.

These programs all work together to decrease the chance that as a trainer, I will have to watch one of my players on a stretcher, being carried off to an ambulance. Hockey is great game, and played properly with all the proper equipment, trainers are only occasionally called upon to address serious injuries. The point of the game is fun, which is something that we remind the kids constantly, but sometimes gets forgotten in the heat of the game. For these kids, that should be the main reason they play.

Its why I do...

Some links to check out -

After the Whistle
How Risky is Canada's Favorite Game
A Player's / Coach Guide to Decrease the Risk of Spinal Cord Injuries

First Ice

There's something special about the first time you step back onto the ice every year. I'm not quite sure what it is, exactly, whether it be the sight of a freshly cleaned sheet of ice, the sound of blades biting deep into the ice, the ring pucks ripping off the glass, or even the stench of hockey equipment that hasn't seen the light of day for a few months... Well, even I can admit that maybe a little air freshener would be a good idea, but you get the picture. Makes you feel a little like a kid again.

You look around the dressing room, and the looks on the kids faces tell it all. This may not be the NHL, but to each of these kids, it couldn't be more important if it was. For some, they're looking to bring home the big trophy this year, but most are just here for the love of the game. Take a look again, and you might notice that a few are a little nervous. First practice, new teammates, unknown coaches. For some this will be their first year checking, and aren't looking forward to the potential bruises, but they'll get into the groove soon enough.

As a coach, you couldn't ask for a better group of kids, all ready and willing to listen to whatever wisdom their coach dishes out... Wouldn't that be nice! There's always a trouble maker or two, but once practice is underway, everybody's getting into it. Every year there's a snag or two, but whatever happens, it looks like a promising season ahead.