Minor hockey coaching thread

[Lucky Pucker]

This has been a long time coming, but I’ve been busy (mostly with coaching-related activities).

This would not be about coaching goalies exclusively; I envision this as a place for those of us that have coached/are coaching/will one day coach to share approaches, anecdotes, and tips etc. Non-coaches are also welcome to share views and insights!

It was a short check/in chat with @johncho that finally pushed me to start this thread, so I hope this helps at least the two of us - lol! Thanks John!

[Wonder35]

In the early 80's I was asked to be the Goalie Coach with a AAA peewee (now called U12?) team. I learned to not wear my gear whilst on the ice coaching. It was very distracting to the players and other coaches.

The kids only wanted to take shots on me, "Wow, a real goalie on the ice."

I coached the goalies in my goalie skates and shooter's stick. That worked much better.

[johncho]

I’m finding it hard to coach two kids with very different abilities at the same time, with limited time and limited ice space.

This year my kid’s team has two goalies and their skill discrepancies are hard to overcome for any drill that’s not just skating. It’s been a very challenging start to the year. 

[Lucky Pucker]

Half ice for most practices is a huge challenge. It is worse for me this year, as we have 18 kids (2 goalies, 16 skaters). With my avowed goalie bias, I want my goalie coach to have the time and space to work with our goalies, but it’s extremely hard to have 16 skaters doing anything worthwhile when restricted to the space between the ringette line and centre ice.

…and that’s just challenge #372 in a series of about 1,000…

[Lucky Pucker]

Things like this are very cool though; the parent who will be doing pics and videos caught this shot at our season opener (a 6-2 loss) They have a great eye. Love this pic!

 

[Fullright]

I could never do what you fellas are doing. My two cents and it is worth less than two cents: layoff the dekes during warm ups either before a game or at the start of practice. Starting with a structure or protocol for the warm up phase might help the goalies get a sweat going and get a feel for the puck. 

I really admire you guys for having the kindness to spend your time and effort and sharing your expertise. Here's hoping your seasons are successful!

[Lucky Pucker]

Thanks for that @Fullright. I have a ton of thoughts on coaching, and lots to say (more to learn!). The bottom line though, for me, is getting to be with my kid, teaching (and learning) the sport we love, together.

There’s a ton of shit that goes along with it, but sometimes you have a connection with a player who “gets it,” and those players (my son is one of them), make it all worthwhile.

Quick anecdote about your comment in warmups: the dads of the 2 goalies didn’t know me, as we are in a trial merger season (and they are from another club) They were thrilled when they heard me ream a kid out for headhunting in warm ups during a scrimmage. Then they found out I’m a goalie, and certified goalie coach (just a few introductory courses with Hockey Canada), will protect the goalies and emphasize that all players do the same… and after that, we all fell in love - LOL!

[A.YOUNGoalie13]

On 10/1/2023 at 8:21 AM, johncho said:

I’m finding it hard to coach two kids with very different abilities at the same time, with limited time and limited ice space.

This year my kid’s team has two goalies and their skill discrepancies are hard to overcome for any drill that’s not just skating. It’s been a very challenging start to the year. 

My solution to this has been to kinda get on the coaches. I pretty much demand an extra net in the neutral zone (they all roll their eyes at the 19 year old “coach” they think knows nothing about hockey) and I get my net and steal one of their goalies and then switch them out after a bit. This usually allows for me to work on separate things with each kid because no two goalies ever have the same skillset

[keeperton]

52 minutes ago, A.YOUNGoalie13 said:

My solution to this has been to kinda get on the coaches. I pretty much demand an extra net in the neutral zone (they all roll their eyes at the 19 year old “coach” they think knows nothing about hockey) and I get my net and steal one of their goalies and then switch them out after a bit. This usually allows for me to work on separate things with each kid because no two goalies ever have the same skillset

This is what we do with the 12U kids sometimes. One end will be doing skating or non-goalie involving drills, so we get one kid in the center and work on drills with him, and one of the 12U goalies is still getting used to even skating (kid has all the intuition of "MUST STOP PUCK" built in), whereas the other kid has been on the ice since he was tiny and gets additional private goalie coaching.

The 10U kids we get from the top of the crease to the boards behind the goal line, so that's fun. We manage to make it work though.

The 14U kids are often entirely integrated into the rest of their practice, which is a bit of a bummer since both 14U goalies could really use more one-on-one time and are super coachable.

Our 16U goalie is just that, alone and kind of forgotten in a practice that's constantly throwing 3-on-0 shots on him. I'm not a fan, but the coach for that team is most senior in the program and doesn't really care what I think (which is why the kid has no backup, they cut the other kid because his parents being a headache last year, among other things).

[Hockey34]

 

21 hours ago, A.YOUNGoalie13 said:

My solution to this has been to kinda get on the coaches. I pretty much demand an extra net in the neutral zone (they all roll their eyes at the 19 year old “coach” they think knows nothing about hockey) and I get my net and steal one of their goalies and then switch them out after a bit. This usually allows for me to work on separate things with each kid because no two goalies ever have the same skillset

What I do with the 10u and 12u kids I coach is have them do skating at the beginning when the skaters are doing there full ice skating then when we do the half ice stuff I take one kid in the middle while the other kid is doing the drills and then switch them every once and a while 
 

so I’m pretty much doing the same thing 

Edited October 4, 2023 by Hockey34

[RichMan]

Of course I had to find this thread right at bed time 

I'm gonna have lots to say and share with you guys when I drop in again. I started coaching in 2006. Happy to see this communication going on. 

Have fun out there. Be back in a day or two. 

[MTH]

My kids play on teams that dads don't coach. So I don't really do it anymore.

Last year my older son's 16u AAA team got a crap load of penalties and the coach got suspended. So I stepped in. Team got more penalties than the previous game, I too was subsequently suspended.

One and done.

Beers at the corner again during the game.

[coopaloop1234]

1 hour ago, MTH said:

My kids play on teams that dads don't coach. So I don't really do it anymore.

Last year my older son's 16u AAA team got a crap load of penalties and the coach got suspended. So I stepped in. Team got more penalties than the previous game, I too was subsequently suspended.

One and done.

Beers at the corner again during the game.

Love this. 

[RichMan]

There is SOOO much to say and add in this discussion, it's fun to spread the love and ideas to make goalie coaching a better environment for minor and beer league hockey. Thanks @Lucky Pucker for starting this. There are few platforms where amateur coaches can share and support each other.

@Wonder35 I have coached with and without gear. I usually wear the gear if I'm working with a newbie or if the exercises/drills necessitate a visual breakdown. I find most kids to be visual learners as I was, but I come from a school where goalie coaching was not something common and I reviewed tons of hockey videos and books to learn myself. It payed off. As for the distractions, I usually demand from the head coach or the coaching staff in general that I have exclusive time with the goalie on my side of the zone and not be bothered for the better part of the practice so I can build with them a good rapport and have his/her/their full attention during the drills and instructions.

@johncho 2 kids with different skills can be a challenge. Do keep in mind that they both have to go through the same drills and learn the same skill sets. You just don't expect more from the weaker one as the pressure to perform is quite present already. The stronger one has to learn the value of respect and team support. They're the dynamic duo and they need to work together despite being at a different place in their development. Someone mentioned sending one goalie with the shooters for drills while you work with the other and then switch it up. That is a good way to adapt your workouts to their needs.

@Lucky Pucker Half ice is a difficult setup. I fully understand why they do it though; lack of available ice and better passing game for the shorties. But in this instance, it's far more advantageous to the forwards than the goalies. I haven't, as many others, figured a proper solution for this situation.

@keeperton I hear you about the U14/U16 kids. It's sad to see opportunities wasted during these practices just because the head coach doesn't know shit about goalies and often couldn't care less, but they still want a Carey Price in nets to save their ass though. Sometimes, or more often, the teams don't have the budget to invite a coach such as myself to work with their goalies. I'm not expensive and I've seen much pricier but if they really saw the benefits, it would be a game changer, literally.

Anecdote...getting a kid on the ice for the first time, can't skate much, looks like he's wearing a space suit, but he's showing interest and trying hard. Next season comes around and I see him on the ice and he looks like he's been at this for a couple years already. I'd like to think I helped get that going and it feels good to know you played a role in helping a kid develop his passion through yours  

This is me with special guest Patrick Lalime some years back...

 

Edited October 5, 2023 by RichMan

[keeperton]

6 minutes ago, RichMan said:

@johncho 2 kids with different skills can be a challenge. Do keep in mind that they both have to go through the same drills and learn the same skill sets. You just don't expect more from the weaker one as the pressure to perform is quite present already. The stronger one has to learn the value of respect and team support. They're the dynamic duo and they need to work together despite being at a different place in their development. Someone mentioned sending one goalie with the shooters for drills while you work with the other and then switch it up. That is a good way to adapt your workouts to their needs.

I hear this so much. I had a quick conversation with our more adept 12U goalie that boiled down to, "only positivity between you two. It's his first year doing travel and he could learn a lot from you. Any success between either of you is shared and being a good teammate is #1." He was really receptive, they're both very good kids.

I took the other 12U goalie and skated him a bit, telling him to really get used to those edges and pushing (he can't shuffle to the left super great). I stressed that any perceived failure is also learning and we're here to learn and have fun, even if it's travel AA hockey.

Quote

@keeperton I hear you about the U14/U16 kids. It's sad to see opportunities wasted during these practices just because the head coach doesn't know shit about goalies and often couldn't care less, but they still want a Carey Price in nets to save their ass though. Sometimes, or more often, the teams don't have the budget to invite a coach such as myself to work with their goalies. I'm not expensive and I've seen much pricier but if they really saw the benefits, it would be a game changer, literally.

I think it's the 16U coach specifically that wants every drill to be full ice "big game" type simulation stuff. He respects his goalies and goalie coaches, but makes it difficult for us to get in there. Weird seeing a shooter tutor in a travel team practice though.

Also damn would I like to get paid for this, they're sitting on their hands regarding a W2 still, ugh.

Quote

Anecdote...getting a kid on the ice for the first time, can't skate much, looks like he's wearing a space suit, but he's showing interest and trying hard. Next season comes around and I see him on the ice and he looks like he's at this for a couple years already. I'd like to think I helped get that going and it feels good to know you played a role in helping a kid develop his passion through yours  

That's how the bug starts! You go out there in your battle-armor-space-suit-knife-shoes and throw yourself, against all sense, in front of the fast thing. Over the three years I've been doing this now it's been so great to see kids grow, whether it's continue down their goalie path or become incredible forwards (I don't think I have any that became defensemen yet lol).

[MTH]

Dumb things I learned coaching.

• USA Hockey has a ton of coaching resources available. They have practice plans for whole ice, half ice, 1/4, etc. You'd be amazed at some of the drills they have.
• Run practices on a schedule. Plan ahead with what drills, times, who's doing what, etc. Ice time is limited, don't waste it explaining. Tell the assistants too before so they are already up to speed and don't slow the practice down.
• Practice plan / schedule I would make on paper with a sharpie and tape to the glass and in the locker room every practice. 
• I've explained new drills off ice before practice. Rather than gathering around on the ice while I draw. Do it ahead if possible.
• Run only one new drill a practice. Run familiar drills the rest of the time. Kids will get more done. Work that new drill a few times too before adding another.
• I gave all my drills names. So when we change to them, I just said the name of the drill. Stupider the name, the more the kids remember what it is. Candy names, cereal names, pokemon guy, whatever.
• Practice at game speed. Practice slow and the kids will play slow in the game. Go fast and push the tempo. Get the kids used to being rushed. Make uncomfortable comfortable. That's how it is in the games. Eliminate the ability to make whole ice passes in practice. This works on drills with fewer skaters - but in a game it won't.
• Work on checking off ice. Use the other side of the boards before practice and have the kids get used to banging around. Again, ice time is limited. I had them in full pads and all doing the checking drills before we got on the ice. We did on ice checking too - but they had some practice already. Did that once a week.
• My rink and myself love having the kids do dryland every practice. I would schedule every practice as 1 1/2 hours and have one hour on the ice. 10 mins to change. and 20 mins of sprints and all after (or before depending on how late our slot was). Parents complain and have excuses why they have to leave. Be ready. Why I just made every practice an hour and half on Team Snap so that there was no surprise we were still going. The running was not optional. Kids hated running, but when we'd out score the other team in the third because we still had legs - I'd remind them that this is because you run so hard after practice. It works.
• Rules. Practice is mandatory. Miss a practice, miss a period. No excuses. Saved me from having to judge reasons why kid wasn't there and deeming it worth of missing time or not. Easier and fairer to just say it's a period for a practice no matter what. Sorry. Then you have to stick to your rule. Funeral? I'm sorry that happened but you know the rule. Was playing xBox all night instead, you know the rule. I never heard reasons after a week or two anymore. So refreshing! It's also fair to the kids (and parents) who make it every practice. 
• I've done many goalie drills off ice with the kids. On foot. Just to get them used to the footwork positioning for pushing off and all. 
• Goalies skate with the team at times. They need to learn how to sprint and stop too. Bark at them too to move faster.

There's a million more...

Edited October 6, 2023 by MTH

[Lucky Pucker]

3 hours ago, MTH said:

Dumb things I learned coaching.

• USA Hockey has a ton of coaching resources available. They have practice plans for whole ice, half ice, 1/4, etc. You'd be amazed at some of the drills they have.
• Run practices on a schedule. Plan ahead with what drills, times, who's doing what, etc. Ice time is limited, don't waste it explaining. Tell the assistants too before so they are already up to speed and don't slow the practice down.
• Practice plan / schedule I would make on paper with a sharpie and tape to the glass and in the locker room every practice. 
• I've explained new drills off ice before practice. Rather than gathering around on the ice while I draw. Do it ahead if possible.
• Run only one new drill a practice. Run familiar drills the rest of the time. Kids will get more done. Work that new drill a few times too before adding another.
• I gave all my drills names. So when we change to them, I just said the name of the drill. Stupider the name, the more the kids remember what it is. Candy names, cereal names, pokemon guy, whatever.
• Practice at game speed. Practice slow and the kids will play slow in the game. Go fast and push the tempo. Get the kids used to being rushed. Make uncomfortable comfortable. That's how it is in the games. Eliminate the ability to make whole ice passes in practice. This works on drills with fewer skaters - but in a game it won't.
• Work on checking off ice. Use the other side of the boards before practice and have the kids get used to banging around. Again, ice time is limited. I had them in full pads and all doing the checking drills before we got on the ice. We did on ice checking too - but they had some practice already. Did that once a week.
• My rink and myself love having the kids do dryland every practice. I would schedule every practice as 1 1/2 hours and have one hour on the ice. 10 mins to change. and 20 mins of sprints and all after (or before depending on how late our slot was). Parents complain and have excuses why they have to leave. Be ready. Why I just made every practice an hour and half on Team Snap so that there was no surprise we were still going. The running was not optional. Kids hated running, but when we'd out score the other team in the third because we still had legs - I'd remind them that this is because you run so hard after practice. It works.
• Rules. Practice is mandatory. Miss a practice, miss a period. No excuses. Saved me from having to judge reasons why kid wasn't there and deeming it worth of missing time or not. Easier and fairer to just say it's a period for a practice no matter what. Sorry. Then you have to stick to your rule. Funeral? I'm sorry that happened but you know the rule. Was playing xBox all night instead, you know the rule. I never heard reasons after a week or two anymore. So refreshing! It's also fair to the kids (and parents) who make it every practice. 
• I've done many goalie drills off ice with the kids. On foot. Just to get them used to the footwork positioning for pushing off and all. 
• Goalies skate with the team at times. They need to learn how to sprint and stop too. Bark at them too to move faster.

There's a million more...

Lots of good stuff here, most of which I recognize as part of my own coaching. A few quick rips for ya:

- Widely whispered in the halls of Canadian hockey arenas, and openly avowed by a few of the guys I’ve coached with over the last few years: USA hockey is a better resource for coaches than what we get from Hockey Canada.

- Agree regarding practices, but we in our House League association are not allowed to withhold opportunities or otherwise “punish” tardiness, delinquency, or absenteeism. I don’t expect that it will be a problem with my team this year, but the only recourse I would have is to hope that my words alone would elicit a change. 

- Agree about goalies skating - and  givin ‘er, too. Just like you can’t bullshit a bullshitter, you can’t half ass your goalie skating when your coach is also a goalie. Had a kid on my U11 team half-assing it in team laps, so I went up to him and said “if you catch one of these dime-a-dozen skaters and finish the lap ahead of them, I’ll give you five bucks.” Guess who was reaching for their wallet after practice? LOL!

[Lucky Pucker]

On 10/4/2023 at 10:12 AM, MTH said:

My kids play on teams that dads don't coach. So I don't really do it anymore.

Last year my older son's 16u AAA team got a crap load of penalties and the coach got suspended. So I stepped in. Team got more penalties than the previous game, I too was subsequently suspended.

One and done.

Beers at the corner again during the game.

LOL!

 

[Fullright]

@MTH: good list of things, especially the last one - goalies have to skate. Better for them and makes them a part of the team. 

[MTH]

On 10/6/2023 at 3:46 PM, Lucky Pucker said:

- Agree regarding practices, but we in our House League association are not allowed to withhold opportunities or otherwise “punish” tardiness, delinquency, or absenteeism. I don’t expect that it will be a problem with my team this year, but the only recourse I would have is to hope that my words alone would elicit a change. 

We pay so much for hockey - nobody really skips practice. No way! I use that line all the time with my kids that I paid too much to skip.

USA Hockey obviously was getting their tails handed to them forever by Canada. So they really put in the work to get the youngest of kids on a well designed track that leads them to Juniors and beyond. Look at the number of US kids in the league now that are stars. 

The USA Hockey stuff leans on a lot of the European and Russian training methods too. I think it's great to blend everything together and offer so much to the coaches and players to utilize.

[johncho]

My kid ended up winning the season which was nice. But the biggest win was being able to teach all of the kids the lesson in both winning and losing well, and also staying the course when things aren't going well in the game. This year was the hardest on me due to so many factors, but also the one with the highest highlight in how my kid behaved on the ice and off.

My son had a challenging year in the first half not getting as much ice time as he wanted, but he really took a big step just after Christmas break and actively improved what he needed to work on. It's house league and I have no delusions, but I loved watching his normally bubbly happy-go-lucky self disappear when the game starts and see eyes get so focused. He upset the top two team each twice in the playoffs and never let in more than one goal, afterwards as he skates off the ice the first thing he asks me is "Can we now talk about what I could have done to stop the one that got in?". I had to tell him to enjoy the win for at least a moment.

Every time I lost the fun this year, my kid found it for me and helped me see the bigger picture without realizing. Absolutely adore this guy.

[Lucky Pucker]

5 hours ago, johncho said:

My kid ended up winning the season which was nice. But the biggest win was being able to teach all of the kids the lesson in both winning and losing well, and also staying the course when things aren't going well in the game. This year was the hardest on me due to so many factors, but also the one with the highest highlight in how my kid behaved on the ice and off.

My son had a challenging year in the first half not getting as much ice time as he wanted, but he really took a big step just after Christmas break and actively improved what he needed to work on. It's house league and I have no delusions, but I loved watching his normally bubbly happy-go-lucky self disappear when the game starts and see eyes get so focused. He upset the top two team each twice in the playoffs and never let in more than one goal, afterwards as he skates off the ice the first thing he asks me is "Can we now talk about what I could have done to stop the one that got in?". I had to tell him to enjoy the win for at least a moment.

Every time I lost the fun this year, my kid found it for me and helped me see the bigger picture without realizing. Absolutely adore this guy.

So happy to read this is how the season ended for you guys! There’s so much that us so-called adults can learn from the very kids we’re trying to teach. 

[creasecollector]

9 hours ago, johncho said:

My kid ended up winning the season which was nice. But the biggest win was being able to teach all of the kids the lesson in both winning and losing well, and also staying the course when things aren't going well in the game. This year was the hardest on me due to so many factors, but also the one with the highest highlight in how my kid behaved on the ice and off.

My son had a challenging year in the first half not getting as much ice time as he wanted, but he really took a big step just after Christmas break and actively improved what he needed to work on. It's house league and I have no delusions, but I loved watching his normally bubbly happy-go-lucky self disappear when the game starts and see eyes get so focused. He upset the top two team each twice in the playoffs and never let in more than one goal, afterwards as he skates off the ice the first thing he asks me is "Can we now talk about what I could have done to stop the one that got in?". I had to tell him to enjoy the win for at least a moment.

Every time I lost the fun this year, my kid found it for me and helped me see the bigger picture without realizing. Absolutely adore this guy.

So Awesome. Congrats to you both on learning so much this year. That's what sport is all about.