Thursday 26 May 2011
The Secret To Success?
John Wooden’s success as a basketball coach is astounding but the main reason for it is not really a mystery. He had a distaste and contempt for the status quo. He almost loathed mediocrity. No, he detested “good.” Till the day he died, Coach Wooden was addicted to improvement. This type of disposition creates 10 championships, seven in a row.
Wednesday 25 May 2011
The Player Who Won't Pass
Q: I coach a Squirt team and have a player who won’t pass, no matter what. The other parents are getting very frustrated. What is the best way to handle this?A: A coach will almost always have to deal with a player or two who will not move the puck. When dealing with younger players (U8 and U10), try the following:
- Use the teaching terms “puck movement” and “head man the puck.” These terms are imperative.
- Demonstrate and emphasize to all players that nobody can outskate a pass. The other team, however, sure has the possibility of catching a player who does not pass.
- Stress that holding the puck too long makes it easy on the defender.
- Sit with the player at the rink and watch a game together. Point out examples of good puck movement and poor puck movement.
- Review video with the team and show players the different results when passing and not passing the puck.
- If a player at this age does not pass, the greatest card a coach holds is playing time.
- If it reaches a point where the player just will not listen, the coach must take away ice time.
- If that does not eventually work, have that player watch a game from the stands and write a paragraph or two on why it is important to pass the puck.
Thursday 19 May 2011
Roli The Goalie - Character - Touching Story!
TAMPA -- Dwayne Roloson, Tampa Bay Lightning goalkeeper, has been a star most of these Stanley Cup playoffs.
Then again, he has help.
There's a small green shamrock painted on the back plate of Roloson's goalie mask — a shamrock with the initials KR inside it. And there are the letters TDLO for "The Dream Lives On."
It's for a friend, a former camper at Roloson's summer goalie school, a boy not unlike Roloson's young sons, Brett and Ross. The shamrock is for a remarkable boy who'll always be 12, with a mop of hair and smile that could melt the ice.
It's for KR.
Kelly Ryan.
"I'm honored to have him with me," Roloson said
"The dream lives on, that's true," said Phil Ryan, Kelly's father. "Every day I watch Roli in the playoffs, even though Roli's name is on the sweater, … Kelly is there. He's in the Eastern Conference Finals."
He came into this world on Chicago's Southwest Side on Oct. 9, 1997, a month premature.
Kelly Thomas Ryan was in a hurry.
Phil Ryan is a cement finisher. His wife, Chris, is an office manager. They have two daughters, McKenna and Hannah. Kelly was in the middle.
Phil was a goalkeeper. He put Kelly on skates at 6, and a year later Kelly went between the pipes. He wasn't the biggest kid, but he worked hard and rose through the youth hockey ranks. Like we said, he was in a hurry.
"The NHL, that was Kelly's goal since he was 10," Phil said.
Along came Roli.
Phil still has no idea why his son chose Dwayne Roloson as his hockey hero. It's not as though Roloson played for Chicago's NHL team, the Blackhawks. Kelly followed Roloson as he went from the Minnesota Wild to the Edmonton Oilers to the New York Islanders.
"When Kelly was 7, he just started emulating Dwayne Roloson," Phil said. "He was comfortable with Roli's style on the ice, and as he got to know Roli, with his humbleness."
Kelly always wore a Roli hat and No. 30 in his games because Roli had worn 30 for the Wild. A few years ago, when his parents re-did his bedroom, Kelly insisted: Oilers blue. The guy at the paint store told Kelly, "I have no idea what you're talking about." Kelly returned with his Roli Oilers jersey. He got his Oilers blue room. It's still that color.
Through a mutual friend, Phil learned that Dwayne Roloson had a goalie camp in his hometown of Simcoe, Ontario. Camp co-founder and Chicago resident Tim Anderson, another former goalie, became good friends with Phil. In 2007, Kelly and the whole Ryan family headed for Simcoe.
"And we all just fell in love with Kelly," Tim Anderson said,
It's a 10-hour drive from Chicago to Simcoe and the Roloson Mason Goalie School, which also is named for Bob Mason, the Minnesota Wild goalkeeper coach. Dwayne Roloson is no figurehead. He's on the ice with the kids.
"We want to get to know them, each of them," Roloson said. "Kelly? He was the little guy with the smile, asking hundreds of questions, wanting to learn. He was just a phenomenal kid, very talented, very skilled. Every day he came to camp, he was happy."
"Roli was such a positive role model for my son, the way he worked with him, the way he treated him," Phil Ryan said.
Kelly attended three camps, the last in July 2009. Roloson always found extra time for him.
"Kelly had scholarship potential," Roloson said. "I think he could have been anything he wanted."
Roli was his idol.
"It's very humbling," Roloson said.
Sunday afternoon, April 18, 2010, Kelly finished up a weekend tournament. When he got home, his friend Alex called to see whether Kelly could come over. Kelly hopped on his BMX bike and promised his parents he'd call on his way home. And he did. He told his mom when he was a few blocks away. It was still light out.
A few minutes later, at 8:30, Phil's phone rang. He saw the ID. It was Kelly's cellphone.
But it was a police officer's voice.
"Do you have a son Kelly Ryan?" he asked.
At the accident scene, they kept Phil and Chris away from the ambulance. Chris saw the pickup truck. Kelly's bike was twisted in the truck's rear axle.
At the hospital, Phil cradled Kelly and whispered to him that if it hurt that bad, to let go, just let go, buddy. It was 11:03 p.m.
"A few seconds later, he was gone," Chris said.
There were 3,000 people at the visitation. Inside, there were Kelly's hockey jerseys, including his Roli jerseys. Phil put his own goalie equipment in the casket with Kelly, and some Roli hockey cards.
The funeral procession passed Kelly's grade school on the way to the Mass. His teachers and classmates were out front, wearing hockey shirts. They released balloons into an overcast sky.
At the cemetery, one of the boys asked Phil whether it was OK to leave his jersey on the casket. Soon there was a pile of hockey sweaters, and sticks, too. No one wanted to leave. A light rain began to fall. Finally they drifted away.
Dwayne Roloson was in Simcoe, at his oldest son's lacrosse practice, when Tim Anderson called him about Kelly.
"You're watching your son out on a field and you get a phone call about a boy who's just a few years older than your child, and he's gone," Roloson said. "Twelve years old. What do you do?"
Dwayne Roloson did what he could. A few months after the accident, he invited Phil Ryan up to goalie camp as a coach. It helped. The first Kelly Ryan Best Camper Award was given to the most dedicated goalie.
Phil's biggest fear was that Kelly would be forgotten. Chris goes to the cemetery all the time. Sometimes she locks herself in Kelly's room, where nothing ever changes.
On Oct. 18, 2010, six months to the day Kelly died, there was a candle and prayer memorial at the intersection where the accident occurred. Chris and the girls went, but Phil lingered at the house. There was too much pain.
He decided to watch the Islanders-Maple Leafs game because Roli was playing for New York and Kelly would love that. Phil noticed Roloson had a new mask. As the Islanders left the ice after the first period, Phil saw the mask's back plate. There was a huge green shamrock. And Kelly's number 30. And the words:
"To Kelly … Your dream lives on …"
"And I just start crying," Phil said.
Then he got up and went to the memorial.
Roloson and his wife, Melissa, came up with the idea for the mask. He had two made: one for games, one for the Ryans. Roloson was traded to the Lightning on New Year's Day. He has a Kelly back plate on his Lightning mask.
The Lightning came to Chicago late this season, and the Ryans came to the arena. Chris hugged Roli.
"Roli finally told me to stop crying or he would start," Chris said.
"He's with me all the time," Roli told her.
The Lightning play the Bruins tonight. Tim Thomas will start in net for Boston. Dwayne Roloson and Kelly Ryan will be in goal for Tampa Bay.
Then again, he has help.
There's a small green shamrock painted on the back plate of Roloson's goalie mask — a shamrock with the initials KR inside it. And there are the letters TDLO for "The Dream Lives On."
It's for a friend, a former camper at Roloson's summer goalie school, a boy not unlike Roloson's young sons, Brett and Ross. The shamrock is for a remarkable boy who'll always be 12, with a mop of hair and smile that could melt the ice.
It's for KR.
Kelly Ryan.
"I'm honored to have him with me," Roloson said
"The dream lives on, that's true," said Phil Ryan, Kelly's father. "Every day I watch Roli in the playoffs, even though Roli's name is on the sweater, … Kelly is there. He's in the Eastern Conference Finals."
He came into this world on Chicago's Southwest Side on Oct. 9, 1997, a month premature.
Kelly Thomas Ryan was in a hurry.
Phil Ryan is a cement finisher. His wife, Chris, is an office manager. They have two daughters, McKenna and Hannah. Kelly was in the middle.
Phil was a goalkeeper. He put Kelly on skates at 6, and a year later Kelly went between the pipes. He wasn't the biggest kid, but he worked hard and rose through the youth hockey ranks. Like we said, he was in a hurry.
"The NHL, that was Kelly's goal since he was 10," Phil said.
Along came Roli.
Phil still has no idea why his son chose Dwayne Roloson as his hockey hero. It's not as though Roloson played for Chicago's NHL team, the Blackhawks. Kelly followed Roloson as he went from the Minnesota Wild to the Edmonton Oilers to the New York Islanders.
"When Kelly was 7, he just started emulating Dwayne Roloson," Phil said. "He was comfortable with Roli's style on the ice, and as he got to know Roli, with his humbleness."
Kelly always wore a Roli hat and No. 30 in his games because Roli had worn 30 for the Wild. A few years ago, when his parents re-did his bedroom, Kelly insisted: Oilers blue. The guy at the paint store told Kelly, "I have no idea what you're talking about." Kelly returned with his Roli Oilers jersey. He got his Oilers blue room. It's still that color.
Through a mutual friend, Phil learned that Dwayne Roloson had a goalie camp in his hometown of Simcoe, Ontario. Camp co-founder and Chicago resident Tim Anderson, another former goalie, became good friends with Phil. In 2007, Kelly and the whole Ryan family headed for Simcoe.
"And we all just fell in love with Kelly," Tim Anderson said,
It's a 10-hour drive from Chicago to Simcoe and the Roloson Mason Goalie School, which also is named for Bob Mason, the Minnesota Wild goalkeeper coach. Dwayne Roloson is no figurehead. He's on the ice with the kids.
"We want to get to know them, each of them," Roloson said. "Kelly? He was the little guy with the smile, asking hundreds of questions, wanting to learn. He was just a phenomenal kid, very talented, very skilled. Every day he came to camp, he was happy."
"Roli was such a positive role model for my son, the way he worked with him, the way he treated him," Phil Ryan said.
Kelly attended three camps, the last in July 2009. Roloson always found extra time for him.
"Kelly had scholarship potential," Roloson said. "I think he could have been anything he wanted."
Roli was his idol.
"It's very humbling," Roloson said.
Sunday afternoon, April 18, 2010, Kelly finished up a weekend tournament. When he got home, his friend Alex called to see whether Kelly could come over. Kelly hopped on his BMX bike and promised his parents he'd call on his way home. And he did. He told his mom when he was a few blocks away. It was still light out.
A few minutes later, at 8:30, Phil's phone rang. He saw the ID. It was Kelly's cellphone.
But it was a police officer's voice.
"Do you have a son Kelly Ryan?" he asked.
At the accident scene, they kept Phil and Chris away from the ambulance. Chris saw the pickup truck. Kelly's bike was twisted in the truck's rear axle.
At the hospital, Phil cradled Kelly and whispered to him that if it hurt that bad, to let go, just let go, buddy. It was 11:03 p.m.
"A few seconds later, he was gone," Chris said.
There were 3,000 people at the visitation. Inside, there were Kelly's hockey jerseys, including his Roli jerseys. Phil put his own goalie equipment in the casket with Kelly, and some Roli hockey cards.
The funeral procession passed Kelly's grade school on the way to the Mass. His teachers and classmates were out front, wearing hockey shirts. They released balloons into an overcast sky.
At the cemetery, one of the boys asked Phil whether it was OK to leave his jersey on the casket. Soon there was a pile of hockey sweaters, and sticks, too. No one wanted to leave. A light rain began to fall. Finally they drifted away.
Dwayne Roloson was in Simcoe, at his oldest son's lacrosse practice, when Tim Anderson called him about Kelly.
"You're watching your son out on a field and you get a phone call about a boy who's just a few years older than your child, and he's gone," Roloson said. "Twelve years old. What do you do?"
Dwayne Roloson did what he could. A few months after the accident, he invited Phil Ryan up to goalie camp as a coach. It helped. The first Kelly Ryan Best Camper Award was given to the most dedicated goalie.
Phil's biggest fear was that Kelly would be forgotten. Chris goes to the cemetery all the time. Sometimes she locks herself in Kelly's room, where nothing ever changes.
On Oct. 18, 2010, six months to the day Kelly died, there was a candle and prayer memorial at the intersection where the accident occurred. Chris and the girls went, but Phil lingered at the house. There was too much pain.
He decided to watch the Islanders-Maple Leafs game because Roli was playing for New York and Kelly would love that. Phil noticed Roloson had a new mask. As the Islanders left the ice after the first period, Phil saw the mask's back plate. There was a huge green shamrock. And Kelly's number 30. And the words:
"To Kelly … Your dream lives on …"
"And I just start crying," Phil said.
Then he got up and went to the memorial.
Roloson and his wife, Melissa, came up with the idea for the mask. He had two made: one for games, one for the Ryans. Roloson was traded to the Lightning on New Year's Day. He has a Kelly back plate on his Lightning mask.
The Lightning came to Chicago late this season, and the Ryans came to the arena. Chris hugged Roli.
"Roli finally told me to stop crying or he would start," Chris said.
"He's with me all the time," Roli told her.
The Lightning play the Bruins tonight. Tim Thomas will start in net for Boston. Dwayne Roloson and Kelly Ryan will be in goal for Tampa Bay.
Four points that make up a great coach
Dan Bylsma's Pittsburgh Penguins are fourth in the East, two points out of first, despite being without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for long periods. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Justin Bourne
Justin Bourne
2011-03-28 15:10:00
Great coaches operate using different systems and styles and this year’s race for the Jack Adams Award is proof of that. No fewer than a dozen names could be rightly considered for nomination, as teams across the board have been impressive given their in-season difficulties - groups such as the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings all thrived despite multiple injuries to key players.
My experience with coaches has led me to believe most of the good ones, no matter their chosen style, have a few things in common - even guys such as fiery John Tortorella and the professor Dan Bylsma.
ESTABLISH MUTUAL RESPECT
As a player, you have to feel a level of sincere respect from your coach to be committed to the team and you have to respect the man back. If you want players to pour out 100 percent energy on a daily basis, they can’t walk into the dressing room and feel like a pawn. Taking the time to get to know the players on your team (without becoming “friends”) is a key part of getting them to work hard.
To gain respect, it helps to have a good hockey background. It’s hard to take someone seriously in crunch time when he’s giving hard line “my way or the highway” type advice if you feel like he hasn’t been there before and thus wouldn’t “know.”
Great coaches don’t belittle their players, they just give honest help. They need to establish the mindset of “we the team” so it doesn’t feel so much like a king ruling over peasants as it does two co-workers coming together.
That should be the easy part. But it has to go hand-in-hand with...
INTIMIDATION
Point 1 was a bit lovey-dovey to be an effective method of managing 23 men with egos, money and agendas if used on its own.
Some of the best in the business - think Mike Babcock as Example 1A - offer a mix of intelligent, thoughtful insight with searing “oh crap, he’s mad isn’t he?” Intimidating coaches can correct sloppy passes in practice with a single look (a look you begin to understand after a few weeks) or silence the room when he walks into it.
My Dad, Bob Bourne, played for Pat Quinn in Los Angeles and has mentioned Quinn was a great coach partially because of how strong and scary the guy was; players took him seriously. As much as you need to be “co-workers” so players can comfortably ask questions, the relationship needs to be established - team decisions are made democratically only until the dictator makes the final call.
Related Links
Jack Adams Award Watch
Crosby skates again with Penguins
DON’T TALK TOO MUCH
When you hear a coach has “lost the room,” it’s usually as a result of this factor.
As a coach standing on the bench, you could flap your lips for 60 minutes and some do (which I think is more common in the minor leagues). Players aren’t entirely idiotic, they often know when they’ve messed up and know what they should’ve done differently. They can see what their teammates are doing wrong from the bench. They too can see where the open man is.
So when you’re sitting on the bench and your coach is offering a running commentary, it can devalue his words (supply and demand, brutha). You know he’s going to talk between periods in the dressing room as well and, eventually, you just tune him out. You can only say the same things so many times before they fall on deaf ears.
Good coaches pick their spots to make sure their words carry weight. They also...
BALANCE MOTIVATION WITH TECHNICAL COACHING
Certain coaches get stuck in one gear or the other, but you have to balance the two styles to a certain degree if you want to maximize your effectiveness. There are times when a guy needs a good kick in the ass and there are times when you’re losing because your systems don’t match up well against your opponents.
Coaches succeed in a variety of ways and there’s no right or wrong way to do it. But from what I’ve seen, great coaches share the aforementioned four traits.
No doubt whoever wins the Jack Adams Award will be deserving of it. And no doubt whoever wins it will fit the above mold.
Justin Bourne
Justin Bourne
2011-03-28 15:10:00
Great coaches operate using different systems and styles and this year’s race for the Jack Adams Award is proof of that. No fewer than a dozen names could be rightly considered for nomination, as teams across the board have been impressive given their in-season difficulties - groups such as the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings all thrived despite multiple injuries to key players.
My experience with coaches has led me to believe most of the good ones, no matter their chosen style, have a few things in common - even guys such as fiery John Tortorella and the professor Dan Bylsma.
ESTABLISH MUTUAL RESPECT
As a player, you have to feel a level of sincere respect from your coach to be committed to the team and you have to respect the man back. If you want players to pour out 100 percent energy on a daily basis, they can’t walk into the dressing room and feel like a pawn. Taking the time to get to know the players on your team (without becoming “friends”) is a key part of getting them to work hard.
To gain respect, it helps to have a good hockey background. It’s hard to take someone seriously in crunch time when he’s giving hard line “my way or the highway” type advice if you feel like he hasn’t been there before and thus wouldn’t “know.”
Great coaches don’t belittle their players, they just give honest help. They need to establish the mindset of “we the team” so it doesn’t feel so much like a king ruling over peasants as it does two co-workers coming together.
That should be the easy part. But it has to go hand-in-hand with...
INTIMIDATION
Point 1 was a bit lovey-dovey to be an effective method of managing 23 men with egos, money and agendas if used on its own.
Some of the best in the business - think Mike Babcock as Example 1A - offer a mix of intelligent, thoughtful insight with searing “oh crap, he’s mad isn’t he?” Intimidating coaches can correct sloppy passes in practice with a single look (a look you begin to understand after a few weeks) or silence the room when he walks into it.
My Dad, Bob Bourne, played for Pat Quinn in Los Angeles and has mentioned Quinn was a great coach partially because of how strong and scary the guy was; players took him seriously. As much as you need to be “co-workers” so players can comfortably ask questions, the relationship needs to be established - team decisions are made democratically only until the dictator makes the final call.
Related Links
Jack Adams Award Watch
Crosby skates again with Penguins
DON’T TALK TOO MUCH
When you hear a coach has “lost the room,” it’s usually as a result of this factor.
As a coach standing on the bench, you could flap your lips for 60 minutes and some do (which I think is more common in the minor leagues). Players aren’t entirely idiotic, they often know when they’ve messed up and know what they should’ve done differently. They can see what their teammates are doing wrong from the bench. They too can see where the open man is.
So when you’re sitting on the bench and your coach is offering a running commentary, it can devalue his words (supply and demand, brutha). You know he’s going to talk between periods in the dressing room as well and, eventually, you just tune him out. You can only say the same things so many times before they fall on deaf ears.
Good coaches pick their spots to make sure their words carry weight. They also...
BALANCE MOTIVATION WITH TECHNICAL COACHING
Certain coaches get stuck in one gear or the other, but you have to balance the two styles to a certain degree if you want to maximize your effectiveness. There are times when a guy needs a good kick in the ass and there are times when you’re losing because your systems don’t match up well against your opponents.
Coaches succeed in a variety of ways and there’s no right or wrong way to do it. But from what I’ve seen, great coaches share the aforementioned four traits.
No doubt whoever wins the Jack Adams Award will be deserving of it. And no doubt whoever wins it will fit the above mold.
Stop Concussions
Former NHLer Keith Primeau joined other athletes for the launch of - www.stopconcussions.com - devoted to concussions information at the Hockey Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto on Wednesday May 4, 2011.
Wednesday 18 May 2011
Essential For Leadership!
David Cottrell, in his bestseller Monday Morning Leadership, reminds us of the 4 investment principles essential for leadership success:
- The Principle of Empowerment – Results improve as followers are allowed to accept responsibility for their actions.
- The Principle of Courage – Results improve in proportion to the leader’s ability to confront issues affecting his followers.
- The Principle of Example – Results improve when the leader is a positive role model.
- The Principle of Preparation – Results improve to the extent that leaders develop themselves and their followers.
Tuesday 17 May 2011
The Four Most Powerful Words of a Coach
In this article for coaches, youth coaching expert Steve Horan discusses the four most powerful words a coach can say to a player.
“I bring you the gift of these four words: I believe in you.”
This quote comes from the great French Coach Blaise Pascal. Actually Pascal was not a coach, he was a 17th century physicist, mathematician, and religious philosopher. But based on this quote alone, the guy had potential as a coach. He knew a lot about people.
Most of us, if we are lucky, have had an experience where someone said ‘I believe in you,’ or words to that effect, at a crucial point in our lives. Those words probably came when we were struggling in sports or in school or a discouraging life situation. The idea that someone believed in us transformed the way we looked at ourselves and our future. We moved forward with a new outlook and spirit.
“It’s an amazing thing if you can look in someone’s eyes and tell ‘em you believe in them. It’s one of the things that we do not do enough. I get kids that come to my summer camp, parents go to these Little League games and they’re watching kids… they’ve gotta tell them, ‘I believe in you. I believe in you.’” Mike Krzyzewski
One of the pleasures of coaching is we get to deliver that same experience to our athletes. The challenge, as Coach K alludes to in the quote, is remembering to do it often enough.
Coaches have a lot to deal with in a very compressed period of time. We find ourselves preoccupied with all of the demands of life in addition to preparing a team to function in a competitive environment. Amidst these responsibilities it is easy to forget that each of our athletes looks to us for affirmation. This is especially true for those athletes who are injured or at the end of the bench.
The good news is we can incorporate brief affirmations into our daily coaching practice without spending an inordinate amount of time. It only takes about 30 seconds to pull an athlete aside, affirm what he or she is doing well, and say:
‘I believe in you. You can do this. It’s inside you. I’ve seen it in flashes. You can bring it out all the time if you work hard and have fun with it. And I will help you. But you have to be willing to do the work.’
The even better news is, ‘I believe in you’ wins. Think about the things that bring athletes down. At or near the top of the list are lack of confidence, lack of motivation, lack of commitment, and lack of trust. An ‘I believe in you’ from the coach is an immediate confidence builder. “I believe in you’ also says ‘ I care about you,’ which is a key motivating factor in any player-coach relationship. That sense of being cared about — that I as an athlete matter to this coach and this team – is the foundation of commitment and trust. And it is commitment and trust which move the athlete to play hard and smart and quick and tough and together with their team.
Think about your athletes. Which of them may be struggling? It might be the star in a slump. It might be the rising star confronting new responsibilities. It might be an injured veteran who feels isolated from the team. It might be a role player who sees little playing time. They all need affirmation – and will play better as a result. To look in their eyes and say ‘I believe in you,’ and mean it, is perhaps the greatest gift you could give them. And in return, they will believe in you too.
About Steve Horan
Steve Horan is a long-time youth sports coach, administrator, and parent. He is also a researcher, trainer, and consultant in leadership and community health. He is the CEO of Community Health Solutions, and holds a PhD in Education from the University of Virginia. Steve is also the founder and editor of www.ElevatingAthletes.net, a website dedicated to coaching for positive youth development.
Check out Avalanche Care for more great articles!
Monday 16 May 2011
10 Reasons for Equal Playing Time
On most youth teams, there are players who are physically two or three years ahead of their teammates in size, speed, or strength. These players often form a core of talent that coaches can use to their advantage to win games. Especially in youth travel and select teams, the temptation for many coaches is to use this talent more during a game to go for the win. While this method is appropriate at the highest level of athletic competition, it seldom has any place in youth sports. Here are 10 reasons why equal playing time is a better strategy:
http://www.coloradoavalanchecares.com
- Avoids contention between coaches and parents. Parents will not objectively judge their own child’s abilities. No coach should expect objectivity from parents.
- Avoids contention among parents. The resentments that can build between coaches and parents can often build among parents for the same reasons. More than a few youth teams have had successful seasons poisoned by hard feelings arising out of a coach’s game decisions.
- Avoids contention among players. If players feel that coaches have favorites, they may stop trying their hardest.
- Minimizes player fatigue. In tough physical games, coaches will lack skilled players if the top players are exhausted and lesser players have had limited game experience.
- Maximizes player development. Without access to playing time and special situations, players cannot learn.
- Simplifies coaching decisions. Coaches won’t have to guess which players are most likely to play well in a given situation.
- Recognizes equal investments. Players and parents often make equal contributions away from the game in time and dollars and thus expect equal access to game situations.
- Improves team chemistry. When players feel everyone is treated fairly, they are more likely to focus on working together. When players feel they can succeed by making someone else look bad or themselves look better, they are learning the wrong lessons about team play.
- Wins mean more to everyone. When everyone contributes to a win, there are no lingering resentments that will interfere with the celebration.
- Better reflects coaching abilities. Winning games with kids who are physically more mature is more a success of drafting than coaching. Winning games by developing all the kids on a team is a better test of a coach’s abilities.
http://www.coloradoavalanchecares.com
Wednesday 11 May 2011
Make the Very Best Of Every Moment That You Have
Each day I live
I want to it be a day to give the best of me
I'm only one, but not alone
My finest day is yet unknown
I broke my heart for every gain
To taste the sweet, I faced the pain
I rise and fall, yet through it all this much remains
I was in one moment in time
I want to it be a day to give the best of me
I'm only one, but not alone
My finest day is yet unknown
I broke my heart for every gain
To taste the sweet, I faced the pain
I rise and fall, yet through it all this much remains
I was in one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heart beat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment in time
I will feel, I will feel eternity
I will live to be the very best I can
I want it all, no time for less
I've laid the plans
Now lay the chance here in my hands
Give me one moment in time
You're a winner for a lifetime
If you seize that one moment in time and go for it
Make it shine
Give me one moment in time
Monday 9 May 2011
Enthusiasm is Contagious
Enthusiasm is Contagious
Swen Nater
A salesman minus enthusiasm is just a clerk.
Harry F. Banks
In 1948 Coach Wooden took the job as UCLA head basketball coach. Early in the school year, all faculty and coaches were invited to hear a guest speaker at Royce Hall. Coach Wooden wasn’t very excited about going but he didn’t want the rest of the faculty to think he considered himself different or better. Therefore, he attended and, to make sure everyone knew he was there, he took a seat near the front.
In Coach Wooden’s own words, “The speaker presented a subject that, at the time, I had absolutely no interest in. However, because of his enthusiasm about it, the next day, I found myself at the UCLA library, reading books on the same subject. I have had a passion for it ever since.” The speaker’s subject was Abraham Lincoln.
One of Coach’s favorite poems is:
No written word, no spoken plea,
Can teach our youth what they should be,
Nor all the books on all the shelves.
It’s what the teachers are themselves.
When you teach anything, you start with motivation, and nothing can motivate better than a teacher’s enthusiasm for the subject. There are few things I like more than card tricks. There’s something really cool about messing with people’s minds. One trick is where I have you pick three cards, put them back into the deck, and then discard the entire deck into two piles, face up and face down while you look for one of your cards in the face up pile. You don’t find it. I keep discarding the face down piles until there are three cards left face down. Those are your cards. During the entire trick, I never see your cards. Isn’t that cool? (E-mail me and I’ll send you the step-by step method.)
I gained my enthusiasm for card tricks from Bob Weiss (NBA guard one generation before me). When I had my team (the San Diego Clippers) over to my house for a Christmas party, Bob—then assistant Coach—had everyone glued as he performed amazing trick after amazing trick. After the party, I asked him to show me one trick. He did, and the next day I found myself in the bookstore, looking for books on card tricks.
How does a teacher use enthusiasm to motivate students to be interested in a subject? For one thing, you never tell them you are excited about it; that won’t mean anything. That would be like Bob Weiss telling us he loves doing card tricks but never doing one, or the Royce Hall speaker telling the audience he loves Lincoln but never saying why. Enthusiasm becomes contagious when a teacher shows how cool he or she thinks the subject is. It’s the World History teacher who is perplexed and fascinated with Columbus’s drive to sail. It’s the English teacher who comes up with crazy mnemonics for memorizing spelling words.
So math teachers! Get out there and show ‘em how much you love logarithms.
A salesman minus enthusiasm is just a clerk.
Harry F. Banks
Check this website out - Great for the coaches!
Swen Nater
A salesman minus enthusiasm is just a clerk.
Harry F. Banks
In 1948 Coach Wooden took the job as UCLA head basketball coach. Early in the school year, all faculty and coaches were invited to hear a guest speaker at Royce Hall. Coach Wooden wasn’t very excited about going but he didn’t want the rest of the faculty to think he considered himself different or better. Therefore, he attended and, to make sure everyone knew he was there, he took a seat near the front.
In Coach Wooden’s own words, “The speaker presented a subject that, at the time, I had absolutely no interest in. However, because of his enthusiasm about it, the next day, I found myself at the UCLA library, reading books on the same subject. I have had a passion for it ever since.” The speaker’s subject was Abraham Lincoln.
One of Coach’s favorite poems is:
No written word, no spoken plea,
Can teach our youth what they should be,
Nor all the books on all the shelves.
It’s what the teachers are themselves.
When you teach anything, you start with motivation, and nothing can motivate better than a teacher’s enthusiasm for the subject. There are few things I like more than card tricks. There’s something really cool about messing with people’s minds. One trick is where I have you pick three cards, put them back into the deck, and then discard the entire deck into two piles, face up and face down while you look for one of your cards in the face up pile. You don’t find it. I keep discarding the face down piles until there are three cards left face down. Those are your cards. During the entire trick, I never see your cards. Isn’t that cool? (E-mail me and I’ll send you the step-by step method.)
I gained my enthusiasm for card tricks from Bob Weiss (NBA guard one generation before me). When I had my team (the San Diego Clippers) over to my house for a Christmas party, Bob—then assistant Coach—had everyone glued as he performed amazing trick after amazing trick. After the party, I asked him to show me one trick. He did, and the next day I found myself in the bookstore, looking for books on card tricks.
How does a teacher use enthusiasm to motivate students to be interested in a subject? For one thing, you never tell them you are excited about it; that won’t mean anything. That would be like Bob Weiss telling us he loves doing card tricks but never doing one, or the Royce Hall speaker telling the audience he loves Lincoln but never saying why. Enthusiasm becomes contagious when a teacher shows how cool he or she thinks the subject is. It’s the World History teacher who is perplexed and fascinated with Columbus’s drive to sail. It’s the English teacher who comes up with crazy mnemonics for memorizing spelling words.
So math teachers! Get out there and show ‘em how much you love logarithms.
A salesman minus enthusiasm is just a clerk.
Harry F. Banks
Check this website out - Great for the coaches!
Wednesday 4 May 2011
Tampa Bay - The 411 on the 1-3-1
Much has been made of Guy Boucher's implementation of a 1-3-1 neutral zone checking scheme. Below the jump I'll explain how the 1-3-1 works, why the Bolts use it, how they've used it against the Caps, and how to beat it.
Before the jump, I'd like to acknowledge the work of Fehr and Balanced, who provided all of the videos for this FanPost as well as numerous content suggestions and edits. Any errors are my own.
Great article - Check the rest out by clicking HERE!
Before the jump, I'd like to acknowledge the work of Fehr and Balanced, who provided all of the videos for this FanPost as well as numerous content suggestions and edits. Any errors are my own.
Great article - Check the rest out by clicking HERE!
Monday 2 May 2011
Secret to Success - 2nd and 3rd Effort!
The importance of winning the small battles that occur along the boards in various areas around the surface should NEVER be underestimated.
In fact, over 75 percent of the games I’ve coached, my team has won or at the very least tied the contest, IF we ended up winning the larger percentage of documented “board battles.”
So how do we define “board battles?”
It really is not very complicated...
Anytime the puck squirts loose along the boards and possession is clearly undetermined, you have a scrum situation. Keep in mind that it only takes one representative from each team to create a battle situation. (This would be known as the classic “one-on-one” confrontation). It should also be noted that the prototypical battle occurs with both players (or both “sets” of players) primarily in stationary positions.
Okay, now that we have defined the phrase “little battle” and have emphasized the importance of working hard to outright win each and every one, just how do we go about trying?
First of all, we must begin with the premises that you, as a player, are without fear and are filled with tenacity. Those are two traits that ALL hockey players must have to compete successfully. You see, regardless of your size and strength, you must barge into the corner as if you alone OWN the biscuit and you ALONE have the right to lay claim to it.
So, assuming that we’ve installed the appropriate mental framework, what are the physical tools required to leave the battle with sole ownership of the puck?
Strong hands, arms, midsection, rear-end, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and feet are all required, and it definitely doesn’t hurt if you combine those strength’s with quickness. Because once you establish possession, it helps to be able to move as quickly as possible to an area that will allow for increased options or maneuverability.
Can you practice winning the small battles?
You bet! And as coach or player, you MUST. It is fairly easy to manufacture situations in practice that call for one-on-one or two-on-two board battles. By the way, verbal communication becomes vital when the battles feature two or more players from each team, so force your team/teammates to work in tandem by talking to each other.
I am often asked if there is an area on the surface that is more important than another when it comes to winning/losing the small battles ... and my answer is always an unwavering – NO!
You see, losing a battle anywhere on the ice is dangerous, simply because it means you have lost possession. And generally speaking, the other team can only score when THEY HAVE ownership of the puck!
And ...
Especially so at the younger levels, players smaller in stature must be made to understand the concept of leverage and how it can be harnessed to flat-out win battles against much larger competitors.
That can only be accomplished by getting in the trenches and demonstrating what leverage actually means. If you, as a coach are not capable of illustrating this technique, you must find someone who can.
BONUS TIP
Coaches, consider adding a line item on your statistical tracking form that includes board battles won/lost. Single out the champion “board battle winners” on your club and award them a trophy. You will be surprised at how aware your team will become of the importance of winning the small battles if YOU honor the winners on your team consistently.
In fact, over 75 percent of the games I’ve coached, my team has won or at the very least tied the contest, IF we ended up winning the larger percentage of documented “board battles.”
So how do we define “board battles?”
It really is not very complicated...
Anytime the puck squirts loose along the boards and possession is clearly undetermined, you have a scrum situation. Keep in mind that it only takes one representative from each team to create a battle situation. (This would be known as the classic “one-on-one” confrontation). It should also be noted that the prototypical battle occurs with both players (or both “sets” of players) primarily in stationary positions.
Okay, now that we have defined the phrase “little battle” and have emphasized the importance of working hard to outright win each and every one, just how do we go about trying?
First of all, we must begin with the premises that you, as a player, are without fear and are filled with tenacity. Those are two traits that ALL hockey players must have to compete successfully. You see, regardless of your size and strength, you must barge into the corner as if you alone OWN the biscuit and you ALONE have the right to lay claim to it.
So, assuming that we’ve installed the appropriate mental framework, what are the physical tools required to leave the battle with sole ownership of the puck?
Strong hands, arms, midsection, rear-end, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and feet are all required, and it definitely doesn’t hurt if you combine those strength’s with quickness. Because once you establish possession, it helps to be able to move as quickly as possible to an area that will allow for increased options or maneuverability.
Can you practice winning the small battles?
You bet! And as coach or player, you MUST. It is fairly easy to manufacture situations in practice that call for one-on-one or two-on-two board battles. By the way, verbal communication becomes vital when the battles feature two or more players from each team, so force your team/teammates to work in tandem by talking to each other.
I am often asked if there is an area on the surface that is more important than another when it comes to winning/losing the small battles ... and my answer is always an unwavering – NO!
You see, losing a battle anywhere on the ice is dangerous, simply because it means you have lost possession. And generally speaking, the other team can only score when THEY HAVE ownership of the puck!
And ...
Especially so at the younger levels, players smaller in stature must be made to understand the concept of leverage and how it can be harnessed to flat-out win battles against much larger competitors.
That can only be accomplished by getting in the trenches and demonstrating what leverage actually means. If you, as a coach are not capable of illustrating this technique, you must find someone who can.
BONUS TIP
Coaches, consider adding a line item on your statistical tracking form that includes board battles won/lost. Single out the champion “board battle winners” on your club and award them a trophy. You will be surprised at how aware your team will become of the importance of winning the small battles if YOU honor the winners on your team consistently.
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