After a difficult loss, a high-intensity practice

Some issues a player/coach deals with at every level of hockey! No different in the NHL!



Well, that was intense.

Coming off a 4-0 loss to the L.A. Kings, the Wild bussed over to St. Thomas Academy and coach Mike Yeo put them through a very intense, very brisk hour-long practice.

The theme of the day: winning battles and doing a better job in defensive zone coverage. "That's what we wanted," Yeo said. "We're all about coming to the rink and getting better. If that's something tactically, or if it's battle level or work ethic-wise, that's what we'll do."

Kent Youngblood here. I was at practice today as Mr. Russo headed towards Montreal.

Well, the team certainly worked hard today. The one-on-one battles and the work on defensive zone coverage were intense, with a lot of hitting and even some pushing and shoving.

Here are some issues Yeo touched on after the workout:

--Yeo wanted to stress that the second Kings goal in the loss to L.A. Tuesday wasn't all defenseman Tom Gilbert's fault. Gilbert, playing in his first game, did create a mix-up when he instinctively did things the way he'd done them in Edmonton. But, Yeo said, the goal was scored because of poor defensive zone coverage. So that was a big emphasis in practice today.

"The goal didn't go in because they got the puck," Yeo said. "The goal went in because we're coming into d-zone coverage and we circle and we swing away, which is now characteristic of us. That's why you saw today we did a lot of drills where we were coming into d-zone coverage and we're stopping in position."

--Yeo wouldn't get into any details about the injury defenseman Mike Lundin is dealing with. But Yeo did say Lundin is skating on his own. "The only thing I'll saw is he's still not better," Yeo said. "He's trying. I think he's at the point where he's ready to try to push it a little harder to see how it responds."

--Yeo talked about how important it was for the players to channel their frustration into their play rather than display it in outbursts of anger. The TV broadcast of Tuesday's game showed Cal Clutterbuck appearing very frustrated at times. "Not just him, but everybody, it's important how you handle that," Yeo said. "You look at the team we want to become, talk about any of the champions out there, and they're able to deal with that stuff. We have to do a better job of that."

Three Tips for Eating Healthy on a Budget

Article by: Kait Fortunato | February 27, 2012
From Stack Blog!


Athletes who eat healthy feel better and are able to perform at their peak levels. However, eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to spend big bucks on organic foods or pricey supplements. It is possible to maintain a balanced diet on a budget by implementing a few simple strategies.

Below are three tips for eating healthy on a budget, so you can save money without sacrificing performance.

Make Your Own Snacks

Prepackaged items such as 100-calorie snack packs, chopped vegetables and energy bars are more expensive than making your own. Buy more food at the grocery and make your own snack packs. Purchase a large container of plain yogurt, create single-serving portions in reusable containers and add your own fruit and nuts rather than buying smaller cartons of yogurt with fruit already mixed in.
The best way to save money is to control what goes into your meals. This doesn’t mean taking cooking classes or making gourmet meals. Just browse a few online cooking sites, such as Cooking Light, for easy meals or snacks with a few ingredients. Instead of buying energy and protein bars, learn to make your own homemade ones. Plan your snacks each week so you have enough prepared for busy days.

Shift Portion Sizes

Use meat as an accent instead of a main dish. A serving of meat or chicken is four to six ounces; a serving of lean fish is five to seven ounces. Another quarter of your plate should include healthy carbohydrates, such as whole grain pasta or rice, a small sweet potato, corn or a roll. Fill the other half of your plate with vegetables. Try to eat a variety of colored fruits and vegetables throughout the week to make sure you are getting adequate vitamins and minerals. When you eat out, choose an appetizer-sized portion or share an entrée with a friend to save money.

Pantry Proteins

High protein items, such as kidney beans and chickpeas, are a healthier, cheaper meal replacement, and they make a great addition to stir-fries, soups and salads. Pantry proteins are easy to store and quick to prepare. Raw chickpeas are a great addition to salads. You can also roast chickpeas for a new side dish or blend them into humus or a vegetable dip. Beans are a healthy, inexpensive alternative that can easily replace ground beef in tacos, burgers and casseroles. Peanut butter is another cheap, high protein item that includes healthy fats. Add a tablespoon to a breakfast smoothie, spread it on an apple for an afternoon snack or spread it on wheat bread for a healthy sandwich at lunch.

What’s your favorite way to eat healthy on a budget? Tell STACK by writing on their Facebook wall or tweeting them at @STACKMedia.

Photo:  choosehealthla.com

Kait Fortunato earned her bachelor’s degree in dietetics and completed her internship through the University of Maryland. She focuses on individualized nutritional recommendations for athletes of all ages and activity levels, and she is an active member of the Sports Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Visit dietitianindc.blogspot.com for running and recipe updates.

Water: How much should you drink every day?

How much water should you drink each day? It's a simple question with no easy answers. Studies have produced varying recommendations over the years, but in truth, your water needs depend on many factors, including your health, how active you are and where you live.
Although no single formula fits everyone, knowing more about your body's need for fluids will help you estimate how much water to drink each day.

Health benefits of water

Functions of water in the body

Water is your body's principal chemical component and makes up about 60 percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water. For example, water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues.
Lack of water can lead to dehydration, a condition that occurs when you don't have enough water in your body to carry out normal functions. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired.

To Read rest of article click Here!

The Power of Positive Coaching

Imagine you’re coaching a big soccer game, against an undefeated team that has beaten your team in all your previous matches. Your 11-year-olds are playing well and are ahead. Then, in the closing minutes, the official makes a bad call that goes against you and, because of it, you lose. After the game, the parents of your players scream at the official. The kids are disappointed, looking up at you. What do you do?
Or you’re coaching tee-ball and one of your 5-year-old players has failed to get a hit so far. Now, he’s up again in a crucial situation and is nervous. All eyes are on him. His first swing misses high. The second misses low and knocks the ball off the tee. You call him over to offer some help. What do you say?

The meaning that coaches or parents help young people derive from sports can shape their lives.

Or you’re a parent and your 14-year-old daughter has just come off the basketball court. In the final seconds of the game, with her team behind by a point, she was fouled and awarded two free throws. What do you say if she missed both of them and her team lost? What if she triumphed? (Tune in on Wednesday for the answers!)
Coaches can be enormously influential in the lives of children. If you ask a random group of adults to recall something of significance that happened in their fourth or fifth grade classroom, many will draw a blank. But ask about a sports memory from childhood and you’re likely to hear about a game winning hit, or a dropped pass, that, decades later, can still elicit emotion. The meaning that coaches or parents help young people derive from such moments can shape their lives.

But today’s youth coaches often struggle to provide sound, evidence-based, and age-appropriate guidance to players. Part of the problem is that of the 2.5 million American adults who serve as volunteer coaches for youth sports less than 10 percent receive any formal training. Most become coaches because their kid is on the team ― and they basically improvise. I did this in soccer and, through my over-eagerness, almost destroyed my then-6-year-old son’s delight for the game.
But a bigger problem is that youth sports has come to emulate the win-at-all-costs ethos of professional sports. While youth and professional sports look alike, adults often forget that they are fundamentally different enterprises. Professional sports is an entertainment business. Youth sports is supposed to be about education and human development.

Read the rest of this article Here!

Easton RS Stealth Hockey Gloves

By Hockey Gear Review N, Hockey Gear Review
Sunday February 26th 2012

Look and Feel

Off the bat you will notice that the new Easton RS Gloves look quite different. I wasn’t really sure how I felt about it. I really like my traditional 4 roll gloves but I have to admit that I may be changing my preferences. Anyways, the gloves cuff is on an angle to give it a nontraditional look. The change was to give the glove a better range of motion and I would say for the most part, it works quite well.

The black colour of the gloves gives it a nice and sleek look. It follows the black and yellow color pattern that the RS stick has. I like that Easton has the colours across different products to help identify the level of quality.

The RS glove is an anatomical fitting glove (close fit) and it feels quite nice on. There were no restrictions or pressure points in the glove. The palm was a little stiff, but I think that you change with some more game time. My measuring stick for any product I test is how much I notice the glove when I play. I would have to say that I hardly noticed the RS gloves and that is a compliment.

Performance

The Easton RS gloves were quite good once I got out on the ice with them. Because of the tight fit, there were no movement restrictions. I was able to do most of my usual tricks with the gloves (clutch and grab!). They feature all of the usually features you would expect with a high-end glove. They had lock thumb, high density foam and featured nylon outer to help reduce they weight. The ergonomically fit is really nice. It wraps your hands comfortably and allows you to do whatever you need to do on the ice to be successful.

Recommendation

The Easton RS gloves are a good glove for someone who likes an anatomical tight-fitting glove. I would have no problem recommending these gloves to anyone who asks about them; provide you can deal with the way they look. I would say that you will need to try them out in the store. Grab a stick and see how it feels in your hands with the gloves on. Ultimately that will tell you what you need to know. If you like the feel, then get the gloves. Hockey Gear Review recommends the Easton RS gloves to intermediate level players and above.
Rating:

Hockey Trip To Europe = Nightmare

There are times when hockey parent lawsuits border on the absurd and then there are those that make complete sense amidst its sadness. I especially like the lawsuits that support what we've been preaching here for over a year - be careful who is holding your hockey money!

The latest "it's 10 O'clock, do you know where your hockey money is" experience occurred last week in British Columbia, CA when some kids got a chance to take part in a European Hockey Trip and the parents raised $100,000 for the honor. The trip was then canceled and the money disappeared. The parents are now not going to Europe, but to court. Read the entire story here. 

I hear all the time about kids being chosen for "select" teams that go to Europe, Russia, etc. They're expensive and obviously fundraisers for those putting the trip together. Why else would a private company go to such trouble? Someone is making money and it's not you. I'm not saying these are bad ideas, and could be great lifelong experiences for your kids. But, make sure you KNOW who is getting your money and you have a contract to work from. The Okanagan Elite Hockey Group will back me us up on this. They're going to spend a lot of time in court (and jail) because they didn't give kids a lifechanging experience, they played magician at a party that made money disappear.