Breakfast Club Spring Ending Session
Uhh! No way! Say it ain't so!
This was the last week of spring breakfast club??! It snuck up way too quickly. Maybe because Easter was so early this year, maybe because spring started out hot but then cooled back toward March weather when it was May, or maybe it's because I just can't count that well.
Either way, it's been eight weeks, come and gone. And now what am I going to do until the summer session starts in July?
Well, for starters, I'm going to throw down the gauntlet and try to embarrass Kirk and Gary and Todd into signing up for the next session while the May 31st discount is still available. Skate with me, AND save 10%. What more could you want?
What more could you want, versus what more do you need?
Well, for starters, I need to apologize to one of the other youth coaches. I let something simmer and fester, and then managed to really goof things up. Ugh, been kicking myself for a week over it...
And then there's want. As in I want to get better. Each week, each skate, each time on the bench. Maybe measured in inches instead of miles, but better nonetheless. Today's one-on-one lane drill was a good example. Control that defensive gap, and make the challenge at the blue line. Even with my stick upside down, I managed a few poke checks that made me smile. A smug little "yeah for me" that keeps you coming back.
We did a lot of one-on-one, two on's, mix and match. There are 10 skaters and two goalies in any given game, but it's really a series of one-on's and two-on's that ebb and flow. So our warm-up drill, two skaters up around the center circle and back at the net, left and right lane...it's about pace and positioning and keeping your feet moving so the goalie isn't quite sure when that puck is releasing. And the one-on-one's, again, are about pacing and using speed changes to your advantage. How about those two-on-one's? Now you've got options and choices. No half-way's allowed, right? Go big or stay home, as the saying goes. If you're on the attack with the odd-man advantage, how are you going to use that? If you're defending, how are you going to neutralize?
Moving up in numbers but not necessarily complexity, we did some 3-on-2's, kind of like the second part of a breakout drill. Just because it's 3-on-2, though, don't forget that all you really have is one set of one-on's and a second set of two-on's. If your defensive partner is challenging the puck carrier, you've got the make sure there isn't any good out for the puck carrier to pass to one of the other two forwards. If you are the third forward in, you need to see where the challenges are being set, so that you are the option for your partners and so that you are presenting a distraction for the defense and the goalie.
No morning is complete without a little scrimmage. Always fun, and always a good chance to try to put into action the things that Lyle and Scott tried drilling into our noggins. It actually looks like hockey out there!
Go Wings!
See you in July, and in the meantime keep your head up and your eyes on the goal.
This was the last week of spring breakfast club??! It snuck up way too quickly. Maybe because Easter was so early this year, maybe because spring started out hot but then cooled back toward March weather when it was May, or maybe it's because I just can't count that well.
Either way, it's been eight weeks, come and gone. And now what am I going to do until the summer session starts in July?
Well, for starters, I'm going to throw down the gauntlet and try to embarrass Kirk and Gary and Todd into signing up for the next session while the May 31st discount is still available. Skate with me, AND save 10%. What more could you want?
What more could you want, versus what more do you need?
Well, for starters, I need to apologize to one of the other youth coaches. I let something simmer and fester, and then managed to really goof things up. Ugh, been kicking myself for a week over it...
And then there's want. As in I want to get better. Each week, each skate, each time on the bench. Maybe measured in inches instead of miles, but better nonetheless. Today's one-on-one lane drill was a good example. Control that defensive gap, and make the challenge at the blue line. Even with my stick upside down, I managed a few poke checks that made me smile. A smug little "yeah for me" that keeps you coming back.
We did a lot of one-on-one, two on's, mix and match. There are 10 skaters and two goalies in any given game, but it's really a series of one-on's and two-on's that ebb and flow. So our warm-up drill, two skaters up around the center circle and back at the net, left and right lane...it's about pace and positioning and keeping your feet moving so the goalie isn't quite sure when that puck is releasing. And the one-on-one's, again, are about pacing and using speed changes to your advantage. How about those two-on-one's? Now you've got options and choices. No half-way's allowed, right? Go big or stay home, as the saying goes. If you're on the attack with the odd-man advantage, how are you going to use that? If you're defending, how are you going to neutralize?
Moving up in numbers but not necessarily complexity, we did some 3-on-2's, kind of like the second part of a breakout drill. Just because it's 3-on-2, though, don't forget that all you really have is one set of one-on's and a second set of two-on's. If your defensive partner is challenging the puck carrier, you've got the make sure there isn't any good out for the puck carrier to pass to one of the other two forwards. If you are the third forward in, you need to see where the challenges are being set, so that you are the option for your partners and so that you are presenting a distraction for the defense and the goalie.
No morning is complete without a little scrimmage. Always fun, and always a good chance to try to put into action the things that Lyle and Scott tried drilling into our noggins. It actually looks like hockey out there!
Go Wings!
See you in July, and in the meantime keep your head up and your eyes on the goal.
posted by Suburban Hockey @ 10:58 AM
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