Balance and Control - Essential Components for Improvement

Whether you are a wobbly 5-year old struggling to stay on your feet just skating forward in a straight line, or a speedy 14-year old driving off of the wing and cutting sharply to the net while protecting the puck from the defenseman just long enough to get the shot off, you have two things in common. You need balance and you need control.

In the same manner, balance and control have been two of the cornerstones of Suburban Hockey Schools' programming for over 30 years. In every class, it is essential that there is a good balance, or mix, of hard work and fun and at the same time, an organized, controlled environment.

"As former players and coaches, we learned a long time ago that the game has to be fun for the students," says SHS director Tom Anastos. "If it is not, why would they want to participate? You see it at every level, even the professionals. When do they decide to get out of the game? When it’s not enjoyable to play it any more."

Program Manager Geoff Bennetts agrees.

"We really work hard to create a fun learning environment," he said, "and that holds true at every level. Whether it is the 6-year old mini mites, or the 46-year old adults, they learn and improve at a much faster rate if they enjoy what they doing".

Anastos added, "Really, to be an effective educator, you have to be somewhat of an entertainer", he said. "You could be the most knowledgeable hockey instructor in the world and be teaching exactly what the students need to hear, but if they aren’t interested in hearing what you are saying, it doesn’t matter. Your delivery has to captivate them".

But it’s not all fun and games – serious instruction goes on in every class. Plenty of time is spent on teaching proper skating and puckhandling mechanics and techniques. There is also plenty of time for the students to work on those techniques.

"Every student has to have the chance to do, to experiment," Bennetts said. "We know when it is time to talk, and when it is time for action. There is only so much each student can absorb at a time. They have to be moving and putting those words, those demonstrations by instructors, into action."

Fundamental skating and puck skills are reinforced through skill games – fun games where the players have the opportunity to put their newly acquired moves to the test. Some of the games are competitive, some are not.

"If the games are too competitive, the players tend not to try to do the skill correctly, they try to win, and do whatever it takes to accomplish that, even cheating," says Anastos. "So sometimes competitive games can be counter-productive in teaching new skills. We try to make sure they are having fun, but are also being positively reinforced that what they are doing works."

Fun is one thing, but too much fun can also lead to problems of its own, horseplay and goofing around.

"That’s where the control part comes in," according to Director Lyle Phair. "As an instructor, if you don’t have control of the class, it can result in a train wreck in a hurry. Our instructors are taught to command respect from their students. We need to be firm with them, so they know that we mean business, but there is no reason why that can’t be done with a smile on our faces."

All classes have very few rules, but those rules are made clear right at the beginning of the first class, and the students are reminded of them each day. Those rules include, 1) Pucks are not to be shot, unless the students are directed to shoot them as part of a drill, 2) When the whistle blows, or the instructor speaks for their attention, the students are to leave the pucks alone and skate to the instructor immediately, 3) Students are to pay attention and try as hard as possible and two things will happen – first, they will have fun, and second they will become better hockey players.

"It is really that simple," says Phair, "And really, we have very few problems. Ice time is very expensive, so we work very hard to use it efficiently. On those rare instances where a player continues to be a recurring problem, we don’t waste time disciplining him or her on the ice. That wouldn’t be fair to the other players. Each arena already has a great place built for time outs, the penalty box. You do the crime and you serve the time, and a hockey-related lesson can be learned there as well – misbehave and you will lose ice time. It is very effective, when needed".

But according to Anastos, it is not needed very often.

"Our goal is to keep the players so active and so involved in enjoying the game and what they are learning, that there isn’t any time to even think of anything else".Now that’s balance, and control.

2003 by Suburban Hockey, LLC, All Rights Reserved.