Discover How to Design Successful Hockey Drills

As part of the All Star Season program, youth coaching and fitness expert, Brian Grasso, identifies two key strategies for designing successful drills.  Follow Coach Grasso’s advice for guaranteed successful drills:

1. You’ve got to get players active, not lecture at them. Understand the size of your team and how to break it into the right-size groups. Keep instructions clear and short. Preparation is a top priority. Some coaches run through the purpose and sequence of drills even before going out to practice.


2. Design drills and skill-development exercises that get all players moving around, no matter the position or talent level. While every practice has down time for water or a needed short rest, always look to keep the kids engaged.  Even when they’re “resting”, they’re still doing something. Make every minute count and make this time interactive for players with both their coaches and teammates.

For more information about the keys to having an all star player, visit: www.AllStarSeason.com.

Specializing in Hockey is No Guarantee of Success

Don’t allow your child to specialize in hockey too soon. Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. says his dad insisted that Cal and his brother, also a former major leaguer, play more sports than just baseball as kids. And that was even though Cal Ripken Sr. was a lifelong professional baseball man.

Kids who participate in a variety of sports get more enrichment than those who specialize early on. Different sports also develop different mental and physical skills, resulting in lower burnout rates and fewer repetitive-stress injuries. These are no small things.

Playing under different coaches will also introduce your child to a variety of personality types and performance strategies. Encourage your child to become a total athlete, and he or she will shine in the sport they ultimately choose.

Kick-Start the Season with a Perfect Parent Meeting

Maybe it’s asking a lot to run the perfect parent meeting to start the season. But you can come pretty close with these steps on the agenda:

• Your first item to discuss at the meeting should be introductions.  As the team manager or coach you should introduce yourself and other coaches.


• Ask the parents to introduce themselves. You can suggest introduction topics such as their spouse/partner’s name, where they live, past hockey experiences, maybe profession if appropriate.


• Ask that each person tell something about his/her child and the parents’ goals for the season.


• Take time to summarize by comparing everyone’s goals. Discuss any differences or agreements you have so that you can settle any discrepancies.

At a separate meeting, maybe a bit later in the season, the players themselves should also be allowed to discuss their goals and desires. The best coaches and team managers will also consider those player goals and integrate them throughout the season.

5 Steps to Getting Your Kids Off to a Good Start

The first few weeks that kids spend playing a sport often determines how long they will continue. If they are fun, then kids will stay with it. If not, kids will quit and find other ways to spend their time. Parents can help get their kids off to a good start by following these 5 simple tips:

• Get Instruction in Advance - Part of the fun that kids derive from sports comes from the confidence they gain by performing at a level comparable or above that of their friends. A few private lessons before the first practice from a knowledgeable friend or instructor can help kids start with confidence. While parents can sometimes fill this role, kids often listen better to another adult. If possible, parents should get instruction for their child from someone else and then be ready to help out afterwards with additional practice.


• Attend the First Practices and Games - Parents can show their support for new activities by taking time to attend the first team events. These events provide parents a good chance to watch their kids learning new skills and interacting with friends. If kids don’t know many of the other kids and are shy, parents should consider helping their kids get acquainted with the other players.


• Be Generous with Praise and Encouragement - It is unlikely that the first time kids participate in a new sport that they will excel. Parents may have to be creative in their compliments, but parental praise is an important part of process. Praising a child’s effort, listening, participation and outgoing actions are just as valid as praising a child’s skill.


• Don’t Give Criticism or Correction - It will be tempting for parents to point out areas of improvement for their child. Especially during the first few weeks, this should be avoided to the extreme. Parents should let the coach work with their child to improve skills. There is plenty of time to fix skill problems if kids enjoy playing.


• Provide Extra Time Before and After Practices - One of the biggest benefits for kids playing sports is the opportunity to spend more time with friends. Arriving immediately before and leaving right after a practice or game don’t give kids time to enjoy this benefit. Parents should be prepared to arrive early and then stay late in order to give their kids the chance for more socialization.

Getting kids started on the right foot in sports is not difficult but may require some patience. At any age, there is always plenty of time for kids to build skills. But, there may not always be plenty of time to build enjoyment. The right parental actions during the critical first few weeks of a sport’s season can give kids and parents years of great memories. (Special thanks to Sports Esteem for the above article.)

8 Ways to Turn Around a Problem Parent

Most coaches have had a problem parent or two on their team. In this article, we address eight ways to turn around a problem parent. Here are some ideas for working through this issue.

1. Assume parents are trying to help. In spite of what parents may be doing, most are behaving as they are because they believe their actions will benefit their child. Many times parents may be repeating inappropriate behaviors that were used with them when they played sports.


2. Educate parents about best practices. If parents are working in their child’s best interests but are going about it wrong, then coaches can give parents alternative behaviors that will accomplish the desired results.


3. Communicate frequently with parents as individuals and as a group. The more parents and coaches are at ease talking with each other about small issues, the more parents and coaches will be comfortable talking about more difficult issues.


4. Rely on beginning of season communications. If the coach has held a meeting early in the season and given parents a clear set of goals and playing philosophies, coaches can go back to those to statements to restart the relationship.


5. Seek help from league officials. Don’t hesitate to discuss a problem parent with the supervising league official. This provides an opportunity to gain insight into the parent or the problem as well as alerting others to a difficult situation.


6. Seek advice from other coaches. With coach turnover, coaches are seeing problems with parents and parent issues that have been resolved many times by other coaches before them.


7. Use parent meetings to form consensus and invoke peer pressure. Parent meetings are good times to set expectations for team parent behavior and discuss them. Parents are more likely to act in ways that they believe are supported by other parents.


8. Rely on printed league statements and codes of conduct. In extreme situations, coaches may need to reference the league’s Code of Conduct to warn that current behavior may risk league actions. Coaches should use the league as the enforcer of these policies.

There is no standard approach to parent problems. A strategy focusing on communication, education and enforcement gives coaches the best chances of resolving parent issues. Special thanks to Sports Esteem for sharing the above article.