Player Growth is All in the Details
Despite the saying “don’t sweat the small stuff,” to truly excel as a player, it is crucial to work on the little details of the game. The following article talks about the little details that help young athletes grow into better players.
Players don’t just get better. They get better at many small things that add up to an overall better player. For example, passing requires getting better at things like vision, timing, balance, speed and decision making. If players improve in all of these areas, then they become better passers.
For players, it is important to understand how very basic things contribute to their performance in a game. From this understanding, players can start working backward to identify and correct the details that lead to overall improvement. Coaches often ask players to do drills or exercises that may seem irrelevant but may focus on one of the many details players need for improvement.
John Wooden, a former NCAA college coach who won 10 championships in 12 years, put it best in his book “When you see a successful individual, a champion, a ‘winner,’ you can be sure that you are looking at an individual who pays great attention to the perfection of minor details.”
Editor’s Note: A special thanks to Sports Esteem for the following information.
Getting Players to Practice with Intensity
Most coaches have faced the challenge of getting athletes to practice with a purpose. Keeping young players engaged and excited about practice time is part skill and part art. Here are seven great tips to maintain a player’s practice intensity on a consistent basis.
1. Look underneath - The first step in addressing lack of intensity is to ask ‘why?’ Are the athletes especially fatigued? Burnt out? Extremely nervous? Ask a couple of team leaders what is going on.
2. Teach your athletes what practice intensity means - Many athletes, especially younger ones, think they are practicing hard without realizing they are only going half speed. Tell your athletes your definition of intensity. Then ask them to remember a practice in which they went as hard as they could and did a great job from beginning to end. Tell them that is their ‘bar’ for practice intensity. Their job is to try to get close to that bar every day.
3. Have your athlete’s rate and be responsible for their own intensity - Once your athletes have defined their own ‘personal best’ practice intensity, have them assign that level of intensity a ‘10′ on a scale of 1 to 10. Then, tell your athletes you expect them to always practice at a level of 8 or above on their personal intensity scale. When practice begins to drag, stop the action, let them catch their breath, and ask them to rate themselves on their personal scale. Remind them you need them to practice at level eight or above. Then get started again.
4. Set daily goals as performance targets - Goals keep our athletes focused and give them a sense of achievement. Set daily goals for each practice session in terms of effort (e.g. we want to go hard and stay focused), and in terms of accomplishment (e.g. we want to learn the 2-3 zone). Periodically remind them of their progress on each goal.
5. Use firm time periods - Break up practice into a series of fixed time periods (e.g. individual drill ten minutes, small group drill 20 minutes, scrimmage 20 minutes, etc). Ask your athletes to go hard for each entire period, one period at a time. And be sure to stick to your timetable. Your athletes will show more energy and confidence in trying to achieve intensity for these shorter periods of time.
6. Use simulations and games - Where appropriate, use simulations and games to make your coaching points. For example, use the clock, call out game situations, and keep score to create a game-like environment for your drills. Athletes usually respond more enthusiastically to these kinds of activities as opposed to less interesting repetitive tasks.
7. Keep an ‘intensity score’ - Use a portable white board or other prop to periodically score your athletes on their intensity. For example, you could score them on a scale of 1 to 10, where 8 to 10 is high intensity 5 to 7 is moderate intensity, and 1 to 4 is low intensity. Keep the scoreboard visible so they can look over and see how they are doing. If they begin to drop their intensity score, challenge them to get their score back up to the 8 to 10 range - and let them know when they do!
Editor’s Note: Thank you to Elevating Athletes for this article.
The Demon Hot Shot Puck Tracks Shot Speed
The Hockey Shot Demon Hot Shot Puck is a hockey training aid that helps measure shot speed on and off the ice. This new puck tracks your shot speed and helps you monitor your improvement over time. So is it worth it? Here’s our review of the Demon Hot Shot Radar Puck:Overview: The puck measures speed by accurately measuring the time taken for the puck to travel the distance from the stick to the target. The puck must be shot the distance it has been previously set. Accurate speed measurement depends upon shooting the right target distance.
How it works:
1. Select a shot type: Slap, Snap or Pass.
2. Select a shooting distance: 16, 24, 36 or 48 feet.
3. Tap puck on edge to turn it on. “00″ on display.
4. Shoot puck against a hard surface.
5. Retrieve puck and see your shot speed.
6. Puck automatically resets and is ready to be shot again.
Video: Below is a video that shows the Demon Hot Shot Puck in action:
Product Features:
* Impact resistant
* Water resistant
* Indoor / Outdoor use
* Normal function to -10 C / 14 F
* 4 shooting distances to choose from
* 3 shot types to choose from
* As accurate as a radar gun
* Turns off automatically after one minute of non-use
Price: $39.95
Testimonials: Below are testimonials from the HockeyShot website from players who have used the Demon Hot Shot Radar Puck
“Score more goals this year, train with the Demon Hot Shot!”
Ray Whitney, Carolina Hurricanes
“Attain your maximum shot velocity by training with the Demon Hot Shot”
Dennis Seidenberg, Carolina Hurricanes
“Best hockey shot training tool I’ve ever used”
Todd Harvey, NHL Alumni
“Training with the Demon Hot Shot develops customized shooting techniques for each player!”
Todd Simpson, NHL Alumni
“Demon Hot Shot creates a desire to shoot the puck harder!”
Todd Hlushko, NHL Alumni
Final Period: The Demon HotShot Puck is a great new way to measure shot speed and a much cheaper alternative than using a traditional radar gun. Try it today and monitor your shot speed improvement. Check out this product at www.hockeyshot.com
Editor’s Note: For a limited-time, when you use the code “teamcares″ at HockeyShot.com, you will receive 10% off any purchase.
Improve Your Hockey Shot with the SkinnerShooter
Improve your hockey shot - wrist, slap, backhand, and snap shot… at home. The SkinnerShooter is a helpful training device that enables you to work on your hockey swing from the comfort of your home. This unique device allows players to develop strength and improve their shot without ever hitting the ice. So is it worth it? Here’s our review of the SkinnerShooter.Overview: There is a new training device to help hockey players develop their hockey shot called SkinnerShooter and is manufactured by Powering Athletics (manufacturers of the PowerSkater). In speaking with Powering Athletics they tell us that the product idea came from one of their other products called the PowerVertex. They devised a way to track the golf and baseball swing on the PowerVertex and the owner, Ron Bulloch, quickly realized that this idea would be great for the hockey shot as well. He quickly designed a stand alone unit for the home in the same configuration and then teamed up with Sean Skinner, a good friend of his, thus the name SkinnerShooter. Sean is a professional skills coach teaching many aspects of the game of hockey.
How it works: The SkinnerShooter is the first hockey shooting device to train hockey shooting with a unique tracking concept. Unlike other tubing products that have been used in the market, the SkinnerShooter uses specially designed resistance bands and pulley system to follow the travel of the stick movement. The load remains constant through the full range of motion.
The unit mounts to the wall and is constructed of heavy gauge steel. The system includes two resistance bands with quick attach ends, pulleys, a blade attachment strap, and hardware.
The system has two Rhino cords that run around specially designed pulleys with high speed sealed ball bearings allowing for smooth action with each movement. When the player raises their stick up to their shoulder or above for the slap shot, the stick blade strap and pulley are drawn up the channel of the wall unit. As they follow down and through the shot, the unique pulley system tracks down through this motion. No other system on the market allows this type of freedom. This is important in order to keep the resistance near the blade of the stick and not artificially high throwing the player’s move out of alignment.
When executing the wrist, backhand, and snap shot the system can be quickly configured to track the movement low and again keeping the load at the blade of the stick.
Video: Below is a video that shows the SkinnerShooter in action:
Product Features:
· Tracks the correct swing
· Prevents the wrap around
· Strengthens the slap shot, wrist shot, snap shot & backhand shot
· Increases the stick swinging speed
· Increases the shot speed
· Increases hand quickness
· Increases the wrist and forearm strength
· Strengthens the small, quick motion of the snap shot
· Increases the push pull strength and speed
· Increases the power of the usually weak backhands
· Allows younger players to learn & use the snap shot early
Price: $250
Other Details: Rhino Cords are offered in 4 different weight ranges: Light Duty (10 & Under); Standard Duty (11-12 yrs.); Medium Duty (13-18 yrs.); and Intermediate Duty (Pro). Selecting the appropriate strength of cord relates to your strength level.
The optional PowerSnapper trains the forearm in the exact same way a player uses their forearms in all the hockey shots. The PowerSnapper is the first ever device that mimics the wrist/forearm movement in the supination, pronation, extensor, flexor muscle snap needed to execute every hockey shot. Wrist rollers will strengthen the muscles in the wrist/forearm but not nearly as effective as the PowerSnapper because all wrist rollers do not allow the hands/wrists to work in opposites. Train with your own hockey stick using the PowerSnapper in the same way you would roll your wrists when you shoot on the ice.
The Power Snapper fits on the shaft of the stick. It is secured to the shaft with carriage bolts and wing nuts making it easy to install and slide up and down the shaft. There are several eye bolt attachment points to vary the amount of resistance depending on the level of the athlete or cord used.
The Final Period: Like every other part of the game, you must learn the correct technique to shooting along with building up the muscle strength to execute the shot - wrist, slap, backhand, and snap shot. Shooting requires not only whole body strength, but great wrist and forearm strength along with the correct technique. The SkinnerShooter helps players develop and refine this technique. Check this product out at www.SkinnerShooter.com.
How to Be a Team Player
One of the key elements to team sports is the relationships of the team members. It is important to remember that the success of a team does not depend on one player, but rather the entire team dynamic. The following article provides critical ways to work together as a team.
It’s natural to dream of shooting the game winning basket or scoring the go ahead goal or touchdown. However, as team skills increase, it becomes progressively harder for one player to be the scoring hero. That’s when smarter players start using their teammates to help them score goals and win games.
A timely pass, throw or block are effective ways to score points in a game. Though not scoring directly, players who facilitate these goals are guiding their play and, in fact, asking their teammates to finish off their own efforts. It actually takes more player skills to contribute to team wins in this fashion than it does to contribute unassisted.
In hockey, player statistics are kept that record individual goals and assists with goals. Wayne Gretzky, recognized as one of the best hockey players ever, finished his career with over twice as many assists (2,223) as goals (1,016). Though he had the skills to score by himself, he more often used his teammates to get the job done.
Editor’s Note: A special thanks to Sports Esteem for this article.
Three Tips For Recruiting Volunteers
The next time you are in charge of the team’s fundraising efforts, consider the following three tips for successful volunteer recruitment and retention. Volunteers are important members of many fundraising teams, and often play a critical role in the overall success of your fundraiser. The following are a few tips to help you recruit volunteers to your fundraising team.
1. Invite, Don’t Push - You are working hard to support a meaningful and rewarding cause. You feel good about the work you’re doing and you want to share the joy of giving back with others. Remember that when you approach volunteers. Remember that you are inviting them to be a part of something great. Share your feelings with them and ask them to join you.
You’ll have more success recruiting volunteers by inviting them rather than pushing them into helping out, and the ones that you are able to recruit will likely share your passion for the cause.
2. Plan Your Tasks Before You Ask - People are more likely to volunteer if they have a clear idea of what you’re asking them to do. Divide your fundraiser into tasks and make a note of all tasks that require volunteer help. Take the list when you go recruiting and refer to it when asking volunteers. Say things like, “We need a few people to work on setup, and a few to supervise the event. Could you help out with one of those tasks?”
When you give people a clear understanding of the work involved, they’ll be more likely to sign on. Also, you’ll be assured that those who sign on will be up to the tasks at hand.
3. Be a Team Leader - Once you’ve recruited your volunteers, you want to keep them on board and keep them motivated. The best way to do this is to be an effective, well organized, energetic team leader. Let your enthusiasm show at all times, and be there to answer questions or offer support. You are who they will look to for guidance, so be prepared with a smile!
Editor’s Note: A special thanks to efundraising.com for this article.
Should Kids Play with Pain?
After a tough practice it is normal for muscles to be sore or tight. Pain is a regular part of participating in sports, however, with a growing number of youth athletes suffering from over use injuries, it is important to ask, if it healthy for kids to be in pain when they are taking part in sporting events. The following article discusses why your should never ignore your player’s pain and what it might be telling you.
Although kids are naturally flexible and limber, their muscles and bones are still developing and require proper care. Pain prior to a game is not normal for young players. It can represent anything from a minor sprain to a fractured bone. Pain is the body’s way of saying “Stop!” It is not unusual for a child to be sore after a game, but it is unusual for the pain from a prior game to still be a factor in the next.
In professional sports, it is common to hear stories of athletes playing with pain. However, young players lack the associated team doctors and trainers who help professional athletes make informed decisions. Youth players also lack the understanding of the consequences of playing with an injury. Kids only get one body and no childhood sports event is worth risking a lifetime of problems.
