Improve Skills with the Elite Hockey Coaching & Development Series

Finding great coaching resources is one key element in staying ahead of the competition. The Elite Hockey Coaching & Development Series offers coaching staff and players the latest skills development and conditioning drills. So is it worth it? Here is our review of this training resource:





Overview: The Elite Hockey Coaching & Development Series provides coaches with the appropriate skills and tactics for each age level, as well as information that will enhance coaching skills and allow coaches to develop the technical and tactical skills of players.

Details: The Elite Hockey Coaching and Development Series is available for a variety of age groups, including Novice, Atom, Peewee, Bantam and Midget. Additionally, the series offers dryland training manuals for the same age group categories.

Purpose: The Elite Hockey Coaching and Development Series helps coaches and players learn the latest skills to increase skill development. The age specific categories ensure that the techniques are designed to meet specific developmental stages.

Price: $39.95 per manual

Features: Each book contains a minimum of 150 high-tempo, high-flow drills. Each book covers some of the following topics:

• Coaching philosophy, objectives, team rules


• Training camp


• Tryouts


• Technical preparation


• Tactical preparation


• Physical preparation


• Mental preparation


• Sports nutrition


• Drills


• Goaltending


• Practice Plans

Key Point: The drills are high tempo high flow drills, including warm up, team play, group tactical, individual, and skating. The practice plans including practice planning and periodization, practice plan themes, and high tempo practice plans.

Final Period: The Elite Coaching Hockey Coaching & Development Series will help you get the most out of your hockey practices and off-ice dryland training sessions. For more information on the Elite Hockey Coaching & Development Series visit 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.

Q&A: How Does My Player Get College Funding if He Does Not Qualify for a Scholarship?

One thing that unites hockey players is their love of the game. This means that despite the fact that they may never be offered a college scholarship or play professionally, they continue to play throughout their life. The following article is in response to a question submitted by Jim, regarding his son’s options for college funding while still playing the game he loves.





Jim asks: What can my player do if he’s pretty good but not good enough to get a scholarship? Should he play club hockey or try and walk on at a DIII school, and then possibly try and get a partial scholarship later?

Answer: Every year there are at least 36,667 high school hockey players competing for less than 1,000 scholarships. Anyone who does the math will quickly realize that many talented players do not receive scholarship offers. Serious hockey players who want to continue to play at the collegiate level should not lose hope just because they are not invited to sign a national letter of intent. There are several other options to consider.

Athletic scholarships are only one way students can receive college funding. Many students collect significant college funding through academic scholarships and merit grants. Colleges and universities often award scholarships to students who meet specific academic requirements, and if a college coach is recruiting a player he may be able to pull for the individual in the admissions and financial aid offices to ensure that the student-athlete is not only accepted, but that he also receives the maximum financial package. Division III programs do not offer athletic scholarships but many Division III athletes receive substantial funding in the form of academic, merit and need based aid.

Club hockey is another avenue for student-athletes who want to continue their hockey careers at the college level. Club hockey teams range from very competitive to recreational. The degree to which a college funds the program also varies significantly. In most cases, club coaches do not have the ability to help athletes gain acceptance to college or receive financial assistance from the institution. Student-athletes may still receive academic and merit aid if their high school performance warrants the award.

In the end, it is important to evaluate college options as early as possible so a player will know their choices and make an educated decision on what college opportunity is right for them.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to NCSA for their response to this question.

Essex Hockey Grows the Game by Hosting “Bring a Friend to Skate” Event

In this featured "Grow the Game" story, the Essex Youth Hockey Association in Vermont hosted "Bring a Friend to Skate" for local girls interested in playing hockey. The program encouraged current Essex Youth Hockey girls players to bring their friends to Cairns Arena and have them learn the game of hockey from a contingent of current Essex coaches, Essex High School varsity girls players and Norwich women's hockey team members.



"You gotta love it. It's so inspiring seeing them," said Lindsay Norris, a senior player on the Essex High School varsity team, and a graduate of the Essex Youth Hockey program. "They never seem to get frustrated.... they fall down and the next minute you go to help them back up and they're already half way back up and they're just right back at it and it's really cool."

Equipment was provided free of charge to the players. Players were allowed to keep it if they decided that they wanted to continue pursuing the sport after participating in the program. For more information on the Essex Youth Hockey Association, click here.

How Do You Encourage Your Player After a Tough Loss?

Last week we asked you to provide input regarding how you encourage your child after a tough loss. The individual who provided the best answer would win a $50 gift certificate to HockeyShot.com. We received many excellent responses and encouraging ideas. Congratulations to Laura Shovein-Brown for providing the following winning response:



Laura said: Tough losses can be difficult for kids (and adults). The main focal points of the game are to have fun and win. Yes, I said win. Who plays a game to lose or to hand over a trophy? Let's be real.

When a player experiences a loss, it is important to ask him/her what they thought of the game and what they might change about it, if anything. And, most importantly, what did they learn from the experience? Don't let players get side tracked with blaming others (including the refs). Let them have time to reflect and talk about it, if they choose. Additionally, it is important not to criticize your player's performance. Let your player come to you or the coach for critique or advice if they feel it is necessary. If your player does want to talk about things, be sure to highlight positives, along with discussing what they might want to improve upon.

I also pass on my motto to soften the blow... "one who never loses anything, never understands or truly appreciates a win." This is a fact and applies to many things in life. Losses are learning experiences for all of us.

Editor's Note: Congratulations to Laura Shovein-Brown for winning this week's contest. As a thank you for her answer, HockeyShot.com is giving Laura a $50 gift certificate to HockeyShot.com. Want to win this week's prize? Be sure to click here for the latest Grow the Game contest.

How to Encourage Good Sports Conduct

Parents often enroll their child in a hockey program to build character. Sport participation by itself, however, does not develop character in athletes. Just like any physical skill, athletes need to be taught positive behaviors. Coaches and parents both play a vital role in developing positive attitudes and behaviors in their athletes. Two major ways to develop good sport conduct is via positive role modeling and actively teaching good sport conduct.





What is Good Sport Conduct? Good sport conduct or sportsmanship are the behaviors appropriate of a sport participant. Sportsmanship occurs when athletes show respect and concern to opponents, teammates, coaches, and officials. In other words, coaches should teach their athletes to “treat others, as you would like to be treated.” Sportsmanship is an important issue facing all people involved in athletics.

Examples of good sport conduct include:

• Shaking hands with opponents after a game


• Helping an opponent up after a play


• Showing concern for injured opponents


• Accepting all decisions of the referees


• Encouraging less skilled teammates


• Congratulating an excellent effort by opponents

Examples of poor sport conduct include:

• Trash talking


• Causing injury to an opponent on purpose


• Cheating


• Making fun of teammates


• Blaming losses on others


• Running up the score against your opponents

How to Model Good Sport Conduct - There are many ways that you can teach sportsmanship to your players, but the most important way is for you to model good sport conduct. Knute Rockne, former football coach of Notre Dame, said “One man practicing good sportsmanship is far better than 50 others preaching it.”

Young players look to adults as role models and are likely to observe their behaviors. It is unlikely that athletes will be able to control their behaviors, if their parents or coaches are unable to control their own. Adults who show respect to officials and opponents before, during, and after games can truly expect their players to do the same.

Examples of showing respect to officials:

• Avoid calling the officials names


• Civilly question calls


• Be open to idea that the official is correct


• Put yourself in the official’s shoes

Examples of showing respect to opponents:

• Give your best effort


• Celebrate victory respectfully


• Engage in the pre- and post-game handshake


• Give credit to opponents

During practices and games, it is imperative that coaches remain under control when interacting with players, assistant coaches, officials, and opposing coaches. Parents observing the good sportsmanship attitude of their children’s coach will soon understand the responsibility they have to engage in good sport conduct as spectators.

Actively Teach Sportsmanship

• Set up rules of sportsmanship or a code of conduct at the beginning of the season. Make sure to include consequences for breaking the code. These rules and consequences must apply to all athletes in all situations.


• Expect sportsmanship during practice and competitions


• Bring examples of the good or poor behavior of professional or college athletes to practice. Discuss the behavior of these athletes with your team.


• Reward athletes on your team who behave as good sports. Discipline athletes who behave as poor sports. By allowing poor sport conduct to happen on your team, you are teaching athletes that poor sport conduct is acceptable.


• Teach athletes to be considerate of their teammates and their opponents when they win and lose.


• Emphasize respecting opponents and officials whether they win or lose.


• Stress the importance of sportsmanship at parent meetings.


• Make sure your athletes know and follow the rules of the sport.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Elevating Athletes for this article.

Top Three Ways Recruiting is Changing

Technology, scheduling and competition have changed the recruiting process significantly. The recruiting scenarios of a parent’s generation are archaic compared to the fast paced world most players are facing today. The following article identifies the top three ways recruiting has changed.

• The Internet has completely changed the way coaches recruit.


• Camps and combines are now essential to the recruiting process.


• Unofficial visits are absolutely crucial to building relationships with coaches early on in the process.

It is, however, crucial to understand that these points are a bit of a Catch 22. While they are all true, simply doing all three wont make a recruit any more likely to receive a scholarship. Recruits need to go about accomplishing all three tasks the right way.

Recruits can’t just have a profile on a website. Coaches aren’t able to find a needle in a haystack on the Internet any more than they were able in the old days. What the Internet does is provide coaches an efficient way to quickly evaluate the recruits they have heard about from a trusted 3rd party. There are many programs, such as NCSA’s Recruit-Match database that accomplish both the task of verifying every athlete as legitimate and allowing coaches to quickly evaluate their athletic and academic qualifications.

Camps and combines are also essential to the recruiting process. However, choosing the right camp can be just as important. It is important to realize if you are you padding a coaches salary or being evaluated.

Finally, visits are key to establishing relationships. However, setting up a beneficial visit requires first getting a coach’s attention and then executing the visit properly. Doing both requires work and execution.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to NCSA for this informative article.

USA Hockey’s Retention Model Helps Grow the Game

Every hockey association has turnover from one year to the next. Many families forget to sign-up before the start of the season and do not return to hockey primarily because they figure that it is too late to play.



Additionally, each season over 40,000 kids stop playing youth hockey. Much of this loss can be reduced through a little extra follow up. In order to help hockey clubs retain existing players and grow their numbers, USA Hockey has created a step-by-step retention model. To see this model, click here (pdf).

Why They Play, Why They Quit, Why It Matters

More than 40 million American youth participate in school and community based sports each year, however, most drop out at or around age 13. The following reasons why they play and why they quit, are crucial for adults involved youth sports, including parents, coaches, directors and board members.





Why they play - The most widely cited study of why kids play sports was produced in 1992 by the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development. Although the study results are now more than 17 years old, they still ring true. The top reasons cited include:

• To have fun


• To do something I am good at


• To stay in shape


• To learn or improve skills


• To play as part of a team

A desire to win and compete was 8th on the list (higher for boys, lower for girls). Girls were more likely to name social reasons as motivating factors.

Why they quit - The same Carnegie Council study also cited reasons why youth quit organized sports. The top reasons include:

• Lack of interest in the sport


• No longer fun


• Coach plays favorites / was a poor teacher


• Wanting to participate in other activities


• Diminished opportunities

Why it matters - The research on why kids play and why they quit is important for everyone involved in youth sports.

• For children and youth, the good news is that most have an opportunity to participate in youth sports during their pre-teen years. The bad news is that many drop out at or around age 13, a time in their lives when many might need a youth sports team the most.


• For parents, this research shows that some kids are simply ready to move on to another positive activity in their life. This is not a bad thing, and can often be a good thing. On the other hand, there are many kids who drop out of sports due to poor coaching, too much pressure, or lack of opportunities to play. This should be a concern to everyone involved, including adults involved in school- and community based programs.


• For school and community-based sports program coaches, directors and board members, the results are a mixed bag. On the one hand, million of adults are investing time to give children and youth in the tens of millions an opportunity to have some fun, make some friends and learn some positive life lessons through sports. This is a great thing. On the other hand, we do have youth leaving sports due to lack of competent coaching, too much pressure from adults, or both. This is an issue which can be improved on if adults are willing to invest a little time in learning how to promote positive youth development through sports. Unfortunately, not enough individuals and programs are willing to do this, and the problem persists.


• For everyone involved, we need to decide how we feel about millions of kids leaving youth sports during their early teen years for lack of continuing opportunities to play. These are the years in which many at risk youth are most in need of the structure and social network provided by a positively coached youth sports team. Yet this is the time when those without top-level talent are cut from high school teams and competitive club teams. Are we comfortable with this, or should we be working together to create more opportunities for sports outside of elite teams?

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Elevating Athletes for this article.

How Do You Keep Your Hockey Player Motivated During the Season?

Last week we asked you to share your tips to keep players motivated during the season. The individual who provided the best answer would win a $50 gift certificate to HockeyShot.com. You provided an abundance of great ideas. Congratulations to Laura Jaramazovic for providing the following winning response:



Laura said: Keeping a hockey player motivated during the long hockey season can be a challenge. After all, there are no six to seven digit incomes prodding them on, only the love of the game. Since the love for the game is their primary motivation, parents must bear this in mind.

Once it becomes a chore, work, or something associated with parental nagging, the love is soon gone. This is why kids are usually more motivated at the beginning of the season and are worn out by the end. Somewhere between tournaments, travel and practice drills the “fun” aspect of hockey soon fades away and it can become a job – and, as adults, we know how fun most jobs are.

To keep a player motivated patience is required. The temptation to nag must be kept in check or going to hockey practice becomes synonymous with “go do your homework.” Here are some tips to help keep things fun and avoid nagging:

• Get hockey bags ready the night before to avoid the rush and stress that usually accompanies the trip to hockey practice.


• Make sure your player gets enough rest during the season. We all know how important rest is to keep them from getting sick. The same thought also applies to keeping them from burning out. Sometimes they are just too tired.


• Try and keep outside activities in balance with at home family time. Our kids' social calendars are busier than a CEO's at times, which can lead to burnout.


• Take them ice skating as a family.


• See if your team will have some play time such as broom ball or baseball on ice with hockey gear, etc.


• Give the player ownership. If they won't get their gear ready, you don't go. At some point you have to put it in their hands to want to play.


• Most importantly, be involved and cheer them on. It's supposed to be fun, right?

I hope this helps some desperate hockey parents out there. Remember it is ok to let go of the battle and get back to having some fun.

Editor’s Note: Congratulations to Laura Jaramazovic for her winning answer. As a thank you for her input, HockeyShot.com is giving Laura a $50 gift certificate. Want to win this week's prize? Be sure to click here for the latest Grow the Game contest.

The Three Most Important Coaching Roles Every Coach Should Master

Coaches can play many roles - including medic, psychologist, chauffeur and sometimes equipment manager to name a few. There are three key roles that define the philosophy, practice and impact of a coach. The coaches who confuse these roles can find themselves making serious mistakes. The coaches who manage these roles effectively are the ones who win and change lives.





The coach as teacher - Every coach is a teacher who provides instruction in sport-specific skills and strategies. The best coaches also teach positive life skills like healthy living, positive character, self direction, teamwork and leadership. Even when coaches are not teaching with words, they are teaching with action. Their athletes watch them closely and learn from what they do.

The coach as leader - Every coach is also a leader, whether they realize it or not. As a leader, it is the coach’s job to provide purpose, direction and motivation to the athletes on the team. Like teaching, some coaches are better leaders than others. The best leaders produce teams that get the most out of their talent and play with a high degree of spirit, honor and trust. Coaches who lack leadership skills usually have teams that under-perform for their talent.

The coach as competitor - The third role of a coach is that of competitor. We don’t talk about this role as much as the roles of teacher and leader, but the coach’s competitive disposition is always a factor. A coach with a controlled and positive competitive disposition can teach their athletes important life lessons about competing with honor. Coaches who lack competitive self-restraint can cause serious problems for athletes under their supervision.

Role Confusion

Most coaches who make serious mistakes are confused about their role priorities. They may have good intentions about teaching and leading for positive youth development, but when they get into competitive situations their own need to win over-rides their commitment to doing what is right for their athletes’ personal development. They make rash decisions aimed at winning in the moment without realizing or caring that they may be damaging the positive development of their own athletes. Their athletes see this for what it is, and revoke their trust in the coach as a teacher and leader. Then the coach wonders why the team plays tight under pressure and why the athletes don’t stay loyal to the program.

Taking Action

The truth is that few coaches are completely immune to the risk of putting their competitive instincts ahead of positive development of their athletes. The driving will to win can get the best of anyone. Positive competition is good, but we do need competitive self-restraint, which is simply the practice of putting the needs of our athletes ahead of our own need to win. We can accomplish this by:

• Reminding ourselves that as adults we are teachers and leaders of young people first and competitors second.


• Committing to make positive youth development our highest mission as a coach.


• Judging ourselves not on our win-loss record, but on the content of our athletes’ competitive character and positive development.

None of this means that winning is unimportant or not worth pursuing.  It simply means we will not compromise the positive development of our athletes for the sake of a scoreboard.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Elevating Athletes for this encouraging article.

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