Making Plays vs. Playing It Safe
Safe hockey—a method of playing the game focused on giving youth teams better chances at winning—sounds like a good thing, right? Unfortunately, what safe hockey amounts to is simply playing it safe. In this “game of territory,” coaches discourage players from making hockey plays for fear of losing the puck and potentially getting scored against. Instead, players are encouraged to dump the puck in the offensive zone as opposed to trying to make a play on the initial rush. As a professional coach and player, I believe it is the biggest inhibitor of development that exists in youth hockey.
How to Prevent Tetanus & Bacterial Meningitis
Get cut by an ice skate blade and the first thing you’ll hear is “When was your last tetanus shot?” No matter how careful you are, players, coaches, parents and siblings can be vulnerable to skate cuts — particularly when you spend a lot of time in crowded locker rooms. While scheduling physicals for back-to-school and/or back-to-hockey, find out if you and your kids need tetanus shot boosters. Kids generally receive tetanus immunization with the DTaP vaccine at 4 to 6 years and 11 to 12 years. Tetanus shots require a booster every 10 years. For more information, visit the Children’s Medical Center.
Glossary: The Plus/Minus
In school, did you want to see a B+ or B– on your report card? You probably wanted a B+ and so did your parents—because everyone knows getting a “plus” is better than getting a “minus.” The same goes for hockey. Much like academic grades, the plus/minus system in hockey is a basic way to rate each individual player’s performance. When an even-strength or shorthanded goal is scored, every player on the ice for the scoring team is rewarded a “plus.” Every player on the ice for the team scored against is given a “minus.” A player’s overall total is calculated by subtracting the minuses from the pluses. (Note that power play goals — during which one team is shorthanded — do not count toward either team’s plus/minus.)
Breaking (Up) the Ice
Playing hockey on a cross-ice or half-size “rink” seems to make sense for the 8 and under crowd. All other youth sports—football, basketball, baseball, soccer—reduce the size of the playing area. But since this spring, when USA Hockey announced it as the official new norm for all 8 and under players, you can’t go to a rink without overhearing plenty of chatter, questions and complaints on this topic. We asked a USA Hockey representative for help with parents’ biggest concerns.
How—and When—to Master the Slapshot
Having trouble with the slapshot? You’re not alone. In fact, it may be the most difficult shot to master because there’s so much to learn. It’s not just aim and shoot—you have to hold the stick at just the right spot and then properly wind up, position your feet, contact the ice (first) and connect with the puck. Clearly, the more there is to learn, the more things that can go wrong. To help, I’ve compiled the top 4 most common errors players make when learning the slapshot.
Glossary: The Slot
When you put a coin in a slot, you expect something good to happen—you get to make a phone call (remember payphones?), choose a piece of candy, buy a soda. It’s the same in the hockey: good things happen from the slot. That’s why hockey play-by-play, coaching and general chatter is chockfull of excited references to the “slot.” If you don’t know what the slot is, it’s hard to tell what they’re talking about much less why they’re so excited about it. And coaches, players and fans have good reason to be excited about the slot as it’s the area from which most goals are scored.
How to Prevent Heat Illness and Dehydration
You hear it all the time: Drink more water! Stay hydrated! But how do you know when kids are becoming dehydrated? Just how much water do they need? And is water the best thing? Hydration is key to performance in the hot summer sun both in off-season sports as well as hockey. Read on for details. Read more
Rinkwear for Moms, Dads & Siblings
It’s a common reaction among parents: love the hockey, adjust to the temperature in the rink, especially in the summer. It’s cold, sometimes uncomfortable. Who hasn’t ended up dodging skate blades while wearing flip-flops in the locker room? Shivered in shorts in the stands? How many times do busy players, parents and kids tear over to the rink from the pool or rush over after work—late and unprepared? It’s one of those things you never think about until the cool air hits when you walk into the rink.
How Visualization Helps You Achieve Success in Hockey
While researching his new book, 7 Pre-Game Habits of Pro Hockey Players, Brett Henning discovered that every star performer, from Navy Seals to CEOs, consistently employs visualization to achieve their level of success. In this summary, Henning shares how you can use visualization to elicit positive emotions such as confidence and eliminate negative emotions such as anxiety. Read more
Glossary: Crease
Close your eyes and you can almost hear a fan at a hockey game yelling: “He’s in the crease! He was in the crease!” He would be talking about that blue half-circle in front of the net, the area where the goaltender hangs out. And his excitement would arise from the fact that referees can wave off a goal scored when an opposing player is in the crease. So why not just be like basketball and call it “the paint”? Rumor has it that players used to make physical creases in the ice—with their skates or other objects—to mark the playing area before painted lines were introduced.
