Ladder Drills = Quicker Feet

Hockey is a unique sport that requires quick hands, quick feet and excellent hand-eye coordination—all at the same time. Dryland training for hockey needs to incorporate all these elements to be effective. An agility ladder is an excellent tool to help accomplish this task. Using an agility ladder is especially effective in developing footwork quickness, transitional movement and change of direction. These are all critical components to becoming a better hockey player.



Activities and drills for the agility ladder are limited by only your creativity. Most athletes, and certainly most trainers, are familiar with basic agility ladder use. This versatile tool should not be limited to basic use, however. Incorporating advanced hand-eye activity and upper body exercises helps make the ladder even more effective. Passing exercises, doing upper body movement while in the ladder and using the ladder as part of an obstacle course are examples of ways to make it a more effective—and fun—exercise.



I highly recommend getting an agility ladder and using it diligently. You will be amazed at how versatile it can be as an exercise, too. You will also be amazed at the results as your feet get quicker and you become a better hockey player!

Editor's Note: Along with working with HockeyOT.com, Mike Beckman is a physical therapist and founder of Valley Rehabilitation Services. He has been in practice since 1986. He has worked with athletes at all levels and sports in both rehab and performance training.

Mite Hockey = Fun!

If your child is playing hockey for the first time this season, you are probably interested in helping him or her have the best possible experience. Youth sports are a wonderful way for kids to get regular exercise and develop physical skills. Team sports also teach children how to get along with their teammates, how to take instructions from the coach and how to cope when things don’t go so well.



Why do kids play sports? Surveys conducted in the United States and Canada indicate that young athletes most often list their sport goals in the following order of importance:

• To have fun.


• To improve skills and learn new ones.


• To be with friends or make new ones.


• For thrills and excitement.


• To win.


• To become physically fit.

The findings clearly indicate that the primary goal of professional athletes and many adults—winning—is far less important to children. What really matters to kids is having fun! So, the key to gaining lifelong benefits from sports is to focus on participation and fun—not simply performance.

What about winning? Winning is fun when it happens, and it’s great when your child has good coordination and athletic talent. But it’s also wise to be realistic about the abilities and attention span of a typical hockey Mite. For example, it takes a certain amount of motor control and understanding for a youngster to skate and handle the stick. But realistically, while some kids will focus on what’s happening on the ice, you’ll see others “horsing around” or telling jokes. And that’s OK! It’s to be expected!

What’s important is the joy of the activity. By 9 or 10 years of age, a child usually gets more interested in playing hockey the right way. However, at any age, it’s not the parent’s job to push the child or live vicariously through him or her. The parent’s major role is to support the child and enjoy the moment.

How can you help to promote fun? Get excited about almost everything that happens. Find something to value and encourage in your child. Consistently reinforce indications of skill improvement, effort and good teamwork. Say, for example:

• “I love how you skate fast.”


• “Way to go! You showed a lot of effort and improvement.”


• “It’s great to hear you encouraging your teammates!”

At the same time, look for opportunities to reinforce good sportsmanship, and keep things in perspective. For example, if your child complains about losing a game, you might say, “I know it’s fun to win. But everybody eventually is going to lose. How do you think that team felt last week when your team won? (Although this should not happen to Mites in USA Hockey as nobody is technically keeping score…) The important thing is to play, have fun, and do your best. Did you have fun?” Hopefully, your child will say “yes,” and you’ll see evidence that he or she enjoys playing hockey.

What if your child isn’t having fun? It’s possible that your child isn’t developmentally ready to play hockey and follow the coach’s instructions. If that’s the case, you might consider an activity that’s a little easier or more suited to your child’s temperament and capabilities (such as soccer, gymnastics or swimming). There’s no need to rush a disinterested or poorly coordinated child into any sport. And let’s face it: Not every kid wants to grow up to be Sidney Crosby. The bottom line is to do what is best for your child—not what is most pleasing to you.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Frank L. Smoll, Ph.D., for this article. Dr. Smoll is a sport psychologist at the University of Washington and co-director of Youth Enrichment in Sports. To see previews of his Mastery Approach to Coaching and Mastery Approach to Parenting in Sports DVDs, visit www.y-e-sports.com.

Keep Up the Training!

Strength and conditioning is critical to the success of hockey players at all levels. Athletes will spend time in the off-season increasing speed, power, strength, endurance and agility as well as rehabbing injuries. Considerable amounts of time and resources are spent in these endeavors.



Unfortunately, many players end up wasting these efforts during the season. After all the hard off-season work to get into peak shape, all they end up doing during the season is going to practice, doing some sprints and agility training, mixing in some plyometric exercises and playing games. With this routine, research shows that performance will begin to deteriorate after about four weeks. What good is all of the off-season work if you are going to let any gains decline by mid-season? It is important to make time for in-season strength and conditioning to at least maintain any gains from the off-season. Not only does this improve game performance, it also helps decrease the risk of injury.

Naturally, time is a factor when considering an in-season program. Research does suggest that a two-day per week off-ice training regimen can maintain performance. HockeyOT training—a comprehensive, personalized dryland training program on the web—is an ideal way to develop in-season programs because it creates time-efficient workouts that target specific player needs. Regardless of what system the player or team uses, strength and conditioning should be a priority in-season.

Some key points for in-season training:

• Strength train at least two days per week for no longer than an hour per session


• Decrease volume of exercises in sets and reps vs. intensity


• Continue to target your weaknesses

In summary, in-season training is still a critical part of overall success in hockey. It can help decrease risk of injury, prevent performance deterioration and maintain strength and power gained in the off-season.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Mike Beckman for this story. Along with working with HockeyOT.com, Mike Beckman is a physical therapist and founder of Valley Rehabilitation Services. He has been in practice since 1986. He has worked with athletes at all levels and sports in both rehab and performance training.

 

Communicating Effectively with Young Athletes

Coaches give a great deal of time and energy to providing a worthwhile life experience for young athletes. To optimize coaching effectiveness, coaches must be aware of the importance of skillful communication in achieving their objectives.



Everything we do communicates something to others. Because of this, coaches should develop the habit of asking themselves (and, at times, their athletes) how their actions are being interpreted. This enables coaches to evaluate whether they are communicating what they intend to.

Coaches must constantly ask themselves what has been communicated to athletes and whether the communication was effective.

Effective communication is a two-way street.

• By keeping the lines of interaction open, coaches can be more aware of opportunities to have a positive impact on athletes.


• Fostering two-way communication does not mean that athletes are free to be disrespectful toward their coach.


• Rather, it invites athletes to express their views (both positive and negative) with the assurance that they will be heard by the coach.


• Furthermore, by presenting a model of an attentive listener, coaches can hope to improve the listening skills of their athletes.

Effective communication also requires that coaches view a team as a group of individuals and respond to these individuals accordingly. For example, a youngster who has low self-confidence may be crushed (or positively affected) by something that has no impact whatever on an athlete with high self-esteem. By improving sensitivity to the needs of athletes, coaches can be more successful. The ability to “read” athletes and respond to their individual needs is characteristic of high-quality coaches at all levels of sport.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Frank L. Smoll, Ph.D., and Ronald E. Smith, Ph.D., for this article. Drs. Smoll and Smith are sport psychologists at the University of Washington and co-directors of Youth Enrichment in Sports. To see previews of their Mastery Approach to Coaching and Mastery Approach to Parenting in Sports DVDs, visit www.y-e-sports.com.