The One Skill That Makes You 10 Times The Hockey Player – Part 2 – (XXX)

Posted by Jim on January 15, 2020
Posted in: heads up hockey, Hockey, hockey Skills, Jim Serba, mike serba, mike serba memorial golf tournament, Russian hockey skills, Truth about hockey, understanding hockey.

The One Skill That Will Make You 10 Times The Hockey Player

Learn To Skate With And Handle The Puck With Your Head Up

In Part 1, I mentioned that are systemic issues with the process of learning to play hockey that cause the bad habit of looking down at the puck and hamper the development of the proper skill sets. In  Part 2, I want to go over this in more detail so that you can be aware and hopefully take steps to avoid falling onto bad habits.

 Problem 1

One problem is that most start to play hockey at a very young age and they learn to play with a puck that is the same size that is played with by  mature adult professional players. They don’t have the strength to move the puck so they separate their hands on the stick to create leverage. This brings the puck in closer to their feet and forces the head down. But this is just one of the problems that this creates. The young players are forced to grip the stick tighter and stiffen up their shoulders in order to engage their upper body strength to move the puck. Stick handling becomes more like chopping wood. Also, try locking up your shoulders and see how well you can skate ……. good luck with that.

Problem 1A – To Be A Good Stick Handler You Need Short Stick

The worst aspect in Problem 1 above is that the puck is brought is closer to the player’s body. In order to be aware of the puck the player is forced to keep the head down. I still hear of coaches who see a kid struggle with handling the puck recommend they shorten their stick. A short stick means the puck is brought closer to the players body and promotes having the head down. Now-a-days this advise usually comes from the old school coach that played a long time ago. Modern instruction and teaching of the proper techniques for handling a hockey stick make for very effective and comfortable use of relatively long stick.

Problem 2

A second problem is that in hockey schools or in team practices pylons or obstacles are set up to skate around. No player wants to lose the puck and look foolish while doing a drill; so once again the head goes down and the player gets fixated mainly on the puck.

Also, I almost never see a coach promote skating with the head up during practice and what is even worse, I don’t often see it emphasized at hockey school skills sessions.

Fear

A little bit about fear in hockey (this is a fairly big subject that I’ll deal with in more detail at a later date).

There are two categories of fear in hockey. The most obvious is physical fear; the fear of being hit by a body check and the fear of injury. The second type of fear is psychological/mental fear. Psychological fear is more subtle, however more critical and perilous. (Anyone who has ever tried to be a serious golfer knows all too well the effect of psychological fear.)

It’s my belief that psychological fear plays a big role with Problem 2. Even in a practice drill, no player wants to look foolish by losing the puck. As a result, the player focuses on the puck in order to keep control of it and then develops this habit of keeping the head down.

 

In Part 3 I’ll do my best explain the essential elements necessary to learn how to skate and handle a puck with you head up to the max.

Note:

If you’re new to this blog and reading it from Facebook or Twitter, make sure to click on the BLOG/NEWS link in the menu at the top of the page and scroll down to read previous blogs on this and other subjects. Otherwise you won’t be able to get to previous blogs.

The One Skill That Makes You 10 Times The Hockey Player – Part 1 – (XXIX)

Posted by Jim on January 10, 2020
Posted in: heads up hockey, Hockey, hockey Skills, how to succeed in hockey, Jim Serba, mike serba, mike serba memorial golf tournament, Russian hockey skills, Truth about hockey, understanding hockey.

 

The One Skill That Will Make You 10 Times The Hockey Player

Learn To Skate With And Handle The Puck With Your Head Up

Connor McDavid’s recent goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs is already being described as the goal of the year. There are many aspects of this goal that are wonderful, but what stood out most to me was the way McDavid had complete confidence and control of the puck with his head up all the time.

Watch the video and pay particular attention to the replay beginning at the 35 second mark and at the 43 second mark. McDavid crosses the blue line drifting to the right with his head up as if looking for support and a pass back to a teammate. The defense man Rielly is forced to poach to his left to protect against the pass. The fast cut back has Rielly beat. If you watch closely you will see that Reilly is beginning to lift his right foot to start a cross over to the left and that assures that he’ll be beat. (By the way, I used to work with Jason Spezza and this was a move that he would use by drifting to one side and watching the defense man’s feet. As soon as the defense man lifts a foot to begin a cross over; a quick cut back has him beat.)

 

One thing that always drove me crazy when I was teaching hockey skills was the lack of emphasis on one of the biggest key skills necessary to be a great hockey player; the skill of skating with the puck and handling the puck with your head up.

Skating with the puck while having your head up does not come naturally and is an acquired and learned skill. It can be taught and needs to be practiced until it becomes a habit and second nature.

Think about it. If you’re skating with the puck and your eyes are fixated on the puck; you have little or no clue of some very important things that are going on around you. You won’t know where your teammates are and who might be open for a great pass. You won’t be aware of the big mean defense man stepping up to take you head off. You will playing the game while looking down a 6 inch cardboard tube and good luck with that.

Why Do Players Develop The Habit Of Looking At The Puck?

Unfortunately, the sad truth is that this skill is not often taught or emphasized and it’s even more sad there are systemic issues in the process of learning to play hockey that cause looking down at the puck to become the habit and obstruct the development of the proper skill sets.

One problem is that most start to play hockey at a very young age and they learn to play with a puck that is the same size that is played with by  mature adult professional players. They don’t have the strength to move the puck so they separate their hands on the stick to create leverage. This brings the puck in closer to their feet and forces the head down. This is just one of the problems that is created by this.

A second problem is that in hockey schools or in team practices pylons or obstacles are set up to skate around. No player wants to lose the puck and look foolish while doing a drill; so once again the head goes down and the player gets fixated mainly on the puck.

In part 2 I’ll expand upon this and start to deal with how to avoid any pitfalls to developing bad habits and I’ll try my best in writing to describe the elements necessary to develop this skill and good habits.

Note:

If you’re new to this blog and reading it from Facebook or Twitter, make sure to click on the BLOG/NEWS link in the menu at the top of the page and scroll down to read previous blogs on this and other subjects. Otherwise you won’t be able to get to previous blogs.

I’m Back

Posted by Jim on January 9, 2020
Posted in: Hockey, hockey Skills, how to succeed in hockey, Jim Serba, mike serba, mike serba memorial golf tournament, Russian hockey skills, Truth about hockey, understanding hockey.

 

I’m Back

 

 

Been away from posting anything for a while now. Just been busy and lacked the time and motivation.

I found it interesting that the stats for the site show my post get visits every day and from people all over the world. While most visits to the site come from Canada and The United States, to date we have had visitors from more than 15 different countries.

I’ve had contact from quite a few people asking for specific information and asking me to continue with my posts about hockey.

I have a little more time now and a number of topics that I want to post about including the latest inspiration from watching the recent goal scored by Connor McDavid against the Toronto Maple Leafs. McDacid’s goal was awesome in many aspects; however, there was one particular aspect of his goal that stuck out in my mind.

The Inspiration

Connor McDavid does one thing in particular that every hockey player needs to learn. It is an acquired skill. It is a skill that once learned and mastered will make every player 10 times better than they would otherwise be.

The sad thing is that this skill is not often taught or emphasized and sadly there are systemic issues in the process of learning to play hockey that cause bad habits and obstruct the development of this skill.

In the next post I’ll start a series of blogs to explain the skill …. how to avoid the pitfalls to it’s development  …. and the essential elements to it’s development and mastery.

 

Note:

If you’re new to this blog and reading it from Facebook or Twitter, make sure to click on the BLOG/NEWS link in the menu at the top of the page and scroll down to read previous blogs on this and other subjects. Otherwise you won’t be able to get to previous blogs.

Mike Serba Still Remembered By The Norwich Community

Posted by Jim on February 8, 2019
Posted in: Hockey, hockey Skills, how to succeed in hockey, Jim Serba, mike serba, mike serba memorial golf tournament, The Rustic - Northfiel Vermont, Truth about hockey, understanding hockey.

Mike Serba Still Remembered By The Norwich Community

 

The Rustic – A Local Pub & Eatery

A local friend of mine passed this video along to me.

I used to go in The Rustic before hockey games at Norwich for a great meal and a refreshing beverage. The hockey players used to drop by after a game to relax (and I’m sure they still do). Miss being there in recent years.

Norwich University is located in the small community (population 6207) in Northfield, Vermont.

After Mike’s death I spoke with Mark Ruel the owner of the The Rustic. He had wonderful memories of Mike and told some great stories of those memories.

So nice to know that after all of these years my son Mike is still remembered and with his picture on the wall at The Rustic. Really miss the hockey, the people, The Rustic and Mark.

Nice To Know Mike Is Still Remembered 

 

Note:

If you’re new to this blog and reading it from Facebook or Twitter, make sure to click on the BLOG/NEWS link in the menu at the top of the page and scroll down to read previous blogs on this and other subjects. Otherwise you won’t be able to get to previous blogs.

 

The Truth About Hockey Continued – The “Kabuki” Dance – Part 1 – (XXVIII)

Posted by Jim on December 4, 2018
Posted in: Hockey, hockey Skills, how to succeed in hockey, Jim Serba, mike serba, mike serba memorial golf tournament, Minor Hockey Try-out, Truth about hockey, understanding hockey.

Minor Hockey Try-Outs

What Came First, The Chicken Or The Egg?

And

Who Is Responsible For This “Kabuki” Dance?

In the last blog I wanted to alert new parents of some the reality they may face at try-out time in efforts for their child to make a team. There was an important topic that dealt with a troubling aspect of minor hockey today. A lot of teams are already set by try-outs and the available of openings on a team may be limited or even nonexistent. Now no one from the organization will ever alert you to this and in fact, it will be hushed up in part because the reasons that lead to this are against GTHL rules.

Try-outs are theoretically held for one basic reason which is to fill open spots with  the most talented players a team can get. (One should keep in mind though that organizations can make money from try-outs. The more players that come to the try-outs; the more money an organization can make from the fees that are charged. It should be obvious then that if in fact the team is already set; this will never be made known.)

How Did It All Start?

This was more than likely started by coaches.

Even the dumbest coach on the face of the earth understands the importance of having a winning record. The coach that wins the championship is virtually immune from any kind of criticism. On the other hand, a coach with a bad losing record can be assured of all kinds of criticism. If a team is not performing well, it’s always the coach’s fault and it’s interesting how everyone who has ever watched a few games on Hockey Night In Canada seems to become an instant expert.

As a result, coaches understand the value of having the absolute best talent available and most will resort to all kinds of measures to stack their team. After all, if you have all of the best talent, all you have to do is turn them loose and they will win games with very little teaching and coaching effort.

Many coaches are in arenas all year scouting talent and then approaching the player and parent for next year ….. something which is against the rules in the GTHL however many coaches actively engage in recruiting. Coaches also frequently run illegal on-ice skates disguised as a “birthday” party. In fairness, enforcing rules against these sketchy practices is difficult for the league and as long as you can get away with it; there are a lot of coaches that will do everything they can to stack their team.

What Came First, The Chicken Or The Egg?

Years ago there were always jokes among parents that such and such a coach had reportedly committed to 50 players for next year. Under GTHL rules a team can have a maximum of 20 players registered, so obviously, the joke was that many coaches had over-committed.

Reality is that most of the information on this issue that parents hear, comes from other parents. Coaches almost never talk about it. As a result since all you hear comes from other parents, it’s the coaches that take the knock on these practices.

However, the truth is that parents are involved in these practices right up to their necks. A great number of parents will be calling “winning” coaches for a spot for next season, organizing the so-called “birthday skates”, alerting coaches to other potential good recruits and on an on.

I believe too many parents focus solely on getting their kids on a really strong team thinking it will help their kids to look as good as possible and will therefore enhance their future prospects. In fact, I’m certain that this type of maneuvering is detrimental to their future prospects. It has constantly amazed me that parents in their efforts to help their children’s fortunes in hockey, somehow instinctively do things that have the exact opposite effect.

Who Is Responsible?

I’m not certain how this all started but at this point it doesn’t matter who initiated this yearly “dance”. It has become the yearly ritual at try-out time and will likely never change. Both coaches and parents are maneuvering for their own benefit and both are almost certainly lying to each other. Many promises will be broken on both sides, but no worries; it will all be forgotten at try-out the next year.

For those who are new to the system, just be aware so that you can govern your action according and not get hurt.

This “Kabuki” Dance Will Live On

In the next blogs I will relate some examples of the “Kabuki” dance.

I have some amazing examples of  maneuvering involving both coaches and parents to build a so-called “dream team”. You may or you may not be amazed at these examples but one thing I will declare; I am certain of my facts regarding these instances. I am sure you will find them interesting. I think also, you will find them amusing. My hope is that you learn something that will help you.

Note:

If you’re new to this blog and reading it from Facebook or Twitter, make sure to click on the BLOG/NEWS link in the menu at the top of the page and scroll down to read previous blogs on this and other subjects. Otherwise you won’t be able to get to previous blogs.

The Truth About Hockey Continued – Minor Hockey Try-Outs – Part 2 – (XXVII)

Posted by Jim on November 15, 2018
Posted in: Hockey, hockey Skills, how to succeed in hockey, Jim Serba, mike serba, mike serba memorial golf tournament, Minor Hockey Try-out, Russian hockey skills, Truth about hockey, understanding hockey.

Minor Hockey Try-Outs

The Way It Is

In part 1 I outlined the way try-outs are supposed to be …. or the way you are led to believe it will be … or maybe the way it once was. In this part I give you some reality on how it really is and a couple of situations you should be aware of.

First let me say that this is based on my experience with the GTHL  of the greater Toronto area  which happens to be the biggest minor hockey system in the world. I’m not sure exactly how things are done elsewhere, however I’m reasonably certain there are similar experiences in all centres where minor hockey is played.

Now I’m sure that there are legitimate try-outs that are honestly and well run, but you have to be aware of a couple of situations that are pretending to be honest try-outs. Unfortunately these instances are becoming more prevalent and you need to be aware of them. Eventually, if you’re around hockey long enough you’ll find out about this, however if you’re new to the game this can leave you with a big surprise.

The reason for this blog is that I ran into a father that had just moved to Toronto and was led to believe that there were more spots than actually existed for the local team. He had all of of his eggs in one basket and by the time he figured it out, it was too late and most teams were full. They eventually found a team, but now they have to travel quite a distance for home games and practices.

I’m going to describe two broad categories of less than honest try-outs; why they happen and what they’re all about.

Two Less Than Honest Try-out Situations

Same End Result

There are 2 less than fully honest try-out situations that you will encounter. You’ll find out about them eventually, however if you’re new to the game it’s good to be aware of this.

The first happens more often at the entry levels of the minor hockey world; house league, house league select and single A hockey. The team draws from the very local community and the coaches and assistant coaches invariably all have children playing on the team. Making the team is more about who your friends are and being one of the inner circle in that local community. The result is that there are not many spots available and if you are from outside the community, it can be tough to find a spot on the team.

The second happens are the higher levels of hockey and is more prevalent at the triple A and double A levels (although more recently, single A hockey has become more serious).

At the higher level of minor, you can expect the following to be taking place:

  1. Coaches are in arenas almost every night watching games and scouting for talent for the next year. (Remember, coaching becomes a lot easier if the team is loaded with all of the talent.) If you have a talented hockey player son or daughter, you can expect to be approached by coaches asking to join their team for the following season. In the GTHL this is known as tampering and is against the GTHL rules; nevertheless it happens all the time and the “no tampering” rule is rarely enforced.
  2. Coaches will hold what is known as  “birthday skates”. The holding of an on-ice try-out before the officially appointed date is not allowed by the GTHL. But coaches get around this rule by have so-called “birthday skates” which is a phony birthday party allowing a coach to get recruits on the ice and evaluate talent against a known standard; namely the players on his present team.
  3. Coaches will organize “summer teams” or “tournament teams”. There are all kinds of summer hockey tournaments in the Great Toronto area and putting together a tournament team affords a coach 2 very important things. First is the opportunity to evaluate potential recruits in actual hockey games against another team and second to make a bit of money (there will always be a fee to be paid to be on a summer team).

The end result is the same in that there are not many spots available as you made think or be led to believe.

I Wish I Could Give You An Easy Solution

The fact is that in many instances there will not be as many spots available on a team that you may have be led to believe. Coaches will never admit it and remember that try-outs are a money-maker for organizations and the more players that come to try-outs the better for them.

My suggestion is to talk to as many parents as possible and get as much information about the coach and reality about available spots.

The other suggestion is to not put all of your eggs in one basket. Be prepared to try out with a number of teams and keep your options open.

Just One More Thing

There is one reoccurring thing that I will always get back to. Spend your time and energy doing what you can to see that your son or daughter is the best hockey player they can be.

I’ll tell you right now that it’s my opinion there 2 main factors that contribute to over-all success . Be as skilled as possible and have the “right” attitude every time you are on the ice and in the play of the game. I’ve covered some of these elements in previous blogs, however I will surely devote a blog solely to these in the near future.

Minor Hockey Try-Outs

The Way It Is

In part 3 I’ll discuss what came first; the chicken or the egg?

Note:

If you’re new to this blog and reading it from Facebook or Twitter, make sure to click on the BLOG/NEWS link in the menu at the top of the page and scroll down to read previous blogs on this and other subjects. Otherwise you won’t be able to get to previous blogs.

The Truth About Hockey Continued – Minor Hockey Try-Outs – Part 1 – (XXVI)

Posted by Jim on October 16, 2018
Posted in: Hockey, hockey Skills, how to succeed in hockey, Jim Serba, mike serba, mike serba memorial golf tournament, Minor Hockey Try-out, Russian hockey skills, Truth about hockey, understanding hockey.

Minor Hockey Try-Outs

In The End – Welcome To Reality

I recently had occasion to talk to a typical hockey parent who was new to the minor hockey experience.  He relayed a bad experience relating to hockey try-outs with his son for this upcoming season. He was completely new to the hockey experience in the GTHL (Greater Toronto Hockey League) which happens to be the biggest minor hockey system in the world. Now the scenarios that I will be describing are based on my experience with the GTHL  of the greater Toronto area. I’m not sure exactly how things are done elsewhere, however I’m reasonably certain there are similar experiences in all centres where minor hockey is played

I know try-outs for this season have now passed but this is a topic on which the uninitiated need some advise. Stay tuned for the real goods on minor league hockey try-outs.

The Way It’s Supposed To Be …. Or

The Way You’re Led To Believe It Will Be ….. Or

Maybe The Way It Once Was

At one time in the GTHL the try-outs could begin only after the GTHL held its annual meeting which was traditionally held the first Sunday in May.

Every parent would look for a publication titled “Sporting Scene” that would publish an edition known as the May try-out edition. This publication was given away in every hockey arena located within the GTHL. It was always the biggest publication of that paper in numbers of the year.

In the old days all try-outs were held at once with single A, double A and triple A all going on at the same time. Today it’s different as the GTHL finally got smart and got it right so that try-outs are tiered, with Triple A first followed by Double A and then Single A. This time of year was always “panic time” for everyone but especially for players wanting to make a team at a higher level that last year. Since all of the try-outs start on the same day, the panic was to find the teams you want you might want to make and check the schedule to prioritize your choices. There’s only so much time in the day and there’s only so many try-outs a player could realistically do in a day and maintain a reasonable level of performance. The other difficulty is that one is never quite sure how many spots are available on any given team and should you choose to miss a team’s first try-out; will there be any spots left by the second try-out?

The panic and angst at this time of year is through the roof, especially for the parents.

The Way It’s Supposed To Be

Teams would have a few open spots available and advertise for open try-outs for players to fill those spots (a team should almost always have open spots especially if thew coach has done his job well; he should have been able to advance a few players to a higher level).

An experienced coach will know how to hold an organized and well run try-out (in fact a good hockey organization should probably have a coaches meeting as an information session to educate coaches on how to run a proper try-out session).

Note: I was initially going to go into considerable detail about running a proper try-out, however there’s actually quite a bit of detail involved that would fill up this blog so I’m going to do a specific blog at the end going over my thoughts about running a good try-out.

Suffice it for now to say that a good try-out would have a proper registration process, start with warm-up type drills that would involve the display of as many hockey skills as possible, end with a scrimmage that mimics as much as possible the play of an actual game and have good qualified spotters in the stands evaluating the players.

In the end some players will be selected and offered a spot on the team and some will not; leaving some people happy and others disappointed.

Welcome to reality. This is just the way life is and this is part of the real life learning experience through involvement in the hockey scene. If you want to protect yourself and your child from every disappointment in life; then don’t get involved in hockey or for that matter any other organized sport.

Minor Hockey Try-Outs 

In The End – Welcome To Reality

In Part 2 of this topic I’ll outline some reality about how it really is.

Note:

If you’re new to this blog and reading it from Facebook or Twitter, make sure to click on the BLOG/NEWS link in the menu at the top of the page and scroll down to read previous blogs on this and other subjects. Otherwise you won’t be able to get to previous blogs.