SUMMER ICE SESSIONS

Available in Connecticut

*Priority given to Mentorship Program participants

Skill sessions are conducted in the summer.  Each session is an hour long.  The skills covered are skating, shooting, passing/receiving passes, and bodychecking.  Within these skills, the player will have a solid foundation built through repetition of the proper fundamentals.  As the player progresses, the sessions become more difficult allowing the player to execute these skills within more complex drills.  This is what I refer to as the “simple to complex” teaching method.  The player’s competence within each new learned skill will dictate the pace of progression.  I discuss and demonstrate all skills covered in the summer sessions.

The skill sessions also include game-like scenarios.  These can range from properly taking pucks off the wall to the art of deception while on a breakaway.  Teaching the player how to use shoulder checks (looking over one or both shoulders) to see the ice before they receive the puck is a focus within the skill sessions.  They will understand how to scan the ice to be able to make “the play after the play.”  This means being ready to make the next play while they are in the current play.  This can be achieved by knowing where everyone is on the ice and by having a clean first touch on the puck.  These aspects will become ingrained in the player.

The player’s safety is of the utmost importance.  Training in the physical aspects of the game is essential.  The ability to properly play the body and (just as important) how to receive body contact is presented.  When receiving contact, the player is shown how to roll off hits and elude the pressure using techniques that will keep them safe and allow for full control of the puck.  On the defensive side of the physical play, the player learns the proper ways to engage physically to separate the opponent from the puck and how to quickly win the races away from traffic.   These skills are taught along the walls as well as in open ice.  Net front confrontations are an important part of the game.  The offensive players are taught how to win battles to gain position for tips and rebounds.  The defenders are taught the proper techniques on taking away the stick and how to “box out” in front of the net.

Forwards learn how to scan the ice when carrying the puck in the offensive zone.  They learn the finer points of two-foot skating, cutbacks, and puck protection along the wall.  The term “mirror the puck” in the offensive zone is taught, explained, and practiced.  Options off entries into the zone are a focus.  Where to carry the puck to better see the ice, how to engage the defenders and how to shoot while moving their feet.  Deceptive shooting is a key, and it is important to know how to beat the goalie.  We discuss where the goaltenders are susceptible.

Defensemen, similarly, learn how to handle pucks on the wall defensively and on the offensive blueline.  The footwork and different types of shots from the blueline are shown and then implemented.  This is called “walking the blueline”.  The player will learn the proper angle of the head while shooting to see the target and the puck at the same time.  The defensemen are properly trained how to “surf”.  The techniques are shown to them and practiced; they are then taught where and when to use this skill in the game.  Defensemen also learn the proper way to retrieve a puck that has been dumped in.  The skating skills and the shoulder checks are practiced.  If “false information” is necessary for more deception, the player will be trained on how to execute these plays.  Next, they will learn how to “wheel the net” and all the options that will be available to them as they break out of the zone.  These drills are practiced and the proper body position for passing is shown and added to the drill.  The player learns about body positioning (whole body and angle of the head) and how to adjust their speed on the breakout.  Later, after the fundamentals are learned, the player learns about deception while passing.

Elusive moves and deception are taught to all the players.  The moves are to be fundamentally sound and executed at high speeds.  The essence is to protect the puck and make sound plays so not to turn the puck over.  The player will learn what to watch for when the defender is leaning the wrong way or is off balance, how to put them in that position, and then beat them with the appropriate move.  These skills are essential in all three zones for both forwards and defensemen to be successful.   

Passing and receiving passes is a skill that is a focus as well.  The player is shown how to pass and receive on the forehand and the backhand.  One touch pass is a focus; the player will learn the proper technique so the pass is flat and accurate. The proper first touch on the puck (when receiving a pass) is stressed as the puck needs to be flat and in a good position to make “the play after the play”.  The grip on the stick and the proper amount of pressure on the top and bottom hand is essential when catching passes.  Catching and shooting without overhandling the puck is a focus as well as catching the puck and allowing the momentum of the pass to move the player into open ice.  The puck influences the skating and vice versa when the player is performing at a high level.  Also, the proper way to scan the rink before and during passing plays are demonstrated and applied in the sessions.

All aspects of shooting and dekes are taught so the player will be a scoring threat from anywhere in the offensive zone.  The all-important one-time shot is taught to forwards and defensemen from all different areas of the offensive zone.   Shooting drills are designed to replicate game like scenarios.  Throughout the professional hockey season, I track where chances and goals are coming from.  In turn, I replicate these areas and angles for the players in the summer.  Forwards are also shown how to screen the goalie and a variety of different tip options.  They learn how to screen and tip simultaneously and how to tip from the side of the net (both on the forehand and backhand).   Also, the player learns the proper footwork and techniques on how to not be boxed out and how score on rebounds.

All skills (and more) are taught over periods of time.  The skills cannot be rushed, the player (as previously stated) will have to show they are ready to progress onto the next phase.  If at any time, they show previously completed skills are starting to slip, we will go back and re-visit that skill at a slower pace or just isolate that skill.  After the player demonstrates full competency, we will progress.  This is a form of “scaffold learning”. 

The summer session curriculum for Mentorship Program players will be laid out for the player in their post season report.  All the skills covered during the season through video analysis within the Mentorship Program will be documented and covered more fully with the ability for me to demonstrate and take the player through a more thorough training process.   All the skills mentioned above will be discussed and demonstrated so the player will have both visual and verbal coaching cues throughout.  This has been a very effective teaching tool that reaches different learning styles.  The player will fully understand when to utilize these skills and will be given all the scenarios that could be encountered in a game.