Teaching Fundamental Team Concepts

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Ambrose Rich
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1 AGES 8 AND UNDER Teaching Fundamental Team Concepts LESSON WORKBOOK MIKE SULLIVAN

2 2 TEAM CONCEPTS The coach is responsible for creating the optimal learning environment where players are active participants. Exploration, discovery and problem solving should be emphasized in concept learning. Everything you do on the ice, as a coach, should be geared towards fueling the passion that young players have for the game. One of the greatest gifts you can give your players is to help instill this passion. As coaches, we need to create a practice environment that imitates games as closely as possible. Skills developed in practice need to transfer seamlessly to the game environment. By instilling realistic practice scenarios, we will better prepare our players for long-term success. Through small area games and Red, White and Blue Hockey, players will learn basic fundamental skills and develop hockey sense and ice awareness. Young athletes should learn to play within the rules of the game. Players should learn how to listen and follow simple instructions. In addition to listening to coaches, players should listen to their teammates and communicate with each other on the ice in a positive manner. By playing small area games, players will learn to support the puck and make short passes to open teammates. There should be no positioning or systems; allow players the freedom to roam the ice and pursue the puck. Battles for loose pucks will assist in the development of puck protection, angling and body contact skills. Red, White and Blue Hockey will help the players learn the game at an accelerated rate, making it easier to play as a team in the future. The coach should not spend time at this age group teaching players systems. There is ample time for this as players get older and move on. Young players need to be active on the ice, learning skills and playing games. The games an 8-year old plays shouldn t look like the games an adult plays. Keep in mind that children are not miniature adults. The key focus for 8 & Under players is to learn skills in a fun environment and develop a love for the game.

3 3 Transfer of Training Alignment in sports occurs when there are many similarities between the practice environment and the real game. The more similarities there are, the more likely the practice training will transfer to the game scenario. Although isolated practice has a place in learning techniques, it is important to incorporate realistic practice scenarios. If we create false environments in practice, we can t expect the training to transfer to a completely different game environment. Keys to Remember Focus on individual skills as opposed to team skills and tactics. Keep the focus on the teaching of concepts instead of systems. At this age, players need to play the game to learn. Make sure they are having fun so they want to continue playing the game. Allow the players the freedom to figure things out for themselves and encourage creativity. Players at this age should not be concerned with positional responsibilities. Use individual deception skills as one of the foundations for team concepts. Individual deception is a fundamental component of instinctive games like hockey. This is the puck carrier s ability to disguise his or her plays through fakes, dekes or body language in order to create offensive opportunities. The game itself is often the best teacher. Oftentimes, the best thing a coach can do is take a step back and let the players figure out things on their own.

4 4 Methods for incorporating team concepts into training Fundamental skills drills that incorporate team concepts Small area games Orchestrate game-like scenarios and situations Video modeling kids grow up surrounded by technology. With USA Hockey s recommended practice structure in conjunction with Red, White and Blue Hockey, players will spend significant time working on skating (agility, balance and coordination), shooting, passing and other fundamental skills. They will compete for the puck in small areas while also playing cross-ice games.

5 5 NOTEPAD:

AGES 10 AND UNDER. Small Area Games LESSON WORKBOOK. roger grillo

AGES 10 AND UNDER. Small Area Games LESSON WORKBOOK. roger grillo AGES 10 AND UNDER LESSON WORKBOOK roger grillo 2 The players are the ones that need to learn to play the game, learn to be in the right place at the right time. When we have the players practice skills