Skill Development Dave Barr Florida Panthers Associate Coach Tommy Cruz Florida Panthers Video Coach
What is Most Important to your Team? Team Systems FC, DZC, NZFC, OZP, etc. Team Philosophies finishing checks, SOP, middle lane drive, etc. Individual Skills passing, skating, shooting, etc.
Practice How do you select drills for practice? Weaknesses in last game Develop team skills/philosophies Team systems (FC, DZC, etc.) Team foundation (relentless, quick play) Compete drills Skill Development
What Individual Skills are Most Important? Passing Playing quickly/playing with pace Head on a swivel, offensive and defensive Ice awareness Job A to Job B Puck handling with head up Throughout all of this, have in mind the skills that are most important to you and emphasize these at every opportunity!
How do you improve Skills? Repetition, Repetition, Repetition! In 2015, Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins wrote about a shooting drill that Curry does in which he takes 10 shots from five different locations on the three-point line, going back and forth until he takes 100. Jenkins described the scene as Curry does it: Curry sets up in the right corner and splashes nine of 10. "Good," says special assistant Nick U Ren, rebounding for him. Curry moves to the right wing and cans 10 of 10. "Better," U Ren nods. Curry skips to the top of the circle and drains 10 of 10 again. U Ren turns to a couple of spectators under the basket. "Wow," he mouths. Here it is, the Curry Zone. He starts 48 of 50...He sweeps back across the perimeter, hitting 10 of 10 from the left corner, 10 of 10 from the left wing. Teammates are watching. Cameras are filming. "Don t get giddy," Curry tells himself. He s made 77 in a row, and when he finally misfires from the top of the circle, he grabs Green s jersey and screams. He finishes 94 of 100.
D Head Up Shots, F ½ Wall Shot Coach passes puck up wall to D D walks with head up, shoots knee high C then chips puck to hash marks, pulls puck off wall quickly, head is up, shot at dot KEY POINTS D and F can fake shot take another step Stress Head up, better to fan then drop head Stress Quick Play, not rushed play! First 2-3 steps most important for both D, F.
D Wheel, Stop and Back D starts on dot, F on Blue (adjust if needed) D to T.O.C, pivot, F leaves on D pivot Coach dumps puck by trapezoid line area D locates puck, head on a swivel reading FC Forward HAS to FC either SS or Wksd Keys Points D ready to play quickly, adjusting to FC. Head up play is a must F aggressive either side, no stopping in front
1 on 1, slot available D, F1 react to chipped puck by Coach, chip just above top of circle D plays aggressively, SOP F1 reacts to D pressure, knowing that he has available player, F2 in slot. Key Points D man plays like it s a 1 on 1 D and F1 play only in shaded area F1 can drive by D if D overplays pass F2 doesn t move, ready to shoot quickly
2 on 1, Aggressive Defender plays very aggressive like a 1 on 1 Offensive players ready to play quick as they have an advantage Coach throws junk off end wall, D pressure hard! Game on!! KEY POINTS Defender can be a Forward or a Defenceman Defender is ultra aggressive on puck, recovering quickly to play made. Forwards look to play very quickly, get on them if they don t! Play is done on Goal, Goalie covers, or D skates puck above hash marks Gets demanding on Defender after awhile if it s being done right
No Look Passing, 2-0 X1 passes to a X2, both stationary X2 should be on his forehand X2 in shooting position, no looks a pass to X1, showing an on ice target, ready to shoot KEY POINTS The passer X2 in this case, should have hands in shooting position Shooter gives good target for 1 timer or a quick release position on his forehand Pass should happen around top of Circle ( adjust with age)
Dot Puck Protection Pucks on Any Faceoff dot X1 positions himself in puck protection position X2 in a slightly weaker position X 2 s job, get puck off dot any way X1 keep puck on dot Game on!! KEY POINTS X1 should be able to see puck as well as X2 X1 uses stick, body, body position to shield X2 from puck Rotate roles after 12-15 seconds
3 on 3 30 second shifts, on whistle No positions other then you re on Offence or on Defence Coach with pucks at blue in middle, teams on opposite offside dots KEY POINTS Define what type of play you want to see. Talk to players about giv n go, SOP, quick plays, playing with head up, getting open, staying Dside, etc. Coaches should be working the lines giving feedback
Thank You PSE Video : Mark Blaszak, Sam Koratkin, Al Leight Chris Bandura: Buffalo Sabres The Hockey Academy and U-14 Buffalo Jr Sabres Tommy Cruz: Florida Panthers George Kingston: NHLCA