Homepage     OHL      Junior A      Minor     Female     University     Columns     New Products     Feature     Goalies     Links       Login/Signup
This Months Issue

 Click here for digital edition

Previous Editions Archive
Hockey Now Rankings
Hockey Now Poll
Who is the best team going into 2010-11?











View Previous Results
Submit your Story
Submit your Tournament
Reader Survey

Click here to complete our reader survey
You could win a prize!

 
 
Steve McKichan: In The Crease – Design Goalie Drills To Mirror Game Situations
 
I frequently strap my pads back on to play pick-up hockey and practice with the local Bantam team and Midget teams. I enjoy watching the stunned look on a cocky teenager when they realize the comparative skill inequity. Although close to 20 years have elapsed since I played for a living, it gives the youngins a glimpse of what a pro can do at the advanced age of 40.

This brings me to a pet peeve I have as it relates to typical practices at all levels. I have written many articles addressing pet peeves but this one needs to be addressed immediately: realism.
You have heard many times that you “play how you practice” and “perfect practice makes practice perfect” or something to that effect.

From Tyke to the NHL, two-on-none’s, three-on-none’s, and machine gun rapid fire breakaways must be banned permanently from the coaches’ drill database. Once in a very blue moon they could be deployed as drills in practice but not every practice. Here is a revolutionary thought. Why don’t we match the frequency of the event in the games with the frequency we spend time addressing it in practice?

Would it make sense to have a basketball teamwork on buzzer beaters from mid-court for 40 per cent of a given practice? Would it make sense for a tennis coach to spend 30 per cent of every practice on a fade away between the legs return with your back to the net?

Would it make sense for a football team to practice a quadruple handoff play for half of their practice time every week?

Recently, while tending goal at a youth practice I faced two-on-nones for about 30 minutes without a break. As a result of a combination of pride and immaturity, I battled on every puck coming close to the proverbial “ big one;” the myocardial infraction.

I’m in great shape for a 40-year-old. I have less than 10 per cent body fat, four-to-six pack abs depending on the day, and a resting heart rate that matches my age. My conditioning is not the issue, rather the realism of the drills.

What possible purpose is addressed by delivering these no-defence drills? Here are the negatives:

1) With time and space on their side, players execute unrealistic and composed attacks a goalie will never see in a game. To compensate, goalies will begin to cheat on passes and create a bad habit.
2) Without pressure, these attacking players are fine in practice but seize up in games at the hint of duress, squandering many bankable chances.
3) Using drills like these are no-brainers for coaches and keep many players active in the drills. Coaches need to be accountable by having no more than 10 per cent of practice time devoted to brainless drivel drills. It is a coaching cop out.
4) The risk for the goaltender is massively increased when they must do full repetitive, full explosion, lateral movements. Back door passes until you die drills will only risk your goaltender’s health.

By observing any hockey practice I can tell within 10 minutes whether the coach is goalie friendly or a direct relative of Eddie Shore.

Coaches please make a commitment to realism and design your drills proportionally to mirror the situations faced in the game with proper time and space pressures.
 
Filter by: 
Goalies
21/05/2010  You Can’t Win Without Discipline On and Off-Ice Discipline Opens the Door to Success
08/04/2010  Practice realism and reap rewards during games
01/03/2010  Shooting has become a key skill for goalies
01/02/2010  Players Benefit From Array of Hockey School Options
01/02/2010  Learn to Manage the Referee
03/12/2009  Debunking the high-shot-count myth
06/11/2009  The brittle goalie must battle-on
27/10/2009  Goalie Performance: The Clean Game Vs. The Dirty Game
28/09/2009  The Modern Goaltender Stance: Part 2
31/08/2009  The Modern Goaltender Stance: Part 1
03/07/2009  In The Crease by Steve McKichan - Performing in the Clutch: How to Play As Well As You Practice
15/05/2009  Dissecting the Mental Side of the Game: Part Three
06/04/2009  Dissecting the Mental Game of the Goalie: Part 2
19/03/2009  Dissecting the mental game of the goalie: part 1
19/02/2009  In The Crease: By Steve McKichan - Looking off the puck: centering passes
22/01/2009  In The Crease: By Steve McKichan - Elite Goalies Can Handle Both The ‘Clean’ and ‘Dirty’ Game
05/12/2008  In The Crease: By Steve McKichan - Time and Space Key Factors In Goalie’s Reads
21/11/2008  In The Crease: By Steve McKichan - Ten Characteristics of the Perfect Goalie
07/11/2008  In The Crease: By Steve McKichan - Breaking Down The Art And Heart Of Puckhandling
17/10/2008  In The Crease: Steve McKichan - Farming Out Goaltending Instruction
30/09/2008  In The Crease: Steve McKichan - How To Handle Defensive Zone Faceoffs In The Crease
04/09/2008  Goalies Face Tests of Courage In The Crease
20/06/2008  In The Crease: Steve McKichan - 'Driving Range Goaltenders' Must Learn To Handle Pressure
11/04/2008  In The Crease: Steve McKichan - Keep A 'Burning, Intense Visual Focus' On The Puck
19/03/2008  In The Crease: Steve McKichan - Competitiveness Separates Good And Great Goalies
07/03/2008  Nets Now: Today's Goalies Show Less Net With Bigger Gear
07/03/2008  Nets Now: Sean Murray - Mastering Mid-Net Positioning
07/03/2008  Nets Now: Eli Wilson - How To Execute The Inside Edge Push
07/03/2008  Nets Now: The Evolution of The Goaltender
07/03/2008  Nets Now: Goalie coaches take ‘tenders to the next level
07/03/2008  Nets Now: Maintaining closure discipline and choosing flare width
26/02/2008  Steve McKichan: In The Crease – Design Goalie Drills To Mirror Game Situations
25/01/2008  Young goalies and teaching patience
30/11/2007  Goalie tips: Using props to progress
01/10/2007  Stuck in a moment
 
Columns
 CHL Announces Six Host Centres for the 2010 SUBWAY Super Series
 Plenty of intriguing questions as NHL season nears
 Ducks Sign Top Pick Cam Fowler to Three-Year Deal
> archive
OHL Report
 Eye on the ‘O’
 Sky’s the limit for CHL Rookie of the Year Puempel
 OHL Team-by-Team Reports
> archive
Junior A Report
 Former Cougars star brings big game to NCAA
 Ontario Junior Hockey League team reports
 Junior A: Off-Season League Reports
> archive
Minor Hockey
 GTHL Season Preview
 Alliance Minor Hockey News & Notes
 OMHA News & Notes
> archive
Female Hockey
 Canadian Women’s Hockey League gets new look for 2010/11
 Brampton battles Minnesota for women's hockey supremacy
 Registration Now Open For Girls HockeyFest
> archive
Special Features
 Senators Prospects Report: Young defencemen continue to make strides
 Leafs Prospects Report: Several players on cusp of stepping in
 Canadian NHL prospects poised to make big impact in 2010/11
> archive
University Hockey
 Gudbranson represents NHL Draft’s ‘best of the rest’
 Carleton Men’s Team Elevates Expectations For 2009/10
 Coach Coolidge Aims To Take Ravens Women To The Top
> archive
New Products
 Bauer 9900 Hockey Helmet
 Easton Stealth S19 SR Hockey Stick
 Reebok 11K Pump Sr. Hockey Skates
> archive
Enter Keyword
Email Address
  

Pro Hockey Life Top Gun Challenge

Breakout, Regroup, Regroup, Attack

Penalty Killing Forecheck - weisstechhockey.com

Shooting Dangerously

Hockey Hints for Players & Coaches - Skating
> more videos
The Datsyukian Deke
Latest Videos
Oct 26/09 - Leafs vs Ducks
Brian Burke on the Leafs' New Practice Facility
Team Canada Sights and Sounds
>archive
Hockey Schools
Tournaments
Hotel Guide
Arenas
Click here for the latest instruction articles. Learn how to improve your hockey skills and much more.
>archive
 
Photos from tournaments and much more
view photo gallery
 
 
 
Copyright 2010 Hockey Now. All rights reserved. No portion of HockeyNow.ca may be duplicated, redistributed or manipulated in any form.  Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
BC | AB | SK/MB | ON | Advertising | About | Contact

Homepage | View from the Press Box | Instruction | OHL | Eye in the 'O' | Junior A | Female | University | Minor Hockey | Goalies | Reader Survey