HMHA: Coaches Corner

HELP FOR COACHES
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Look under the Coaches Corner for drill of the month and helpful website links with coaching advice and more drill ideas.




Friday, December 14
On The Fly

Hockey Canada’s Atlantic Regional Centre

Coaches Tip – Experience all positions:  When coaching Minor Hockey the most important thing is to have fun, and develop the player’s skills.  The best way for players to develop their skills is to learn every position, and become comfortable no matter where they are playing.  This is especially important when players are in the younger age levels, and just learning the game.  Players are often identified as a forward, defense, or goaltender at too young of an age, and it can make them become one dimensional, and in many cases they may not playing the position that suits them best.

 Officials Tip – Learn from your experiences:  Everyone makes mistakes, but it is important to learn from them and not to keep making the same mistakes again. Your supervisors should be able to identify any problem areas. As officials, we know when we make mistakes. The important point is to find a way to correct them. Ask your supervisors for help to correct any problems or concerns that you may have, even if he/she doesn’t identify them to you. One of your supervisor’s duties is to help you with any questions and to give you advice and tips to make you better.

Administrator’s Tip – Fundraising:  Without a doubt a huge percentage of Minor Hockey teams revenues come from fundraising.  This is why it is so essential to understand the most effective ways to raise money for your team or association.  Here are some helpful tips that should help with your fundraising endeavors:

  1. Motivate your sellers – If you don’t motivate your sellers, or provide incentives for the people who sell the most, they will do a mediocre job, and most likely only do the minimum selling required.
  2. Demand – Choose products to sell that are in demand, and cost more then $5.  If you sell inexpensive products it will be harder to generate a lot of revenue, and it will take longer to reach your financial goals.
  3. Profit Margins – Ensure that your profit margins are at least 50%.  Having profit margins lower then 50% will make reaching your goals difficult.

Trainer’s Tip – Over training:  In hockey, players strive to be the fastest, strongest, and most agile player possible.  In order to do this they spend a great deal of their time working on their fitness.  The question is how much is too much?  There is the perception that because Minor Hockey players are younger, they have more durable bodies, and they can push themselves more.  This is untrue, and too much training too fast can cause serious and lifelong injuries.  Athletes should remember that when they are training they should only increase their workouts by a maximum of 10% a week.  An example for this would be if you were running for 30 minutes a night one week, the following week you should only be running for a maximum of 33 minutes.

Parents Tip – 24 Rule:  Are you upset about some of the coaching decisions that were made in a game?  Do you feel as if your child is being treated unfairly?  Do you want to confront the coach, and discuss why this may be happening?

If you do indeed want to speak with the coach, the best and most effective way to do this is by waiting 24 hours.  By waiting 24 hours you allow yourself some time to cool down, and take everything into perspective.  Hockey can be very emotional for the players, coaches and the parents, and it is essential to have some cool down time before talking with the coach.  This rule also avoids confrontations in front of the players. 



Canadian Hockey Parents Association
The CHPA is the new voice of parents in minor hockey, an association that helps minor hockey parents & players stay informed and be duly represented in the provision of minor hockey in Canada. The site offers a number of hockey drills for skating, passing, break-outs and goaltending. Just click on the association's name above.


Game sheet team labels form
Game sheet team label forms in Word format.
Handout: Team Game Sheet Labels

The Hockey Source
It offers a drill of the month and other resources. Click on name above.

The Coaching Association of Canada
This site offers a number of tips and tools for coaches, from body checking, bench management and working with your defense to designing a yearly plan and putting fun into your practices. Click on the link above.

Hockey Canada Coaches Club
Join the club. Pick up some tips, share some fun.

Centre for Coaching Education of New Brunswick
Centre for Coaching Education of New Brunswick
Responsible for the management and delivery of the 3M NCCP and all other coaching programs within the Province of New Brunswick
To develop, implement and monitor sound administrative policies, programs and procedures in partnership with our stakeholders and to coordinate the delivery of the 3M NCCP.


Winning with Wayne
Most of these drills can be modified and adapted for any age or skill level and all can work on half or full ice. Some make excellent pre-game warm-ups, some are for practice time only.

Friday, December 1
Here is what you need to know about the ice time allotted to your team:
The head coach is ultimately responsible for the proper utilization of ice times allocated for games and practices. Here is what you need to know about cancelling either.
Handout: HMHA Ice Utilization Policy

Wednesday, October 10
Coaches Resources
To find a bunch of coaching resources, from travel permits, coaches and team manager manuals to award forms, go to HMHA Forms in the Menu Bar and click on Coach/Team Resources.