COACHING MATTERS

1. Cross-Ice: The Advantages of Cross-Ice Practicing and Playing
   
2. Fun and…Games?

Cross-Ice: The Advantages of Cross-Ice Practicing and Playing

The USA Hockey Cross-Ice program is based on a model of practicing and playing hockey across the ice surface as compared to practicing and playing lengthwise along the full length of the ice surface. This cross-ice practicing and playing model has been used in many of the leading hockey nations in the world for a number of years and has stood the test of time. It has been shown that children who begin their hockey training in this environment have an outstanding hockey experience.

Parents may ask the question why should my child play cross-ice, what will this bring? I want my child playing like the professionals do, full-ice, because I want my child to experience "real hockey."

To help address these questions, let's think about a child trying to skate with a puck while performing a drill from one end of the rink to the other, how long will this take? How much energy will this require? Will the player's decision-making skills be enhanced more in the close action of the smaller cross-ice surface or in the wide-open area of the full-ice surface? In which situation will the child be more involved in the action?

A study of hockey games played on the full-ice surface by George Kingston in 1976 found the following:

In a sixty-minute running time hockey game between 6-8 year old children, the average player had possession of the puck for 20.7 seconds. Top National Hockey League and international professional players were also timed and no player exceeded 85 seconds of puck possession time. In a sixty-minute children's game the actual playing time of the game was 20 minutes and 38 seconds. Taking this into consideration, the individual player is only on the ice every third or fourth shift depending on how many players are on the team, resulting in even less ice time. An average of less than 0.5 shots per game for youth players and only 1.5 shots per game for junior and professional players.
The study concluded that:

• For young players in the "full-ice game model" of development, the youngest players would require 180 games and the older youth players would require 80 games to enjoy 60 minutes of actual puck possession time to execute their stick handling, passing, pass receiving and shooting skills.
• Professional and international players would require 60 games to ensure 60 minutes of puck control skill development.

Many players never touched the puck in the game, especially in youth hockey. USA Hockey firmly believes that by giving children the opportunity to participate in the Cross-Ice hockey program, which supports cross-ice practicing and playing, that their enjoyment of hockey as well as their hockey skills will be greatly enhanced.

Cross-Ice Program
To help you further understand the benefits of the cross-ice practicing and playing model, some of the advantages are listed below.

PRACTICING

• The children have more energy with which they can improve their skills when they are skating 85 feet across the ice surface as opposed to the 200 feet length of the ice surface.
• Group sizes become smaller which means learning and teaching will become more effective.
• The close feeling of belonging to a team will motivate a child to participate with even greater enthusiasm.
• Drills designed according to the varying skill level of players within the group are easier to organize.
• More puck contact, resulting in improved puck control skills.
• More repetition/frequency in drills in one ice session.
• Decision-making skills are enhanced, as more decisions must be made more frequently at a higher tempo.

ACTUAL GAME

• Playing on a smaller rink results in increased puck possession time for each player.
• Individual technical skills develop more quickly.
• More frequent line changes in the game means more ice time for each player.
• Line changes are made quickly since the players are directly beside the playing surface.
• Each player's activity increases greatly.
• Scoring skills are enhanced since the players have more shooting opportunities.
• The goalkeeper's reading of the game and reaction to changing game situations become more effective.
• More repetition for goalkeepers.
• The game is full of continuously changing situations.
• The speed in playing situations increase, which will require quicker mental and physical reactions by the players.
  
• Due to increased tempo, all of the team members take part in solving the playing situations, which leads to a sharing of responsibilities between players.
• The feeling of being an important part of the action increases because of the small size of the rink.
• Hockey sense, or understanding the principles of the game, is being developed at a young age.
• There are no unnecessary breaks in the game (i.e. off-sides, icing).

GENERAL ORGANIZATION

• More efficient use of ice time and space.
• The size of the rink is in proportion with the size of the players.
• USA Hockey recommends that teams play with two or three units of four or five players and one goalkeeper, which results in each player having more ice time.
• More ice time for practicing and playing is made available to more teams within a single association.
• Many teams can practice together by sharing the ice surface.

GENERAL SPIRIT OF PARTICIPATION AND FUN

• More children get a chance to play ice hockey.
• More children will experience a feeling of success when playing hockey.
• The same exciting and fun environment as in a "real" game is created.
• More and less gifted children will benefit from close/tight action on the ice.
• Children are excited and motivated to continue playing hockey.

Hockey will be more appealing and rewarding to a wider range of children and their parents.

Taken from: The USA Hockey Web Site. http://www.usahockey.com/Template_Usahockey.aspx?NAV=PL_01_18&id=5238

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Fun and…Games?

By Dan Bauer
Head Hockey Coach
Wausau East High School, Wisconsin

What’s wrong with this picture? Sunday morning, at the local rink, watching a bantam hockey game. About five minutes into the game—a goal is scored. No celebration; not even a stick in the air, not a high five, no victory huddle, nothing. Just five players skating right back to center ice for the next face-off.

A few minutes later a second goal is scored with the identical result. The last time I checked, scoring goals was one of the main objectives of a hockey game. This is a feat that is the culmination of all six players on the ice coming together, doing their job and achieving their goal. Is that not traditionally a time when we celebrate our success? I have seen it in college hockey, even in the NHL where they make millions of dollars. More and more routinely I don’t see it in youth hockey games. That is a shame and a subliminal memorandum regarding the glut of weekend games we are force-feeding our youth.

If you are allowing your teams to score without celebration—think again. You are missing a great opportunity to build camaraderie and reward teamwork. I never thought we would have to teach players how to celebrate a goal. Scoring a goal is both the metaphorical and literal object of the game. There is no need to cross the line of sportsmanship and humility, but a celebration, including all the players on the ice, is most definitely required.

Is this no-celebration policy some new spin-off from the self-esteem police to prevent our opponents from hurt feelings? Maybe it is because we are doing a poor job of selling the team concept and players would rather mimic the selfish antics of NFL and NBA players who constantly seek attention for themselves. Heaven forbid that this is a product of playing your fifth game of the weekend and one game just seems to melt into the next. It couldn’t be weariness with a system that rolls a redundant number of games past us like an assembly line conveyor belt. We have been told that if kids were asked, they would rather play games than anything else. CSI would be hard pressed to find evidence to support that at many youth games.

There isn’t anything I can think of, that takes over an hour, that I would have enough energy and emotion to do as well as I could do, five times in a normal weekend. Yet we continue to ask our players to do this weekend after weekend. When a kid doesn’t get excited about scoring a goal it is a clear sign of either boredom or selfishness. Neither of which is good for the team or the player.

That brings me to my next point. There is reason why kids are recommended to come with a set of adults. It is because they don’t know what is best for them. They know that donuts taste better than oatmeal and that pizza and chips are better than liver and green beans. They will choose video games over homework and watching television ahead of doing the dishes. They would never make their bed or change their clothes if we didn’t make them. Bathing might be a weekly event if left up to them. They come with adults, because without them, they wouldn’t survive. It is our duty to make decisions for them based on our elevated knowledge and experience. So the premise that we play games because that is what kids want shouldn’t be reason to continue the onslaught.

There was a time when games were the reward and practices were demanding, meaningful and frequent. It was that Protestant work ethic that our country was founded upon. Somewhere between Alex Delvecchio and Alexander Ovechkin we lost that basic principle. Games should be the reward for a productive week of practice. They should be valued—enjoyed—celebrated, not a monotonous series of uninspired contests.

What’s right with this picture? Friday afternoon over Christmas break, at the rink, watching kids participate in a small games clinic. Eight kids, from squirts to high school age playing a cross-ice game with mini nets and no goalies. A goal is scored and a wild celebration of hollering, stick raising and high-fives ensues. Before their celebration is complete the opposing team is already attacking in quest of the equalizer; that is transition hockey! It is also pond hockey in its finest moment.

Back to reality. After traveling five plus hours in a car on Sunday to play two games I came home and sent my twins to the neighbors backyard rink. It was a Norman Rockwell experience with a fire to warm them and no coaches to cool their enthusiasm for the game. The two hours they spent on that outdoor rink is 90 minutes more than they played all day. It is another picture perfect snapshot of the game in its finest form. Small games of one against two, on the same small rink, a free for all complete with play-by-play, plenty of “dangling” and a competitive spirit as fresh as the cool night air. In spite of popular belief, great players still grow up on the outdoor rink. And if you are scratching your head why we don’t have more skilled players, look no further than your television set, computer and the structured framework of our youth programs.

There is hope, like the area association that doesn’t play any Sunday games, but has four hours of open ice after church instead. Some associations are actually cutting back games, taking entire weekends off (get me my nitro pills, please!) and scheduling more and more open ice for players.

I can remember not that long ago when youth associations were debating whether they should be playing on Sunday morning at all. Hockey or God? We should be embarrassed at our answer to that question. Instead of eight-o’clock mass I find myself looking at a 7:00am Sunday game 90 miles away. My Dad would never have allowed that, church was not negotiable. And by the way who doesn’t want to get up at 5:00am on a Sunday morning?

The more small games I play, and the more backyard rinks I see the more convinced I am of their value. The more youth practices I watch, with long waiting lines, too many cones and drills that minimally challenge only their physical skills, the more I believe in small games. The glazed over looks I see in the eyes of youth players marching through cones like robots tells me that we need to change the way we practice. The excitement I see in the faces of the kids who attend my small games clinics tells me this is something they enjoy.

Once again the evidence to support the small games/cross-ice philosophy is staggering. Successful coaches from all levels have endorsed it and use it regularly in their own practice scheme. The experts continue to tell us we play too many games, but the scheduling madness continues. Don Lucia, Mike Eaves and George Gwozdecky (who incidentally have won five of the last six NCAA championships) support both the cross-ice concept and the reduction of games, but we choose to listen to Joe the local butcher from the youth board that tells us different.

It doesn’t even take an adult to see that Five NCAA titles should trump five hours at a USA hockey clinic. It is official folks, we play too many games. I don’t care how many youth presidents try to tell me different. Actions, or in this case a lack of actions, speak louder than words. And a silent celebration is a crystal-clear statement not even Joe the butcher can ignore.

If you are an association that is moving away from more games and finding ways to increase pond hockey time for your kids, please drop me an e-mail.

Dan Bauer is the head hockey coach at Wausau East High School. You can contact him at dbauer@wausau.k12.wi.us and read more of his work at www.hockeybybauer.com

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