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 "Practice drills for your Team"
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Hockey, it's more then just a game!
Written by: Rob Lopez 12/30/11
Last week, I had one of my coaches that I teach internationally, contacted me to inform me that his team won two games back to back...nice good job. Until he mentioned that he had to bend the rules a little by allowing a non-registered player on the team and switched jersey's so that no one would know what he did. I might say that he was quite proud of himself and his ability to get one over on everyone. Well, until we sat down with him and talked about the results of his actions.
I mentioned to him that what he had done was to set an example for kids within the locker room to accept and justify how cheating in order to win is okay. I mentioned to him that this opens up the door for players and parents to say..."it's okay for us to add more players next time."
You see, hockey is more then just a game, it's about over coming adversities and breaking through those physical barriers to help you get what, and where you are in life. When you coach a team, you are helping develop young minds on how to get ahead in life the right way, the proud way, the victorious way. Not a "lets see how many people we can fool way."
When you coach, you should be teaching kids life lessons, so when they leave or exit the building, they can use these tools to get ahead in life. You know, I see this type of thing all the time and wonder how is it that the parents on those teams can handle that?
I mean, if I had a child on the bench of a coach that just cheated to get ahead, I would have gone over to the bench and yanked my child off the bench before the coach could say...boo! I wonder what parents in the stands think when they see their son's coach allow players on the bench that clearly should not be there and then just turn their back like nothing ever happened.
You might think that this doesn't happen, but it happens all the time, at your rink, within your state, around the country and around the world. There is always someone on the bench trying to break the rules in one way or another.
Who is the game really for? Me, you, the parents, the referees, the hockey director, the rink owner...who? Yes that's right...the kids! So why is it okay for the parents of a team to allows the coach to cheat?
There had been times in my career, where I have had parents come up to me and say..."Rob, we are missing players on the bench and that I should allow him to bring one of my son's friends that lives next door to help out, plus we can put a jersey from one of the other kids that's not here, so no one will know?" When I told him...NO! Then he got up in my face and started belittling me for allowing the team to go into a game where they might lose.
So here is some little advice for you new coaches that getting pressured to do the wrong thing. Step back, say let me think about it, and then turn to what you know is right in your heart. Think of this..."How would you like it if the other coach that you are getting ready to play against, did that to you?" Yeah, you would be ticked. Not because he cheated, but because he just taught his kids how to cheat.
PUCK SUPPORT is the KEY!
Written by: Rob Lopez 11/20/11
Everyone is talking about, so I guess I will too...the 1-3-1! Or in other words..."the neutral zone trap". So it's been all over the net about Philly and Tampa bay in which the skating actually came to a stop the other day and everyone is blaming everyone one else for the stoppage in play.
Comments like..."Philly should have know better and they should have kept moving the puck." Or, the Lightning players were too lazy to come back and pressure the puck carrier.
For the past year, I have been telling may player to keep moving in the neutral zone and STOP standing around. But it hard to show player about tactics when the "pros" are standing around in the neutral zone as well.
Here, this is for ALL of you "pros" that like to stand around in the neutral zone (stuoops!) Now write this down..."If you are standing around not doing anything, it makes you an easy target to be covered. You might as well go sit on the bench because at that point, you are nothing but a big pylon!"
Look, if you keep moving, you open up windows of passing opportunities. But if you are standing still all the time, the pass can be intercepted as it heads your way...get it! Let's say this, if you were the one with the puck and the knucklehead that you want to pass too is standing in the neutral zone and you see a guy on the other team eying him...would you pass it to him? Yeah, probably not.
Now, if you watch that game film the other day about this fiasco, you will see that the wingers on the Flyers were moving in the neutral zone..well at least for the first 10 seconds. Which by the way in hockey time, 10 seconds is an eternity.
But if you check out the game film, you will see that they are moving in the neutral zone right next to the "Lighting" players. Now, let me axe ya. If you were the defenseman on the Flyers and you wanted to pass to your winger next to the other team....would you pass it? Yeah, that's what I thought...NOT!
So here we are, watching a pro game, while they all look at each other wondering which one was going to pull up a Lazy-boy chair at center ice and order pizza.
Look, here's what I keep driving into my players' heads..."You want the puck, then go down towards the defenseman and help them, help you!" For the love of god man, It's pretty simple! What's easier to get, a pass that is 5 feet away, or a pass the is 25 feet away, with a couple of other players on the other team standing in the way? Yeah, that's what I though, so move your a** towards the puck carrier and help him...help you! Holly smoke...I sound like Jerry Maguire.
Positional Responsibilities
Written by: Rob Lopez 8/31/11
Before we can talk about individual player responsibilities, we must first talk about positional responsibilities within the game. Take a look at this drawing below.
 First, if you look to the left side of this drawing you will see that the defensive areas are split into three main sections. Plus, you will also see that the defenseman's zone in yellow is broken up into three sections as well, where in front of the net, known as the slot, you will see the Centerman's zone coverage area. However, this center section zone is not limited to the centerman to remain within this area, but because the centerman acts like a third defenseman within the defensive area, he has the right to cover anything within the yellow area, not just in front. Let's talk more on this later.
Second, you will see that on the right side of this drawing within the attacking zone, it is also split into three main sections, two yellow sections for the defense and one section for the offense or attacking forwards. The reason why this white are is so big is to allow the attacking forwards the freedom to move within this zone. This white zone allows any attacking player the ability to adjust or move to maintain control or regain control of the puck within the attacking zone.
The next thing we want to talk about is what's known as "Skating Lanes". Please look at this drawing below.
 You will see that these lanes start just at the top of the face off circles within the defensive zone and run down the length of the ice into the neutral zone to the attacking blueline. As you can see there are three skating lanes where I have placed player assignments within each lane. However, these lanes are not solely responsible to these individuals' assignments. In other words, players have the ability to move freely into other skating lanes as they advance towards the attacking zone. Let's talk more on this later.
Next, we need to talk about the Neutral Zone in general and how you can take advantage of the other team within this area. Please look at the drawing below.
 Here, you will see that the Neutral zone is broken up into, (2) main sections. One is called the "Lower Neutral Zone" (due to the direction of the attack) and the other is called the "Upper Neutral Zone." Now, before we move on, I need to explain to you what a two line pass is (which is no longer used in the game) but how you can still use some of the ideas of a two lines pass to take advantage of the other team within this zone.
First, look at D1 as he makes this pass towards the left winger. In days gone bye, this would be know as a "Two Line" pass, which back then, would not be allowed. The normal attacking procedure would have been to have D1 or in this case D2, pass to the right wing and then the right wing could "Head man" the pass to the left wing advancing towards the blueline.
But times have changed and so has concepts. So, here are some things for you to think about within your attacking game. If D2 pass the puck too you on the right wing, it is always okay to advance the puck through "Head manning" the puck. Head manning means to "Pass the Puck" to the player that is deeper within the attack then you...if you have the puck.
If you do not head man the puck, it forces the lead player to slow down on his attack as he reaches the attacking blue line. If this were to happen, the lead player loses the attacking advantage over the defending defenseman. In other words, it slows down your attack and in this case, you might as well give the puck to the other team because the puck isn't doing you any good. So always head man the puck. Not sometimes...ALWAYS!
Now, if you have the puck within the "Upper Neutral Zone", you are NOT allowed to pass the puck to a team mate within that upper neutral zone. Why? If you pass to your team mate, most players do not take into account their forward momentum. As they laterally pass the puck to their team mate without thinking, they puck receiver has a tendency to slow down to make sure the pass is received. This slowing down is sometimes hard to read once you have passed the puck to him, thus throwing you offside on your attack. So the best rule of thumb is to cross the blueline first with the puck, then make the passing play.
The last two zone we need to cover before we start are both located within the attacking zone. Please look at this drawing below.
 The yellow area is known as the "shooting zone." This is the area in which you will give high quality shots against the defending team. The white areas to the sides are low scoring percentage opportunities. If you were to move the puck into these areas, you now have to move into an alternative plan of setting up and scoring.
The last zone we will talk about is what's known as "The Pressure Zone" (TPZ). Please look at this drawing below.
 When the puck is within this zone, it is called TPZ because it has placed the defending goalie under "maximum" pressure. Why? Because it is difficult for the goalie to watch the puck carrier, and the other attacking player located in front, setting up for the shot. However, as the puck moves out towards the direction of the point (attacking defenseman) the pressure is reduced because now the goalie has a better view of both the puck carrier and the player setting up in front.
This is why a tactic of "Cycling" works. Cycling is performed with a two man or three man scoring system. Normally, you will see the puck carrier move out of the corner towards the direction of the point. Once the puck carrier almost reaches the hash marks on the faceoff circle along the boards, the puck carrier pushes or passes the puck back into the pressure zone, while he's team mate follows up behind him for puck support. Once the pass is pushed back, the passing player moves around the faceoff circle towards the slot area and receives the pass back from the trailing player that was puck supporting him. Now he has a clear and clean shot in an optimum shooting position. Let's talk more on this later.
For the next 6 months, we will cover different tactical strategies for you to use with your team or line. If you have any questions, please send them to coach@passthepuck.net
Thank you for spreading the word.
Hockey Trade Shows!
Written by: Rob Lopez 6/16/11
Ok, you have been to those trade shows where you want to display your product or you are just a buyer heading to the trade show to see all of the wonderful new things that will be coming out for the next year...right?
Well, the majority of the time, you say to yourself..."Wow, that would be great to do, but my company just can't afford to buy a booth or pay for the flight, hotel, food...etc. Then, do you really get anything out of it?
What will be your return on your investment?
One of the major problems is, a lot of people are in the same boat. They would love to go, but they just can't afford the cost of the flight, hotel, food...etc, just to go see what's new in the market place. So, as a business owner, you are really limited to the number of people that will attend to look at your product.
Well, we found a company that will provide us with the software to put on a
Virtual Hockey Expo.
Pass the Puck, Inc. has been providing 100's of free hockey drills for 1000's of coaches worldwide in 50 different countries for the last 13 years. Now, we are moving to help manufactures display their product, all under one Virtual roof.
The Virtual Expo will allow you as a manufacture to display your products with pictures, text, voice, and videos. Ok, so you say..."what's the big deal, I have a web site!"
Yes, this is true. But you will get a list of ALL individuals that register to enter the trade show. This is something that you can't do with your web site. Especially if they are going to someone else's web site and not yours...get it!
Plus, Pass the Puck Virtual Hockey Expo allows you to provide the user with a special code with which they can enter a special buyer's room to talk with you directly about your products and to make a purchase via a shopping cart that you can control.
As a buyer, we will provide you with all names and contact of all manufactures that are within the EXPO. Please spread the word. The Expo goes live July 2012. This will give us the time to market it correctly and get that list ready for you. If you have any questions, please send them to coach@passthepuck.net
Thanks for spreading the news
Is the coach, coachable?
Written by: Rob Lopez 2/18/11
Is the coach, coachable? Ok, let's focus on a couple of thing. First, “People come into your life to teach you about yourself!” One of the things I learned before I turned 30 was that people are really an image of one's self.
Now, I know this sound kind of crazy, but let's really look at what this means. In the last couple of posts, we talked about traits and these traits are developed or made with our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Now, we all know that there are four main traits; Supporters (helpers), Promoters (flamboyant), Analyzers (nerds), and Controllers (bossy).
Each main group is broken up into sub-groups. For instance, can a Promoter also be an Analyzer? Yes, they are known as Promoting analyzers. This mean, that they will be very flashy and have a set way in which he or she conducts themselves. Now remember, an Analyzer is someone who will generally say…”now in order for us to get one goal, we have to shoot on the net 10 times for 1 puck to go in.”
Ok, so here's the next concept. In today's world we call it profiling. But back in the late 80's we called it being judgmental. However, a rose by any other name is still a rose. So why is it that we judge other people? Well, in order for us to judge other people, we are really looking within our own life's experience to see why people do the thing they do. So in reality when we judge other people, we are really looking at a mirror of ourselves, because we can only see in them, what we do.
So let's talk about those attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. Let me tell you a little story. Back in the early 60's my Dad bought a small two bedroom house to raise the family. You know the kind of house with a back porch, and a Barbecue pit that he made with his two hands out of red clay bricks.
Plus you can see several dead plants in the back yard and some weeds here and there. My Dad, like most Dads, wanted more or something better for his growing family. Well, some new neighbors moved in next door to us and one day my Dad took some of those red clay brinks from the unfinished Barbecue pit and made some little stairs to look over the brick wall into the neighbor's backyard.
To his surprise, the neighbor had put in a waterfall with gold fish in it. New plants, beautiful green grass that you could putt on and my dad was amazed, he fell in love with this backyard. So he turned his head, looked at our backyard only to see that he didn't have green grass, but several dead bushes, and an unfinished Barbecue pit. So he tells me, “We can have that kind of yard, if we only had the money…son, can you grab me another beer!”
Well, not to long after that, the neighbor's moved out and the house was up for sale. Well, at that time, we had a full family with a mom, a dad and three kids. So, he decides, to move in next door and now all of his problems would be solved. He had more space and no more troubles in the backyard with all of those dead bushes and weeds. So we move in next door and he is set for life. You can just feel the relief in his voice as he lays back on the lounge chair with a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other.
Not to long after that, a new family moved into our old house next door. My dad just laughed at them knowing what a hell hole they had just moved into. So, after two month's went by, again he stacked some red clay bricks from a future project, on our side of the block wall to see and reminisce about the good old days when he live in that hell hole only to see that the neighbor put in a pool, an actual putting green and a beautiful barbecue with a little fridge that hold ice to cool beer in.
My dad was in shock, I think he said something like this…“WTH”!!! So he turn his head to see that he also has a wonderful yard as well, only to find that three of the plants were dead, several of the gold fish were belly up and yes, another unfinished barbecue pit.
You see, I learned later on after he passed away from drinking too much, that you take all of these attitudes, beliefs and behaviors with you through life like baggage. So when I start judging people, I ask myself…”do I do that, and am I that way?” Do I treat people like that? If yes…change it. If not, understand why this event has come into your life and then learn from it.
You see, we think that people really don't know who we really are. But by our actions, it tells everyone who we really are. We hold up this so call image of ourselves, kind of like a doily in front of us for other people to see who we think we are. This doily is framed in a square which it's made up in a certain pattern with are made up of our attitudes, beliefs and behaviors.
Now, because this doily has this certain pattern, we can see through this doily to determine and judge how life should look too us. What happen to my dad was that he saw life through that doily and sooner or later, the pattern in his life was the same, day after day, year after year. Today's terminology it's known as a Rut.
But we really can change the way we see life by just turning the square doily clockwise or counter clockwise by just one degree. This is known as an “attitude shift.” This shift allows us to look at life differently, then what we were use to seeing all the time through our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. So you see, people really are a refection of us. Just by looking at you, I can see the things within you, that I do or don't do.
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