Recently, another high level coach/scout and I took in a showcase tournament featuring Junior age talent from around Florida and neighboring states. During a break -- and after watching two nights of game action, the other coach offered something to the effect that, "Those kids are horrible."Trust me, that the other coach wasn't trying to be mean. We're really not that way, and we really do appreciate the efforts of all hockey playing kids, their parents, and their coaches. In fact, those young guys weren't really "horrible" at all.
What he was really expressing was a bit of frustration at the things he was seeing, and probably about the things he'd have to try to correct if he dared sign one of those kids. Personally, I was thinking, "Few people realize what our eyes are seeing that theirs don't."
Here's what I think (or really know) was going wrong...
Although players and fans (rightly) get excited about a spectacular goal or a thunderous hit, scouts are usually watching a player throughout his entire shift, and we're watching intently, even when a given player is away from the puck. Unfortunately, a lot of players don't know how to make themselves useful when they don't have the puck.
I hate to suggest the following but, it's true... Sometimes even pretty good players don't "look good" as they move around the ice. I almost know that's a part of what was happening as my fellow coach made his observations -- in that most of the guys we watched just didn't move comfortably, and they didn't "look like" the experienced hockey players they probably are.
Unfortunately, too many "vanilla drills" are used with developing players. And by vanilla drills, I mean the types of drills that look good, but aren't worth much towards the players' future development or they aren't really specific to the players' true needs.
I long ago authored something entitled the "500 Drills" manual, and it was purchased by NHL teams and coaches from other high levels. Yet, I only revert on occasion to any of the old drills I know. The reason: my current players have unique needs, which calls for me to find or create a drill process that helps them.
The reader might be interested to know that on the long drive home from the above noted tournament, it gnawed at me that so many of the players didn't know how to either carry or effectively use their sticks (I'm serious about this). And it only took me about 20-minutes into the drive to arrive at both off-ice and on-ice drills that would solve their problems pretty quickly.
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| Coach Chic's video on Analyzing the Forward Stride |
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The problems mentioned here are typical of the things dealt with in great detail over on CoachChic.com.
