I put up my hand to be a hockey coach, because there would be professional coaches helping out with practices. Most of what I know, I learned from the sidelines of watching house league and through osmosis as a Canadian.
If we didn’t have professional coaches, I wouldn’t have volunteered. So, I suspect that I’m part of the target market for this addition. They ran the practices for 2.5 months, from the start of the season until Christmas. I was hoping that I would learn how to do on-ice coaching from the professionals.
Since this is a bit of a single-perspective retrospective, I’ll use a “happy, confused, sad” format.
Happy
I liked having the professional coaches. I could count on them being there every Saturday.
There was a strong emphasis on skills, which was appropriate for the beginning of the year and lower skill players.
The drills were generally good and the coaches were competent. They demonstrated the drills well, gave good feedback, and was patient with the kids.
The kids improved. It was cool to watch the kids get better over multiple iterations within a single session.
Confused
I’m not sure what was the intention behind having professional coaches. My impression was it was supposed to be a train-the-trainer model, but that’s not what happened.
Professional coaching was probably expensive. How did we decide that his was a better way to spend money than paying for a subscription to online resources or a course? Some examples that would have been helpful are CoachThem (used by the Select team) or a course.
I’m not sure if this format led to low attendance by Select players. They may have felt it was too basic and the practices couldn’t complete with their other obligations. Or maybe the Select players wouldn’t have come anyways. It’s hard to know. But it probably would have been good to have drills that could be adapted to different skill levels.
At practice, we share the ice with another team. After a few weeks, the coaches on the other team ran some drills in parallel with the professional coaches. For example, during the skating portion, the volunteer coach did more basic drills in one lane. Eventually, they stopped using the professional coaches altogether. I’m not sure why this happened. Was it because they thought the professional coaches were not doing a good job? Or that they couldn’t ask for something different?
Sad
I would have liked to receive more coaching from them as a coach. I was hoping to have learned more about how to create a practice plan, how to read a drill, how to choose a drill, and what to look for to give feedback.
I would have liked to receive the practice plans in advance on “paper.” These would be a valuable resource for me now.
I would have liked more consistency in coaching. Some professional coaches involved the volunteer parents by setting up stations. Others did not use stations, which resulted in kids standing around waiting their turn too much.
I would have liked more continuity in the coaching. We had a lot of different coaches. Part of the reason is we have three different time slots at two arenas. Coaches were assigned to time and places, but the teams moved around. But also, we had substitute occasionally.
I would have liked more team tactics. We didn’t have many drills on how to work together as a team. To give a simple example, how to take a face off. Consequently, we didn’t start this until January, which was very late.
The bottom line is I’m glad we had the coaches. I wouldn’t be a coach without them. There was a lot of potential for positive impact. The potential was realized for the players, but less so for the coaches.
This weekend we will be playing the last game of the regular season. Thanks to everyone who is arriving on time and getting dressed independently. I am impressed with the growth on the team.
1. Team tactics and strategy on Saturday
Please arrive 40 minutes early to practice on Saturday. We will be using the time to teach some team tactics and strategy. This material is best covered using a whiteboard, so we’ll do that in the dressing room before the start of practice.
2. Attendance
We were missing 1/3 of the team at the game last week. We didn’t have enough to make full lines, so the kids were pretty tired by the end. Please make an effort to attend the games. If you cannot make the game, update TeamSnap as soon as possible. We are allowed to borrow players, so that we don’t forfeit games.
4. March Break
There will be a practice and a game the second weekend of March Break (18 and 19). Please enter your availability now, so we will know if we need to borrow players to field a team.
5. Select Players
Players on the Select teams are expected to regularly attend practices and games. Selects have been diligent in attending games, we appreciate that, but there has been less diligence with the practices. Please do your best to come on Saturday, as we will be covering team tactics and strategy.
6. Photos
If you have not received a photo proof for your child, there will be one final makeup session on Saturday. It will take place 10am-1pm at Y. One more reason to come to practice early.
7. Goalie
We still need a second (and possibly third) volunteer for goalie. If no one steps forward, I will continue scheduling the goalies week by week. It would be better for the team, if a smaller number of players to honed their skills and became really comfortable in the position. It will involve playing 2-4 games in that role.
8. Off season
We still have a couple more months of hockey, so it seems too early to talk about the off seasons. But we will soon be choosing activities for the spring and summer. In choosing a physical activity for the off season, consider something other than hockey. Youth who play in multiple sports have fewer injuries and stay in recreational sports longer. Also, consider an activity that has symmetric movements, such as swimming, trampolining, fitness, because to offset the hockey stance.
Next week, the playoffs start, and it’s like pressing the reset button to starting a new season with a clean slate.
Thanks for your support. Looking forward to this weekend.
Our sidewalk became an obstacle course this morning after a snow plow left a berm across the path.
Dear Councillor Robinson, Mayor Tory, and 311,
We have been living here for almost 10 years now. We have been through many snow storms in that time. The most memorable was a couple of years ago when even TTC buses were abandoned. It took a solid week to clear the snow with crews working overnight.
The snow removal on the sidewalk last night was the worst that I’d ever experienced. I don’t know if they brought the wrong equipment or didn’t have enough equipment. The plow would travel along the sidewalk and stop, lift the blade, drive on, and start plowing again further down the road. Usually, but not always, the stop was in front of an electrical pole. Because we had so much snow yesterday, these breaks in plowing resulted in large berms of snow on the sidewalk. The combination of these berms and tire tracks resulted in a formidable obstacle course on the sidewalk. This morning, my daughter and I were walking on Lawrence Avenue East. Each time we had to clamber over one of these berms, we yelled, “Parkour!”
Walking would have been easier if no plowing occurred. I’m sorry to say that when service is this poor, it’s not worth having. We are looking at a sizable property tax increase, which I don’t have a problem with, but I do have an issue with worsening service for no good reason.
No action is required on your part for our home. We are relatively young and relatively able-bodied. We were able to clear the mess in front of our house. I have attached photos and a video. Please ensure that we go back to the old standard of service. Thank you.
“Louis XIV et Molière” by Jean-Léon Gérôme, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
There’s no evidence that Molière dined with the Sun King. Furthermore, if it did happen, it didn’t look like this painting. And I’m not just talking about the lighting.
The work was painted in 1862 by Jean-Léon Gérôme, who was one of the most important artists of his time. One of the genres that he worked in was historical painting, depictions of scenes from history. Meals such as the one in the painting were happening from 1669-1715.
Molière did perform at Versailles, and the king was a fan and patron. But Molière was more likely to be dinner entertainment than a dinner guest. Being an actor was not a respected profession. “Molière” was a stage name, taken to spare embarrassment to his family, who were affluent members of the bourgeoisie. Under the previous regime, actors were considered subversive, and not even allowed to be buried on hallowed ground.
Attention from Louis XIV was a much coveted and carefully managed commodity, and he would be unlikely to squander it on an actor. As Margaret Visser wrote, “Intimacy with Louis meant power, and power was symbolically expressed in attending to certain of the king’s most private and physical needs: handing him his stockings to put on in the morning, being present as he used his chaise percée, rushing when the signal sounded to be present as he got ready for bed. It mattered desperately what closeness the king allowed you– whether he spoke to you, in front of whom, and for how long.” [1]
If such a meal between the two men occurred, I would have expected better documentary evidence. The painting is supposedly based on an episode from a noblewoman’s memoirs. [2] But I wasn’t able to find it in the Château de Versailles database of memoirs [3]. It may be mentioned in a biography of Molière. If someone has better information, let me know.
If the meal did occur, it didn’t look like this.
Louis XIV and Molière would not be sitting across from each other. They would have been sitting side by side, like the head table at a wedding. The meal was a spectacle, intended to be seen, and for the nobility to be seen. The table would have an elaborate display of both dishes in porcelain, silver, and gold, and of food on platters and pyramids. Only individuals seated at the table ate. Everyone else was the audience. (They typically obtained nourishment at a separate time and place.)
While Gérôme applied a 19th Century sensibility to the dining table, he did get the seating mostly right. Only the royal family were permitted chairs at these meals. Only monarchs sat on a fauteil, a chair with arms. Other members of the royal family were permitted chairs with backs, but not arms. Highly ranked noblewomen were given tabouret, a padded stool, smaller than the one in the Gérôme painting. If Molière was seated, it would have been on a tabouret. It’s more likely that he wasn’t seated at all, as it would put him too far above his station. Furthermore, Louis’s penchant for routine meant that he rarely made ad hoc decisions or exceptions.
There would not have been a bed in the room. Le Grand Couvert occurred daily at 10pm in the antechamber to the Queen’s bedroom. So while it was an intimate location, and was a bookend to the lever at the start of the day, it wasn’t the room where she slept. (It’s possible that her attendants slept in this antechamber, but they did not have beds like this. It’s more likely that the Queen and her posse all piled in the bed together.)
The room would have been much more crowded. I previously mentioned the attention economy around Louis XIV. If one were to gain status or favour for their projects, one needed to be in the same room as the king. Not only would the room be full to capacity, but there would also be nobility looking in through the doorway.
There would have been more women in the room. The royal family participated in Le Grand Couvert as it was their evening meal too. (This arrangement likely contributed to Louis’s son, later Louis XV, to prefer small quiet suppers without the spectacle during his reign.) By the same token, noble wives would have attended as well.
The clothing in the painting was reasonably accurate. At formal events, of which Le Grand Couvert was one of many, the men did dress in sumptuous frock coats, short pants with knee socks, and high-heeled shoes. Outside of these settings, men typically wore a black or dark gray suit, with a similar, but simpler cut. Molière’s suit is in this style, though the coat sleeves often were longer. Furthermore, he likely could not afford the formal attire.
While this painting is replete with historical inaccuracies, is it a lie? It depends on how it’s presented. For example, Hamilton the musical is based on a biography of a historical figure, but at the same time Lin-Manuel Miranda has made a number of artistic decisions that aren’t factually correct. It’s somehow more obvious when people are singing and dancing on a stage that the story didn’t really happen that way.
To me, the most jarring one is in “A Winter’s Ball,” where Aaron Burr sings, “Martha Washington named her feral tomcat after him.”
Hamilton turns to the audience and says, “That’s true.”
And it’s definitely not true, although the lyrics gesture to something that is true, which is Hamilton repeating a false story about him.
Historical paintings in the 19th Century were intended to be educational. Past events were opportunities to communicate values to an audience. In this sense, it’s not so different from Hamilton.
But we get in trouble when art is presented as fact. Art poses questions, engages in dialogue, and reflects ourselves back to us. In this instance, a painting of something that actually happened in just this way.
This painting of Louis XIV and Molière by Gérôme came up because I was doing research on dinner etiquette. Various web sites would show this painting [4,5,6] or one like it [7] in an uncritical manner. Although there are exceptions [2], these sites tended not to give the context that this beautifully-rendered painting was not a high-fidelity recounting, but an artistic interpretation. Consequently, we are deceived into thinking that the painting depicts historical fact. But we played a role in that deception.
Our contemporary eyes are influenced by photography and cameras as infallible documentary. But we should know better. Images can be Photoshopped, clips can be edited down, and a video can be a deep fake. Part of the labour that we need to do as audiences is to participate in the conversation, not to stay mired in our unconscious biases, and add back in the context.
I began leading the team this week as head coach. I created the practice plan, talked to the kids, and assigned tasks to the assistant coaches. It was hard work getting there and it was stressful, but we managed to pull off a close win.
When I put together the practice plan, I knew that there were two things I wanted to work on: passing the puck and playing positions. I went down the rabbit hole of Internet hockey drill repositories.
It takes a long time for me to read a drill. I’m like a kid who is learning to read prose— I use my finger and sound out the words, and I still get things wrong.
I picked out a bunch of passing drills. I went to shinny twice with my son and I practiced putting out cones and giving instructions. Not surprisingly, I’m terrible at it. By Thursday, I chose a set of six to email to Coach Matthew and Coach Mahmood.
Coach Matthew offered to lead off with a skating drill. I accepted gladly.
We only got through four of the drills that I had planned. And the kids were generally terrible at them. There was a lot of skating, so they got tired. There was a lot of passing, but not much shooting. I think the kids didn’t have a lot of fun. The saving grace was the game of British Poke Check at the end.
Before the game, I prepared the lines (assigning players to positions), something that Coach Matthew normally does. We compared notes and I made a couple of tweaks, but we weren’t far apart.
Before the game, I led the team meeting, something I had never done before. I announced the lines. I reminded them to pass the puck and to be ready to receive the puck. The best passer would receive an entire bag of Kit Kat Minis.
I asked Coach Mahmood to run the defence, which is something I would normally do. I wanted to listen in on how Coach Matthew ran the offence, and I wanted to watch the game as a whole. I stood on the bench to get a better view of the ice. I only fell off once and as far as I know no one noticed.
Our opponents scored their first goal 30 seconds into the game. By about 12 minutes into the game, we were behind by 5 goals. We were letting goals in and players were generally not passing. Coach Matthew kept saying, “Lots of game left to play.”
About 5 minutes into the second period, the team started coming together. Defence got tighter. Passing started to happen. We gradually started to close the gap. We scored the winning goal with less than a minute left to play. Our goalie made a crucial stop to end the game.
Then, it was time to hand out the Kit Kat. I told the kids that I was proud of their grit. I called out two runner-ups, before giving the candy to the winner. All three players are normally quiet and unassuming. Positive reinforcement for behaviour you want to see and starve behaviour that you don’t want to see.
I am proud of myself. Usually, the team wins and I feel like I didn’t have anything to do with it. But this was different. I identified the direction, I chose the drills, and I motivated the kids.
I feel like I’m driving the bus now. I feel like I deserve to be called Coach Susan. I’m not taking a back seat to the ACs, but still working collaboratively. And I think this is what the ACs want too. They didn’t want to be Head Coach, for their own reasons. My relationship with them is collegial, but not close, and I appreciate that they’ve been holding space for me to step up.
On Saturday, we were using a practice plan that Coach Matthew used with his Select team. There was a mix of technical skills, team tactics, and fun drills. After we finished the first drill, Coach Matthew sauntered up to me and made a beautiful, effortless hockey stop, and said, “What are we working on, Coach?”
It was a light bulb moment for me. I’m the head coach. As if it wasn’t clear enough already, Coach Matthew wants me to be head coach. He said as much at the beginning of the year, that he couldn’t be head coach. He has also been taciturn and not opinionated about what the team was learning from professional coaches. I had hoped to take care of the off-ice details and leave the on-ice to Coach Matthew and Coach Mahmood. In retrospect, this division is not that clean. What happens in the dressing room is connected with what happens on the ice. And nobody had been driving. I was hoping one of them would step up, and they thought I would take the job.
So, I picked the next drill and paid close attention to how he gave instructions. I will need to pick up a whistle and whiteboard with an arena printed on it. He explained the drill using the whiteboard and then demonstrated on the ice. I listened to the words that he used and the scribbles on the whiteboard.
We lost our game on Sunday. In the dressing room, Coach Matthew pointed out that we were an easy team to beat right now, because we’re not passing the puck. I had been waiting a long time for him to say something like this, so I was looking forward to the next practice.
I’m taking the steering wheel now. I now have a direction, buy in, and some tools. Let’s go.
Happy New Year! The schedule in TeamSnap has been updated with the practices and game schedules for the next little while. There’s about 4 weeks left in the regular season. After that, we have playoffs consisting of 3 weeks of round-robin and 2 weeks of eliminations.
1. This weekend
There is a practice and a game this weekend (January 7 and 8). Looking forward to seeing everyone. We could use a goalie.
2. Goalie
If your child hasn’t played goalie yet or has played only once, the next four weeks is a great opportunity. We are looking for 2 players to be goalie more regularly as we head into the playoffs. We’d like them to be in net more consistently, so they have a chance to get comfortable and build up their skills.
3. Expectations for players
We are continuing our expectations from the fall.
Put on equipment independently.
Arrive 20 minutes before the start of a game
Take off equipment independently.
Thanks to everyone who has been able to do this. Let’s keep it up. Practices and games work really smoothly when this happens.
4. Lost and found
I have a white practice jersey and a neck guard. I will put these into the lost and found at Oriole, if they are not claimed.
5. Humble winners and gracious losers
We spend a lot of time talking about how to be a good sport when we lose a game, because it’s an important life lesson. Kids need to show themselves grace and appreciate the effort that they put in. They also can practice resilience and grit by coming back and trying again.
We don’t spend as much time talking about how to be a humble winner. Our team is in first place and some of our wins have been lop-sided. I don’t know how the rest of the season will turn out, but there’s a chance we will win another game. So here are a few things that humble w
Acknowledge the other team as worthy opponents. If they didn’t show up, there would be no game. Thank them for their play and, if appropriate, shake hands with them after the game. In house league, the team that you are on is a matter of chance. Any of our children could have been on the last place team.
Thank people that helped the team succeed. Hockey is a team sport. Many players, coaches, and parents had to pitch in for the win to happen. You can never go wrong by thanking someone.
Don’t trash talk teams or players. Our kids watch a lot of YouTube, which normalizes negative talk about losing or players with less skill. It would serve our children better to be able to empathize with their peers.
Thanks, everyone. Looking forward to seeing you this weekend.
I was curious about the origin of the saying, “Never talk about politics or religion in polite company.” One of the oldest references that came up on Google was The Letter Bag of the Great Western (1840) by Thomas Chandler Haliburton. I needed to track down this book and I was in luck: there was a copy at the Toronto Reference Library in the Baldwin Collection of Canadiana. I went down a serious rabbit hole that day. Let me tell you about the best bits.
The Baldwin Collection is part of the rare book collection, housed in its own room within the library. When I entered Marilyn & Charles Baillie Special Collections Centre, I had to register to use the space. The librarian helped me fill out a request for the book. Then, I waited in the tranquil rotunda for a staff member to bring it to me.
Items for protecting The Letter Bag of the Great Western
The outermost layer was a slipcover, a custom-made box for the book fashioned from heavy card stock. The next layer was a book jacket. The book itself was bound in red leather. It had previously been re-bound, so the original spine and front cover were included at the end of the book.
The librarian provided a foam book cradle, so I could have the book open without damaging the spine. She also provided a book weight, a long bean bag for holding the book open gently. Even with these precautions, there were quite a few crumbs of leather on the desk by the time that I was done.
I did not have to wear gloves to handle the book. I could use only a pencil (no pens!) to take notes and I was not allowed to eat or drink.
Each chapter of The Letter Bag of the Great Western was a letter from a passenger aboard the ship. The book was… puzzling. The diction and sentence structures were foreign, not surprising given the 180 years between me and the author. But it was odd in other ways too.
For example, the book dedicated the Right Honourable Lord John Russell, who was Prime Minister of Britain at the time. Although the author didn’t know the Prime Minister, he included the tribute to make the book more marketable. He wrote:
All the world will say that is in vain for the Whig ministry to make protestations of regard for the colonies, when the author of that lively work “The Letter Bag of the Great Western,” remains in obscurity in Nova Scotia, languishing in want of timely patronage, and posterity, that invariably does justice (although it is unfortunately rather too late always) will pronounce that you failed in your first duty, as protector of colonial literature, if you do not do the pretty upon this occasion.
In the Preface, the author breaks the fourth wall and doesn’t tell us how he came into the possession of private mail.
The obvious inference is, I confess, either that the postmaster-general has been guilty of unpardonable neglect, or that I have taken a most unwarrantable liberty with his letter bag. Under these circumstances, I regret that I do not feel myself authorized, even in my own justifications, to satisfy the curious reader…
I needed more context to make sense of this book.
SS Great Western was a wooden hulled, paddle steamer that was built for the purpose of making regular crossings between Bristol and New York.
The Steam Great Western by A. Robertson; Napoleon Sarony; Robinson, H. R. – http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/148806, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63198045
The ship was large– dangerously large, critics contended– so the crossing would be fuel efficient. It displaced 2300 tons, and was 76.8m long and 17.59m wide across the wheels. It was capable of carrying 120 passengers, 20 servants, and a crew of 60. Between 1838 and 1856, the Great Western crossed the Atlantic Ocean 45 times. The westward crossing would take 16 days and the reverse trip took about 13.4 days.
Sidebar: There was subsequently an even larger ship named SS Great Eastern, built to make regular journeys to Australia. There was a CBC radio series of the same name that purported to be aired by the Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland.
The author was Thomas Chandler Haliburton. He was born in Nova Scotia in 1796 and died in England in 1865. He was the first Canadian-born author to gain international renown, which is why the library had this book in their collection. Haliburton was a lawyer, judge, and member of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly. When he retired from law, he moved to England and while he was there he became a Member of Parliament.
Haliburton wrote both fiction (satirical sketches) and non-fiction (reports on life in Nova Scotia).
The pieces fell into place when I realized that The Letter Bag of the Great Western was a work of satirical fiction, which is completely consistent with other work by Haliburton.
This bit of insight meant that I needed to look at the suggestion to not talk about politics or religion in a different light.
The relevant letter is from “John Stager” and titled “Letter from an Old Hand.” It gives 18 tips on how to live one’s best life on the ship. To illustrate, here is Tip #1.
1st. Call steward, inquire the number of your cabin; he will tell you it is No. 1, perhaps. Ah, very true, steward; here is half a sovereign to begin with; don’t forget it is No. 1. This is the beginning of the voyage, I shall not forget the end of it. He never does lose sight of No. 1, and you continue to be No. 1 ever after; –best dish at dinner, by accident, is always placed before you, best attendance behind you, and so on. You can never say with the poor devil that was hen-pecked, “The first of the tea and the last of the coff-ee for poor Jerr-y.” –I always do this.
This is sassy writing. One can imagine this tip as part of a Mr. Bean skit or perhaps a Borat movie.
Let’s now turn to Tip #12, which mentions politics and religion, and was the original reason for tracking down this book
12th. Never discuss religion or politics with those who hold opinions opposite to yours; they are subjects that heat in handling until they burn your fingers. Never talk learnedly on topics you know, it makes people afraid of you. Never talk on subjects you don’t know, it makes people despise you…
This advice is impossible to follow. How do you learn that someone holds opinions different from yours without engaging in discussion? If you can never talk about subjects you know nor subjects you don’t know, what is left?
Haliburton is satirizing conventional etiquette. As a legislator, he no doubt had many conversations about politics. Even the dedication of The Letter Bag of the Great Western was a political gesture.
A couple of inferences can be made here. One, in 1840 the adage to never discuss politics or religion is sufficiently well known that it can be satirized. Two, the saying is worthy of being mocked, as if one can’t seriously suggest it or follow it.
I’m going to keep digging, both backwards and forwards in time. Where did this adage come from? And what is it doing to us now?
The day spent at the Toronto Reference Library was a pleasure. There were so many books; if only we could learn from them through osmosis. It felt like time travel to touch a book that was published so long ago. It’s an inclusive space that requires neither money nor a library card for admission. It’s quiet and the librarians are here to help. The bathrooms are clean, with burly paper towels that actually dry your hands, and sharps disposal units. I’m thankful that when so much of the city feels like it is coming undone due to underfunding, we still have this oasis of knowledge and dignity.
We have a few pieces of news and reminders to share.
1. Rebalancing
After the first few weeks in the season, it is sometimes necessary to re-balance teams. The league does this to keep games fun for kids by making sure that no team is winning or losing all the time.
Please join us in giving a warm welcome to T and L. They will be with us for the rest of the season. We’d like to thank S and T for being great team mates on and off the ice. We are sad to see them go and wish them well on their new teams.
2. Covering zones and playing positions
Here are a few videos on playing positions in the defensive zone that have been selected by Coach Matt. All players should watch these videos. This might be new information for some and a reminder for others. In either case, it gives our team a common foundation that we can build on.
To ensure that practices and games run smoothly, we have some basic expectations for players.
* Put on equipment independently. * Arrive 20 minutes before the start of a game * Take off equipment independently.
Many thanks to the players and families who are already meeting these expectations. If your child is not meeting these expectations, they may need some support from you to get there.
The changing rooms are small, so we’d like parents to wait outside. With the exception of tying skates and putting on goalie equipment, players at this age are capable of dressing on their own. If a player needs help with skate tying, they can ask for help or they can come out of the dressing room to ask a parent.
We need players to arrive early for games, so that we can have a team meeting. At that time, we review the lines and points of performance for the game. The coaches need to prepare a roster on paper for the game officials. It’s stressful for players and coaches when some kids don’t show up until the last minute. Also, this is why we ask that you keep your availability up to date on TeamSnap. If a player arrives after the game sheet has been submitted, they may not be able to play in the game.
Ideally, the players go on the ice as soon as the zamboni leaves the ice, so they can have a good warm up.
4. Positive reinforcement
I’d like to wrap up with comments on things that have been going well.
We had a great practice last week. We worked on skills and every player who was there improved significantly. I was delighted because one of my goals is for players to learn and grow.
So far this season, we’ve had 6 different players in net, including one person who had never been a goalie before. I’m really proud of our kids for stepping outside their comfort zone and trying something new. These are the kinds of lessons that we can take from the ice into life.
As parents, it’s important for us to provide positive reinforcement to the kids. About 70% of kids drop out of sports by high school, because it stops being fun. Many kids find the ride home particularly miserable, because parents like to provide “constructive criticism.” The most important things we can say to them are “I’m proud of you when you play hockey” and “I like watching you play.” I know how challenging it is to make this change, because I did it. But the results have been worth it.
Thanks to you, the families. We wouldn’t have a team without you. If you have any questions or concerns, we are here to help.
When young children first start playing organized soccer, they play “huddle ball.” The energetic players all start following the ball around the field. Although, there are positions, such as forward, half back, and full back, nobody is playing them. This phenomenon can be attributed to lack of knowledge, lack of maturity, and simple enthusiasm. Kids start playing positions as they grow older and taught a better way. They become more skilled at passing the ball, so chasing is less effective. Also, a full-size soccer pitch is large, so it’s not feasible for player to follow the ball.
The same evolution happens in hockey. Kids start out playing huddle puck. They need knowledge, skill, and trust to play positions. There are a few factors working against us in house league.
There’s a lot of variation in skill level. Some kids can’t skate fast enough to keep up with the action. Some kids are highly skilled and are capable of carrying the play themselves.
The playing surface is smaller and skating is easier than running, so kids receive less negative reinforcement for chasing the puck constantly.
There’s a lack of trust in playing positions. They don’t trust the system. The kids don’t trust each other to be in the right place to take advantage of the positions.
Our team is playing huddle puck, and winning games. I’m worried about how long this will last. We are going to start losing to teams that play positions.
The professional coaches are emphasizing individual skills, so they’re not covering this area. I asked Coach Matthew about this and he said that it takes a long time for kids to learn this. He kindly found some videos for me and the kids to watch.
Whether or not we are successful, we need to start setting the expectation that kids play the position that they are assigned.
I don’t know how to teach this skill. I don’t have the experience playing or teaching. Since, I don’t have anything better to offer, I’m going to leave things be. It’s especially hard to mess with a winning record.
