Lessons From Coaching Learn to Play/ Learn to Skate
For most of the years between 2014- 2020, I coached (with tremendous help from my New England Wolves Jr teams and staff) the Learn to Skate and Learn to Play programs out of the Merrill Fay Arena in Laconia. These were fun, exciting times, being the first coach to interact with eager young skaters stepping onto the ice for the first time attempting to learn this new skill.
Coaching Learn to Skate or Learn to Play can be a challenge, but it is always a fun one if you approach it with the right mindset, attitude and enthusiasm. Coaching this skill and coaching this age- group has to be approached with enthusiasm, as kids will feed off this energy and try their hardest to enjoy this difficult task. If you can keep their smiles going, even when they fall down every minute, you potentially have a player hooked for life.
Here are 5 important things to remember when coaching this level.
- Volume & Repetition over Technical Correction
It is extremely important that players in this age group get a lot of repetition and practice within each station or skill. This is far more important than any specific technical correction. Those technical corrections will have their time and place… just not now at this stage. At this stage you are very much attempting to impart intrinsic learning.
Intrinsic learning refers to a universal approach to education where learners engage in the learning process because they find it interesting and gratifying, rather than for external rewards. Intrinsically motivated learners are self-motivated, curious, and interested in the context and backstories of the material. This internal drive for learning is considered a fundamental aspect of effective education.
Learning Motivation: Intrinsic Vs. Extrinsic – eLearning Industry
Use a low student to teacher/ instructor ratio, whether it be a one on one skating lesson, or a learn to skate program, you can accomplish this with helpers and assistants. These assistants are crucial to keeping smiles on faces and assisting with “Herding the Cats” or moving them from station to station or activity to activity. Moreover, they will pick up fallen skaters, and most crucially, keep the drill moving, pushing along player by player the pace of the practice session. This keeps the kids engaged, focused, and learning (whether they realize it or not).
When you learned to walk, you fell down most often at first. Then you fell less, and walked before you ran. The same applies with skating. Learning how to get up when you fall down, learning how to stride and glide, learning how to stop… these naturally build upon one another.
- Less is More
Eden Prairie, MN is a town 12 miles southwest of Minneapolis, and home to roughly less than 100 thousand people. It has produced, along with many of the immediate surrounding towns, an NHL lineups worth of Professional and Division 1 NCAA players. In a town of 60,000 people Eden Prairie Youth Hockey has 12 rostered Mite teams, 4 squirt teams, 4 pee wee, 3 Bantam, and more teams at the Midget, High School and Jr levels… while also having 8 separate girls teams.
Several years ago I spent a week on a recruiting trip with Ken Eddy. Ken was coaching in Sweden at the time, but previously ran the Eden Prairie Youth Hockey Association including coaching their Learn to Skate and Learn to Play. One of the keys to the Eden Prairie success he noted was limiting the amount of practice time for younger levels. In fact, he said he only allowed 30 minutes for learn to skate practice sessions.
Why in most rinks do we book 1 hour sessions for Learn to Skate or Learn to Play? The answer is an economic principle and ice/time blocking from our rinks, more than a learner led model, that is right for our youngest athletes.
I encourage all organizations to evaluate this deeper and think of creative ways to avoid burnout and increase retention. If a high school team of 14-18 year olds is doing a practice session for 1 hour, why in the world would you use the same time frame for a 3-7 year old? The truth is you shouldn’t. Memorizing, recollection and fatigue are huge obstacles to successful learning. Shorten up the practice time for beginners, and make them excited to come back to each session each time.
This is based on the concept of Chunking.
Chunking is the technique of organizing or combining individual pieces of information into “chunks.” This facilitates easy retrieval of the information as students have to memorize the chunks instead of the individual information. These chunks also act as cues, allowing for easy recollection of information. https://k12teacherstaffdevelopment.com/tlb/how-can-i-use-chunking-as-an-effective-memory-strategy-in-the-classroom/#:~:text=Chunking%20is%20the%20technique%20of,for%20easy%20recollection%20of%20information.
One of the most creative ways I’ve seen organizations shorten up the learning/practice session while also adhering to the rink’s demands for an hour ice slot is splitting the session. It can look like this:
- 1 Hour Time Slot with ice split in half
- 40 Kids on the ice
- Half (20 kids) at one end for an Open Ice (optional) ice session with their parents or siblings
- Half (20 kids) at the other end with the Learn to Skate or Learn to Play coaches receiving instruction and/or the drills/ practice plan for the day
- Switch Half Way through and rotate the Open session each week (which group starts with the Open Session)
This becomes an instructional session, coupled with a fun session and keeps the kids engaged in the activities longer, because they are focused on the “Work” for shorter. Less instruction, more repetition… while also having MORE fun.
- Coach with the Kids, not Above the Kids. Be their Employee- NOT their Manager
Demonstration is a critical skill for athletes at this level and in this program. What they see is what they will do. So it is extremely important to have people who can perform correctly the fundamental skills being taught at these sessions. At older levels, knowledgeable coaches can draw up on a board or instruct with a video session the skills and systems that he is trying to teach. It does not connect at this level. Coaches have to do the drill and kids need to watch and learn, then attempt to do themselves.
Oftentimes this can be difficult if you do not have volunteers or helpers to assist you as the coach, but attempt to recruit from your local Midget teams, High School or Prep teams, and/or Junior teams. This will give you the number of able- bodied athletes you need to assist and demonstrate.
Remember…
A large body of research indicates that visual cues help us to better retrieve and remember information. The research outcomes on visual learning make complete sense when you consider that our brain is mainly an image processor (much of our sensory cortex is devoted to vision), not a word processor. In fact, the part of the brain used to process words is quite small in comparison to the part that processes visual images.
Based upon research outcomes, the effective use of visuals can decrease learning time, improve comprehension, enhance retrieval, and increase retention. In addition, the many testimonials I hear from my students and readers weigh heavily in my mind as support for the benefits of learning through visuals. I hear it often and still I can’t hear it enough times . . . by retrieving a visual cue… a learner is able to accurately retrieve the content associated with the visual.
Learning Through Visuals | Psychology Today
Encourage your coaches to do the drill to start (demonstration) and then alongside (mentorship) with each of the athletes. This will further along the skill and development, and also create a bond with the athlete and coach.
- Swag Bags
The term “swag” is an acronym for “Stuff We All Get”. A swag bag is a bag filled with gifts, mostly small and simple, that is handed out for free at an event. Upon entering to learn to skate, players should get a Swag Bag that they take with them into the locker room and play with as their parents dress them.
Dressing isn’t easy, and most kids will find some part of the equipment cumbersome or uncomfortable. By getting a bag with their name on it with small gifts that they can keep, kids are getting a reward for showing up and doing something that is outside of their comfort zone. It will increase their ability to feel part of this new adventure. Here are some ideas to include in your swag bag:
- Stickers- Hockey, Skating or Local Team related
- Hockey Tape
- Brochures- Kids love looking at brochures for local events at the rink
- Hockey Cards
- Gatorade or Water for after the practice
Keep these simple and fun and they will be effective in increasing the retention you have with your learn to skaters and learn to players.
- End with Fun
To create stickitivity in these youngest of players and skaters, you have to end on a “High” to get them to be excited to come back. Never end a session with just walking off the ice. Create something each week that the kids ask you before the session, “Can we do _____ again”?
Some games and activities to consider:
- Tag or Chase with the coaches
- On Ice Soccer
- Dodgeball
- Bumper Cars with Pads
- Capture the Flag
- Cops and Robbers
- On Ice Handball
- Where’s Mr Wolf Game
A mountain of evidence now documents the physical, mental, social, emotional, cognitive and academic benefits that flow to youth whose bodies are in motion. We also know communities thrive when they promote policies and develop infrastructure that encourage sport and recreation activity. Youth Sports Facts: Why Youth Sports Matter – Project Play
If your skaters are having fun, then they will want to come back, and retention of athletes at this age group and ability is paramount. Encourage and foster the fun and enjoyment of being on the ice and with a group of athletes at the same level. Put this in place and then watch them slowly and gradually develop proficiencies in the skills being taught.
Andrew Trimble is the General Manager and Co- Owner of the New England Wolves Hockey Club. He is also the Owner of Scoring Concepts LLC, a New Hampshire based hockey training company that offers camps, clinics, private lessons and teams. He has coached at all levels from Learn to Skate to College Hockey. For more info on his teams and programs check out- www.scoringconcepts.com or www.ne-wolveshockey.com
