Its a myth that you cant use video for youth hockey players. Any age group can learn by watching themselves, watching their peers, or even watching NHL players.
This season I am coaching my sons U8 team AND our Wolves u16 split (which ended in November after a trip to the state finals) and our EHL Premier Jr team. With each of these teams we devote a couple minutes every week to watching video. Here are some of the ways Ive utilized this teaching tool with younger athletes:
- U8 Hockey Homework- Basic clips sent through email to their parents, that I will ask “trivia” questions to the following practice
- U16 & EHL Premier, using our Team APP of any other phone application to send video to these players and have them look at them when they are away from the rink
- Team Video Sessions
Some of the ways I like to teach our athletes is through positive reinforcement. Using a good play or good clip to illustrate how or why we want to execute a certain way.
Here are some of the positive plays that are easy to illustrate using video.
- Good positioning
- Good zone entry habits (middle drive etc.)
- Good Shot Selection (where to shoot or where to put pucks on net given certain situations)
- Good Efforts on the Forecheck/ Backcheck
Check out this clip that we recently used to illustrate a nice play after a neutral zone turnover that led to a great zone entry and even better Pass off Pad scenario.
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
