Coaching Philosophies
Original story posted here. The most important factor in developing a player is belief. Your players must believe they are capable of being great. Not only must the players believe in themselves, you must also believe in them. Nothing is more powerful than a respected coach that a player looks up to for advice believing […]
Avoid Specializing Too Soon!
Original story posted here. Here in Canada many kids grow up wanting to be hockey stars, and so, when they start to show some promise, parents immediately encourage them to drop all other sports, in their quest to create the next Sidney Crosby. Unfortunately, that kind of specializationrarely does your child any favours — and it’s not […]
Hockey is for Everyone!
Hockey is for absolutely everyone, no exceptions. Everyone deserves to access our country’s wonderful sport and enjoy all of the happiness it provides us with. Original story posted here. Youth worked together Sunday to make hockey accessible for everyone in Grand Rapids. The Grand Rapids Blades Bantam A Hockey Team recently played a scrimmage game with […]
January Team of the Month – Windsor Spitfires!
Congratulations to our Team of the Month winner for January – the Windsor Spitfires! Determination and fun – the Spitfire way. Their goal is to improve each and every game, while remembering this is a game about fun and lifelong friendships. Coach Scott, in his first year of coaching, has enhanced skills through development, hard work, […]
Hockey Pool Update!
We are officially past the half-way point of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, and now that we’re through the All-Star break, the push for the playoffs is on! Coincidentally, the race for first place in iPlayHockey’s Hockey Pool is in full force! “Nashoba” continues to be the leader of the pack at 981 total […]
How to Make Practice Fun
We have all dreaded hockey practice at one point or another in our lives. Having our parents drag us out of bed at 6AM on a Saturday morning isn’t the ideal way to start the weekend. Heck, even Allen Iverson, one of the best athletes of our time struggled with the concept of practice. Luckily, […]
Losing Hitting Not the Solution to the Concussion problem
Original story posted here. Hockey does have a concussion problem, but the solution is not removing contact. There is a group of parents in Calgary angling to have bodychecking removed completely from hockey at the bantam age group, meaning bodychecking would be introduced to the 15-year-old age group. In 2013, body checking was removed from the peewee […]
The Importance of House League Hockey
While elite AAA teams and hockey academies across Canada are producing the next generation of National Hockey League (NHL) talent, house league hockey is producing a mass number of players that are going to occupy adult recreational hockey leagues someday. Without those recreational leagues from the east coast to the west coast, there would be […]
Hockey, Teens, and Trust
A story was posted on the MV Times featuring an interview with Matt Mincone, a hockey coach of 20 years. There are some very good snippets regarding coaching, how to motivate teens and empower them to have a good work ethic, and the role of trust between coaches and players. See below! On Thursday I caught […]
December Team of the Month – West Lorne Comets!
Congratulations to our Team of the Month winner for December – the West Lorne Comets! The West Lorne Comets Bantam Rep team is a great example of what small town hockey is all about. Comprised of ten skaters plus two call-ups from the local peewee team, this team is very competitive against much larger centers they face […]
Another Successful Bell Capital Cup!
Original story posted here. This time next year we’ll be looking back at the 20th Bell Capital Cup, potentially in awe of special surprises the organizing committee would have brought to the anniversary edition of what’s touted as the world’s largest hockey tournament. Today, though, we’re looking back at a successful 19th edition that once […]
Brandon Metske Memorial
A few weeks ago, we posted about an incredible team of young players in Lucknow, Ontario that we chose as our Team of the Month – the Lucknow Sepoys. They are raising all of the players as fine young men that are all passionate about helping their community. When we reached out to the team, […]