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COACHING STAFF
Head Coach: Kevin Chambers Assistant Coach: Sean Hachey Team Manager: TBD PRACTICES*
GAMES Schedule will be posted on TeamSnap once set. |
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14U Player Development
Commitment
It takes commitment to excel in sports. Working hard to improve as an athlete takes time and sweat. Athletes must overcome adversity. Nothing is easy. In team sports, like hockey, there is an added level of commitment – a commitment to your teammates. When people talk about the values that can be learned in sport, values that transcend into other aspects of life, they often mention the value of work ethic; working both with and for teammates. Being committed to teammates’ success and the team’s overall success can teach and nurture selflessness.
Commitment also means being accountable to teammates. Hockey requires players to make contributions to the team in many ways. Only one player gets credit for scoring a goal, but there are usually many plays that lead up to that end result. The player who defended, the goalie who made the save, the player who won the puck and made the pass – they all contribute. All of them must show commitment to produce that end result of a goal. And when that ultimate success is achieved, through commitment with teammates and friends, there is no better feeling.
Growth
The 14U age group can include players with a wide range of physical and mental maturity. On the physical side, players born on the same day can be physically +/- three years different in physical maturity. This can have a dramatic effect on performance.
Children who grow rapidly may face some coordination issues. Tasks that were previously mastered may become more awkward. For example, a player's skating stride may change and his/her ability to maneuver might diminish. It takes time for the athlete to catch up and fit into his or her new body. This has implications on the ice. Coaches need to recognize these issues and be prepared to help players move through this phase of development.
On the other end of the spectrum, the late-maturing player can be smaller than his/her teammates and opponents. This also can be a disadvantage in a contact/collision sport like ice hockey. The interesting thing is that the late-growth spurt child stays in the “skills development” window longer, allowing for the potential to more easily acquire hockey skills. The small, late-growing player may have the potential to be even better in the long run than the early maturer. Coaches and parents need to encourage the late-growth spurt child and prevent them from becoming discouraged.
It is important for both coaches and parents to understand where each child is within the normal growth process and how it is affecting the child in the short term. Be patient, as it is not until ALL of the kids reach physical and mental maturity that we really know who will be the best players.
High-Performance Training
At the older age classifications, the best types of practice drills are the ones that incorporate live play and tactical decision-making with the exercise. These are the types of drills shown to have the highest rate of transfer for the players back to the real game. As players progress and their individual skill levels increase, the more they need to tie in hockey decisions to their skill executions in practice. This can be done in both small-area games or in drills where players compete against an opponent.
Puck Possession
Today, an unconditional mindset of dump-and-chase is detrimental to the team game, and more specifically, it’s detrimental to the individual skill development of the player. The hockey culture has changed, especially with the way new defensemen are taught to retrieve the puck, skate and initiate the breakout. Winning teams that have success today are built around keeping the puck – puck possession – rather than giving it away and chasing it.
Puck possession is positive for a team because it allows creativity for the players. Confidence rises within your team when you have the puck. Teams with the puck have the initiative; they dictate the pace. Teams with the puck have the opportunity to attack. Teams with the puck have the ability to play collectively as five-player units. Teams that play as five-player units are tough to defend against.
Quality
A basic premise of USA Hockey's American Development Model is to make efficient use of the ice time available to our players. In a quality practice, expect to see:
Small Spaces
As our players get older and bigger, what was previously a large patch of ice becomes smaller. And as the playing surface shrinks, the time players have to react in game situations is reduced. It's important that, during practices, our players are forced to do things quicker and in smaller areas. That way, on game day, they are in better position to adapt and excel. Practices at the 14U level should continue to include some station-based work, where the ice surface is broken into small areas. In these stations, the coaches can work with players in small groups on individual skills and in live-action, competitive small-area games.
Content adapted from www.ADMkids.com
It takes commitment to excel in sports. Working hard to improve as an athlete takes time and sweat. Athletes must overcome adversity. Nothing is easy. In team sports, like hockey, there is an added level of commitment – a commitment to your teammates. When people talk about the values that can be learned in sport, values that transcend into other aspects of life, they often mention the value of work ethic; working both with and for teammates. Being committed to teammates’ success and the team’s overall success can teach and nurture selflessness.
Commitment also means being accountable to teammates. Hockey requires players to make contributions to the team in many ways. Only one player gets credit for scoring a goal, but there are usually many plays that lead up to that end result. The player who defended, the goalie who made the save, the player who won the puck and made the pass – they all contribute. All of them must show commitment to produce that end result of a goal. And when that ultimate success is achieved, through commitment with teammates and friends, there is no better feeling.
Growth
The 14U age group can include players with a wide range of physical and mental maturity. On the physical side, players born on the same day can be physically +/- three years different in physical maturity. This can have a dramatic effect on performance.
Children who grow rapidly may face some coordination issues. Tasks that were previously mastered may become more awkward. For example, a player's skating stride may change and his/her ability to maneuver might diminish. It takes time for the athlete to catch up and fit into his or her new body. This has implications on the ice. Coaches need to recognize these issues and be prepared to help players move through this phase of development.
On the other end of the spectrum, the late-maturing player can be smaller than his/her teammates and opponents. This also can be a disadvantage in a contact/collision sport like ice hockey. The interesting thing is that the late-growth spurt child stays in the “skills development” window longer, allowing for the potential to more easily acquire hockey skills. The small, late-growing player may have the potential to be even better in the long run than the early maturer. Coaches and parents need to encourage the late-growth spurt child and prevent them from becoming discouraged.
It is important for both coaches and parents to understand where each child is within the normal growth process and how it is affecting the child in the short term. Be patient, as it is not until ALL of the kids reach physical and mental maturity that we really know who will be the best players.
High-Performance Training
At the older age classifications, the best types of practice drills are the ones that incorporate live play and tactical decision-making with the exercise. These are the types of drills shown to have the highest rate of transfer for the players back to the real game. As players progress and their individual skill levels increase, the more they need to tie in hockey decisions to their skill executions in practice. This can be done in both small-area games or in drills where players compete against an opponent.
Puck Possession
Today, an unconditional mindset of dump-and-chase is detrimental to the team game, and more specifically, it’s detrimental to the individual skill development of the player. The hockey culture has changed, especially with the way new defensemen are taught to retrieve the puck, skate and initiate the breakout. Winning teams that have success today are built around keeping the puck – puck possession – rather than giving it away and chasing it.
Puck possession is positive for a team because it allows creativity for the players. Confidence rises within your team when you have the puck. Teams with the puck have the initiative; they dictate the pace. Teams with the puck have the opportunity to attack. Teams with the puck have the ability to play collectively as five-player units. Teams that play as five-player units are tough to defend against.
Quality
A basic premise of USA Hockey's American Development Model is to make efficient use of the ice time available to our players. In a quality practice, expect to see:
- Individual skill work done in a high-activity environment.
- Plenty of repetitions for efficiently refining a player's technical skills.
- Skill development with an increasing degree of complexity and decision-making.
- Game situational play through small-area games to teach the skills, concepts and tactics of ice hockey, along with the ability to make quicker decisions.
Small Spaces
As our players get older and bigger, what was previously a large patch of ice becomes smaller. And as the playing surface shrinks, the time players have to react in game situations is reduced. It's important that, during practices, our players are forced to do things quicker and in smaller areas. That way, on game day, they are in better position to adapt and excel. Practices at the 14U level should continue to include some station-based work, where the ice surface is broken into small areas. In these stations, the coaches can work with players in small groups on individual skills and in live-action, competitive small-area games.
Content adapted from www.ADMkids.com