Bantam Game Video 10/9/2011

Here are three videos. Now that I have figured out my camera, I will try and shoot more video an see what I capture. Please ignore my commentary.

It is always fun to watch video with your daughter or son. It is also a really good learning tool for them to see what they did well and where they could have made another choice. Each video has different pieces of hockey.



Video One: A Decent Power Play (best viewed full screen)
Good point use. Nice passing. Outcome is 2 shots on goal and 1 that goes in.





Video Two: A Couple of Breakdowns (best viewed full screen)
Slow to back-check. No physical contact in neutral zone. Puck sent the wrong way.

This video is helpful so players can visually see what broke down and mentally think about what to do next time.




Video Three: A Simple Check (best viewed full screen)

I really don't think big checks or aggressive hitting belong in the youth game. You might notice that in the rest of my blog. Physical play is part of  hockey and should remain in the game and the check should be used to get possession of the puck. A check should also be well controlled by the player as not to take themselves out of a play. A bad check leads to a penalty or can create a 5 on 4 because the checking player aggressively takes THEMSELVES out of the play. This is just a good basic check. You can help your child understand a check doesn't have to be over the top and basic physical contact is all they really need use to break up a play especially around the neutral zone.

You almost don't notice the effective subtle check on the far boards but the player is check off the puck and control changes.
 

Bantam Black October 10th. A first of many!

The crisp air of October is upon us. This weekend can best be summed up with a video on how to set up and celebrate a goal. You will notice Kevin brings the puck up and dumps it in deep. Our forwards Alec and James chase the puck down and pressure the other team. Alex, the third forward, sets up in front of the net.  James assists on the goal using his stick, Alec get fouled and assists using his body and Alex is set up to dump the puck into the net. That was his first goal of his youth career. Notice the team support in celebration of the goal. 

The play continued to set up in the bleachers. Notice the cheering mother in orange who quickly gets the knuckle punches from another parent. A great cheer comes from the parent in blue and the guy shooting video catches the penalty and belts out goallllll! 

To summarize... the puck was dumped in deep, the forwards applied pressure and set up around the net.  The parents executed the hands in the air, the knuckle punch celebrations and they screamed harmonically. The gamer award goes to the coaches for teaching the kids and bringing this experience to everyone. Way to go Huskies! Now it is time for a few wins.

Watch the play set up and don't forget to watch it again to check out the parents in the bleachers. This is what life is about, in my opinion.  Click the lower right corner of the the video to go to full screen. 

USA HOCKEY RULE CHANGES: Legal and Illegal Hits and Contact

View the video from this link and it starts with illegal hits and hits to intimidate. The above embedded video starts with legal hits and the second half is illegal hits. Illegal Hits

Concussion Protocol for Youth Ice Hockey

Major league baseball added a concussion protocol. USA Youth Ice Hockey should follow this path. A protocol for the player and a protocol for the player causing harm.

Here is the cut from Yahoo...

“It’s a huge step forward,” said Chris Nowinski, a leading advocate for concussion safety in sports. “This sort of program closes a lot of the major holes in their policy. This puts them at a very reasonable place. Leagues should have concussion protocols, if not for the ethics than at least to keep their best players on the field.

“It’s nice to see an innovation like the seven-day disabled list.”


The new DL, to be used only for concussions and other mild traumatic brain injuries, is the first change to disabled-list rules in more than 20 years. The shortened duration – the typical DL is 15 days – is sufficient to evaluate head injuries. Teams reluctant to lose a player for more than two weeks will be willing to err on the side of caution for a one-week absence.

Elbow Gets Cooke 10 Games and First Round of Playoffs

Here is cut from Yahoo Sports. Matt Cooke gets 10 games for throwing a flagrant elbow to the head of Ryan McDonagh. Let's see the youth leagues follow. Remove the reckless play and players.


DETROIT – For once, the NHL’s job was easy. Matt Cooke(notes) made it easy. He will sit out the Pittsburgh Penguins’ final 10 regular-season games and the first round of the playoffs because he had no excuse for the elbow he threw into the head of the New York Rangers’ Ryan McDonagh(notes) on Sunday, the latest incident for the player widely considered the dirtiest in hockey.


This time, it’s the team’s job that’s tough. As Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby(notes) recovers from a concussion and the player safety debate rages, the Penguins are trying to take the lead, calling for zero tolerance on head shots and stiffer discipline for repeat offenders. At minimum, they must make it clear they do not condone Cooke’s conduct.

For My Family That Can't Work Email Attachments

A Good Old Memory of a Pass and Goal

Youth Hockey RULE ENFORCEMENT: NO gray areas PLEASE

In their discussion groups Tuesday morning, the GMs went over the language for boarding and charging penalties sentence by sentence. “Prior to today’s meeting,” said Yzerman, a Hall of Famer who played for more than two decades, “I had maybe read the rule before or maybe heard the rule before, but not specifically understood it.” Yzerman wasn’t the only one who learned something. “Especially with charging, everybody has this whole thing in mind that it’s three steps,” Shero said. “It’s not in the rule book. So people have that wrong.”

The general feeling is that the boarding and charging rules already in the book – maybe with some tweaking – could be enforced more strictly, the way the hooking, holding and obstruction rules were after the lockout. The general feeling is that the players would adjust, as they did after the lockout.

If you read the above post, it essentially highlights the same problem in youth ice hockey. The rules are not followed as written but more as - as believed and accepted. The NHL has time to figure this out. They have millions of dollars. THERE IS NO THREE STEPS grace in charging. Which is basically checking a player without the puck. Even Steve Yzerman got it wrong.

Youth ice hockey doesn't have this luxury and the longer we wait to implement better methods of enforcing rules as written, youth players get hurt.

Youth ice hockey must protect the players. YOU CAN NOT hit a player without the puck. This is not difficulty. YOU CAN NOT strike a player in the head, neck, or back. There is no room to interpret these rule with discretion. If you check a play who doesn't have the puck in their possession, well it's a penalty.

This isn't rocket science. Follow the rules and impose harsher penalties for the most damaging behaviors. Hockey is a physical sport. Hockey is not a reckless sport. These changes will not change the game, only save injury.