Let’s Play Hockey Expo 2009 – Sports Signup
This article is part of the ongoing Let’s Play Hockey Expo 2009 series presented by DailySportsDeal.com. The Let’s Play Hockey Expo is the largest hockey consumer expo in the U.S. In this interview, Executive Editor TK Stohlman interviews Josh LaStarza of Sports Signup.
Sports Signup provides online registration to a wide variety of sporting teams and events. The company also offers data management, email contact and a variety of additional online support tools. For more information about this online service, visit them at www.sportssignup.com.
The Importance of Long Term Planning
The most common problem facing trainers and coaches today regarding developing young athletes over time is the ability to plan long-term. The personal training profession is typically based on a session-to-session consideration - clients pay per session and trainers create training programs one session at a time. The same is true in coaching sports - most coaches script out one practice plan at a time, rather than create a relative flow for an entire month or even season. The following article by Brian Grasso discusses the importance of planning for the long term.
Limited Plan… Limited Gain - The problem with this industry standard as it relates to youth and adolescent sports is it limits the potential gains made by a young athlete. It is not unlike running a business or corporation - when business owners take the time to organize their objectives and action steps for a given month or year, they almost always are successful at implementing the plan. Far too many business owners, trainers and coaches feel as though their actions during a sales drive, training session or practice will lead to positive change, when in fact it is the planning that occurs before these actions that accounts for the true gains
Become and Objective Monster - No one can learn how to create 6 or 12 month plans in a day. It takes time and diligent effort to acquire this skill, but your ability to get better over time will have a direct and positive impact on both your young athletes’ success rate as well as your businesses ability to attract new clients. Set an objective for yourself to create a system or plan that allows you to develop long-term and wide-focused agendas for your young athletes. Take several days or weeks if needed to create a system that is streamlined and easy to implement - although you are looking for a comprehensive system, the more basic you make it, the easier it will be to adhere to.
Action Steps - Start simple by taking a piece of paper to write out where you want your young athletes to be in four weeks. Create headings and then fill in each category. For instance, what skill sets are you working on now? To what degree of competency do you want an athlete or team to be able to demonstrate this skill set in one month’s time?
Create Critical Path - Once you have organized your thoughts regarding where you would like to be in four weeks, you must consider how you are going to get there. On the same or a different piece of paper, write out how many training sessions or practices you have with this athlete or team between now and the target date. Date each training session or practice on your piece of paper and then use your skills as a trainer or coach, fill in the blanks. Compare where you want to be in four weeks with the number of training sessions or practices you have remaining. In order to accomplish your 4-week goal, what action steps along a critical path must be taken? This is the essence of how to develop a long-term approach to working with young athletes.
The End Result You Need - An amazing thing happens when you create objectives and critical plans. You start seeing results in your athletes and teams beyond what you ever-dreamed possible. Failing to plan is one of the biggest concerns facing this industry. It seems everything is taken on a session-by-session basis with no vision or thought to the long-term. It could be argued that individual trainers and coaches didn’t know how to plan for the future…well, now you do! Practice the skill of objective writing and critical path creation. It will take time to design a system that flows well for you, but it is more than worth it to your young athletes and teams.
Editors Note: Thank you to Brian Grasso of Developing Athletics for this article.
Q&A: Talking to Coaches Who Want to Win…No Matter The Cost
The purpose of youth sports is to offer children of all skill levels the opportunity to compete and learn how to handle game time situations. This can be difficult to accomplish if your child’s coach has a play to win philosophy. Motivational speaker and youth sports expert Bob Bigelow offers the following advice to deal with this type of situation.
Tracy asks: My kid is a good hockey player but not the best on the team. We are on a second year Peewee team and have been with the same coach for two years. Our coach is one who plays to win to the detriment of the players who are not on the A list. The coach will bench our son and the other kids who are not at the top of the list in order to “win, win, win.” He will even bench the kids when we are losing in hopes of turning the game around. My son is extremely smart and knows exactly what is going on. We want him to have respect for his coach and have never said anything negative about his coaching style but as a parent, it is very hard to defend something you adamantly disagree with. We have tried talking to his coach but that did not change things. He is focused on the scoreboard ~ not the kids. What do you suggest we do to handle this situation in an adult manner, while still getting the point across that at this point a child’s development the game should not be all about winning, but more about skill development?
Answer: Tracy thank you for your question. I run into this situation often and work tirelessly to address the problem in my talks with youth sporting associations across the country. Here is my best advice:
First, it is important to make sure you understand the policy of the program in which your son is playing. Sometimes you will find the playing time policy posted on the league’s website or in other official documentation. If you are certain that equal playing time is in fact a policy with the program your son is playing in, I suggest you move on to the advice in the next paragraph. However, if you cannot find written documentation that speaks to equal playing time, you will probably need to stick out the rest of your season and reevaluate the appropriate program for your child in the summer or fall.
Assuming equal playing time is a league policy, I would recommend the following. Since coaches are so busy, when you have an opportunity to meet with them face to face (before or after practice or at games), I believe sending a well-crafted, and non-argumentative email or letter to the coach. Voice your concerns over what you have witnessed and ask the coach if there is a good time to talk about the situation. One thing to make sure you ask (tactfully) in the email is how your player is going to develop the necessary skills if they are not given the opportunity to play during the games.
It is also important to give the coach the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes coaches are unaware of the lack of playing time given to one player. They have a whole team to substitute in and out of the game, while your focus is solely on your son. However if it has in fact been going on for the last two years, it is important to address the situation as stated above.
Additionally, you might have some contacts in the management of the league who can help you address your concerns and discuss them with the coach on your behalf.
Thank you for your question Julie and best of luck!
Editor’s Note: Thank you to Bob Bigelow for this helpful advice.
Let’s Play Hockey Expo 2009 – PowerSkater
This article is part of the ongoing Let’s Play Hockey Expo 2009 series presented by DailySportsDeal.com. The Let’s Play Hockey Expo is the largest consumer expo in the U.S. In this interview, Executive Editor TK Stohlman interviews Ron Bulloch, the inventor of the PowerSkater.
The PowerSkater is a unique tool to help teach skating technique. It is particularly effective for younger children because it teaches stride power and the importance of bending the knees. The ultimate goal is to help them make full length strides while improving technique and ability.
Ron also shares with parents that one of the best ways to improve their child's hockey game is to have them develop strong skating skills. For more information about the PowerSkater visit www.PowerSkater.com.
How To Better Manage Emotions in Youth Sports
Youth sports can be an emotional experience. The physical activity of the kids can often spill onto the sidelines and into the stands and create strong reactions among both coaches and parents. The following article provides tips for dealing with these concerns in youth sports.For parents, it is important to separate their child’s sports development from game emotions. For this reason, many leagues and coaches have adopted the “24 Hour Rule” which simply states that coaches will not discuss a game or situation until at least 24 hours after the fact. This important rule does two things. First, it moves the discussion away from the presence of the players. Second, it allows all parties to have time to put things in perspective and “cool off” if necessary.
If parents will respect the 24 hour rule, their concerns are more likely to be fully addressed in a reasonable discussion. More importantly, the kids’ enjoyment of a game won’t be marred by an ill-timed confrontation.
Editor’s Note: A special thanks to Sports Esteem for this article.
Q&A: What Should My Player Do For Summer Training?
Keeping your player motivated and active during the summer months is an excellent way to give them a leg up in the coming season. Here is some great advice about summer training from Dennis Chighisola, President and Director of the New England Hockey Institute.
Tim asks: Hockey season is virtually a year round sport. What can I do for my son over the summer so he doesn’t lose his skills but also doesn’t get burned out?”
Answer: I only have one problem with this question. I am unsure of how old your son is. That being the case let me make a few suggestions for the various age groups.
Before I get too far into this though, let me suggest that the off-season shouldn’t be devoted to just sustaining skills. I believe it’s possible to actually make huge gains during the spring and summer months, WITHOUT THE DANGER OF BURN OUT.
To begin, I believe very young players grow the most by enhancing their fine motor skills and overall athleticism. Participation in a warm weather sport can help with both of these traits, and it also can help a youngster learn to deal with different kinds of mental challenges (because of the different rules, different strategies, etc.). An active youngster is going to be better-off next fall, mainly because most backyard games help enhance motor skills and athletic qualities. Rope skipping, especially if a youngster works at it, can really carryover to on-ice footwork, balance and more. Additionally, just horsing around on in-line skates can transfer to a young kid’s on-ice abilities. As far as improving hockey-specific skills, I’d suggest that you set-up your son with a stick and golf ball (or Swedish stick handling) and then (borrowing one of my favorite expressions) encourage the boy to “Go nuts!” with that thing! Furthermore, puck-skills and shooting ability can really separate young players. This can be practiced easily by arranging a convenient net and a handful of pucks for your son.
As for formal training, I might suggest that you enroll your son in a once-per-week skills oriented on-ice program and then an end-of-summer hockey school. The weekly sessions will help maintain the boy’s legs and skills over the summer, while the one-week program should make the first fall skates seem easy.
Next, skipping to the extreme, I’ll suggest that older teenagers pretty much “are what they are” when it comes to motor skills and athleticism. At this time in life, a youngster might be better served by working to do things harder, faster and longer. In other words, I would recommend strength training, some sprint and agility work plus some hockey-specific conditioning.
Now that I have dealt with the two extremes, middle age groups would likely benefit from a little of each. This means, 11- to 13-year old should consider mixing some of what I recommend for very young kids with a little work on those physical traits I mentioned for older teens. Should your son fall into this category, you might adjust this spring and summer training according to whether your son falls at the younger or older end.
Regarding, the dangers of so-called burn out… My take on this is that “work” is what one makes of it. In fact, I think even most college and pro players, or those guys and gals who have to do some pretty heavy off-season workouts, can find ways to make these sessions enjoyable. As you may recognize in your own day-to-day activities, there is a huge mental difference between the things you feels you “have” to do and those things you “choose” to do. With that in mind, I see nothing wrong with blowing-off a given clinic or workout in favor of a day- or night-off, a vacation, or whatever. As I’ve often suggested to my players, sometimes it can be more beneficial to “just go dawgoned fishing!” Having seen it all over nearly 40-years as a coach, I’ve noticed that most players come back loaded for bear just from taking that kind of short break.
Finally, Tim, thank you for the very timely question. And, if I haven’t totally answered it (because I wasn’t sure about your son’s age), I sincerely welcome a follow-up. Thanks again!
Editor’s Note: Thank you to Dennis Chighisola (Coach Chic) for his valuable input on this question.
