2017-18 Squirt B
WORK HARD!
BE A GOOD TEAMMATE!
HAVE FUN!
Rules of the Rink (for Players)
Our goal is to teach the kids skills in a way that promotes creativity and translates in game situations.
Rule 1: Effort Equals Ice Time
· Coaches don’t decide how much ice time you get – you decide how much ice time you want by your effort in practices and in games.
· Your teammates are counting on you to try your best every time.
· If the coaches see you not paying attention or causing other disruptions during a practice, first time you skate a hard lap, second time you sit out for 5 minutes, third time you get sent off the ice.
Rule 3: Be a Good Teammate
· Encourage teammates. Support your goalie. Work together to win together.
· Passing (or not passing) is contagious. You have to give a pass to get a pass.
· Play your position – your linemates are counting on you to be in the right spot at the right time, every time.
Rule 3: Respect the Game and Everyone Involved in the Game
· Respect teammates, coaches, parents, officials, volunteers, and opponents.
· We play to win, it’s okay to feel bad if we lose, but we always show class.
Rules of the Rink (for Parents)
Rule 1: Attendance at Practice and Games
· The team depends on your child to attend as many practices and games as possible.
· Please notify the team manager if your child cannot make a scheduled practice (at least 24 hours in advance if possible).
· Once the schedule goes up, please let the team manager know as soon as possible if your child cannot make a game.
· We will reward consistent attendance with opportunities to start periods and/or play on PP and PK.
· In the event of persistent attendance or behavior issues, coaches reserve the right to sit a player for a shift (or shifts) at the next game.
Rule 2: Arrival Time for Practices and Games
· Make sure you arrive early enough so that your child is dressed and ready in the locker room prior to practice time so that the coaches can go over the practice plan with the kids before we hit the ice. Once the Zamboni hits the ice (i.e., about 8 minutes prior to scheduled start time), we would like all parents out of the locker room.
· Have you child at the rink not later than 30 minutes prior to game time, in tennis shoes and sweats, to do off-ice warmup and go over notes in the locker room with the coaches.
Rule 3: Questions and Feedback
· Due to his status as a non-parent coach, Bob Anderson will serve as the primary point of contact for any questions a parent has about his/her individual player throughout the season.
· Please wait until at least the next day, however, if you have a question or concern you want to raise with Coach Bob.
Supporting the Puck
If you watch good teams play hockey, you will see 2 teammates working together in a small area around the puck. You want to work together with your teammates to create 2-on-1 advantages against the other team and avoid getting outnumbered 1-on-2 by the other team. This is called “supporting the puck.”
This is the most important concept in hockey!!!!
Nothing else we want to do as a team works unless we can gain and keep control of the puck.
We can’t gain and keep control of the puck unless we have a second player skating in to support the puck, every time.
When One of Your Teammates Has the Puck
Skate toward him and into an open area to receive a pass with your eyes on your teammate and your stick on the ice. Do not stand still or skate away from the puck. Try to make it an easier pass for your teammate. Shorter passes are almost always better than long ones.
When the Other Team Has the Puck
The closest player immediately and aggressively goes after the person with the puck. Our next closest player follows as quickly as he can to join the battle for the puck and create a turnover. Once a turnover is created, these two teammates can continue to work together to move the puck.
Get To Know The Ice
We use a lot of terms to point you in the right direction on the ice. Here’s what some of them mean.
What Is The Slot?
The slot is the area in front of the net and between the face off circles. This is the “danger zone” when you are playing defense and the “scoring zone” when you are playing offense. You want to keep the puck OUT of the slot on defense and try to get the puck INTO the slot on offense.
On Defense On Offense
Zone Coverage Map
On Defense / On OffenseKeep the puck out of the middle / Get the puck to the middle
Force puck carrier towards boards / Keep moving to get open
Support the puck, avoid 1-on-2 traps / Support the puck, look for 2-on-1 opportunities
One skater (usually defenseman) covering front of our net at all times looking for players from other team / Third forward in slot area with stick on ice, moving from side-to-side and forward-and-back to get open
Clear the puck out to the side, never in front of our net or up the middle / Shoot whenever you can see part of the net and then crash the net for a rebound
Whenever the puck gets close to the blue line you have to get it out – pass it, skate it, or chip it / Defensemen stay inside blue line, get to boards when puck on your side, move forward to hold puck in
Breakouts
When the puck is in our end, the first thing we must do is keep it away from the front of our net. As soon as we get control of the puck, we must get it back out across our blue line as quickly as possible. Do not stickhandle or skate with the puck in our own end any more than necessary. The easiest way to get the puck out is to move it up along the boards. This is called a “breakout.”
Defense gets puck in corner / Defense skates puck behind netClosest wing sets up along boards at edge of faceoff circle / Closest wing sets up along boards at edge of faceoff circle
Defense passes up the boards to wing / Defense passes up the boards to wing
Center closely supports puck / Center closely supports puck
Other wing skates up ice / Other wing skates up ice
Wing makes short pass to center, skates puck out of zone, or just chips it off the boards as last resort / Wing makes short pass to center, skates puck out of zone, or just chips it off the boards as a last resort
Zone Entry
Once we get the puck out of our end, we want all three forwards to move with speed through the neutral zone and into the other team’s end of the ice. This is called the “zone entry.”
Wing (F3) makes short pass to Center (F2), who has been tracking the puck in supportCenter crosses blue line with speed and looks for pass to opposite side Wing (F1) in neutral zone
Wing (F1) carries puck across blue line while Center (F2) drives hard to net with stick on the ice ready for a pass
Wing (F3) has been skating as fast as he can to catch up to other forwards, moves towards high slot with stick on the ice ready for a pass
Wing (F1) can either pass to Center (F2), to Wing (F3), and/or continuing skating to net for shot/rebound
ENJOY THE SEASON!