Go Hawks!
Well, you guys did it again. Your coaches had no idea you could outshine your Friday night effort, but you did so on Saturday. Great effort against the Owls!
We’ll spend this week preparing for the Trillium Cup. Or rather, the “HAWKS Cup!”
Gentlemen, please check the blog this week for preparation details.
We play our first tournament game Friday evening, June 5, at Moses Springer at 9:00pm. We play the Owls once again.
Let’s win this thing boys. Let’s win the Hawks Cup!
Coach Steve
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
What Time is It?
I said, “WHAT TIME IS IT???”
That’s right, it’s PLAYOFF TIME!!!
I love it!
Hawks, we play today, Saturday May 30, at 2:00pm in St. Jacobs. Please be early. We have lots to talk about. We’re heading into battle with the Owls. I can’t wait! You can find the playoff schedule on the SWO site here.
I will update the right side of the blog soon with the playoff schedule. I haven’t done so yet.
Okay. Now down to business. I will mention a bunch of stuff below. Please review it all.
POST-GAME SUMMARY
Gentlemen, you played like professionals last night. You espoused the Hawks Hockey Nation Excellence Creed by which we live and play. You worked hard on every shift. You delivered to the Falcons, nicely wrapped, a present that we like to refer to as NO SPACE AND NO TIME!
Your coaches spent this past week devising a strategy to beat the Falcons. It involved three of our systems. We explained the strategy to you Friday night before the game. And then you executed that strategy to perfection! You should be very proud of yourselves.
Personally, I’m very proud of all of you.
CRANK IT UP
Remember Hawks, we all agreed last night to crank it up a notch for the playoffs. No, actually, to crank it up 1,000 notches! Your coaches will do so. You’ll see evidence of that today at 2:00pm.
Are you ready to elevate our game to a whole new level?
PRE-GAME PREPARATION – THE OWLS
The regular season is behind us. We learned some things about our opponents, and that’s great. But as for the outcomes of the regular season games, they no longer mean a thing! It’s ancient history! Remember, WHAT TIME IS IT???
The Owls don’t score anymore goals than us, but they have that stingy goalie. I’m sure he’s quite good, but he’s also, obviously, been a little lucky at times. And he hasn’t be effectively challenged! That’s where we come in!
By the way, let’s never forget that we have the best goalie in the league. Period.
The Owls also offer up one key goal scorer.
Before our game today, we will talk about the systems and strategies we will use to win this game. Our systems worked perfectly Friday night. They’ll do so again today.
Our systems today will involve particular assignments for particular players. They’ll be very specific. Get there early. Crank it up 1,000 notches! Excellence! Professionalism! As mentioned in the May 24 blog entry, COMMITMENT!
By the time this 2:00pm tilt ends, the Owls’ heads will be spinning!
TRILLIUM CUP
Lastly, a reminder, we all play, as a team, in the Trillium Cup next weekend. You can find the schedule on the SWO site here. I will add it to the blog shortly.
That’s right, it’s PLAYOFF TIME!!!
I love it!
Hawks, we play today, Saturday May 30, at 2:00pm in St. Jacobs. Please be early. We have lots to talk about. We’re heading into battle with the Owls. I can’t wait! You can find the playoff schedule on the SWO site here.
I will update the right side of the blog soon with the playoff schedule. I haven’t done so yet.
Okay. Now down to business. I will mention a bunch of stuff below. Please review it all.
POST-GAME SUMMARY
Gentlemen, you played like professionals last night. You espoused the Hawks Hockey Nation Excellence Creed by which we live and play. You worked hard on every shift. You delivered to the Falcons, nicely wrapped, a present that we like to refer to as NO SPACE AND NO TIME!
Your coaches spent this past week devising a strategy to beat the Falcons. It involved three of our systems. We explained the strategy to you Friday night before the game. And then you executed that strategy to perfection! You should be very proud of yourselves.
Personally, I’m very proud of all of you.
CRANK IT UP
Remember Hawks, we all agreed last night to crank it up a notch for the playoffs. No, actually, to crank it up 1,000 notches! Your coaches will do so. You’ll see evidence of that today at 2:00pm.
Are you ready to elevate our game to a whole new level?
PRE-GAME PREPARATION – THE OWLS
The regular season is behind us. We learned some things about our opponents, and that’s great. But as for the outcomes of the regular season games, they no longer mean a thing! It’s ancient history! Remember, WHAT TIME IS IT???
The Owls don’t score anymore goals than us, but they have that stingy goalie. I’m sure he’s quite good, but he’s also, obviously, been a little lucky at times. And he hasn’t be effectively challenged! That’s where we come in!
By the way, let’s never forget that we have the best goalie in the league. Period.
The Owls also offer up one key goal scorer.
Before our game today, we will talk about the systems and strategies we will use to win this game. Our systems worked perfectly Friday night. They’ll do so again today.
Our systems today will involve particular assignments for particular players. They’ll be very specific. Get there early. Crank it up 1,000 notches! Excellence! Professionalism! As mentioned in the May 24 blog entry, COMMITMENT!
By the time this 2:00pm tilt ends, the Owls’ heads will be spinning!
TRILLIUM CUP
Lastly, a reminder, we all play, as a team, in the Trillium Cup next weekend. You can find the schedule on the SWO site here. I will add it to the blog shortly.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Battle of the Season!
Hi Hawks,
As you all know, we do battle with the Falcons on Friday evening. I can’t wait! They look like a tough opponent, so it will be all that more enjoyable when we emerge victorious!
A few notes on the Falcons:
Their record is 6-1-0, whereas we’re at 4-2-1. Do Hawks love a challenge?
They score quite a few goals, but they also allow roughly the same number of goals per game as us. We’ve allowed 15 goals in seven games, and the Falcons have allowed 14 goals. They have scored 24 goals in those seven games, versus our 16 goals. Clearly we need to shut down their scorers.
They have six players listed in the top 30 scoring leaders in the league. We have five such players (Jordan, the other Jordan (you can decide which is which ;)), Devin, Nathan and Aaron). So we’re fairly even matched on that front.
The Falcons only loss came at the hands (or the talons) of the Vultures, back on April 18. It was a 1-0 game, so obviously very close. The lone Vultures goal came with 10:00 minutes left in the first period.
While we’re playing the Falcons on Friday night, the Owls will be battling the Vultures. We’re the top four teams, all playing each other! Friday night is really the beginning of the playoffs, so let’s play like it!
Hawks, we don’t want to spend very much time in our end. We need to get the ball deep into Falcon territory and keep in there. So.....
Please study our systems! Know them. Especially Four-deep, The Gift, and The Trap. We’re going to do everything we can to keep the Friday night game as simple as possible. To do so, we’re going to focus on these three simple systems.
Using these systems, in the order I’ve listed them above, we’ll provide strong coverage for the short periods of time that we play in our zone, we’ll get the ball deep into Falcon territory every chance we get, and we’ll prevent them from escaping their zone.
If you execute these systems, we’ll head back to our dressing room a very satisfied (and sweaty and stinky and exhausted) team!
Go Hawks!
Coach Steve
As you all know, we do battle with the Falcons on Friday evening. I can’t wait! They look like a tough opponent, so it will be all that more enjoyable when we emerge victorious!
A few notes on the Falcons:
Their record is 6-1-0, whereas we’re at 4-2-1. Do Hawks love a challenge?
They score quite a few goals, but they also allow roughly the same number of goals per game as us. We’ve allowed 15 goals in seven games, and the Falcons have allowed 14 goals. They have scored 24 goals in those seven games, versus our 16 goals. Clearly we need to shut down their scorers.
They have six players listed in the top 30 scoring leaders in the league. We have five such players (Jordan, the other Jordan (you can decide which is which ;)), Devin, Nathan and Aaron). So we’re fairly even matched on that front.
The Falcons only loss came at the hands (or the talons) of the Vultures, back on April 18. It was a 1-0 game, so obviously very close. The lone Vultures goal came with 10:00 minutes left in the first period.
While we’re playing the Falcons on Friday night, the Owls will be battling the Vultures. We’re the top four teams, all playing each other! Friday night is really the beginning of the playoffs, so let’s play like it!
Hawks, we don’t want to spend very much time in our end. We need to get the ball deep into Falcon territory and keep in there. So.....
Please study our systems! Know them. Especially Four-deep, The Gift, and The Trap. We’re going to do everything we can to keep the Friday night game as simple as possible. To do so, we’re going to focus on these three simple systems.
Using these systems, in the order I’ve listed them above, we’ll provide strong coverage for the short periods of time that we play in our zone, we’ll get the ball deep into Falcon territory every chance we get, and we’ll prevent them from escaping their zone.
If you execute these systems, we’ll head back to our dressing room a very satisfied (and sweaty and stinky and exhausted) team!
Go Hawks!
Coach Steve
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Commitment and Decision Change Everything
Hawks,
You played a fantastic game Saturday morning! It was a lot of fun, standing on the bench, watching you all work together, dig deep and execute like we all know you can.
Many of your parents also commented to us coaches that you all worked really hard during that game. Great stuff! Let’s keep it going.
I’ve updated our record on the right side of the blog.
We have one game to go in the regular season round robin. The Falcons are a tough team. We’ll use our systems and some adjustments to our line-up to give us every advantage. Make sure you get there in lots of time, because we’ll have lots to talk about to prepare.
And now on to commitment and decision, which are two very important words.
Here’s a quote for you. Read it several times. Understand it. (This is a repeat for Braden.)
“Until one is committed, there is always hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help that would never have otherwise occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising to one's favor all manner of unforeseen accidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
You may not fully understand what Goethe is saying, so I’ll try to explain more here. But also, ask questions on the blog. If you don’t get it, then I can guarantee you many of your fellow players will be equally confused.
Goethe is saying that once a person (for example, a ball hockey player) is absolutely committed, then “Providence” helps that person achieve his/her goal.
What is “Providence”? It depends on who you ask. It could be God, Allah, Buddha, or some other higher power. It could be nature or the universe. It could simply be what some people call “fate”.
Think about this. If you’re heading into the corner to battle for the ball, and your goal is to win that battle and emerge with the ball, what do you think about as you do so?
Do you ask yourself a VERY powerful question, like, “How do I WIN this battle?”
Or, do you ask yourself questions that lead to hesitancy, like, “Will I win this battle or lose this time?”
Or, even worse, “What should I do to make it look like I’m really trying so the coaches don’t lecture me?”
Or, worse again, “What should I do to make sure I don’t embarrass myself?”
I hope you can see the difference. When you’re fully committed, as Goethe refers to in the quote, your entire focus is on that one, powerful question, “How do I WIN this battle?” Even when the opponent seems to get the upper hand on you, and maybe starts to run away with the ball, you keep focused on that one question, “How do I WIN this battle?” (Because we all know the battle isn’t over until a Hawk has one it!)
When you get a break away, is your focus on “How do I score on this goalie in this situation?”
Or, are you focused on hoping you do what will please your coaches, or your parents, or just trying to not embarrass yourself?
Hawks, I urge you all, to fully commit!
You can also think of it this way. Just before you take the floor, do you hope our team will win, or do you DECIDE that our team will win?
Make a DECISION! Commit!
And as Goethe says, “Providence moves too!”
Go Hawks!
You played a fantastic game Saturday morning! It was a lot of fun, standing on the bench, watching you all work together, dig deep and execute like we all know you can.
Many of your parents also commented to us coaches that you all worked really hard during that game. Great stuff! Let’s keep it going.
I’ve updated our record on the right side of the blog.
We have one game to go in the regular season round robin. The Falcons are a tough team. We’ll use our systems and some adjustments to our line-up to give us every advantage. Make sure you get there in lots of time, because we’ll have lots to talk about to prepare.
And now on to commitment and decision, which are two very important words.
Here’s a quote for you. Read it several times. Understand it. (This is a repeat for Braden.)
“Until one is committed, there is always hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help that would never have otherwise occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising to one's favor all manner of unforeseen accidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
You may not fully understand what Goethe is saying, so I’ll try to explain more here. But also, ask questions on the blog. If you don’t get it, then I can guarantee you many of your fellow players will be equally confused.
Goethe is saying that once a person (for example, a ball hockey player) is absolutely committed, then “Providence” helps that person achieve his/her goal.
What is “Providence”? It depends on who you ask. It could be God, Allah, Buddha, or some other higher power. It could be nature or the universe. It could simply be what some people call “fate”.
Think about this. If you’re heading into the corner to battle for the ball, and your goal is to win that battle and emerge with the ball, what do you think about as you do so?
Do you ask yourself a VERY powerful question, like, “How do I WIN this battle?”
Or, do you ask yourself questions that lead to hesitancy, like, “Will I win this battle or lose this time?”
Or, even worse, “What should I do to make it look like I’m really trying so the coaches don’t lecture me?”
Or, worse again, “What should I do to make sure I don’t embarrass myself?”
I hope you can see the difference. When you’re fully committed, as Goethe refers to in the quote, your entire focus is on that one, powerful question, “How do I WIN this battle?” Even when the opponent seems to get the upper hand on you, and maybe starts to run away with the ball, you keep focused on that one question, “How do I WIN this battle?” (Because we all know the battle isn’t over until a Hawk has one it!)
When you get a break away, is your focus on “How do I score on this goalie in this situation?”
Or, are you focused on hoping you do what will please your coaches, or your parents, or just trying to not embarrass yourself?
Hawks, I urge you all, to fully commit!
You can also think of it this way. Just before you take the floor, do you hope our team will win, or do you DECIDE that our team will win?
Make a DECISION! Commit!
And as Goethe says, “Providence moves too!”
Go Hawks!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
URGENT – SCHEDULE CHANGE!
URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT – SCHEDULE CHANGE!
Hawks,
Our schedule for Saturday May 23 and for Friday May 29 has changed. On Saturday May 23, we are now playing at 11:00am at Grand River Arena in Kitchener. On Friday May 29, we are now playing at 8:00pm at the Victoria Road arena.
I have updated our schedule on the right side of the blog.
Our opponents for these games did not change. Just the time and location were affected.
The schedule on the SWO site has been updated and is correct. You can find our schedule at this link.
The schedule in your booklets is incorrect. Please ignore it.
Hawks, please post a comment to this blog entry telling me that you’ve seen this schedule change. Please include your first name.
Also note, our game on Friday May 22, tomorrow, has not changed. We play at Albert McCormick in Waterloo at 8:00pm. Please arrive early!
Hawks,
Our schedule for Saturday May 23 and for Friday May 29 has changed. On Saturday May 23, we are now playing at 11:00am at Grand River Arena in Kitchener. On Friday May 29, we are now playing at 8:00pm at the Victoria Road arena.
I have updated our schedule on the right side of the blog.
Our opponents for these games did not change. Just the time and location were affected.
The schedule on the SWO site has been updated and is correct. You can find our schedule at this link.
The schedule in your booklets is incorrect. Please ignore it.
Hawks, please post a comment to this blog entry telling me that you’ve seen this schedule change. Please include your first name.
Also note, our game on Friday May 22, tomorrow, has not changed. We play at Albert McCormick in Waterloo at 8:00pm. Please arrive early!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Systems Question, SWO Website, Reminder
Hi Team,
I’ve heard that some of you have had some difficulties posting comments. Braden brought this to my attention. When your comment is posted successfully, you will see a message on the screen that says your comment has been submitted, or something like that. If you don’t see that message, please post your comment again.
Perhaps due to the above issue, we haven’t seen an answer to the question posed in the last entry. What is missing from the four-deep system??? It has to do with how we clear the ball. Please have a look and submit an answer.
And a reminder, please have learn the systems that your coaches have assembled for you. These systems will work! They do work! Great hockey teams don’t leave things to chance. Great hockey teams eliminate chance by controlling the game, the situation, etc. They do so by using repeatable, effective systems.
Have any of you visited the SWO website? Or have you visited our team page on the SWO site? The links are all available on the right side of the blog, down a screen or two.
The SWO site has lots of great information on standings, scoring leaders, goaltending stats, etc. We use this to learn about our upcoming competition (I’ll type more about that soon), and to keep an eye on our various stats in relation to other teams.
Also, before I close off, here’s a reminder….
Heart and Confidence
7) We take responsibility for our actions. We are in control. We are responsible. We as a team determine our fate.
8) We realize that confidence and heart lead to success, not the other way around.
9) We realize that when we look good, and we feel good, we play good.
10) We alone control whether we win or lose. We win as a team and we lose as a team. We do not blame anyone else. Very specifically, we do not blame the refs.
Are you all living by our Hawks Hockey Nation Excellence Creed? Part of being a great hockey team is simply believing in ourselves, believing that we ARE a great hockey team. And part of believing we are a great hockey team, is living like a great hockey team, always!
We have a lot of opportunity ahead of us! Let’s take advantage! Let’s win this thing!
Coach Steve
I’ve heard that some of you have had some difficulties posting comments. Braden brought this to my attention. When your comment is posted successfully, you will see a message on the screen that says your comment has been submitted, or something like that. If you don’t see that message, please post your comment again.
Perhaps due to the above issue, we haven’t seen an answer to the question posed in the last entry. What is missing from the four-deep system??? It has to do with how we clear the ball. Please have a look and submit an answer.
And a reminder, please have learn the systems that your coaches have assembled for you. These systems will work! They do work! Great hockey teams don’t leave things to chance. Great hockey teams eliminate chance by controlling the game, the situation, etc. They do so by using repeatable, effective systems.
Have any of you visited the SWO website? Or have you visited our team page on the SWO site? The links are all available on the right side of the blog, down a screen or two.
The SWO site has lots of great information on standings, scoring leaders, goaltending stats, etc. We use this to learn about our upcoming competition (I’ll type more about that soon), and to keep an eye on our various stats in relation to other teams.
Also, before I close off, here’s a reminder….
Heart and Confidence
7) We take responsibility for our actions. We are in control. We are responsible. We as a team determine our fate.
8) We realize that confidence and heart lead to success, not the other way around.
9) We realize that when we look good, and we feel good, we play good.
10) We alone control whether we win or lose. We win as a team and we lose as a team. We do not blame anyone else. Very specifically, we do not blame the refs.
Are you all living by our Hawks Hockey Nation Excellence Creed? Part of being a great hockey team is simply believing in ourselves, believing that we ARE a great hockey team. And part of believing we are a great hockey team, is living like a great hockey team, always!
We have a lot of opportunity ahead of us! Let’s take advantage! Let’s win this thing!
Coach Steve
Friday, May 15, 2009
Question for You on Systems
Hi Team,
We’re in a two week lull, with this coming weekend being the long weekend. That’s why you have those systems in your possession. Two weeks to have a look and understand your role.
If you have any questions on the systems, please post them to the blog.
I have a question for all of you below, at the end of this post.
Jordan, sorry it’s taken me do long to get back to you with the stats. First, please continue to post the game summaries in the comments as you did for the first three games. So please post the two games from last weekend.
But also Jordan, could you please track a few stats for each player? Scoring. Assists. Penalty minutes. Things like that. We could then post an item on the sidebar of the blog that listed our scoring leaders, assist leaders, penalty minute goons (just joking guys!), etc. You could just email the stats by player and I could post them on the sidebar.
I’ll post more over the coming week guys, including:
- Where we’re going from here – post-season
- A look at our next three opponents
- Links into the SWO site
- More on excellence
So, gentlemen, here’s the question. The Four-deep system has one missing note. It has to do with clearing the ball out of our zone once we gain possession. Can anyone tell me the note that’s missing???
We’re in a two week lull, with this coming weekend being the long weekend. That’s why you have those systems in your possession. Two weeks to have a look and understand your role.
If you have any questions on the systems, please post them to the blog.
I have a question for all of you below, at the end of this post.
Jordan, sorry it’s taken me do long to get back to you with the stats. First, please continue to post the game summaries in the comments as you did for the first three games. So please post the two games from last weekend.
But also Jordan, could you please track a few stats for each player? Scoring. Assists. Penalty minutes. Things like that. We could then post an item on the sidebar of the blog that listed our scoring leaders, assist leaders, penalty minute goons (just joking guys!), etc. You could just email the stats by player and I could post them on the sidebar.
I’ll post more over the coming week guys, including:
- Where we’re going from here – post-season
- A look at our next three opponents
- Links into the SWO site
- More on excellence
So, gentlemen, here’s the question. The Four-deep system has one missing note. It has to do with clearing the ball out of our zone once we gain possession. Can anyone tell me the note that’s missing???
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Study Those Systems
Great game today gentlemen! Once again you all worked hard and executed your roles very well.
Coverage in front of our net was better than ever. We really have to keep an eye on this. They’re first goal happened because we left a guy open. We REALLY don’t want opposition players getting lonely in front of our net. Keep the company! Cover them, relentlessly, always touching them.
What you did for your mom’s today was very nice guys, and very admirable. The pink tape was a great idea.
Please study the five systems sheets that we handed out today. Study them and learn them. Memorize them. Be ready to execute them next game.
Your coaches worked to select and map out those systems. I hope you can see that your coaches are working hard to help you all achieve. Also, your fellow players will be doing their best to study and memorize our systems. Please don’t be the only player that doesn’t do so. Please don’t be the weak link. Let’s use these systems! They work!
We talked about back checking today. Back checking is not simply about running back to our zone to set up our zone defence. Back checking also focuses on tracking down the ball carrier and stripping the ball.
The closest Hawk forward has to track down that ball carrier and strip the ball! Run full out! Catch him! Surprise him! Lift his stick and head back down the floor, to their zone, with the ball!
Lastly, I really want to emphasize the three-deep and four-deep zone defence systems. Our coverage in our zone has been a little sporadic. We’ve been caught running around quite a bit. That means we’re not playing our positions. Study the three-deep and four-deep systems, and stick to your role. We can’t simply chase the ball around our zone.
We have a great team Hawks! And a great opportunity to go all the way this season. We’ve come a long way in a short time, and I know we can keep learning and improving.
Go Hawks!
Coach Steve
Coverage in front of our net was better than ever. We really have to keep an eye on this. They’re first goal happened because we left a guy open. We REALLY don’t want opposition players getting lonely in front of our net. Keep the company! Cover them, relentlessly, always touching them.
What you did for your mom’s today was very nice guys, and very admirable. The pink tape was a great idea.
Please study the five systems sheets that we handed out today. Study them and learn them. Memorize them. Be ready to execute them next game.
Your coaches worked to select and map out those systems. I hope you can see that your coaches are working hard to help you all achieve. Also, your fellow players will be doing their best to study and memorize our systems. Please don’t be the only player that doesn’t do so. Please don’t be the weak link. Let’s use these systems! They work!
We talked about back checking today. Back checking is not simply about running back to our zone to set up our zone defence. Back checking also focuses on tracking down the ball carrier and stripping the ball.
The closest Hawk forward has to track down that ball carrier and strip the ball! Run full out! Catch him! Surprise him! Lift his stick and head back down the floor, to their zone, with the ball!
Lastly, I really want to emphasize the three-deep and four-deep zone defence systems. Our coverage in our zone has been a little sporadic. We’ve been caught running around quite a bit. That means we’re not playing our positions. Study the three-deep and four-deep systems, and stick to your role. We can’t simply chase the ball around our zone.
We have a great team Hawks! And a great opportunity to go all the way this season. We’ve come a long way in a short time, and I know we can keep learning and improving.
Go Hawks!
Coach Steve
The Systems Work
Hi Team,
A kindergarten teacher tells her class she’s a BIG Flyers fan. She’s really excited about it and asks the kids if they’re Flyers fans too. Everyone wants to impress the teacher and say they are too, except ONE kid named Lennie.
The teacher looks at Lennie and says, "Len, you’re not a Flyers fan?"
He says, "Nope, I’m a Maple Leafs fan!"
She says, "Well why are you a Leafs fan and not a Flyers fan?" to which Lennie replies, "Well, my mom is a Leafs fan, and my dad is a Leafs fan, so I’m a Leafs fan."
The teacher's not very happy. She's a little hot under the collar and says, "Well, if your mom's an idiot, and your dad's a moron, then what would you be?!"
Lennie says, "Then I’d be a Flyers fan!"
Your coaches were incredibly proud of you during our game yesterday. The Vultures are a very strong team, perhaps the second strongest team in this league. (The Hawks ARE THE strongest team in this league!)
As much as we did our best to wear down the Vultures, they were doing their best to wear us down too. Your coaches saw you returning to the bench after your shifts exhausted, dripping in sweat, very early in the game. And yet, you all kept going and going and going! Relentless! That was fantastic!
You should all be very proud as well. You made great progress yesterday.
We talked about The Gift, and you started to use it!
We talked about the Man up the Middle, and you started to use that too!
We also talked about a few things we still need to work on.
We had difficulty getting the ball deep into the opposition zone. We tried to carry the ball in and were often intercepted by the Vultures defence, or caught by their back checking forwards. Use The Gift. Dump the ball in and apply immediate hard pressure! It works!
We also got pinned down in our zone several times. We’ll talk about a system for that scenario today before our game. The Condors used it against us, and we’ll use it when necessary. It’s called Four Deep.
I’ll leave it at that for now. Keep up the great work team! Your coaches are really enjoying working with you.
Coach Steve
A kindergarten teacher tells her class she’s a BIG Flyers fan. She’s really excited about it and asks the kids if they’re Flyers fans too. Everyone wants to impress the teacher and say they are too, except ONE kid named Lennie.
The teacher looks at Lennie and says, "Len, you’re not a Flyers fan?"
He says, "Nope, I’m a Maple Leafs fan!"
She says, "Well why are you a Leafs fan and not a Flyers fan?" to which Lennie replies, "Well, my mom is a Leafs fan, and my dad is a Leafs fan, so I’m a Leafs fan."
The teacher's not very happy. She's a little hot under the collar and says, "Well, if your mom's an idiot, and your dad's a moron, then what would you be?!"
Lennie says, "Then I’d be a Flyers fan!"
Your coaches were incredibly proud of you during our game yesterday. The Vultures are a very strong team, perhaps the second strongest team in this league. (The Hawks ARE THE strongest team in this league!)
As much as we did our best to wear down the Vultures, they were doing their best to wear us down too. Your coaches saw you returning to the bench after your shifts exhausted, dripping in sweat, very early in the game. And yet, you all kept going and going and going! Relentless! That was fantastic!
You should all be very proud as well. You made great progress yesterday.
We talked about The Gift, and you started to use it!
We talked about the Man up the Middle, and you started to use that too!
We also talked about a few things we still need to work on.
We had difficulty getting the ball deep into the opposition zone. We tried to carry the ball in and were often intercepted by the Vultures defence, or caught by their back checking forwards. Use The Gift. Dump the ball in and apply immediate hard pressure! It works!
We also got pinned down in our zone several times. We’ll talk about a system for that scenario today before our game. The Condors used it against us, and we’ll use it when necessary. It’s called Four Deep.
I’ll leave it at that for now. Keep up the great work team! Your coaches are really enjoying working with you.
Coach Steve
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Great Opportunity!
Hi Guys,
You’ve made some great comments on the blog! Good stuff. We do have LOTS of talent on this team, and a great opportunity to do some great things this season. Let’s keep working hard.
I haven’t spoken to Coach Jim, but obviously he’s had some difficulty gathering the final two votes for captain and assistants. I’m certain he’s doing his very best to gather these two remaining votes and post the results. Hopefully we’ll have a tally by this afternoon.
Jordan, thank you for gathering and posting the stats. Let’s talk about maybe posting something in the right hand side of the blog, which will be there all the time.
We covered a lot of stuff last Saturday.
I hope you have all read – several times – our Excellence Creed. Your coaches firmly believe this is an integral part of our ultimate success.
We talked about intensity. Remember, our opposition gets NO SPACE and NO TIME! Always! Do you remember why we play with such intensity? Maybe someone could reply with the answer.
We also talked about the fact that the ball is OURS! As I mentioned above, ball hockey is a game of intensity. That’s especially critical during 1-on-1 battles for the ball. It’s critical that we win as many of those little battles during a game as possible. And when is a battle for the ball over? When does the 1-on-1 battle officially end? Again, maybe someone could reply with the answer.
And I should add a few notes about our game Saturday, and areas where we have opportunity to improve.
We had a few defensive breakdowns, both in our zone, and in the oppositions.
In our zone, the two defensemen and the centre must communicate and work together (with intensity :)) to ensure we are covering their men in front of our net. We left their guys all alone in front of our net too often. And remember, if you’re “covering” a guy, that means you’re touching him, constantly.
We also had some defensive breakdowns in their zone, leading to them bringing rushes down the floor that were 3-on-2, 2-on-1, and sometimes 1-on-our goalie. Wingers, if one of our defensemen is involved in a rush down into their zone, it is your job to hang back and take his place on the blue line, until he returns. The odd man rushes happened because we had four players deep and only one defenseman on the blue line.
The Condors clearly respected our scoring ability. In their zone they were intentionally and consistently playing four players deep, with only one of their wingers up at their blue line, covering our two defensemen. This system of sending both the centre and a winger deep into the zone to help the defensemen is something we will use the odd time as well. Teams use this when they want to outnumber the three forwards that are trying to score. Teams use that system when they have great respect for the opposition.
For now, I’ll get back to working on our systems. More to come...
Coach Steve
You’ve made some great comments on the blog! Good stuff. We do have LOTS of talent on this team, and a great opportunity to do some great things this season. Let’s keep working hard.
I haven’t spoken to Coach Jim, but obviously he’s had some difficulty gathering the final two votes for captain and assistants. I’m certain he’s doing his very best to gather these two remaining votes and post the results. Hopefully we’ll have a tally by this afternoon.
Jordan, thank you for gathering and posting the stats. Let’s talk about maybe posting something in the right hand side of the blog, which will be there all the time.
We covered a lot of stuff last Saturday.
I hope you have all read – several times – our Excellence Creed. Your coaches firmly believe this is an integral part of our ultimate success.
We talked about intensity. Remember, our opposition gets NO SPACE and NO TIME! Always! Do you remember why we play with such intensity? Maybe someone could reply with the answer.
We also talked about the fact that the ball is OURS! As I mentioned above, ball hockey is a game of intensity. That’s especially critical during 1-on-1 battles for the ball. It’s critical that we win as many of those little battles during a game as possible. And when is a battle for the ball over? When does the 1-on-1 battle officially end? Again, maybe someone could reply with the answer.
And I should add a few notes about our game Saturday, and areas where we have opportunity to improve.
We had a few defensive breakdowns, both in our zone, and in the oppositions.
In our zone, the two defensemen and the centre must communicate and work together (with intensity :)) to ensure we are covering their men in front of our net. We left their guys all alone in front of our net too often. And remember, if you’re “covering” a guy, that means you’re touching him, constantly.
We also had some defensive breakdowns in their zone, leading to them bringing rushes down the floor that were 3-on-2, 2-on-1, and sometimes 1-on-our goalie. Wingers, if one of our defensemen is involved in a rush down into their zone, it is your job to hang back and take his place on the blue line, until he returns. The odd man rushes happened because we had four players deep and only one defenseman on the blue line.
The Condors clearly respected our scoring ability. In their zone they were intentionally and consistently playing four players deep, with only one of their wingers up at their blue line, covering our two defensemen. This system of sending both the centre and a winger deep into the zone to help the defensemen is something we will use the odd time as well. Teams use this when they want to outnumber the three forwards that are trying to score. Teams use that system when they have great respect for the opposition.
For now, I’ll get back to working on our systems. More to come...
Coach Steve
Monday, May 4, 2009
Brief Update, Vote Results Coming, Thank You
Hi Team,
Little Lennie arrived home after his hockey game, threw open the door and ran to his Dad.
"How was the game, son? How did you do?" asked his father, who was unable to attend the game.
"You aren't going to believe it, Dad!" Lennie exclaimed. "I was responsible for the winning goal!"
"That's wonderful," his dad said. "How did you do that?"
"I missed my check on the other team's high scorer!"
Great effort on Saturday against the Condors! Once again we saw some good passing and great teamwork. The end result, a 4-2 victory, was satisfying, but these first few games are far more about learning and growing as a team. That’s the key to long term success.
The teams that are still standing at the end of this season will be those that are working well together. I’ll keep repeating it, a team is far more than the sum of its individual players. Ball hockey is a game of passing, making plays, and intensity. We’re strong and getting stronger at all three of those.
I know you’re all curious about the captain and assistant votes. Coach Jim has a preliminary tally, but he’s now trying to contact the one or two players that were missing on Saturday, to get their votes. When that process is complete, Coach Jim will post the outcome of your vote. Thank you for participating!
Thank you to those that have posted comments to our blog so far, especially to those whose comments have been constructive and team-oriented. Teamwork doesn’t just happen on the floor. It happens in the dressing room, in your schools, wherever you may meet your team mates, and it also happens in this blog. Regardless of the captain and assistants vote, you can all be leaders. If you have some ideas that can help our team, share them with us. Be a leader!
Several of you have entered your email addresses on the blog, so that new blog entries are emailed to you. For those that haven’t, please refer to the blog handout from Saturday, talk to your parents, and subscribe to the blog.
That’s enough for now. We’re off to a great start!
Coach Steve
Little Lennie arrived home after his hockey game, threw open the door and ran to his Dad.
"How was the game, son? How did you do?" asked his father, who was unable to attend the game.
"You aren't going to believe it, Dad!" Lennie exclaimed. "I was responsible for the winning goal!"
"That's wonderful," his dad said. "How did you do that?"
"I missed my check on the other team's high scorer!"
Great effort on Saturday against the Condors! Once again we saw some good passing and great teamwork. The end result, a 4-2 victory, was satisfying, but these first few games are far more about learning and growing as a team. That’s the key to long term success.
The teams that are still standing at the end of this season will be those that are working well together. I’ll keep repeating it, a team is far more than the sum of its individual players. Ball hockey is a game of passing, making plays, and intensity. We’re strong and getting stronger at all three of those.
I know you’re all curious about the captain and assistant votes. Coach Jim has a preliminary tally, but he’s now trying to contact the one or two players that were missing on Saturday, to get their votes. When that process is complete, Coach Jim will post the outcome of your vote. Thank you for participating!
Thank you to those that have posted comments to our blog so far, especially to those whose comments have been constructive and team-oriented. Teamwork doesn’t just happen on the floor. It happens in the dressing room, in your schools, wherever you may meet your team mates, and it also happens in this blog. Regardless of the captain and assistants vote, you can all be leaders. If you have some ideas that can help our team, share them with us. Be a leader!
Several of you have entered your email addresses on the blog, so that new blog entries are emailed to you. For those that haven’t, please refer to the blog handout from Saturday, talk to your parents, and subscribe to the blog.
That’s enough for now. We’re off to a great start!
Coach Steve
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Replies are Moderated
Hi Guys,
Sorry, I forgot to mention. When you post comments, they won’t show up on the blog right away. I have to log in and release your comments before they will show up on the blog.
I will try to log in as quickly as possible after you make a comment, and release it to the blog.
Here’s a word of caution. If you type something that’s really not helpful, I will not release it and it will not show up on the blog. We know you all want to have a great season, so let’s use this blog to trade constructive and helpful, and fun, comments.
Thanks for your blog comments and contributions so far. Keep them coming!
I’ll type more later about our game tonight. We have a real opportunity with this team guys!
Great job!
Coach Steve
Sorry, I forgot to mention. When you post comments, they won’t show up on the blog right away. I have to log in and release your comments before they will show up on the blog.
I will try to log in as quickly as possible after you make a comment, and release it to the blog.
Here’s a word of caution. If you type something that’s really not helpful, I will not release it and it will not show up on the blog. We know you all want to have a great season, so let’s use this blog to trade constructive and helpful, and fun, comments.
Thanks for your blog comments and contributions so far. Keep them coming!
I’ll type more later about our game tonight. We have a real opportunity with this team guys!
Great job!
Coach Steve
Welcome to Your Team Blog
Hi Hawks. Welcome to our team blog, Hawks Hockey Nation!
I’m going to try to start most blog entries with a hockey-related joke. Here’s the first:
At one point during a game, the coach called one of his 7 year old hockey players aside and asked, “Do you understand what cooperation is? What a team is?"
The little boy nodded in the affirmative. “Do you understand that what matters is not whether we win or lose, but how we play together as a team?"
The little boy nodded yes. “So," the coach continued, "I am sure you know, when a penalty is called, you should not argue, curse, or attack the referee, or call him a bad names. Do you understand all that?"
Again the little boy nodded. The coach continued, "And when I call you off the ice so that another boy gets a chance to play, it’s not good sportsmanship to call your coach bad names either, is it?”
Again the little boy nodded. "Good," said the coach. "Now go over there and explain all that to your mother and father ..."
There’s a message in that joke!
So, Hawks, I want you all to know that I’m very excited about this ball hockey season, and very happy, and proud, to be working with such a great team.
We’ve only had the one weekend together, and then a two-week break. We’ve only played two games. I unfortunately missed the first game. And despite all of that, we came away with two wins. That’s great, but it’s not what I’m most excited and proud about.
During those two games, two weeks ago, even as the second game transpired, you all grew together as a team. You started to work together. You started to pass the ball more. You started to anticipate where your line mates would be. You started to cycle the ball down low in the opposition’s zone. A “TEAM” is far more than the sum of its parts, and you started to become that during your second game together! That’s VERY exciting!
Please feel free to talk to me or any of our assistant coaches at any time about anything. We’ve volunteered for these roles because we enjoy working with you. Let’s have some fun.
You’ll find lots of useful information and links down the right hand side of this page, including your coach’s names, our record, SWO links, etc.
Hawks, this is OUR team blog. It’s not my blog, or the coaches’ blog. It’s yours too. And we want YOU to all contribute. You can type a message by replying to any blog post. Please do so.
We’ll use this blog to share celebrations, information, tips, etc. We get very little time together before and after games. This blog will help us all share ideas, insights, comments, praise and questions. We won’t get into too much detail on our systems or strategies, just in case our opposition finds this blog. We don’t want to give away too many of our secrets.
Some posts will be longer, like this one. Some will be very short. For now, I’m going to start preparing for our Saturday evening game.
Your coach,
Stephen
I’m going to try to start most blog entries with a hockey-related joke. Here’s the first:
At one point during a game, the coach called one of his 7 year old hockey players aside and asked, “Do you understand what cooperation is? What a team is?"
The little boy nodded in the affirmative. “Do you understand that what matters is not whether we win or lose, but how we play together as a team?"
The little boy nodded yes. “So," the coach continued, "I am sure you know, when a penalty is called, you should not argue, curse, or attack the referee, or call him a bad names. Do you understand all that?"
Again the little boy nodded. The coach continued, "And when I call you off the ice so that another boy gets a chance to play, it’s not good sportsmanship to call your coach bad names either, is it?”
Again the little boy nodded. "Good," said the coach. "Now go over there and explain all that to your mother and father ..."
There’s a message in that joke!
So, Hawks, I want you all to know that I’m very excited about this ball hockey season, and very happy, and proud, to be working with such a great team.
We’ve only had the one weekend together, and then a two-week break. We’ve only played two games. I unfortunately missed the first game. And despite all of that, we came away with two wins. That’s great, but it’s not what I’m most excited and proud about.
During those two games, two weeks ago, even as the second game transpired, you all grew together as a team. You started to work together. You started to pass the ball more. You started to anticipate where your line mates would be. You started to cycle the ball down low in the opposition’s zone. A “TEAM” is far more than the sum of its parts, and you started to become that during your second game together! That’s VERY exciting!
Please feel free to talk to me or any of our assistant coaches at any time about anything. We’ve volunteered for these roles because we enjoy working with you. Let’s have some fun.
You’ll find lots of useful information and links down the right hand side of this page, including your coach’s names, our record, SWO links, etc.
Hawks, this is OUR team blog. It’s not my blog, or the coaches’ blog. It’s yours too. And we want YOU to all contribute. You can type a message by replying to any blog post. Please do so.
We’ll use this blog to share celebrations, information, tips, etc. We get very little time together before and after games. This blog will help us all share ideas, insights, comments, praise and questions. We won’t get into too much detail on our systems or strategies, just in case our opposition finds this blog. We don’t want to give away too many of our secrets.
Some posts will be longer, like this one. Some will be very short. For now, I’m going to start preparing for our Saturday evening game.
Your coach,
Stephen
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