I was reading about a debate on coaching techniques which was on the ”Coaching Forum” of a site called “CoachChic.com”. (CoachChic’s Coaching Forum link). As I read some of the comments, Coach Chic appeared to have a very good manner of expalining himself in writing in a way that was easy for me to follow. This is often difficult in hockey, which is a very visual medium. Dennis Chighisola of the New England Hockey Institue is a teacher, coach and presentation specialist, and he obviously loves the game. He coached at Stonehill College for 5 seasons and continues coaching at the Junior High and High School/Prep School level.
At practice and in house games, the thing I notice most about our ‘96 Titan PeeWees when comparing them to the AAA players is that their dendency to pass is less. I initially thought the reason was that they were used to the wide open ice and ease of scoring as Squirts. But the more I watch them, (Sunday Summer House League is some of the best competition our kids have been exposed to), the more I think its their passing skills. They seem to have less confidence in their ability to send and have a pass caught than the AAA players. So I asked Coach Chic “What can our Pee Wees do to improve their passing skills?” His answer is long, but well worth the read and very insightful:
A Different Way to Look at Passing
An Article for the Titan PeeWees
Dennis Chighisola (“Coach Chic”)
Picture that you’re sitting in the stands with me at a fairly high level high school hockey game. We’re both rooting for the home team in this one, and we’ve jumped to our feet several times in anticipation of a goal… On one occasion a real sharpshooter cruises to the net with his stick cocked and ready to fire, only to have a wobbling, bouncing and virtually uncatchable pass sent his way. Other home team attackers likewise make moves to the net, but passes fly behind them, or the puck hits them in the skates, in a shinpad, wherever. Our boys are also struggling in their defensive zone — on their breakouts, with one pass intercepted for an enemy goal, and far too many other passes failing to connect with teammates.
Okay, maybe that’s hypothetical. Then again, maybe it’s not… Actually, I cringe to think of the times I’ve sat through games just as I’ve just described.
If you ask me, most of the above noted problems began long ago for most of those older skaters, in that they were never taught to “think” about the passing game in quite the right way. But, to explain…
A lot of years ago, I had the good fortune to study at the Moscow Institute for Sport and Physical Culture (in the old USSR). You can imagine what an eye-opener that was for me. However, as those studies pertain to our subject, I’ll share the fact that my Russian interpreter constantly referred to passing as a skill.
Those words still echo in my head some 30-years later, as does something that comes from “The Father of Russian Hockey”, Anatoli Tarasov, in that, “A good pass comes from the heart.”
Hmmmm… A good pass comes from the heart… My take on that statement is that a player has to really care about the teammate at the other end of a pass. (Oh, at the lower levels of our game, a lousy pass might harmlessly misconnect because the passer just tossed the puck in a general direction. It’s a completely different story at the higher levels, though, since a teammate can get killed looking for a pass sent behind him, or trying to dig a loose puck from his skates.)
Then, I’m recalling something that happened at my summer hockey school back in the mid-80s… I was video-taping a group of older students one day, capturing pairs of skaters moving close together while exchanging passes. (I wasn’t looking to analyze the kids’ skills at the time, but instead I was just gathering some video footage for a future classroom.) Man, was I disappointed when I returned to my office to examine that tape.
Not a lot of good passes were made, and just as few were really caught. Moreover, I noticed a common problem, both in the kids’ passing and in their receiving.
What I discovered was that a lot of the players were rather rigid in their movements — as in not being able to skate while extending their hands far outward. (This wide stick and hand action is necessary, you know, in order to a send pass with a relatively long sweep. So is that same action necessary in catching a pass, since a player needs to reach outward to cushion the puck before finally gathering it in.) I’ve thought a lot on this subject over recent years, and I’ve come to believe that what I was seeing was initially a skating balance problem. The video showed many kids (to varying degrees) seemingly not daring to reach outside their centers of gravity. The result was that certain kids had to almost chop at the puck — or they only allowed their sticks to pass through a very short path — which most often sent the puck bouncing and rolling to their partner. Same thing on intended catches, with pucks flipping and rolling because certain skaters held their sticks too rigidly. (I reason with players today, that the side-boards can’t catch a pass because they’re fixed; they can’t “give” with the pass, as a player should be able to do.)
Beyond skating difficulties, a close second on my list is a possible shortcoming in a player’s puckhandling… I mean, don’t tell me a kid can make a pinpoint pass — right onto a teammate’s tape — without being able to handle the puck under pressure and with his eyes up. And, on the receiving end, I find that the best puckhandlers manage to corral more errant passes than do those who don’t have “hands” (and even dexterous feet).
All that said, I’m guessing most readers could now better troubleshoot most of the difficulties we saw the home team suffer in the opening paragraph… We now know that guys would have clicked on more scoring pportunities if passers delivered pucks flat, at just the right force, and exactly where the potential shooters needed them. (In the case of setting-up a teammate to shoot off a pass, the puck has to be sent a little softer, and right into the shooter’s “wheel house”.)
I’ll bet that you also now appreciate some of the things that could have been going wrong at the other end of the ice… The pass that was intercepted was quite likely tossed away by a (panicked?) guy who couldn’t puckhandle while looking up and around — for enemy checkers and open teammates. (By the way, a guy can also be intercepted for other reasons… I tell my players that I’d prefer an icing call from our own end, rather than an interception. This, of course, suggests that passes should be made very firmly — I call them “dart-like”. Passes are also best disguised within a stickhandling movement. And, although there are times when it might be advisable for a player to turn to his forehand to make a pass — even though the intended receiver is on his backhand side, this is quite often a dead give-away to opponents.)
What you might not have yet envisioned is the last problem I so often see in the passing game… For, believe me, there is further skill — and thinking — involved in pass receiving.
Understandably, I guess, younger players are often seen running away from the puck –or with their backs almost turned to it, screaming for passes that has very little chance to connect. Older, smarter players, on the other hand, know enough to move through high percentage routes — these being either towards the puck, perpendicular to the pass, or at least on a slashing path across (at something close to a 45-degree angle). Hopefully these routes make sense, in that the stick-target can be easier seen by the passer, and the receiver’s stick-blade can be easier held at a 90-degrees angle to the path of the puck (the angle required to stop it).
As an aside… The late John Cunniff, an old friend and a former pro and international level coach, once told me that he had a few older players who couldn’t execute cross-overs while holding their sticks down and steady. (These were NHL guys, but it was during an era when a lot of lesser skilled players found their ways onto pro rosters.) We’re talking a balance problem again, which ultimately made it difficult for such players to curl through a pass pattern while simultaneously showing steady stick-targets.
As for drill ideas… No matter the ability level, I quite often have my players practice moving through various receiving routes, just so I can inspect their movements, and check to see that their sticks are held steady and facing directly at the (imaginary) puck.
I’ll also have them work in very close stationary pairs, doing a drill I call “Silent Passing”…
In this one, the passer does three things: he dribbles, he looks at his mate’s stick-target, and then he spins the puck right to his partner’s stick-blade. The receiver must cushion the puck so that there is little to no noise on the reception. What I’m looking for are soft hands, both in sending and receiving. (Think this one is too basic? An NHL player who once worked for me told me that his team frequently did this very same drill!)
You may have noticed that I just mentioned the need to send the puck with some spin. This is hard to do if a player lacks balance or the ability to reach far out with his stick.
However, spinning the puck is one way to ensure a pass stays flat, even if it hits late-game ruts in the ice.
Lastly, I feel the need to recap what I believe are some real essentials…
Because a lot of passing and receiving problems stem from skating and puckhandling deficiencies, players would be wise to work on plenty of balance drills and puck-drills that require keeping the eyes up (or even practicing off-ice with the eyes closed).
Remember: as my old Soviet interpreter said, “Passing is a skill.” Thusly, passing — and receiving — should be worked on regularly, right along with skating, puckhandling and shooting.
Don’t forget what the great Tarasov said, in that, “A good pass comes from the heart.” I repeat that often to my players (and they repeat it back to me). So, perhaps it ought to become a familiar phrase at more youth practices and games.
In closing, I’ve mainly tried to convey the idea that most young players need to view passing in a different way. This is so. However, a change in their thinking isn’t going to come about unless we coaches and parents help influence it.
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Coach Chic
Dennis Chighisola — (781) 447-4616 &
CoachChic.com
Thanks for taking the time Coach Chic!
“Tremendous 12″, a mountain of food that includes large eggs cooked to order, four pancakes, hash browns or breakfast potatoes and four bacon strips or sausage links, at slightly higher price than just a stack of cakes. 
