Volume 2 Issue 3 | March 2021
FOR YOUNG HOCKEY PLAYERS, FAILURE ISN'T ONLY INEVITABLE, IT'S HELPFUL
By Greg Bates, Special to AHAI - It’s inevitable that every hockey player who hits the ice is going to mess up at least once in his or her career. How a coach or parent reacts and finds a rational solution for the kid that “failing” on the ice is ok will go a long way in that player’s development.

“Every human learns by failing,” said Guy Gosselin, a USA Hockey ADM regional manager and Paralympic gold medal-winning head coach of the U.S. National Sled Team. “We all make mistakes and we learn from them. In human development and youth sports or any kind of sport, you’re going to make mistakes out there and the way you react to your fails essentially is going to control your destiny. Our players need to understand that from a skills standpoint, you can always get better and from a mental standpoint you can always get better. You don’t want to have too many peaks and too many valleys. You don’t want to go in the tank when you fail; you want to understand what happened and, can you come to a solution for that?”
HOCKEY DIRECTORS & COACHES WEBINAR SERIES
Hockey Development: The Science of Fun
Join AHAI on Wednesday, March 10 at 7:00 pm (CST) for our next webinar featuring USA Hockey ADM Manager, Heather Mannix. Heather will discuss fun as it relates to hockey development. She will also debunk common myths such as "fun is synonymous with goofing off" and "fun is mutually exclusive from athlete development." We will also delve into what fun looks like at the highest levels of play. Register today for this fascinating and informative webinar.
Fun IS Development ~ Development is FUN
AHAI coaches had the fortunate experience of spending over an hour with Hockey Hall of Famer Marty St Louis. It was a fun and insightful night discussing player development, coaching, and what kids need in today’s game. Some key takeaways from our conversation with Marty included:

  • Covering the ice and not duplicating jobs
  • Let the puck do the work
  • Adversity, Hockey IQ, and mental toughness; the game is a math problem, and the equation is constantly changing
  • Struggle is step one of growth
  • Coaches should focus more on skaters without the puck
  • Think and compete
  • Too much focus on systems, not enough on concepts and feel
  • Coach the intent of the player not the result

Check out the two short clips below from the webinar. I encourage you to click here to watch the full-length webinar. It is not often you get an hour of pure hockey talk with an NHL Hall of Famer and Stanley Cup Champion.
IMPORTANT REMINDER FOR COACHES
We have seen a large uptick in game sheets over the past few weeks regarding abuse of officials from coaches as well as game misconduct/match penalties. These infractions carry stiff penalties. Please remind your coaches and players that these are serious infractions that should not be and will not be tolerated by any of us. Our goal is to always have a fun, safe, and professional environment on and off the ice for our players, coaches, officials, and parents. We realize it has been a difficult year, but it does not excuse this kind of behavior. The entire hockey community has done a great job adapting and staying safe; let’s keep that going for the remainder of the Fall season and into Spring.
OFFICIATING COMMUNITY NEEDS YOUR HELP
Due to the unforeseen pandemic we are still battling through, one of the unintended consequences has been a drastic reduction in our officiating numbers. Many of you have felt this as you try to secure referees for games you are now playing. IHOA is down nearly 600 Level 1 officials; this doesn’t only affect the rest of this season but years down the road as the situation dominoes.

We are asking you to think about attending the upcoming Level 1 Virtual Officiating Seminar. Encourage your young assistants to attend and reach out to your players that are of age to attend. Additionally, if you are a returning Level 1 or 2, or know any officials that have not renewed, encourage them to attend. Officiating is a great source of extra income and will be a help to all of Illinois hockey. See below for the upcoming clinic dates.
NEW OFFICIAL LEVEL 1
March 15 & March 16
7:00 PM to 10:10 PM (EST)

RETURNING OFFICIALS LEVEL 1/LEVEL 2
March 15
7:00 PM to 10:10 PM (EST)
THE CAR RIDE HOME
By Greg Bates, Special to AHAI - Practice has wrapped up and mom or dad comes to pick up their kid. The hockey gear is packed into the van and two are set to drive home. What happens next can be critical to know if the kid is having fun at the rink or he or she isn’t happy because of lack of playing time or other circumstances.

“The car ride home is going to be very telling of that,” Lake Forest Academy boys’ hockey assistant coach Rob Klein said. “Is the kid quiet? Is the kid talkative? If they are talkative, is it positive? Is it negative? So, a lot of that is going to be very telling for the coach to hear. Are the coaches doing a good job or not? Are they creating a fun learning environment for that player?”
GREAT READS
Hockey is Hockey: AJ Mleczko on Girls' & Boys' Hockey
By Jamie MacDonald, Mass. Hockey - Very few people in this country have been closer to the evolution of men’s and women’s hockey over the past four decades than AJ Mleczko. Growing up in New England, she played hockey at a time when it seemed “being sporty” was a track in and of itself. Her own hockey career took her to Harvard, where she was named the best player in the country in 1999, and to two Olympic Winter Games – the first of which earned her an historic gold medal and another set of lifetime memories.
Playing Time: Winning, Expectations & Long-Term Development
By Steve Mann, Minn. Hockey - If there was ever a single, universal hot-button issue across the youth sports landscape, it’s playing time. Few topics consume more headspace or create more angst, and it’s no surprise as to why. Players want to play and parents want their young athletes to play. That’s why they sign up and commit their time and resources. So when parents see their son or daughter sitting on the bench, especially if it’s more often than their teammates, the coach will often hear about it.
10U: What Makes a Good Teammate?
By Michael Rand, USA Hockey - What does it mean to be a good teammate in hockey? Dan Jablonic, former pro hockey player and current regional manager for USA Hockey’s American Development Model, has some excellent thoughts on what it means specifically at the 10U level.

To Jablonic, being a good teammate starts with attitude. Are you fostering an environment in which everyone involved feels like they’re included and respected?
ON-ICE DRILLS
Troy Ward's One Puck Drills
Troy Ward focuses on one puck drills and the benefits they provide. One puck drills simulate game-like scenarios, they have continuous transitions, and force decision making.
Luke Strand's Cut-Back Warmup
In this video, Luke Strand is looking at in-zone offense situational skills, and ways to transfer those skills from practices to games.
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