Advice: teaching a system & strategy in a fun way

[romdj]

Hey guys,
I'm 21 years old and I've been assigned head coach of a team, we play 4vs4 that has lots of technical skills but little knowledge of team play & systems. I don't necessarily want to teach a system, but I do want them to know a couple of set plays very well.

set plays:
get out of the zone effectively in an organized way
Forecheck
basics of the trap
know your position & stick with it

I've been criticized because before we used to only do scrimmages and some of the guys aren't having fun any more and have asked me to teach those set plays in a more fun way. And I just don't know how to do that.



Any help will be greatly appreciated!!

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[Malreg]

What age/level is the team that you are coaching?

 

[Jive Time]

Check out the Weiss Tech Hockey Coaches Training Course. Jeremy has really put together a nice a-z plan for teaching the fundamentals.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I've been criticized because before we used to only do scrimmages and some of the guys aren't having fun any more and have asked me to teach those set plays in a more fun way.

Well, that's certainly unique.

Try making a competition out of drills. Eliminate players when they make mistakes, see who can last the longest. Break the group up into teams and give an incentive for being the best team on the ice. Simply keeping score is motivating.

Tell them they have to complete X number of crisp, clean passes in 60 seconds while running through their system, and celebrate like hell when they make it (or, make them skate laps if they don't ).

Take the worst kid on the team and put him in a position to make the last play and be a hero.

Let the players choose their drills, their rewards AND their punishments... BEFORE practice starts. Put them in a position to hold each other accountable. In all likelihood, you'll be the first person to do that.

Break the group into 3s and have them do "stations" focusing on one specific skill or strategy (for example, two forwards and a dman per team, two teams playing against each other in each zone). 30 seconds of explanation, 90 seconds of drill, then switch stations.

Celebrate successes. Usually a lack of "fun" is a kid's way of saying they don't see any incentive for success. If they get a positive vibe from success, they'll associate that positive vibe with the work, and then they're having fun.

 

[romdj]

Check out the Weiss Tech Hockey Coaches Training Course. Jeremy has really put together a nice a-z plan for teaching the fundamentals.

Awesome, I'll check it out.

What age/level is the team that you are coaching?

Think of it this Way, it's a bit like a pond hockey group that never played in a coached team or something like that and we've done that for 7 years now (oldest guys are 25, the youngest 16 out of the old group, we have a second wave that's started in the past 2 years that are 12 to 16 years of age).


The sport isn't exactly hockey, it's rollersoccer, but many of the fundamentals are the same.

I'd compare our level to a Midget AAA team, but we're the national team

Well, that's certainly unique.

Try making a competition out of drills. Eliminate players when they make mistakes, see who can last the longest. Break the group up into teams and give an incentive for being the best team on the ice. Simply keeping score is motivating.

Tell them they have to complete X number of crisp, clean passes in 60 seconds while running through their system, and celebrate like hell when they make it (or, make them skate laps if they don't ).

Take the worst kid on the team and put him in a position to make the last play and be a hero.

Let the players choose their drills, their rewards AND their punishments... BEFORE practice starts. Put them in a position to hold each other accountable. In all likelihood, you'll be the first person to do that.

Break the group into 3s and have them do "stations" focusing on one specific skill or strategy (for example, two forwards and a dman per team, two teams playing against each other in each zone). 30 seconds of explanation, 90 seconds of drill, then switch stations.

Celebrate successes. Usually a lack of "fun" is a kid's way of saying they don't see any incentive for success. If they get a positive vibe from success, they'll associate that positive vibe with the work, and then they're having fun.

Intersting, I'll definitely use a couple of your tips!