I doubt it will surprise any long time member, that sparks started going off in my brain as I watched the video from my initial post, "Outside the Box Stickhandling Training". (That one was left open to the public, but not this one.)
As I introduced the earlier post, I went kinda nuts when I pressed the "Play" button on that video. That's nothing, though, in comparison to the ides that came to mind once I spent another hour or so watching it over and over again.
-- Dennis Chighisola
Outside the Box Stickhandling Training - Part 2
Okay, it might be helpful for members to review some of my comments surrounding that initial video. At the same time, I've pasted it back in here so you won't have to go back and forth for the basic ideas of my outside the box stickhandling training... http://coachchic2.s3.amazonaws.com/AsianBBKids.flv Now, I never said too much about the music in the previous post. Ya, the music. Actually, that's because I never noticed something kind of important during my earliest times watching that video...
To begin, music can be very powerful when it comes to physical things. You probably know that from running or walking with a music laden Ipod. So does your favorite gym probably have some uptempo music playing in the background. In many instances, the music can be a distraction, or take your mind off the pain or tediousness of a given task. (I mentioned in the previous post that I've used music like the Harlem Globetrotters' theme, "Sweet Georgia Brown", to encourage hockey players and lacrosse players in The Motion Lab to be loosey-goosey and to hot-dog as they dribbled.)
At other times, music can be helpful for keeping up a given pace. In fact, years ago I designed an audio program designed for runners, whereby the athlete would learn to keep pace to a slower beat, a medium beat, and then a pretty quick beat.
Still, there's yet another way to use music, like in the above video. Oh, it might be a variation on the above two methods, but the folks running things in that video are having the kids dribble in close to perfect timing with the music. I mean, every ball is hitting the floor at close to the same time, and in unison with the music. Watch and listen again if you have to, but I think it's a thing of beauty that those kids or so well drilled. And, on the occasion a kid looses his or her ball for a sec, it seems he or she got right back in sync within another sec.
To begin, I have my hockey players move through a number of different postures as they dribble a puck or ball. The young basketball players are only sitting, but I have my guys keep moving and changing postures -- standing to sitting to standing to going to one knee to standing to going to the other knee to standing to going to both knees to standing, etc. In hockey we have a stick to deal with, and our hands need to change accordingly as we move down and up, this so that our stick-blade remains flat at all times.
I've had my players work in pairs before, but I've never had them swap pucks.
When it comes to one player handling two balls -- or two pucks in our case, would you believe this old coach has been able to dribble one in his feet and the other on his stick? :) So, I don't think it would be too much to ask our players to give it a try.
By the way... I loved it that every single youngster recovered from sitting to standing without needing to use the free hand. It takes some core strength to do this, and it also takes separating the upper and lower bodies as required in game play, especially in hockey.
Another thing I've done that I noticed in that video... You'd better believe that the youngster who is passing two balls at one time to his or her partner is making them easy to catch. I've pointed out the same kind of need as one of my players jumps a long jump rope and a nearby mate tries to feed him a pass. Pass the puck at certain times and your teammate is screwed; pass it nicely to his blade at another time and the reception can be as easy as pie.
Dribbling the ball under one leg at a time ought to give us further ideas.
I'm smiling broadly as I watch those little rascals dribble and exchange balls in groups of four. Awesome. It seems that they're doing much the same as they'd done previously in pairs, so we have those ideas, at the very least. I can envision having players weave in and out of each other, too. And I can even see my players ultimately putting the puck through the legs of an oncoming mate, or pushing it off to his left or right and picking it up on the other side.
So, what do you think of all that for some outside the box stickhandling ideas?
I
n closing, this site is loaded with puckhandling or stickhandling ideas, mainly because it's one of my very favorite skills. So, members shouldn't run into a shortage in that department. As I mentioned in the previous post, too, my Chopped Stix gadgets and drills -- free to members -- should provide even more ideas.
What I've really suggested from watching those videos is that we can use different layouts or formats to achieve different kinds of results with our players. If you think about it, players can be somewhat distracted by such a formation, and by having a set routine to learn and to perfect. Music might not be appropriate on the ice, but I've used it tons in various off-ice venues -- and I found it fun to actually search for and put together just the right tunes for what we were going to do.
No matter what, I'll suggest that coaches only borrow somewhat from my ideas, and see if those might only cause some sparks to go off in their own minds.
