This might be a rather short entry in comparison to most others. Still, it's no less important. In fact, I'd say that using deception in hockey is even more important nowadays than it ever has been before.
-- Dennis Chighisola
Using Deception In Hockey
When I think about using deception in hockey, three main areas come to mind right off the bat. The first on my list involves some foolery on breakouts...
I have a feeling that every member agrees with the idea that the so-called "first pass" on our breakout is a biggie. I mean, successfully advancing the puck up-ice -- from a defenseman to a flying forward -- is a great start on the way to getting safely out of your defensive zone and on your way towards the opponents' net.
I also sense that a lot of coaches can be rather straight-forward -- maybe even lackadaisical -- in designing and working on their breakouts. In other words, the deployment of defensemen and forwards can be rather typical, with players moving through equally typical areas or routes as they practice and then play.
Don't get me wrong about what I just said, because perfecting the basics is a really good thing. I want perfect execution as my players perform their roles within our breakouts. I'm a stickler on such things -- as in clean handling of the puck, smart and high percentage skating routes, making good passes and catching any pass within reach.
That said, being too straight-forward can make covering our breakout kinda easy. Thus my feelings about using some deception in hockey.
Ideas on this phase of play can be found in several different segments of my video on "(Teaching & Troubleshooting) Basic Breakouts".
In one portion, I show a number of ways deception can be used to ease that first pass deep in the zone. A great one has our puckhandling defenseman making a fake towards one side of the ice -- to bring the opposition forecheck that way, before he quickly moves the puck in the opposite direction. In yet another play, he skates towards one side of the ice and then makes a drop-back pass -- without looking -- to a teammate readying to go the other way.
In yet another portion of that video, I show ways to have forwards moving through very different and deceptive patterns from the traditional ones.
Of course, there are tons more ways we can add extra deception in hockey, especially as we go on the attack. So, the next one that comes to mind is when we're cycling the puck in the offensive end...
Once again, I have a video to recommend here, titled "You Can Teach Hockey Cycling". Of course, cycling is kinda deceptive as it is.
In this part of the game -- and as shown in that video, an offensive player can really fool defenders, by looking one way and making a play in a different direction. (Actually, defensemen and other offensive players can do much the same during breakouts or anywhere else on the attack.)
In particular, watch that video for how I have my man coming up the boards (see above: the guy facing towards a pointman-teammate), while readying to really make a drop-back pass to the corner or bang-bang pass to a mate going to the net.
I just told myself something, noticing that I need to add some special teams posts to this site. Truly, in attempting to cover every possible area of the game, I missed a few areas that are as important as any. Anyway, as I try to plan some articles and videos having to do with special teams, let me at least explain how I like to add deception in the powerplay part of my team's game...
A lot like in cycling, I want my guys to be looking one way while planning their attack elsewhere. In fact, I use the expression "out of sight, out of mind" a lot when I'm working on my powerplays.
To the right is a rough alignment for an Umbrella powerplay, although my "out of sight, out of mind" philosophy will work with any setup.
I ask my players to envision they're in a star pattern. Then, I suggest to them that, the puck being at one point on that star tends to draw attention there and leave the furthest player/s "out of sight, and out of mind". I mean, everyone in the arena -- opposition players to their parents and fans in the stands -- tend to get locked into what the puckhandler is doing, and they're not worrying so much about those far away players.
Like in the earlier ideas, looking everywhere but where he wants to go helps make this work. Even more importantly, though, it's having all players thinking that "out of sight, out of mind" thing that makes it really work. The guy at the lower right might handle the puck for a second or so, with the guy up in the left halfback position suddenly sliding towards the sloy with his stick cocked and ready. If a shot results, fine. But, if it doesn't, that guy slides back, the puck gets moved, and everyone reacts to the new puck location.
Truly, I think using deception in hockey is a biggie, mainly within the offensive part of our game. And, looking or making moves in one direction -- with the intention of moving the puck in a different direction -- is one of my favorite ways of fooling the defense. Feel free to use my "out of sight, out of mind" idea, too.
Like a lot of things I teach in special areas of our game, I think they tend to spill over and help players in their overall play. Some of my better players have put the "look away" move into their attack, and some have used the "out of sight, out of mind" thinking, too.
If anything, I hope I've planted the seeds here -- for coaches, player parents and adult players -- about incorporating some foolery in the game's X's and O's.
