Explaining Zone defense to kids....

[kovalchuk71 212]

I suck at explaining defenses and need an easy way to show it to kids learning how to play. Could anyone help me out? Are there any good websites/videos?

[Invert 13]

Right now the AAU is hosting their Jr Olympics at the Rinks in Orange County and streaming all the games at http://www.ifan.tv/ads/aau/hockey.html

There are some great teams playing in the tournament and is a great resource to show different schemes.

[regularjoe 1]

Depending on the age, consider using different sports where videos may be more plentiful. Some defensive concepts apply across sports.

Try basketball. Obviously, there is some tweaking for hockey but a zone in basketball versus a zone in lacrosse versus a zone in football has some commonalities.

It's also something that can be taught on dryland so you reserve the rink time for drills around skating/passing/shooting.

[Eazy_b97 1]

How old are your guys and what is their skill level? Usually at the lower levels and younger age groups you'll want to promote skating so they can build their skills. Zone defense doesn't usually promote this, even if it does give you short term results.

Usually the best way to show them is to work it up bit by bit. Start in the room, briefly showing them where they need to be using a coaching/chalk board. When you go on the court, split them up so everyone is participating (or most are) and show them where to go without a puck or any attackers. Then slowly introduce movement and getting them to place themselves where they need to be, then once they get that introduce more attackers working from a puck carrier up to 4on4.

Basketball and Soccer would be decent examples to show them how the 1 person presses while the others maintain their position.

[kovalchuk71 212]

How old are your guys and what is their skill level? Usually at the lower levels and younger age groups you'll want to promote skating so they can build their skills. Zone defense doesn't usually promote this, even if it does give you short term results.

Usually the best way to show them is to work it up bit by bit. Start in the room, briefly showing them where they need to be using a coaching/chalk board. When you go on the ice, split them up so everyone is participating (or most are) and show them where to go without a puck or any attackers. Then slowly introduce movement and getting them to place themselves where they need to be, then once they get that introduce more attackers working from a puck carrier up to 5on5.

They range from 9-11. They can skate pretty well and are at the point where I would like to teach them positioning.

[Eazy_b97 1]

That's good, alot of people jump into the systems too early, but 9-11 isn't a bad age to emphasize zone D in roller.

Try and get some court time to practice it though, that's usually the best way so they can see how it works and how to adapt to different situations. You can use some other sports or general game clips of a higher level as examples, but it helps when they actually read and react themselves in game like situations.