Overthinking my role?

[summoz 0]

Hey guys,

I've been a senior defencemen for my state team for 2 years now.

I've got an issue with the coach constantly picking small things out that need to happen. I have no issue with this, but the list is getting huge and i'm trying to figure out how im suppose to remember everything whilst not forgetting the main reason i'm playing, to have fun.

Some of it is basics but some things i'll just forget. How do you guys remember everything or would you say it comes down to experience?

* Line shoulder up with offense men

* When to have 2 hands on the stick and when to have 1

* Shoulder checking and keeping head up before retrieving loose pucks

* When to carry the puck and when to pass

* Position in front of the net and which post to stand in front of - Feet position in our defensive

* Falling to backup my D partner.

That's just a small list of the things that i'm forced to remember.

Am i forced to over-think?

Thanks

[chk hrd 164]

The problem sounds like you are just over thinking everything. Hockey is a game of anticipation and reaction. It is to fast of a game to try to think about things. You need to learn to play from your instincts without thinking. When you do that you play in the moment, when you think you will be behind what is already developing. It comes with experience and confidence. When you get both you start doing things without thinking. There are a few players who have the ability to think ahead of the play, that was one of the qualities that made Lidstrom so great. Relax and go on autopilot

[Chadd 916]

Some of it is basics but some things i'll just forget. How do you guys remember everything or would you say it comes down to experience?

Well, they are only things you have to think about until you do them without thinking.

* Line shoulder up with offense men

I focus on denying them the middle of the ice and pushing them to the outside. if they come down either side, I line up my outside shoulder with their inside shoulder. If they come down the middle, I try to push them to their backhand.

* When to have 2 hands on the stick and when to have 1

If you're making a play on the puck or the player, two hands on the stick. Otherwise one is fine

* Shoulder checking and keeping head up before retrieving loose pucks

Always look to see where everyone is while you're on the way to a loose puck. That way you know where to pass it when you get it and where the guy that is going to hit you is coming from.

* When to carry the puck and when to pass

That is entirely an experience thing and based on your personal strengths and weaknesses

* Position in front of the net and which post to stand in front of - Feet position in our defensive

Every coach has a different system and wants you somewhere different.

* Falling to backup my D partner.

That is a positioning thing, it will come with experience, but someone needs to tell you when you're in the wrong position before you will know where you should be.

That's just a small list of the things that i'm forced to remember.

Am i forced to over-think?

Thanks

It's not all that much, nor is each one all that difficult. After two years of playing defense, I would think that at least some of that would be second nature to you by now.

[cgrays12 0]

^^^^^^

Agreed. Alot of what your naming is second nature and instinct to defenseman, or hockey players in general. Everytime you have the puck no matter the position you should be able to tell when to pass and when to rush...the same with making a hit. You need to be aware of where the puck is and where its going to end up after the contact or else its useless.

[Law Goalie 147]

Just listen to your goalies. And if your goalies don't talk, tell them to start talking.

[Apes44 7]

Thinking will kill you on the ice! (At least it does for me) I was begining to over think things and couldnt buy a goal, and agreeing with Law I went to a goalie friend of mine and asked him what in the world i could do to start playing better again, he told me stop thinking about things and just play my game. that is the best thing you can possibly do, you know how to play so just go out there and play your game

[akravetz 29]

As a newbie playing Defense, I have found it is kinda difficult to learn when to do things and what to do. I concur with the guy who posted about goalies. Ours tells me what is happening when my back is turned and my D-partner and I try to communicate as much as we can. Unfortunately, it's trial and error a lot of time and you have to learn from mistakes. I play in a rec league so the competition probably isn't the same nor are the stakes as high.

As silly as it sounds, I found when in doubt and you have no idea what to do, clear the zone. :). It'll buy you a few seconds as the other team has to back to regroup. Good luck.

Andy in Peoria

[Chadd 916]

Not thinking and just playing will kill you if you are having issues with basic positioning and decision making. Focus on playing a simple game in your own end of the ice, making a pass out of the zone or just chipping it off the glass and out of the zone. As you become more comfortable and more confident, add more skating with the puck and offensive play.

[chippa13 1844]

When making a play with the puck in your own zone, the best advice I can give is make the easy play. If you spot a clear pass to your forward then take it, don't get caught looking for a better play because then you can get yourself in trouble. Make the pass when you see it.

[Jason Harris 31]

Maybe thinking in broader concepts will help things become more natural for you. For instance, the broadest concept is your team is trying to win the game by scoring more goals than their team. A step down from that is you're trying to limit them from scoring goals. Next step down from that is you're trying to prevent them from getting into scoring areas. The bottom line is all you're really trying to accomplish is keeping the other team from getting close to your goalie until more defensive help can arrive.

There really shouldn't be too much thinking, because you'll be repeating the movements enough times that they'll become instinctive, but as Chadd said, try to force an offensive player to the outside, and, even better, to his backhand. Try to close the gap so he has less options, but be aware that he may try to use a sudden burst of speed.

Maybe the biggest thing I've noticed with my daughter is you need to keep your feet moving. In the beginning of the season, she was constantly trying to step up and poke check the puck away. I finally got her to understand there's a time for doing that, but not when she's standing at the right point, because there's too much room for the other player to correct course and have a breakaway. What I mean is basically only two things can happen when the defense steps up: generally the offensive player will go wide to avoid a collision and will either keep the puck or lose the puck. If the player still maintains possession around the face-off circle in your defensive end, that might not be a big deal if you forced the player into the corner away from your goalie. But if this happens when you tried to hold the blue line and your defensive partner is forty feet away, there's enough room for the offensive player to veer back to the middle with you and your partner trying to chase him down.

Finally, one thing I've noticed with the better defensive players is they try to get the other player to commit first, which is just the opposite of better offensive players who try to get the defense to commit before trying to go in the opposite direction of where the defense had committed.

[hunterphfr 12]

Which state and what age? I've struggled with my son who plays defense over the same issues. He's 11, playing in a non-traditional hockey market and took a few years off to play football. I attribute it to a combination of poor coaching, age and the time he took off. The ADM with it's multiple skill stations doesn't help. I was frustarted as the small space skill stations don't allow for the free flow evolution of a true 1on1, 2on1, 2on2 or 3on2.The skills you describe are pretty basic defensive skills and should be second nature to someone from up north who has grown up playing the game in a hockey dominant society. Here in Tampa I've seen Peewee AA players that are just lost or lackadaisical about position. I don't have enough information about you and I'm certainly not saying it is your fault. I play with some guys that grew up playing in Florida and have insane and crazy skill. Unfortunately the extent of their coaching growing up was get the puck to Johnny he's really good and he'll score, they lack "true hockey sense". It's not their fault. I see it in my son's organization. They have some head coaches that can' t even skate. The board is composed of a President, a Director of Hockey and 3 board members, of these 5 only 1 board member can skate and their entire hockey experience consists of having a lot of money and season tickets to the Lightning. I became so frustrated I became the defensive coach for my son's team for 3 seasons. Every single shift they came off the ice I'd constantly be remindinding them 1 guy puck & 1 guy pass, push him wide, don't give him the center/ you have to challenge him between the top of the circle and the blue line, 1 guy corner & 1 guy net, don't leave the front of the net if your partner is in the corner etc. He is now a solid very positional defenseman and our defensive game became the foundation of our team.

My suggestion would be to ask your coach to let you know when you miss an assignment, find a positional summer camp that would re-in force the and elaborate on the basics of your position. My son is going to one at CanAm, Pro Ambitions has defense with Jeff, Northern Edge runs defense only camps. It's RPD (repetition primed decision making), discipline and practice. Go to pickup and focus on the things you need to practice, contact or not the foundation is the same. Find a friend or a trainer (good one's in our are are $50+/hr) and tell him what you need to work on. Find a forward to drag along to skate and shoot. Ultimately discipline and repetition are key and it will become second nature. You'll do it without thinking.

[hunterphfr 12]

I would also recommend googling "hockey defense play the dots", it is a concept that pretty much puts you in the proper position both on the ice & physically and decreases the chance of poor decision making.

I also reinforce a small decision making process in my son as they transition through the neutral zone in a 1on1 situation,

-Poor hands & poor skater challenge

-Good hands & good skater being harassed by a back checker challenge

-Good hands & good skater with no back checker give him the outside and 80% of the time they'll take it BUT if they drive the middle challenge him between the top of the circle and the blue line.

[wrangler 157]

As Chadd said, the details are something that you have to learn to do without thinking. Often we learn these things by continued repetition of instructions, and that's what your coach is doing. Next you'll hear his voice in your head when you do something wrong, then you'll remember to do it right, and finally, you'll do it automatically.

The art of coaching includes judging how many things, which things, and when, to instruct. It's possible for a coach to expect too much too soon, and overload a player, which will only delay the learning process. And this will vary from player to player. Without looking over your coach's shoulder, it's hard to tell if he's overloading you.

[chk hrd 164]

The art of coaching includes judging how many things, which things, and when, to instruct. It's possible for a coach to expect too much too soon, and overload a player, which will only delay the learning process. And this will vary from player to player. Without looking over your coach's shoulder, it's hard to tell if he's overloading you.

Completely agree, if you are being told 10 different things on the bench it is to hard to try and put them in order of importance let alone remember everything. You should be getting most of your direction in practice where you can concentrate on it and work on it without any bad things happening. The repetition you get in practice helps you ingrain it in your head. During the game the coach should be giving you little "heads up" on what you are not doing or what he needs you to do.

You don't become Nick Lidstrom after a few years of youth hockey. It takes years to develop and you never stop learning. I have yet to play a game or see a game where the coach didn't talk to every player at least one time.