NHL 14/15 as a teaching tool

[akravetz 29]

hi all, I was working with my son's squirt team the other day and it dawned on me that kids learn better than an old fart like me via video games. Does the new NHL 15 or NHL 14 have a way to demonstrate things. I was going to try to use the game to show positioning of D-man or perhaps forechecking. Can I set up a scheme, let's say to show a 1-2-2 or a 2-1-2 or just D to D passes. I looked on the first page of this forum and didn't find it so if I missed it, sorry. Thanks

Andy

[TeamHonda401 54]

If you go into the practice mode you can do exactly what you are asking about. You can select how many players you want on each team, select the type of situation (rush, offensive zone faceoff etc..) You can even go into the create custom play mode and set up simple set plays, and the computer will run them. After you execute the type of play you want to demonstrate, you can go into the replay function and play it back so you don't have to worry about recreating the same scenario in open play. The NHL games are a very under utilized tool with regards to coaching.

[chippa13 1844]

Or you can save time, money, and effort and invest in a wipe board and erasable marker.

[TeamHonda401 54]

When it comes down to getting a kid's attention, I'd put my money on a video game over a white board every time.

[chippa13 1844]

But with a white board you can go straight from the board to in practice. Not too many rinks have video game setups around the ice surface.

[akravetz 29]

First off, I agree on the money, the time and effort. I don't have an xBox and am not getting one. A kid on our team has one. I think with kids that are 8 and 9yo, video games are the way they learn things. I don't like that. I wish it was different but I can tell you that my son, 8, learned more about hockey from his Wii NHL 2k11 game than us watching on TV. Yes, playing is better but we are trying to cut some ice costs down. Figure take an off day, bring the kids over to a house, get some pizza and talk hockey over the video game. Then, when we are finished, let the kids play. Bonding.

Andy in Peoria

[ktang 34]

That is similar to how flight simulators are used to teach recognition of and reaction to emergency or combat situations.

One advantage of using the game as a teaching tool is that, after the plays are drawn up, the viewpoint could be placed onto a player's. Then the learners can make the connection between the drawn-up plays and what the play would like like on the ice.

Where to look, when to look, and what to look for as a player could then be trained, so that when it it put into practice the "homework" will have been done.

(Off Topic: 2000th post!)

[chk hrd 164]

These are 8 & 9 year old kids. Asking them to learn off of video, remember what they are seeing and suppose to do when they do get on the ice is probably going to end with a bunch of frustrated kids with mental overload and pissed of coaches. A white board with real time feed back never seemed to fail us. If you don't want to use ice time make a small practice surface (we used an outdoor roller hockey rink) and have you team walk through the drills and then run through them. You can take as much time as you need since there is no cost.

[chippa13 1844]

That is the thing, there has to be immediate reinforcement of what you are trying to teach them.

[Chadd 916]

That is the thing, there has to be immediate reinforcement of what you are trying to teach them.

Not really, though that would likely be faster.