At the youth level, especially during the mite and squirt years, the value of playing pond hockey cannot be underestimated. It is a great way for players to develop their skills in a creative and free environment without the pressure to perform.

One retrospective study examined professional hockey players and quantified the amount of deliberate practice, deliberate play, organized games, and other sports from ages six to twenty. Deliberate play is like pond hockey or playing roller hockey in the driveway. The total hours of play each year exceeded deliberate practice (i.e. organized practice with drills) until around age fifteen!

The advantages of pond hockey over organized practice are numerous. Players take ownership for the game on the pond. They often skate harder, have more fun, and develop a passion for the game on their own terms (not those of their coach or parent). The best part of all, most little hockey skaters will “train” longer with pond hockey. You can’t keep players motivated for five hours with drills, but they will stay on the pond playing hockey till the lights go off if the adults just let them.

Pond hockey isn’t used enough because it makes the coach or hockey trainer less valuable and you can’t sell it. And that is exactly why hockey associations should build in pond hockey training into their player development programs. Doing so is incredibly cheap because a lot of players can play on one sheet, they can vary in age and skill, and no coaches are really necessary. Imagine an association with 60 mite hockey players. For $100 per family, the association could buy around 30 hours of ice and split the rink into four or five different sections with some rink dividers. Each team could take a section of the ice and play. A few volunteers can help place the nets and pucks in each section, but nothing else is required! Of course, the volunteers are there in case someone gets hurt, but that’s it.

Instead of stickhandling around cones, players can practice against real opponents. Pond hockey is the time to try the toe-pull you’d never do in a game. Rather than doing partner passing or some inefficient flow drill, players can mimic the same skill in a competitive setting. Maybe we’d see some more creative passing since making a mistake isn’t the end of the world?

At least through the peewee level, pond hockey should be an indispensable part of association player development programs. Parents and coaches should demand that their players be provided with the best opportunity possible to develop into elite hockey players – in other words, they should be given plenty of pond hockey time.

Chart from: Source: Cote, Jean, Baker, Joseph and Bruce Abernethy. “From Play to Practice: A Developmental Framework for the Acquisition of Expertise in Team Sports.”

The post Levine: Let them play appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Understanding position expectations and how to play a position well is important information to youth players as they move through the system. As I discussed in the last two articles about on ice effectiveness for goalies and defensemen in this article the role of forwards will be explored.

Forwards are either wings or centers. To some degree the positions are interchangeable although some players maybe better on the wing instead of as centers.  Each position has preferred skills in order to effective.

Centers tend to be playmakers and in the most common team systems they play deep in the defensive zone to assist the defensemen in regaining possession and beginning the counter attack.  Centers typically will take the face offs and good centers will win 60 percent of the draws. This is a skill that can be learned and coaches should work with the forwards to develop faceoff skills and puck support skills in the D zone.

Wings have different responsibilities in the defensive zone. In most systems they are responsible for covering the other teams defensemen at the blue line and to assist in the breakout.  As the rush moves up ice they need to find ways to create odd man situations in order to advance the puck to the opponents net for a scoring opportunity.  Many coaches will ask wings to play on their off wing (right shot on left wing/ left shot on right wing) which will give them better shooting angles and lanes to the net.  Playing on the off wing means learning how to handle puck on the wall in a different fashion than on the fore hand.  Wings need to learn puck support, how to create time and space and how to shoot effectively.  Puck handling skills are critical which include puck protection, passing and receiving.  Older players also need to develop body contact skills in order to be effective and safe along the wall and in front of the net.

Remembering back to the previous articles I suggested that with younger players these concepts should be introduced and discussed often. As players move to and beyond 12 years old meaningful statistics from games can help them identify areas where they can improve and help coaches identify skills that need work. Give aways and take aways are good statistics for all positions except goaltenders. I believe plus- minus on even strength goals is a good indicator of over all play. Shots attempted and shots on goal will identify players who need to focus scoring opportunities. Blocked shots are also an easy statistic to track and learning to block shots is easy to teach and learn.

Goalies, defensemen and forwards all have skill sets they need in order to be successful. Youth and high school coaches should be continuously working on measureable skills to help their players succeed at the various positions. Skating and puck handling skills rank one and two on the list. Consistent work in these areas will pay dividends as the players improve and develop confidence in these skills as they learn to incorporate these skills into their game.

Coaches should set time aside in every practice to develop the skills for each of the three distinct roles. Goalie drills, defensemen drills and forward drills. For younger players, 12 and under, they should rotate between forward and defense positioning during the season so they learn each of the positions. Often times when a player reaches high school or beyond the coach will look for a player to fill a need on the team. Skaters who can play forward or defense well will have more opportunities than those who can only play one position. Granted, some players are a natural fit at defense for example. Spending some time on a wing each year will make that player a better defenseman with the different perspective that forwards have and of course vice versa.

It is easy to simply run breakouts, power play etc. in practice and ignore skills however a coach has a responsibility to provide valuable information and development opportunities to players that will help them improve and be more effective on ice during games. It would be a mistake to defer to off-season programs for development. The winter season provides continuity and regular feedback opportunities that if used in the right way will help players develop faster and accomplish more in each game setting.

Start by discussing on ice effectiveness with your players. Once they are comfortable with the concept then introduce some measurable data to help them improve as players.

(Illustration by Megan Rankila ©2014)

The post Tearse: On-Ice Effectiveness – Forwards appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Featured Image:
Eric Hatzell playing for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.
(Photo courtesy of USA Hockey / KDP Photgraphy)

As a teenager, Eric Hartzell played baseball in the summer, football in the fall and hockey when the mud froze on his spikes. He was an outfielder, a quarterback and a hybrid, raised in the Twin Cities suburb of White Bear Lake, Minn.

“It was almost like playing two hockey sports at the same time,” said Hartzell. “We had organized youth hockey at the arena, where I was playing goalie as a peewee, then we’d go home to play on the pond in my backyard.”

Away from the arena, on pond ice, Hartzell was a skater, not a stopper. He credits his well-rounded youth sports experience for making him the player he is today, which is to say one of the American Hockey League’s top goaltenders.

“Skating out, and being a multi-sport athlete, made me quicker, stronger and faster,” he said. “It helped for sure. When you’re playing all those sports, it all correlates, but as a kid, you’re not thinking about that. You’re just playing. But it’s making your feet quicker, your hand-eye coordination better – things that go hand-in-hand with other sports.”

Now a rookie with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – and the AHL’s reigning Goaltender of the Month – Hartzell is an archetype of overall athleticism in goal. He’s big, too – 6-foot-4, 200 pounds – giving the Quinnipiac University product a powerful combination of agility and net coverage. It’s a package that began developing at a young age, when all that really mattered was fun.

“My youth hockey days were the best days of my life,” said Hartzell. “Just growing up and playing hockey with your best friends, in your town, sharing great moments – it was terrific.”

One component of his youth hockey experience – the cross-ice game – remains a valuable piece of his professional preparation today.

“In my opinion, 3-on-3 cross-ice is amazing for everyone,” he said. “Everything happens quick, so you get opportunities to develop skills without even thinking about it. And that goes for goalies, too. Pucks are moving faster, there’s no lull in the game, and that helps you stay on your toes and develop your skills. When the time comes in a game, you’re more ready because of those small-area games.”

Looking back now on the games that followed him from his youth, Hartzell is even more aware of the role they played in his development. He also salutes the coaches, including his dad, who helped him grow. As for what makes the ideal youth coach, Hartzell says the most important thing is finding a coach who cares.

“At the youth ages, Xs and Os don’t matter,” he said. “It’s all about the energy and preparation that the coaches put in. My coaches did a great job preparing kids, and I can’t thank them enough.”

The post Hybrid Hartzell Climbing to New Heights with Penguins appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Featured Image:
Brian Bonin (back row, center) is raising money for youth hockey in his hometown of White Bear Lake.

Former Gopher and Hobey Baker winner Brian Bonin recruits fellow White Bear alums for second-annual youth fundraiser.

Before he became a Hobey Baker Award winner and prior to being named Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey, Brian Bonin honed his skills playing youth hockey in White Bear Lake. After his pro career ended, Bonin returned home to his hometown along with his wife, Rachel, to raise a family and give back to the youth program he was raised in.

Bonin has been actively involved in the White Bear Lake Area Hockey Association as a coach and now, for the second straight season, as a fund raiser. This Saturday, Feb. 15, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Bonin is hosting the second annual White Bear Lake Division I Alumni Event at the Vadnais Heights Sports Center.

It’s an evening of hockey games featuring youth players as well as adults taking on former Bears who went on to play D-I college hockey across the country. The event includes raffles, chuck-a-puck, hundreds of free mini sticks and pucks along with a silent auction featuring over 130 items, many of them signed by players with names like Crosby, Malkin, Koivu, Suter and Parise.

Among the players expected to participate are Bonin, who played 166 games at the University of Minnesota, Matt Greer (148 games at UMD), Luke Beaverson (138 games at Alaska-Anchorage), Jared Reigstad (127 games at RPI) , Tim Olsen (103 games at UConn) and Casey Parenteau (100 games at St. Lawrence). Jon Anderson, Dave Espe, and Brett Nelson (345 games combined at Minnesota) will all be making appearances as coaches.

There is no admission fee for the games but Bonin is asking for donations ranging from $1 to $5 with the $5 being a family contribution.

For Bonin, it’s about doing what he can to fix what he calls hockey’s “bad rap” as an expensive sport and keep people excited about an involved in the game.

“Every sport is very expensive right now and hockey can actually be relatively inexpensive if we do it right,” Bonin said. “I think you actually get a whole lot more value for it than you do some of the other sports, at least the ones my kids are playing.”

Each auction item includes a “buy now” option for those who simply wish to stop by and purchase an item outright. Proceeds benefit the WBLAHA and are geared toward the beginner and mite/U8 age groups in an effort to keep costs down and attract new players to the great game of hockey.

“I just think it’s the bottom (age groups) where we really need to get people in and we need to get the best athletes in,” Bonin said. “You’ve got to be willing to find ways to do that in today’s day and age where hockey is expensive.”

Last season’s earnings helped the WBLAHA to offer its Clinic program participants (beginning players, mostly in the four to five-year-old range) the opportunity to skate for free this season. Next year, Bonin has his eye on purchasing several sets of hockey protective gear that a young player can check out and use for the season at no charge.

Bonin says the key is getting kids to try the sport and nurture their, and to some degree their parents’, love for hockey.

“If it’s a good experience and isn’t too nuts or isn’t too much pressure and you don’t have to spend too much money, if the kids like it I think you’re willing to let them keep playing. So we’ve got to find a way to balance that.”

The post Bears Unite For the Kids appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The post Johnson/Como Devils Weather the Storm in Minneapolis appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The competitive environment of youth sports too often has a way of bringing out the worst in its coaches, participants and spectators. Far too many are willing to go to great lengths to gain an edge in the name of winning. From coaches (and spectators) berating—or what they like to call “working”—the officials, to players utilizing aggressive tactics to “send a message” to an opponent, to spectator confrontations in the bleachers, it is all too common.

But every so often, likely far more frequently than is widely reported, something unexpected happens on the ice or field of play which warms the heart and restores one’s faith in the beauty and sanctity of youth athletics. Such was the case on a recent Saturday night in Fargo, ND in the midst of a tournament game between two bantam teams from Minnesota.

The Back Story

As rural Fergus Falls prepared for its third and final pool-play game to determine the tournament’s final-day seedings, Otters coach Devin Johnson could not have imagined how the rest of his night would unfold.

While his team was making its final preparations to head to the ice, Johnson turned to his goalie, Cole Mahler, to gauge how he was feeling. When Mahler, who was facing away from his coach, only faintly responded, Johnson gently turned his goaltender around only to reveal a face nearly as pale as the body-armor-concealing, home-white sweater he sported just inches below.

“As we were walking out the door for warm-ups, he ended up throwing up so we had to figure out what we were going to do from there,” Johnson said.

Bryce McGary

What Johnson, his staff and even his players did was turn to Bryce McGary, a defenseman who had donned goalie pads for the first time a week earlier when a cancelled game was converted into an open hockey session. McGary, who had tinkered with the position playing shinny hockey but had never officially suited up, took advantage of the opportunity to give the position a try.

“They all turned their heads and looked right at me,” McGary said. “I guess playing in one open hockey [session] can really help you.”

“He was really our only option,” Johnson said. “He said ‘I’ll do it’ so we found him equipment and went from there.”

It wasn’t exactly that easy, however. After the initial shock of his coach’s request wore off, McGary agreed to take one for the team under one non-negotiable condition.

“They were all telling me they were going to clean out his helmet and I told them I wasn’t going to do that,” McGary said. “So I told them to see if they could go get a helmet for me and I’m glad they did.”

Meanwhile the opposing locker room was empty as Chris LeClair, coach of suburban White Bear Lake, was on the bench watching his Bears warm up to play an opponent which had yet to arrive. Soon after, he was approached by Johnson, was informed of the situation and was asked for his help.

It was LeClair’s son Jacob’s turn to be the Bears’ backup goalie that day and Chris agreed to allow McGary to use Jacob’s helmet and extra stick while McGary provided his helmet to Jacob, allowing him to remain on the bench in compliance with USA Hockey rules.

After an approximately 15 minute delay, and with no chance to face a single warm-up shot, second-year bantam Bryce McGary, in what might be—barring a trip to district playoffs—the final tournament of his youth hockey career, stood alone in the blue paint for the very first time.

Though unnerved by his foreign surroundings, McGary said it was the reception he received as he entered the rink which occupied his mind.

“The only thought that was running through my head was White Bear Lake and how great their sportsmanship is and the parents supporting me,” McGary said. “Because as soon as I walked out of that locker room Jake was waiting for me … Their parents were cheering once I came out there and, I’m not sure if it was a White Bear parent or some other team, but they said good luck and opened the door for us.”

LeClair attempted to downplay the situation on his bench.

“We didn’t tell our boys that this was a replacement goalie for fear my kids would have stopped playing hockey,” Leclair said. “But they figured it out pretty quick; he had skater skates on and he wasn’t moving real well.”

A Selfless Act

After White Bear Lake surged to a 5-0 lead after one period, LeClair’s oldest son and assistant coach, Patrick, turned to his brother and suggested Jake go give McGary some pointers during the brief break. So Jake left the bench and anxiously made his way into “enemy” territory.

“I was actually kind of nervous that he would kind of reject me and tell me to go back to the bench,” Jake said, adding that Bryce, in fact, was eager for his help when he arrived. “I went over there and told him he was doing good for a person who has never been playing goalie before and just started making him mimic me, I guess, to see what he could do.”

“Really, I thought he was just going to see how his helmet was doing,” McGary said. “But he wanted to give me advice and show me how to slide and get up and slide; it really helped.

“It just surprised me that someone has the heart to do that, especially in a tournament.”

Jen Jones, mother of McGary’s teammate Damon Jones, captured the moment on video and shared it on Facebook.

The Reaction

The unsolicited gesture carried out by the LeClair brothers caught both benches off guard.

“I didn’t even know what was going on,” Chris LeClair said. “I was talking to my players, and all of a sudden I looked over and I saw Jacob teaching him how to move, teaching him how to catch and what not.”

Said coach Johnson,“To see a game like hockey, how rough it is and how a lot of games end up getting chippy by the end of them, to see how he was willing to come over there and help him out, that was awesome.”

Jake LeClair

Jake, who also worried about Fergus Falls parent reaction before his first-intermission gesture, worked with Bryce again briefly during the lengthier second intermission and pointed out a couple of things he needed to work on. It did not go unnoticed in the bleachers above and that message was passed on to coach LeClair as his team made its way to the locker room for the second-intermission resurfacing.

“As we came off an older gentleman with a white beard was waiting for me at the door,” LeClair said. “He shook my hand with a tear in his eye and said it’s one of the nicest things he has ever seen and he really commended our whole team. We went into the locker room and I explained to the kids what that man said and it choked me up. My assistant coach who is kind of a tough guy, it brought a tear to his eye too.

“It was pretty inspiring. I’m a big hockey guy, I coach, I ref, I see a lot of stuff and it’s not often you see something like that.”

McGary’s mother, Anna, who spent the weekend shuttling between Fargo and Grand Forks where Bryce’s sister was playing in a tournament of her own, said this was the only game of the weekend she was unable to attend. However, she received no shortage of updates via text, picture and video messaging regarding the events unfolding just 80 miles south of her.

“What a classy team and what great sportsmanship to have that kid come over. As a mom, I teared up; I had goose bumps watching [the video] and watched it over and over. I shared it with everyone.”

“My favorite part is the knuckles,” mom added in reference to the boys engaging in a fist bump in the video prior to parting ways.

Its Lasting Effect

White Bear Lake ended up winning by a final score of 8-0, but McGary posted an .830 save percentage in his goaltending debut in turning aside a whopping 39 of 47 Bears’ shots aimed at him. More importantly, however, the Otters’ new backup goalie said he had fun.

“It wasn’t a close game by any means but everyone was having fun and people had a positive attitude,” coach Johnson said.

When the final horn sounded propelling White Bear Lake to the semifinals of a tournament they would eventually win, the obligatory post-game handshakes took on an added air of sincerity as players and coaches congratulated each other on a job well done.

Jake and Bryce traded words of appreciation and support as they re-exchanged helmets before parting ways, while Jake’s teammates waited to give the now former Fergus Falls goalie an additional pat on the back on his way to the locker room.

“It made me feel really good,” McGary said. “They’re just nice, full of sportsmanship and play a real game of hockey.”

“I try to teach [my boys] humility but I have not been practicing that; I’m very proud of what my two boys did,” LeClair said. “As parents, obviously we’ve done something right and taught them some sportsmanship.

“I think the most important thing is the way our team represented White Bear Lake and White Bear Lake hockey,” Leclair added. “I think a lot of people are going back talking about how great White Bear Lake hockey is, and that’s good.

“The kids represented our association very well.”

As the Bears and the Otters left the ice, they were saluted with an ovation of mutual admiration from the game’s formerly partisan audience. The adults now cheered in unison, not simply for the result of a game or a game well played, but to express gratitude to young men from different teams and distant towns who provided them an emotional reminder of just how good youth sports can be.

“It was a mix of their parents cheering for Fergus, Fergus parents cheering for Fergus and everyone was cheering for everyone,” McGary recalled. “That’s how hockey’s supposed to be.”

The post Going Above and Beyond appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

For example, greater St. Cloud, a community of about 80,000 in Central Minnesota, didn’t even have an indoor ice arena until November 1972. Now there are six indoor sheets and more kids playing than ever before, but growth and retention didn’t come easy, and it still doesn’t, even in this rather large Minnesota city. Fortunately, parents and volunteers from the St. Cloud Youth Hockey Association are all-in. Their concerted effort to make youth hockey more inclusive and more fun is paying dividends.

“We’ve been proactive,” said Mike Petroske, president of the SCYHA. “We were early adopters of the American Development Model, and even before USA Hockey formally introduced the ADM, we were playing cross-ice hockey.”

In the early days, acceptance wasn’t universal. When the SCYHA adopted station-based youth practices, some parents grumbled, but most of those dissenters quickly became advocates. A new mite program built on fun and frequent puck-touches proved especially persuasive.

“We created a fun atmosphere with a Saturday-morning in-house mite concept with four teams of 10 which played half-ice games against each other for six weeks,” said Petroske. “We had two games happening at once, each team playing in the jerseys of four college teams. It was a carnival atmosphere. We’d announce goal-scorers over the public address system and really build it up. That’s when we got people to start buying in.”

The program began as a free offering, which helped encourage parents, and when the SCYHA offered it for a second time, enrollment maxed out in minutes. Now the initial graduates of the program are ascending the ranks and impressing observers.

“Last year, our squirts were really strong and I credit it largely to adopting the ADM,” said Petroske. “And since we launched that in-house mite program, we’ve had almost no complaints.”

Focus on Fun

Jaime O’Hara, SCYHA mite coordinator, joined the association in 2011 and looked to amplify the fun factor. It was her son’s second year of organized hockey.

“It is not about getting the players to perfect every station, have the perfect stride, the perfect shot, et cetera,” she said. “It’s about fun, period. Adopting the ADM added to the fun factor, and not just for the players and the coaches, but also for me as the coordinator. It’s an easy job with the ADM plans, so I get to have more fun and enjoy watching the kids’ enjoyment at the rink. The players doing the stations don’t realize the skills they are learning. They just think they are on the ice playing games with the coaches, when all the while, they’re improving skating skills, puck handling, building muscles, and listening and working together – to have fun.”

O’Hara also credits the coaches for being eager and excited about the ADM mission.

“It’s been more fun and enjoyable for them too, because everything is drawn up for them, there is no planning, scheduling or drawing up practices,” she said. “The ADM practice plans are printed and labeled with practice dates. Coaches get to the rink, grab the tools they need for the practice, and it’s easy as that. Then they have more time to learn who players are and pump up the excitement about practice.”

From the stands, parents see smiles, energy, organization and skill development.

“In Minnesota, with the changing seasons, there are so many athletic choices for kids, so most of the parents have seen practices from several different sports,” explained O’Hara. “But when they watch their first hockey practice with us, they can’t believe how well-organized it is and how well the time is managed. They love the eagerness and excitement the players show about going to practice, and they love that their kids burn a lot of energy while on the ice and then rest well after a practice.”

Bring on the Girls

Recognizing an opportunity, the SCYHA launched a new girls-only version of the introductory mite program this past Saturday. They hope it causes an enrollment increase similar to what occurred in the boys ranks, which would further strengthen the association’s growing foundation of young talent.

Saturday’s festivities began with a station-based practice led by members of the St. Cloud State University women’s hockey team. Afterward, the girls received a guided tour of the Huskies’ locker room followed by a feast of donuts, juice and yogurt. Needless to say, they were all smiles, which is truly the secret sauce in St. Cloud’s recent success.

“Our association growth, both for girls and boys players, has come naturally, from kids and parents talking to friends and other parents,” said O’Hara. “They can’t help but mention the fun time they had at hockey. And really, don’t we all want to be involved in fun?”

It may be a simple philosophy for growth, but it’s also undeniably effective.

“Our players have such energy when they talk about the good times they’re having at the rink,” said O’Hara.

“And the love of the game all starts by having fun first.”

The post Focus on Fun Builds Believers in St. Cloud appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

In my talks and interviews around the country and parts of Canada I am occasionally confronted with the idea that winning is everything. More succinctly, I am presented with the hypothesis, or in some cases, the misconceived notion, that children of all ages must be taught the importance of winning while they play youth sports, because that is a life lesson. To follow that logic, or lack thereof, we must forget for a minute that 85% of all people who lose their jobs, except for massive layoffs, lose them because they don’t get along with other employees.

Winning is such an abstract concept, that even professional teams, who say they only care about winning, and spend millions of dollars each year to try and win, still can’t win a championship, and can’t explain to anyone how to guarantee a win.

But I am supposed to believe that part time youth and High School coaches with little or no professional training can teach children this abstract concept to kids? (Really, this is like bringing down a Harvard Professor who teaches Quantum Physics and has received the “Skytte Prize” to a Middle School and having her try to teach these kids Quantum Physics.)

Do you really think that John Calipari, after coaching Kentucky to an National Championship in college basketball, forgot how to win the next year when his team did not even qualify for March Madness, and the NCAA Division I National Championship Tournament?

Teachers in Elementary, Middle and High Schools, do not teach children that they have to win. They teach them the importance of the journey, and learning for the joy of learning. (Now this successful formula is being eschewed for the notion that teaching to the test is more important than being educated for life, but as usual, I digress)

Teachers understand how important it is for children to work and play together. They have the children work in groups and do projects together, because they know through experience and Master’s Degrees in Education, that this is the best way to teach children, and have the knowledge stay with kids after school is done. They know how important community is in children’s lives, now and in the future.

So why don’t we coach these kids the same way they are taught everyday in school? Ever seen a teacher yell at a kid during a test?

Winning and losing will prepare them for life these coaches say. People tell me that I am “Mamby Pamby” about winning and that Frozen Shorts espouses the theory that equal play for all is another form of entitlement. (Even though we say equal play for prepuberty children and play by performance for the older ones)

Equal play allows “lazy” coaches to get away without coaching all the fundamentals needed to teach children life lessons and the importance of winning I am told. Nonsense. It’s a kid’s game and some adults want to make their participation in youth sports, more important, and more profitable to them at the children’s expense. It is one of the major reasons they quit playing

Well, let’s back the bus up here for just a minute and see what is going on here. So, how is it that the paradigm of winning as being the almighty answer can and is sometimes built on a false foundation? How many of you have played in a game and won when you did not play well? How many have you played in a game, played well, and still lost? So, in these games winning and losing actually were not a clear indication of how well you played. The outcome of these games either gave you a win you didn’t earn or a loss you that may have hid how well you really played. How do you build and develop children with a false base? Now that is confusing to me. Imagine how confusing and frustrating it is to the children?

They just want to play and have FUN!

The idea of life lessons that employ the journey, not the goal, as being of paramount importance, and the #1 priority in youth and High School sports, has been lost on this generation of parents, coaches, and athletes for the most part. Scholarships, ego, status and angst have enveloped this new youth sports paradigm. As I like to ask in my talks: “How is your way working out for you?”

What is the outcome? Injuries are skyrocketing, violence has increased dramatically, and children are quitting playing youth and high school sports in record numbers. That is not a successful business model, is it?

The problem has become a national health issue. Type II diabetes is on the rise and obesity has quadrupled in the last 30 years.

Os sure, people can preach the mantra of winning, but really, what are those people really winning? Is this the base that we want to emulate the paradigm for our children’s future? I hope not.

I’d really hate to have to try and teach Quantum Physics!

The post Winning:Teaching Quantum Physics to Children appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Featured Image:
Mitch Korn instructs at Korn Camp on June 15, 2013 – Duluth, MN (Photo by Amy Gist)

Mitch Korn is not the kind of man to beat around the bush about who he is. As a child, the 55 year-old goalie coach of the Nashville Predators shared a room with his sister and his grandmother, and until the NHL came calling he believed the finer things in life included steaks from Ponderosa at six bucks a piece – baked potato included. The self-proclaimed “off-color New Yorker” is a man full of character, intense drive and sharp-edged honesty, and his goalies wouldn’t have him any other way.

Minnesota Hockey Magazine caught up with the colorful Korn during a weekend goalie camp in Duluth, Minnesota at the beautiful Heritage Sports Center where he discussed his life, his role in hockey, and his incredible passion for not just the game of hockey, but how life can be taught through it.

AG: When was it that you really got involved with youth hockey?

MK: It’s always been my first love. I started as a counselor at CAN/AM hockey school in Guelph, ONT, CANADA when I was 15 years old. When I was 17 I was one of the youngest instructors that they ever hired because one of my mentors, a guy named Ted Ouimet -the head goalie coach at CAN/AM who I aspired to be like – retired from pro hockey and became a fireman in London, ONT, CANADA (I think). So two weeks before CAN/AM started that summer they promoted me from counselor to coach to replace Teddy and that’s kind of how I got my start and I’ve been doing it ever since…and I’m like 107 now. 55 actually but I’ve aged pretty well for 55.

AG: You are used to working on the NHL level but during your summer camps you are working with youth goalies. How do you translate your higher level coaching skills into a level usable by developing youth goalies?

MK: I actually like it much better. Don’t get me wrong, the NHL is awesome, it’s the NHL, but given the choice this is pure, this is great, these kids can benefit so much more. I believe we can have such a positive impact on their hockey life and I think their life in general, because we not only teach hockey stuff, goalie stuff, but life skills. If you’ve ever heard me talk to the group and the way we break things down we are very detailed, very intricate, and honestly I really like that.

AG: What is the Number one lesson you want these kids to leave camp with?

MK: It’s not worth doing unless you do your best. It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s not worth doing unless you do your best. That’s one. Another is: there’s no substitute for maximum effort. Playing hockey isn’t work, its love. Some people go to work every day and fill potholes or stock shelves, they don’t love it, they work. The word work seems not to have a positive connotation to it. When we are an athlete and we are training and we are putting forth that effort, that’s not really work. We just want them to be better at the end of the day and be the best they can be.

AG: What are you going to take away from the kids at this camp?

MK: Every week I learn a little something. Every week I want to laugh. Every week I give out my favorite award; it’s not a hat, it’s not a shirt, it’s not a hardest worker or most-improved, it’s the ear of Korn award. The ear of Korn award is given out to the most entertaining camper. I spend a lot of time talking to and entertaining the kids. I give out an award to the kid who entertains me. One of the other reasons I do this is because if you are in the NHL it’s really easy to lose touch with what’s happening because the NHL is a higher level and the goalies are older and you lose touch with the young stuff. By doing camp, you’re really seeing what’s modern, what’s happening, what the attitude is not only from the kids but also from the counselors and the coaches. When you are the goalie coach for the team there’s nobody else. When the Nashville Predators sit down and get ready for practice there are three coaches bouncing ideas off each other. When the goalie coach gets ready for practice he bounces off the wall because there’s nobody else to talk to about what you want. You are the guy, there’s nobody else, so I really enjoy this because it really keeps me modern and younger and more in tune to what’s going on.

AG: Do you ever find yourself taking things back from the coaches you work with over the summer to your pros?

MK: Oh yeah. Its just part of me, makes me more knowledgeable, makes me a better coach.

AG: You came off a really condensed hockey season due to the NHL lockout. Was it tough to come back this summer and run multiple hockey camps after the crazy schedule you just went through?

MK: We’ve been doing these camps for over 15 years. I used to do Buffalo camps every summer before these. It was the camp in Buffalo that got me the job with the Sabres. Rick Dudley saw me doing the camp in Buffalo and said “I want to hire this guy.” That was in the summer of 1990 and I got hired in ’91. I’ve really been doing camps before that and ever since. I have downsized a little bit; we have seven camps we used to have ten. I will do these until I can no longer do them. Once again, they are pure and they are more fun for me travelling in the summertime. The impact we have on the young people that work for us, the guys who travel with me, Barry Trotz calls them “children of the Korn,” and they are all the young guys that over the years I’m still in touch with who are very successful either still in hockey or a lawyer or a business guy or this or that. The camps are little microcosms of real life and I think we do such good work, we provide such positive knowledge in both hockey and life to these guys that it will just never go away. Eventually, soon believe it or not, I’m going to retire from the NHL and I am going to keep the camps in the summer and I’m going to enjoy my winters in Florida.

AG: What is your absolute favorite memory from your coaching career?

MK: A lot of the memories are actually funny things that happened, goofy things that guys did. The single most valuable portion of my coaching career is the positive influence we had on people. To watch the development of a Steve Shields, a Dominik Hasek, a Tomas Vokoun, a Pekka Rinne, or guys that used to work for me who I started with at ten years-old as kids that are now coaching college hockey or the general manager of a business or that kind of stuff, that’s my greatest memory and pride is the positive impact we’ve had on lots and lots of people.

AG: What is your number one piece of advice for any hockey player on any level?

MK: You have to LOVE to play. I have coached goalies that like to play, I’ve coached goalies that like to get paid, and I’ve coached goalies and players that love to be on a team, but don’t love to play. The best guys LOVE to play, so I hope you love to play.

**You can follow Mitch Korn on twitter at @MitchKornPreds and the author of this interview Amy Gist at@AmySnow17.**

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