Scared first year peewees

middle of nowhere hockey · Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:05 pm

I'm helping coach a team with a lot of first year peewees and we have been having trouble with them playing scared. Just wondering if anyone has any good drills or tips for getting them used to playing physical. We've run checking drills and it goes alright but as soon as they get in a game they just play looking over their shoulder.

elliott70 · Post by **elliott70** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:42 pm

There is no magic, help 'em up, dust 'em off, and tell them they are doing a good job.
Then explain what happened in the corner and what thye should do to mitigate it.
Head on a swivel, that sort of thing.

observer · Post by **observer** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:09 pm

Don't ya wish they all played football?

Laraque87 · Post by **Laraque87** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:30 am

having the same problem on my son's team. Nothing really you can do. Just have to figure it out themselves I would say

DMom · Post by **DMom** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:45 am

If the mite parents could just go through a first Pee Wee season (or from start to Christmas anyway) they would settle down a little bit. Kids who were brilliant as mites sometimes hear the footsteps a little louder than most. I think it settles down after Christmas. I think the coach accepting hits calmly and more low key (than us Mom's in the stands) helps a lot. The boys learn that it's just part of the game and 99.9 percent of them will come through it just fine with no broken bones. AFter awhile the squirt games, with all of the tripping, and the mite games with them all running into each other, seems to be rougher.

edge · Post by **edge** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:51 am

I think its best to not focus on the physical part of the but try get them fired up about just playing the game. Challenge them to see how many times they can win the battles and steal them puck from the otehr team.
Not even mentioning hitting or checking.
They will figure it out.

muckandgrind · Post by **muckandgrind** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 11:20 am

edge wrote:I think its best to not focus on the physical part of the but try get them fired up about just playing the game. Challenge them to see how many times they can win the battles and steal them puck from the otehr team.
Not even mentioning hitting or checking.
They will figure it out.

Exactly. Just teach the kid to play with his head up. He'll eventually get hit hard, everyone does. But they'll get accustomed to the game before you know it.

The bigger challenge for the player is when they make the jump from PW to Bantam. EVERYTHING changes then: size, speed, quickness, physicality and intensity.

zboni99 · Post by **zboni99** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 11:59 am

Bring back checking in squirts like it used to be. The kids are generally smaller and the speed is slower. There is less disparity due to puberty with 4/5 graders vs. 6/7 graders. Why or when it was changed I don't know. When I was a kid it was checking from the start. We didn't have mites, it was squirt D.

muckandgrind · Post by **muckandgrind** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:10 pm

zboni99 wrote:Bring back checking in squirts like it used to be. The kids are generally smaller and the speed is slower. There is less disparity due to puberty with 4/5 graders vs. 6/7 graders. Why or when it was changed I don't know. When I was a kid it was checking from the start. We didn't have mites, it was squirt D.

I've been saying the same thing for years. Teach the kids how to check when they are younger and less apt to hurt others.

Rocket78 · Post by **Rocket78** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 2:24 pm

This coach can't go back in time to put checking into mites so his kids a less afreaid today so he has to add contact to practices.

Borrow some blocking dummies or pads from your football program. Do stations where the coaches apply pressure to the players with the pads so the kids are getting popped. If they are close to the boards they are safe but 5-10 feet out canget them slammed pretty hard. Rochester used to do a game (I can't remember the name) but the kids looked like water beetles in a circle bumping each other using only butts and shoulders. Then they would follow up with a game where they kept both feet on the ice and 1/2 the players had sticks held normal and carried pucks while the other half skated the same way with knobs down trying to knock the player off the puck but not touching the puck itself. I haven't seen anyone do the second game for about 15 years but it was real common at one time. In football we call this contact confidence except players are pummeling the ball carrier and trying to knock him off balance rather than tackling him.