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Welcome
 

This web site will take you through the basics of how to play hockey (and some more advanced strategies), both as an individual and as a team.  Strategies include positioning, breaking out of the defensive zone and advancing up the ice to name a few. My coaching career began when my friend asked me to coach her hockey team.  The team is in a recreational league with talent ranging from beginner to intermediate level players.  The range of skill went from women learning to skate and learning hockey to women who skated well, had good puck control skills and have played hockey for years but didn't have formal coaching.  Rather than produce handouts to explain strategies, I decided to create a web site.  This is the result.  It will always be a work in progress as I get time to update and modify the information.   I have written this site from the coaches point of view, while you (the reader) would be a player on my team.   As you are perusing these pages, keep in mind that there are many ways to play hockey and that the strategies and advice given here do not describe all possible scenarios.  However, as long as everyone on the team plays by the same strategy (as defined by the coaches), the team will play well.   An example of two equally good strategies are (when playing defense): a) each of the two defensewomen remain on their side of the ice at all times, or b) each of the two defensewomen can switch sides of the ice when the play demands them to do so. BUT, you can't have one defensewoman playing by version a), and the other defensewoman playing by version b). That would lead to all sorts of confusion.  So pick a) or pick b) but don't mix them together.   I have used graphics (static and animated) to aid explanations.  Since hockey is an active and dynamic game, it can be difficult to show plays and positions with static graphics.  You can think of these graphics as a snapshot of where players are as they are playing. Just about every situation on the ice is a unique set of circumstances which will determine what you will do as an individual player (whether you have the puck or not).  There are generalities that need to be learned, but the reality is that you will never encounter these situations while playing.  Furthermore there is no absolute right thing to do.  There are many options that you have, some better than others.  So you need to be prepared to do just about anything at any given time during the game.   If your teammate has the puck, your options are: stop where you are, skate up the ice, skate back towards your end, skate to your left, skate to your right, or skate in some other direction . . . then you need to decide to skate fast or slow. If you have the puck, you can: stop (with the puck) where you are, skate (with the puck) up the ice, skate (with the puck) back towards your end, skate (with the puck) to your left, skate (with the puck) to your right, or skate (with the puck) in some other direction . . . then you need to decide to skate fast or slow, shoot the puck on net, dump the puck up the ice, pass the puck to any of your 4 teammates, but how, pass the puck directly to them (forward or as a drop pass), pass the puck along the boards, or pass the puck deflected off the boards will it be a hard pass or a soft pass. will you have to pass AHEAD of your teammate or AT your teammate What you decide to do will be dictated by the situation you are in, your skill level, and your preference for doing certain maneouvres more than others.     WHAT IS HOCKEY? My definitions are: Definition 1:  Hockey is fun.   Definition 2:   Hockey is one hour of 10 people skating around the ice surface continually making mistakes, but every now and then a few good things happen to provide an opportunity to score. A "mistake" would include:  an errant pass, a pass that's intercepted, a pass you couldn't handle, being checked off the puck, a shot that's not on goal, fanning on a shot or pass, "letting" a player deke around you, making a bad line change, not covering your player in the defensive zone, not taking a shot when you had the chance, and more ...   If any of the above mistakes sound familiar then you have been playing hockey.  Don't get discouraged.  Watch an NHL game and see how many "mistakes" are made (and remember - this is all they do, every day). Consider this:  If team A made no mistakes and team B always made mistakes, then team A would score every 10 seconds. That would be a 360-0 win for team A, and we know that just doesn't happen.     So when you're playing hockey: relax, don't get frustrated, appreciate a good play (even your opponents), learn from your mistakes (and your teammates), and have fun.     If you're not having fun - you're not doing it right.

 
 
 

hockeyforwomen@yahoo.ca

http://ca.geocities.com/hockeyforwomen/index.html