You know, one of the best things I ever heard a coach say was about spring hockey…
He was like, “Honestly, if those were my kids, I’d grab their hockey bag, chuck it under a bench in the garage, and wouldn’t even think about it again until preseason.”
When I heard that, knowing the guy, I couldn’t help but crack up. But after years of seeing how things play out and watching players who go non-stop usually end up totally burnt out, his crazy idea started to make a lot of sense.
Now, with 25 years in this game, I honestly think the fall/winter hockey season drags on for about a month too long.
Think about it – for a lot of kids, the season kicks off in mid-August and doesn’t wrap up until late March. As coaches, we love to talk about developing well-rounded athletes, but we don’t really walk the walk. As soon as the fall/winter season ends, bam! The skates are back on for spring hockey. Whether it’s tournament teams or just regular games, we keep that going for another two months.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s a group of players who, if they just want to eat, sleep, and breathe hockey, I’m all for it. But I genuinely believe there’s a real connection between playing other sports and being good at hockey.
Here are a two sports that come to mind:
Lacrosse –
Lacrosse is practically a national sport now, which is wild compared to when I graduated back in ’07 and the Midwest hadn’t fully jumped on board yet. But when you talk about how athletic movements and skills transfer to hockey, I don’t think you can find a sport that’s a closer match.
First off, lacrosse is all about being quick and moving well, both with the ball and without it. It’s about finding those open teammates and changing your angle of attack. On defense, it’s about boxing guys out, keeping the attackers in front of you, and just straight-up whacking someone with your stick (okay, maybe that last part doesn’t exactly translate, but damn, it’s fun). The whole game is about keeping possession of the ball (just swap in a puck, and you’ve got hockey), so it’s a really fluid and, again, super athletic game.
Out of all the sports I’m going to suggest, this one feels the most like hockey and is definitely the most fun to watch.
Soccer –
Soccer is another sport that’s got some seriously transferable athletic movements and game ideas for hockey.
Besides the constant running (think agility, footwork, and endurance), teams focus on keeping the ball to build their attack. I’ve seen some of the best puck protectors I’ve coached straight-up block out opponents from getting the puck, totally soccer style. The way you think about the game is also similar to hockey and lacrosse – moving away from the ball to get into a good supporting spot or bombing into open ice for through passes. Throw in the different ways you pass the ball and the coordination it takes to control a much bigger ball, and a lot of those concepts just slide right over to hockey.
