It is extremely important that players in this age group get a lot of repetition and practice within each station or skill. This is far more important than any specific technical correction. Those technical corrections will have their time and place… just not now at this stage. At this stage you are very much attempting to impart intrinsic learning.
Intrinsic learning refers to a universal approach to education where learners engage in the learning process because they find it interesting and gratifying, rather than for external rewards. Intrinsically motivated learners are self-motivated, curious, and interested in the context and backstories of the material. This internal drive for learning is considered a fundamental aspect of effective education.
Learning Motivation: Intrinsic Vs. Extrinsic – eLearning Industry
Use a low student to teacher/ instructor ratio, whether it be a one on one skating lesson, or a learn to skate program, you can accomplish this with helpers and assistants. These assistants are crucial to keeping smiles on faces and assisting with “Herding the Cats” or moving them from station to station or activity to activity. Moreover, they will pick up fallen skaters, and most crucially, keep the drill moving, pushing along player by player the pace of the practice session. This keeps the kids engaged, focused, and learning (whether they realize it or not).
When you learned to walk, you fell down most often at first. Then you fell less, and walked before you ran. The same applies with skating. Learning how to get up when you fall down, learning how to stride and glide, learning how to stop… these naturally build upon one another.
Eden Prairie, MN is a town 12 miles southwest of Minneapolis, and home to roughly less than 100 thousand people. It has produced, along with many of the immediate surrounding towns, an NHL lineups worth of Professional and Division 1 NCAA players. In a town of 60,000 people Eden Prairie Youth Hockey has 12 rostered Mite teams, 4 squirt teams, 4 pee wee, 3 Bantam, and more teams at the Midget, High School and Jr levels… while also having 8 separate girls teams.
Several years ago I spent a week on a recruiting trip with Ken Eddy. Ken was coaching in Sweden at the time, but previously ran the Eden Prairie Youth Hockey Association including coaching their Learn to Skate and Learn to Play. One of the keys to the Eden Prairie success he noted was limiting the amount of practice time for younger levels. In fact, he said he only allowed 30 minutes for learn to skate practice sessions.
Why in most rinks do we book 1 hour sessions for Learn to Skate or Learn to Play? The answer is an economic principle and ice/time blocking from our rinks, more than a learner led model, that is right for our youngest athletes.
I encourage all organizations to evaluate this deeper and think of creative ways to avoid burnout and increase retention. If a high school team of 14-18 year olds is doing a practice session for 1 hour, why in the world would you use the same time frame for a 3-7 year old? The truth is you shouldn’t. Memorizing, recollection and fatigue are huge obstacles to successful learning. Shorten up the practice time for beginners, and make them excited to come back to each session each time.
This is based on the concept of Chunking.
Chunking is the technique of organizing or combining individual pieces of information into “chunks.” This facilitates easy retrieval of the information as students have to memorize the chunks instead of the individual information. These chunks also act as cues, allowing for easy recollection of information. https://k12teacherstaffdevelopment.com/tlb/how-can-i-use-chunking-as-an-effective-memory-strategy-in-the-classroom/#:~:text=Chunking%20is%20the%20technique%20of,for%20easy%20recollection%20of%20information.
One of the most creative ways I’ve seen organizations shorten up the learning/practice session while also adhering to the rink’s demands for an hour ice slot is splitting the session. It can look like this:
- 1 Hour Time Slot with ice split in half
- 40 Kids on the ice
- Half (20 kids) at one end for an Open Ice (optional) ice session with their parents or siblings
- Half (20 kids) at the other end with the Learn to Skate or Learn to Play coaches receiving instruction and/or the drills/ practice plan for the day
- Switch Half Way through and rotate the Open session each week (which group starts with the Open Session)
This becomes an instructional session, coupled with a fun session and keeps the kids engaged in the activities longer, because they are focused on the “Work” for shorter. Less instruction, more repetition… while also having MORE fun.
Demonstration is a critical skill for athletes at this level and in this program. What they see is what they will do. So it is extremely important to have people who can perform correctly the fundamental skills being taught at these sessions. At older levels, knowledgeable coaches can draw up on a board or instruct with a video session the skills and systems that he is trying to teach. It does not connect at this level. Coaches have to do the drill and kids need to watch and learn, then attempt to do themselves.
Oftentimes this can be difficult if you do not have volunteers or helpers to assist you as the coach, but attempt to recruit from your local Midget teams, High School or Prep teams, and/or Junior teams. This will give you the number of able- bodied athletes you need to assist and demonstrate.
Remember…
A large body of research indicates that visual cues help us to better retrieve and remember information. The research outcomes on visual learning make complete sense when you consider that our brain is mainly an image processor (much of our sensory cortex is devoted to vision), not a word processor. In fact, the part of the brain used to process words is quite small in comparison to the part that processes visual images.
Based upon research outcomes, the effective use of visuals can decrease learning time, improve comprehension, enhance retrieval, and increase retention. In addition, the many testimonials I hear from my students and readers weigh heavily in my mind as support for the benefits of learning through visuals. I hear it often and still I can’t hear it enough times . . . by retrieving a visual cue… a learner is able to accurately retrieve the content associated with the visual.
Learning Through Visuals | Psychology Today
Encourage your coaches to do the drill to start (demonstration) and then alongside (mentorship) with each of the athletes. This will further along the skill and development, and also create a bond with the athlete and coach.
By Andrew Trimble
To Purchase Andrew’s book, The Hockey Planner, follow this link here- The Hockey Planner: A Year by Year Plan to Assist You on Your Hockey Coaching Journey: From Learn to Play to Junior Hockey: Trimble, Andrew: 9781963743395: Amazon.com: Books
