Ten Positive Player Performance Tips for Success

Submitted by Coach Ron Kraft

As effective coaches, we use catch phrases such as “attention to detail”, “doing the little things right”, or “perform the effort areas well” as teachable moments to help our players succeed. Many times, as an observer to a situation, one wonders why is it that a player with limited skills continues to progress up the hockey ladder and end up playing the game for a long period of time? For example, there are players who do not possess blazing skating speed, do not have a great shot, or are not that big physically, yet are still having success and playing at a high level. An example at the NHL level would be Kirk Maltby of the Detroit Red Wings. He is not the fastest, is not a big scorer offensively, and is not the biggest player around. However, he does all the little things very well and has played at a high level for a long time.

These “effort areas” or attention to detail things are performance areas that players should subscribe to. Whether it be getting the puck out of their zone, making sure he is in the right position defensively, or executing the correct cycle pass off the boards, these are important traits coaches look for in players. These are the important characteristics that allow players to play the game as long as they do and make them outstanding team players. There are a number of positive performance tips that high level players exhibit and many of our younger players can develop with good practice and patience. Next time you attend a professional or high level game, pick out your favorite player and watch him for an entire shift to see if you can emulate some of his good habits.

Identified below are a few of these performance tips for success:

1. Don’t over handle the puck in the defensive zone—by over handling the puck in the defensive zone you might find that you will be pressured and there is a good chance of you turning over the puck. So make sure when you are in the defensive zone you get it out, or you make the right play to the nearest forward. Don’t try to skate through 3 or 4 guys and be a hero, because that is being selfish and you are only going to put yourself and your team in jeopardy.
2. After you make a pass, just don’t stand there and watch, break to the open area. That is what so many National Hockey Leaguers do so well. As soon as they make a pass they break for an opening. Look for a hole on the ice, keep your feet moving and you will have a better chance to attack the offensive team with speed. Don’t just stand there. Again, move, move, move.
3. After you shoot the puck on the net or have a scoring chance, don’t skate by the net. Stop in front, with your stick on the ice in a ready position to play for a rebound or to bury that puck into the net. When the goalie is down, you want to put it upstairs or make the quickest play possible. If he is on his feet, look for the 5-hole situation. But again, a lot of our young players have bad habits of skating by the net; don’t do this, stop.
4. Stay out of your comfort zone. It is so easy to go to a practice as a float and not give 100 percent. When you are on the ice, give 100 percent and don’t take any short cuts. When your coach says skate to the blue line, that doesn’t mean stop a foot before the blue line. That means you go from line to line. It is very important that you do all the little things, because if you take short cuts you are cheating yourself.
5. Unless you've mastered this, be careful of making a backhand pass across ice in your defensive zone. That can be one of the most dangerous places in hockey.
6. To our younger players, keep your head up at all times. This is a technique that takes care of itself once you reach the peewee level, but it won’t hurt your game if you execute it earlier.
7. When making a check, keep your stick low and make contact so that you will be in good position to recover and stay with your man. Just because you deliver a great check does not mean that the play is over. Don’t let your opponent get position on you or beat you back up the ice.
8. If a direct pass is not available to a teammate, use the boards whenever possible. By using a bounce pass, the chances are excellent you will advance the puck out of the zone you are in, and beat the defender in the process. We call using the boards, using “walls or windows”.
9. Make sure you are mentally prepared for every hockey game. Don’ t go into a hockey game unprepared. Understand who you are playing against, who the better players are from the other team, and understand what your role is and stick to it. That will make you a better player and a better team player.
10. Listen to your coach. Your coach is your boss out there. So many coaches do so many things. Take a look at any successful team and you will see the players follow what has been preached by their coach and execute per their roles on the team.