Weekly Tips
Hockey Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts
FYI… I think I’ll leave this tip up for just a bit longer — I think it’s THAT important…
Each week Coach Chic will share some hockey tips, tricks and shortcuts that visitors wouldn’t likely hear or find anywhere else.
It just so happens that I spoke very briefly on this topic in my recent podcast replay — Episode #8 (please see below)…
Murphy’s Law — In Hockey and Elsewhere
Now, I’ve heard “Murphy’s Law” stated in several different ways, but the gist of it is that, “If something can go wrong, it often will.”
During my first season in coaching, my young team lost its best player for a tournament game, just because: 1) he ruined one of his skate-edges on a section of concrete in our lockerroom prior to the game, and 2) the rink we were playing in didn’t have a pro shop where his skates could be sharpened. (Ugh… Can you imagine the sick feeling, just seeing a 3- or 4-goals-per-game scorer sitting idly down at the end of our bench?)
You’d better believe I carried a skate stone with me from that point onward. And so did I start adding to my little collection of extra gear as I’d lose a player — for a shift or two, if not for an entire game, because he’d lost a mouth piece, a neck guard, a helmet screw, whatever. That’s pretty much how I deemed what needed to be add — I mean by experiencing a problem, and then at least trying to not let that kind of thing happen again.
Ya, my collection grew, to the point where I ultimately started carrying around a huge box with all sorts of spare parts, tools and odds and ends of hockey gear. And little wonder I ultimately dubbed that box my “Murphy’s Law Kit”. No doubt “stuff” is gonna happen; so I just wanted to limit the damage that stuff was going to do to my team.
Now, while I’ve just described things from a coach’s perspective, you should probably know that I ultimately put together a mini version of that kit to go in a young Anthony Chic’s hockey bag. Something like a school bag pouch normally used for carrying pencils and pens can fit easily into a player’s equipment bag, and it is usually roomy enough to at least hold extra helmet screws, an extra mouth piece and a small tool kit.
Speaking of small took kits… I love the new (Christmas stocking stuffer?) gadgets that are similar to a Swiss army knife. I’ve had one of these attached to my own skate bag over recent years, just in case a student or player needs to fix something in a hurry.
Anyway, I’m seriously recommending that every player put together his or her own kit. For, some morning he or she might be at an important game, far from home, and without access to a pro shop. And that, I’ll suggest, is when everyone will be very, very glad that player had what he or she needed…
Coach Chic’s Hockey Podcast
And, although the following is a teaser, the full podcast is available over in the Hockey Mastermind Group: