(Transcribed from How to Play Hockey: Our Minor Hockey Coaching Course.)
Scoring goals is nice but to be a complete player your skills on defense can define you. You have a stick in your hands, and a head on your shoulders. If you don’t use them both wisely on defense, you’ll get beat every time. Teaching and using these skills will make you and your team a defensive machine! Now lets learn how to use and keep an active stick & head!
Purpose of Video:
This next cluster of terms relate predominantly to the defensive zone, but they are important to all aspects of the ice. The terms:
- Active stick
- Head on a swivel
- Shoulder checking…
…are all critical components of having good honest awareness and playing good defense.
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The first one is an ‘active stick’. Recall in an earlier video what we learned about the passing lane.
Definition:
An active stick is being able to take away multiple passing lanes at once.
Let’s say for example that these two D, and these wingers are penalty killers. The puck is here on the half boards. This D is able to use his/her stick to take away this passing lane and then by quickly adjusting and quickly getting the stick into this lane can also take away this passing lane. This winger can use his/her stick to take away this passing lane, quickly adjust and swing the stick over to help with the stick in this passing lane.
If you don’t have an active stick and you don’t take away the passing lane it, it is far too easy for the offense to find seams and plays to make.
In general, the active stick is a rapid movement taking away one passing lane and then taking away another passing lane. You really see this when you watch high levels of hockey on television or live play. The defensive team has very active sticks.
Oftentimes we may dictate where we want the puck to go by taking away the passing lane. Just as we see this player try to make a pass, we switch with an active stick and possibly intercept that pass. So we have given a lane and then taken it away by an active stick.
Head on a Swivel:
Head on a swivel is head being able to rotate side to side, seeing as much of a field division as possible. If defense A, and another defense B get glued to this puck area without looking around, then the defense from the opposing team may be able to find an opening in the back door and have this defensive player slip in unnoticed.
All the players need to look at the puck and then look away to see what is happening around them.
Head on Swivel and Shoulder Checks:
The coach I had once, had a great saying that has stuck with me forever. He said, “Have a good idea where the puck is and know exactly where your man is”.
If you’re in a man-on-man position, let’s say this winger is responsible for this defense in a five on five position. You need to know that the puck is over here on the half wall. However, you also need to know exactly if this defender Is right handed or left handed, standing here or standing there because that will really dictate the path that you will have to take.
By having your head on a swivel, you can see the puck and know roughly where it is and how to adjust and you will know the exact position of your man.
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