ANDY NESS

Teaching a crossover

Crossovers are one of the most important skating skills there is for many reasons. I always ask my stu-

Andy dents, “How many crossovers do you

MN Wild Skating & Ness think you do in a game?” Answers

Skills Instructor will vary with the age of the student, but the fact of the matter is that you will use crossovers every shift. If you ever watch a specific player throughout the course of their shift, you will see and may be surprised at how many crossovers they will do. They may come in different forms such as tight corner crossovers, bigger loop crossovers, alternating crossovers, a crossover start, backwards crossovers, and many other forms as well. For this article we will break down the technique of a basic crossover.

The first thing we must understand is why are we using a crossover. The answer is to move laterally or corner. We are not players in the CHEXX bubble hockey game just going straight up and down the ice, we need to move laterally and continue to build speed as we do so.

So, what’s the first step? The first step is to understand that we turn our head, stick, and shoulders in the direction that we would like to go, much like turning your handlebars on your bike. The stick should lead out in front of you and not be dragging behind as you commit to your turn. If your stick is technically in a sound position to crossover, it will be in a perfect position to accept a pass or control the puck on a corner.

Once we have our upper body and torso committed to corner, we must remember to get a body lean into our turn. If you watch speed skating, it is a perfect example to see how a skater can accelerate through a turn. By leaning into your turn, you are creating less of an angle to the ice and therefore creating more speed around the corner. All the great skaters in the NHL that can corner and build speed have an excellent body lean along with strong outside edges to keep a skater from losing control on their skates or falling.

If you watch a skater like Nathan McKinnon you will understand why cornering is so important for his game. He is able to use his speed by picking up the puck behind the net during a power play breakout and beat the first two forecheckers. He is able to accelerate out of the zone on a center swing during a breakout. Finally, he can use his crossovers to beat a defenseman wide on a one on one or a line rush.

The next step is to push your outside foot on an inside edge out to the side. If the push “kicks” back, you will be on the flat of your blade and lose power because you will not be pushing on an edge. After you push the foot out, the outside foot should come all the way over the inside foot and not just in front of it. This is an important concept to remember because bringing the foot all the way over is what makes the skater turn. That is the reason we are crossing over in the first place – to turn right or left. Once the outside skate is all the way over you should aim to have your toes lined up with one another, not staggered. This is very important because it leads right into our last step which is the under push.

The under push is from the inside leg outside edge. It should feel as if you are “rolling” the foot under your other skate. You will hear the sound of an edge pushing in the ice if the under push is executed properly. As I stated earlier, it is important to try to line your toes up once the skate is completely crossed over. If not, you will get more of a running motion with ineffective pushes that will be “kicking” back rather than on our edge.

“Head bobbing” is one of the biggest common mistakes that I see. We must understand that to create power we need to push against the ice with an edge. As a skater is head bobbing, all of his/her momentum is wasted by coming up instead of out in the direction one would want to go. Also, “head bobbing” is one of the main reasons why skaters will lose the puck when cornering. If a skater is going up and down, that will in turn bring their upper body (stick positioning) up and down. What happens next is the puck goes right under the skater’s stick or the skater will just

Jordan Schroeder crossover. Nick Bjugstad crossover.

Teemu Kivihalme crossover.

mishandle the puck. We are looking to keep a level and or “quiet” upper body as we perform our crossovers. Any wasted movement is unnecessary and makes it very difficult to control a puck. Also, when we move our feet quicker, we must remember to keep our good technique. As we go full speed, the technique stays the same, we just turn our feet over quicker. Depending on the situation in a game, our crossover speed may change but our technique should stay the same.

As you can see, crossovers are a vital part of the game. This is a skill that can be worked at and improved upon. It takes repetition of good technique but will be extremely beneficial to help a player’s game. I will break down more of the different types of crossovers that will be used in a hockey game in future articles. Continue to work on this skill and you will see a dramatic improvement if performed correctly.

Andy Ness is the head skating and skill coach for the Minnesota Wild. He has also been an assistant skating instructor for the New Jersey Devils, the University of Minnesota men’s and women’s hockey teams and the U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey Team.

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Minnesota Hockey, an affiliate of USA Hockey, is the governing body of youth and amateur hockey in Minnesota and the premier developer of hockey players in the state. With over 67,000 registered players and coaches, it is the largest state governing body for amateur hockey in the United States.

Division I coach on toughness and physical play

by SHANE FREDERICK

There’s no denying that hockey is a contact sport at every level and always will be. Even at the younger age groups and no-check leagues, it’s nearly impossible to avoid some kind of physical play.

“When I coach a game, I like there to be a physicality and a heart – being hard to play against – but that doesn’t mean blowing guys up,” said Derek Plante, an assistant coach for the University of Minnesota Duluth men’s hockey team. “At every point where there’s contact, you can be a little bit physical, whether it’s just going through the hands or just forcing an opponent to do things at a higher, faster pace than they want to, to try to create a turnover.”

While body checking is technically defined as separating a player from the puck, it’s really about doing what Plante says: forcing a turnover and gaining possession of the puck.

USA Hockey in 2019 approved the Declaration of Player Safety, Fair Play and Respect that focuses on teaching players how to play with contact at their respective ages. While there was no change in the checking rules, the initiative included proper ways to give and receive checks and other body contact. It also focused on creating a safer and more respectful game overall by eliminating late hits, hits to the head, hits from behind and any other contact used to intimidate or injure another player from the sport.

Name of the Game

Speed and skill are the name of the modern game. That’s the mantra.

“This model is about skill development and puck possession – the way the game is being played today,” said Guy Gosselin, a regional manager for USA Hockey’s American Development Model and two-time U.S. Olympian from Rochester.

While that model is being embraced more and more, there’s still a culture of contact that needs redefining. USA Hockey says the responsibility to modify that culture falls not just on players but with everyone involved in the game, from coaches to officials to parents to fans to administrators.

“This needs to get reinforced with our coaches and by mom and dad,” Gosselin said, highlighting perhaps the players’ biggest influences.

What It Means to Be Tough

Plante has seen it all, closely following nearly every level of hockey over the years. As a player, he was a standout at Cloquet High School and Minnesota Duluth before embarking on a long professional career that took him around the world and included eight seasons in the National Hockey League.

Admittedly, Plante wasn’t an overly physical player, preferring to go after the puck and get it on his stick. But he wasn’t afraid of making contact when he had and be a little disruptive on defense.

“I’m all about pace and being in someone’s face,” said Plante, who had 248 points in his NHL career and ranks tied for second all-time in scoring at UMD with 219 points. “That’s kind of how I played. I was a good forechecker. I was in your face, but I never hammered people.”

Today, Plante is starting his second stint as an assistant coach at his alma mater, UMD, following five years as a player development coach with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. He also watches his three sons, ages 16, 14 and 12, play regularly.

That’s a lot of levels, each with its own kind of contact.

Plante says there are many ways to play the right way within the changing landscape of the game, but, in his opinion, it all starts with work ethic.

“If I’m coaching a team, the two biggest things are: Are you going to work your butt off? And, are you going to be unselfish?” he said. “That means you’re going to work on passing and you’re go-

– TOUGHNESS –

continued on page 7

Applications for The Cammi Granato grant program in partnership with FlipGive are now open

Our Hockey Hero, Cammi Granato, is looking for girls who love the sport and could use some extra help getting on the ice this season. Twenty-one grants will be awarded to girls in hockey. Each winner will receive $500, an equipment package generously provided by the NHL, NHLPA and Pure Hockey (approximately $300 value), and the head coach of the players team will receive an annual subscription to The Coaches Site (approximately $120 value).

Visit www.FlipGiveGrants.com to apply. Hurry – the deadline is Nov 30.

Establishing your sports recognition program

It’s no secret that everyone likes a little recognition, and for kids, it can be a determining factor when deciding to stay with a sport or not. A recent survey of parents conducted by TNS Worldwide reported that more than 76 percent of parents support recognizing a player’s contribution and participation. Parents also said that feedback from the coach was a key component of their child’s sports experience.

Below are tips for starting or enhancing your youth sports recognition program:

• Look to the end of the season

first. Determine what type of recognition program you want. Check and see if your sponsoring organization provide trophies or ribbons, and if so, how and when you will receive them. Be sure that you will have them well in advance of the season’s end. • Make Notes. At the start of the season, keep a log via a notebook or smart phone with notes on each player’s progress. These notes will become helpful at the end of the season when recognizing each individual player for their effort and improvement throughout the season. • Catch Them in Action. Ask parents to catch “action” photos of each player. Have them print out the best shots. Distribute the photos with their award. • Make it an Event. Plan an end of season event. This is a great way for a non-coaching parent to get involved. Whether pizza or potluck, visit Pinterest. com and search “end of season party” or the name of your sport for great ideas. Be sure to ask (or assign) families to bring an item. • Be Specific. Have a plan for each child. Don’t wing it. Determine how each player contributed to the team. Be specific. Instead of saying “you worked hard,” point out something specific to each child such as “your batting average improved” or “your ball handling skills and assists increased.” This is the difference between giving a participation award and a recognition award. • Recognize Regularly. Remember to make recognition a part of every practice and game/match/event. Point out positive traits, new skills learned and good sportsmanship. Make your specific comments, not a blanket statement.

Using the tips above will make your player’s experience, and your coaching tenure, something that you will both remember for years to come. We are more than happy to help you select the appropriate items to help recognize your team.

Viking Trophies is the official awards supplier of Minnesota Hockey. For more information on how to recognize the members of your program, contact Joe Sanders at joe@vikingtrophies.com