The Global Skills Showcase, a five-day virtual event diving deep into the key elements and fundamental skills needed to develop elite hockey players, is now in the books.
More than 5,000 coaches, who are levelling up their games and filling their toolboxes with the most innovative and progressive coaching resources available, began the week watching Skills and Mindset for Regaining Possession by Alyssa Gagliardi, a former D1, US Women’s National Team and women’s pro hockey player (NWHL/PWHPA). She currently works for the Carolina Hurricanes in a youth hockey development role, as well as coaching for U14 AAA and U19 AAA teams for the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes youth organization.
Gagliardi believes a player’s ability to dictate the d-zone comes down to their skills and mindset. During her presentation she broke down what to look for from a player’s perspective, the skills to focus on, and how to build these skill sets in a progressive way to instil confidence in your players.
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The second presentation of the day was done by Daniel Broberg, Founder of DB Hockey Factory and a former Swedish coach for over 30 years, who discussed Skating Fundamentals: Creating Smooth Power.
Speed is a major key for all great hockey players, but what separates great from elite is a player’s ability to create time by changing pace, explained Broberg, who laid out the concept of being both powerful and smooth in your skating actions.
Broberg is a big fan of the skill development part of hockey and is now using his experiences from being an ordinary coach to form a philosophy, useful methods and drills to develop individual technical skills for all ages. His presentation touched on just that, useful methods and drills you can use with your team today.
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Day 2
The second day of the Global Skills Showcase began by not only emphasizing that how your defencemen manage the puck is crucial to any team’s success in all three zones, it also created a foundation to help your blueliners improve.
Ilia Khanenko, Skills Development Coach with HC Fribourg Gottéron, was the first presenter of the day (third of the week) and his talk was all about breaking down how to help your defencemen with puck management within a system, using game scenarios.
Khanenko, who also works as a Skills Coach with Platform International and is the Co-Founder of an Ice Hockey Development Camp in Switzerland, shared a wealth of knowledge in his presentation titled Puck Management for Defencemen: Preparing for Game Scenarios.
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Danny Heath helps players develop and achieve their goals. How does the Founder of Project Hockey achieve this? By teaching good habits.
Heath, whose previous roles include Student Assistant Coach with Minnesota State University Men’s DI, Assistant Coach for Mankato West Hockey Boys Varsity and more than 10 years of youth coaching experience, spoke specifically about skating in his presentation Developing Good Habits for Angling.
“It’s one of the most important individual skills tactics in the game of hockey,” believes Heath, who walks you through the development process for teaching a player how to close gaps and properly angle.
If you’re looking for more info from Heath, he recently joined our Glass & Out Podcast to discuss angling, how Project Hockey is providing kids with the ability to compete with their hockey playing peers from around the globe, and how he balances his love of hockey with being a husband and school teacher.
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DAY 3
Cathy Andrade, Founder of Cathy’s Power Skating, is attempting to make non-traditional, traditional. She’s regarded as one of California’s premier power skating instructors because of it.
Andrade, who has coached tens of thousands of skating lessons to athletes ranging from minor level hockey players through NCAA D-I, PWHPA, OHL, AHL, KHL, USA National Team, Olympic Team members & NHLers over the past 37 years, presented Mastering Edges with 3-Turns Wednesday during the Global Skills Showcase.
Her talk explained the non-traditional skating move that every hockey player needs to know, “3-Turns,” and how the move can strengthen all eight edges, impacts forward and backward footwork, and improves a player’s overall skating skillset.
Andrade was also recently a guest on our Glass & Out podcast. Click here to find out her philosophy on creating better skaters and athletes, how she’s gained the trust of some of the top players in hockey as a former figure skater, and why her presentation on “3-Turns” will challenge your players like never before.
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If you are the USA Hockey Coach-in-Chief for the state of Montana, you know your hockey. Meet Pete Kamman, Founder of Elevated Hockey, Associate Head Coach of the Montana State University Bobcats hockey team and the aforementioned USA Hockey Coach-in-Chief for the state of Montana.
Kamman was the sixth Global Skills Showcase speaker of the week and his presentation titled Catch and Release Shooting: A Constraints Led Approach to Teaching, reinforced that scoring goals is all about getting your shot off as quickly as possible.
During his video, Kamman explains what goes into the technique of catch and release shooting, and how to prepare it for game situations through the constraint led approach method of teaching.
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DAY 4
It was only a few seasons ago that Peter Lenes retired from a lengthy pro hockey career that included three seasons between the American Hockey League and East Coast Hockey League. He was always one of the most exciting players on the ice and now he’s teaching that excitement.
Oh and he’s now known as “Swaggy P.”
Lenes, the co-owner of and stick handling specialist at Elev802, built a following with his individualized hockey training during his off-seasons every summer in Vermont, where he played at the University of Vermont for four years.
Creativity has never been more important than it is in today’s game, as Lenes explained in his video, a must-see masterclass in How to Handle the Puck and Create a Dangerous Offensive Player.
As bonus Swaggy P content, click here to listen to his recent appearance on the Glass & Out podcast. Find out how he utilized the power of social media to help grow Elev802, and why he believes creativity and keeping the game fun are an important part of growing hockey.
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Brendan Taylor, Assistant Coach of the Mississauga Steelheads, is no stranger to The Coaches Site. He’s previously talked about Creating Offence Behind the Net.
He’s back as part of the Global Skills Showcase with another great performance featuring tips for Developing the Modern Defencemen.
Taylor, who recently spent two seasons with the Oakville Blades of the OJHL as assistant coach before joining the Steelheads, knows a defenceman’s ability to skate and move the puck from the defensive zone to the offensive zone is key. In this presentation he breaks down the skills that relate to retrievals and o-zone play, specifically shooting.
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DAY 5
It may seem like a basic skill, but it’s a move that is critical for one-on-one situations. Matthew Larke, Player Development Coach with USA NTDP, used his Friday presentation (1st Cuts Off of Crossovers: How to Build Up Through Progressions) to discuss first cuts off crossovers and how to blend there cuts into crossovers to manipulate a defender’s feet and stick, to maximize time and space on the attack.
Larke played eight years of pro hockey in the CHL, ECHL and EIHL. After retiring, he began his coaching career working for skill development organizations, Total Package Hockey, Naurato Hockey, Flint Firebirds (OHL) and the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL). Most recently, Larke began a new role as Player Development Coach for the USA NTDP’s U17 and U18 teams.
He understands the importance of strong development, especially when it comes to skating, and his presentation was a fantastic finish to the Global Skills Showcase.
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Click here to learn more about the Global Skills Showcase, an exclusive event for members of The Coaches Site. Join now to discover the nuances of both fundamental and complex skills and get a step-by-step playbook for how you can apply the learnings with your players.
Derek Jory
Derek Jory is the Director of Content at The Coaches Site. He previously spent 14 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks as their head writer and social media expert.
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