Volume 3, Issue 4 - December, 2002  

 "From the Right Wing…"

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Back in the game on a regular basis....          

For a printer friendly version - click here                                                         click here to see the whole photo              

This month's issue contains:

 DAN'S TIP OF THE MONTH   THIS MONTH'S QUESTION   TRUST FUND AUCTION   TIPS FROM HOCKEY CAMP 

 DAN'S HONOR ROLL  COACH'S TIP   THE SAYING OF THE MONTH   DAN TRIP IN THE NHL   DAN & JAY'S BOOKS 

  A WAY TO SUBSCRIBE

I get a lot of letters from parents about your coaches.  They're usually concerned about your lack of ice time, not playing in close games in the third period, or that the coach yells at you.  And while I know there are a lot of fine coaches in youth hockey, the good ones are not the subjects of the mail I get.  And while sometimes your parents have legitimate concerns, my father and I have been around long enough to know there are more than enough "hockey parents" and hockey brats to go around.  I address the issue of some of the shortcomings of coaches later in this newsletter, but let's talk about hockey brats in this section.  Chances are if you subscribe to my newsletter you're not a hockey brat, but perhaps you know one and will pass this along to them, hmmm?

 I've played for a lot of coaches on a lot of different teams in the past 24 years.  They range all the way from coaches who didn’t know a lick about hockey and didn’t even own skates, to a coach who is in the hockey Hall of Fame and has almost as many Stanley Cup rings as he has fingers.  All of the good coaches had two things in common: they liked to work with and help kids and young adults, and they liked to win.

These two characteristics usually work in your favor.  You need help and you like to win.  So the relationship between you and your coach is usually based on common goals.  I’m not saying that all coaches are good coaches.  Nor am I saying that it’s easy to get along with all coaches.  But based on common goals, it should be a good relationship.  If it’s not, the first place to look is in the mirror.  If this is not the first coach whom you or your parents couldn't get along with, look really hard at yourself.  Perhaps you’re not doing the things that every coach likes, or maybe you're doing some of the things the coach doesn’t like.

What are some of the things every coach likes?  You can put honest effort on the top of your list.  And the list will also contain things like these:

· an honest effort when you practice.

· an honest effort when you play. 

· being courteous, that is: being on time, telling him in advance if you cannot be at a game or practice, listening when he speaks.

· being respectful of him, the officials, your teammates, and equipment, both yours and theirs.

· being coach-able by doing what he asks of you, following his game plan, and taking his suggestions to improve your game.

· being in control by not taking retaliation penalties, coming off the ice promptly when a line change is made on the fly, and watching your temper and your language.

· being helpful by cleaning up your share of the tape balls in the locker room after practice and taking your turn at being water boy or picking up the pucks after practice.

· being selfless by passing the puck to a teammate on a 2-on-0 with an open net, welcoming new players to the team, or correcting the score sheet if you are credited with an assist that belongs to someone else.

· being ready to play by having all your equipment, being sure your skates sharpened, and having enough tape.

You can put all of the things on this list into a simple rule: work very hard, play very hard, and be a gentleman or lady as well (girls play hockey, too).  Do these things and chances are the coach will like and appreciate you and the contribution you make to the team.  Most likely, you will stand out from the me-first attitudes that are so common in sports these days, and that will not go unnoticed by the coach.

What are some of the things that hockey brats do that coaches don’t like?  Put being lazy at the top of the list.  My father use to address lazy play by saying, “I don’t hear any music playing!”  We knew what he meant was that we were playing hockey, not going to a public skate session where one can leisurely skate to waltz music.  The rest of the list would include these:

· being discourteous by missing practice or a game without warning or explanation, or by coming late.

· being disrespectful by talking back to the coach, mocking a teammate or opponent, mouthing off to the officials, or using foul language.

· not accepting coaching by having your own game plan instead of the coach’s, or whining when things don’t go the way you think they should go.

· being undisciplined by being a puck hog, staying out a little or a lot longer after the lines have changed (and cutting into the next guy’s shift), taking bad penalties, or not being in control of your temper or your tongue.

· being a slob by not cleaning up after yourself.

· neglecting your equipment and being careless with the equipment of others.

· being unprepared by not having enough tape, needing to get your skates sharpened ten minutes before game time, or forgetting some of your equipment.

You can condense all these things into a simple rule, too: be a lazy, inconsiderate jerk.  The reason coaches dislike the behavior in this second list is because it goes against the reason they coach in the first place: to help kids and to win.  The kinds of kids who do the things on the second list usually don’t want any help and this kind of behavior often prevents the team from winning.  Furthermore, having one inconsiderate player on a team can diminish the fun for everyone else.

It may be possible that you have all the good characteristics on the first list and your coach still doesn’t appreciate you or you have a hard time getting along with him.  There are some coaches whose behavior we can find on the second list.  But I believe those are the rare exceptions.  And the good thing about it is you will only have them for one or two years, and it shouldn’t be an excuse for souring your hockey experience.

But if you really can't get along with the coach, and particularly if this is the second coach you or your parents are having trouble with, it may be because you do some of the things on the second list.  If that’s even partially true, I’m not sure you're someone I’d like to coach or play with either.

If you would like to print out a TO DO LIST and a TO DON'T LIST as a reminder of what coaches like and don't like - click here.

ÿThis month's newsletter comes with our best wishes  for a happy, blessed holiday season, whatever your religious tradition.  We celebrate Christmas V.   We know some of you come from other traditions YW\ and we pray you find joy and peace in your celebrations as well.   

Please accept the holiday greeting card found here  as our good wishes for you and your families during this special holiday season.                            

                                 '   '  '            Dan  and Jay Bylsma

THIS MONTH'S BEST QUESTION ON THE WEB SITE…

Dear Dan or Jay: We recently returned home from a four day, 8 game Mite tournament in a distant state that was played over the Thanksgiving Day holidays (Fri - Monday).  Although we were told prior to going that "tournaments are for winning" and there might be the necessity to "shorten the bench", my son saw very limited ice time.  On one of the rare occasions when he did play, he had a breakaway, missed, and was benched for "deking too many times."  We traveled over 900 miles to attend.   Am I wrong to approach the coach about ice time?  Mite Father.

Go to TOP  DAN'S TIP  THIS MONTH'S QUESTION  HONOR ROLL  COACH'S TIP  SAYING  DAN in the NHL  BOOKS  SUBSCRIBE

I have a very special item on the auction this month.  Adam Oates has given me an autographed game stick to put on the auction.  I will add a copy of your choice of one of our four books.  This a Sherwood SOP right curve and features the flat end Adam favors.  Adam is the second leading assist maker among active NHL players and with his long and prolific career is a candidate for the hockey Hall of Fame.  If you will bid on the stick and win it, you pay the cost of shipping it from Grand Haven, MI.  The bidding will start now at $25 and will be closed on January 4 at 9 o'clock EST.  You can see the rules for bidding and place a bid by going to the Charitable Trust Fund page on my web site www.DanBylsma.com or by clicking here and going to the bottom of the page.  This is not a kid's only auction and kids should have the permission of their parents to participate.

My father tells me that the brochures for next summer's hockey camp sessions were put in the mail on December 18 to all the players on our snail mail list.  That list includes all the players that have attended my camp over the last three years and players who have asked to be put on my the camp mailing list.  That will give prior attendees time to get their registrations in before we'll begin taking registrations on the web site on January 2nd.

If you've been to my camp before, or if you tried to register late, you know it fills up very quickly, so if you want to come, you need to act soon if you want to avoid being disappointed.  If you see the camp is full, ask my father to put you on the mailing list.  Last year some players had to cancel for various reasons, and some kids got in at the last minute because they were on the waiting list. 

If you haven't been to my camps in the past, you will have about two weeks after January 2 before it will be filled.  We will post how many spots are left each day on the web site and if it says we're filled... that's what it means.  Don't try to have your  mother or father soft talk my father into letting you in after it's filled.  He's a soft touch but I'm not.  Thirty-two of you little angels is all we can handle on the ice at one time for the sake of your learning and our sanity.

* * * * *

At hockey camp our big emphasis is on learning the fundamentals of skating and one of those fundamentals is how to stop.  I like to think of stopping as a controlled slide.  By that I mean to stop you slide sideways on your skates until you get to the point or place where you want to come to a halt.  Then you allow the edges of your blades to dig into the ice and stop you. 

Teaching someone to stop is easier shown than told, but I'm here and you're there so I can't show you, so I'm going to have to tell you.  One way to get the feeling of how to stop is to stand with your skates together, plant one foot, and slide the other straight out to the side so that you shave the ice with your blade.  That's what a stop is in its simplest form.  So you should plant your left foot and slide out to the side ten times or so with the right skate.  Then plant the right foot and slide out with the left skate ten times or so.  Then alternate the sliding, first one foot then the other - just like a goalie does at the beginning of the period.  He's doing it to shave the ice in his crease, but you do it to get the feeling of sliding to a stop.

As you feel comfortable and get the feeling of sliding to a stop, instead of planting one foot and pushing off to the side, plant one foot and take a stride with the other and then do the slide with it - toe pointing to the inside, of course.  Plant your left foot, push off and slide to a stop with the right foot and as you do, let the inside leg (the one you planted and pushed off with) fall underneath the other leg so that both legs are doing the sliding.  Do ten stops or so, striding off your left leg, then reverse the process and plant your right leg and take a stride and slide the left one, again letting your inside (right) leg fall underneath your left so that both skates are sliding to a stop.

As you get comfortable and can advance, you can learn to stop at will by applying more pressure against the ice with your edges.  Go faster and using the same technique, practice until you can stop any place going at any speed.  Check out the youngster in the photo who somehow learned to do stops without ever getting my newsletter.  And check out my skates (but I'm sportin' new mitts).  When I was in grade school we used to make "slides" on the playground in the winter. You would run up to a flat spot on the snow covered ground and slide and eventually a smooth strip of ice would form and you could get a running start and turn your body and slide sideways along the strip of ice. If you wanted to stop you would dig into the strip with the sides of your boots.  That's just how you stop on skates, except the edges of your blades will be a lot more effective

in cutting into the ice than the edges of your shoes or boots.

Things to remember:
1) You need sharp skates.
2) The best skating position is the seated position.  It's very important to maintain that deep knee bend when we're stopping as well.
3) Keep your feet about a foot apart as you're stopping.
4) Stagger your feet a bit.
5) If when you are sliding, your blades chatter, that is; your blades cut, cut, cut, cut instead of a smooth slide, your feet are too close together or you don't have a good knee bend.

Using this technique, you should be able to stop at will in either direction at any speed in a short period of time.  If you don't, go back to the beginning and try it again.

DAN’S HONOR ROLL 

NAME

AGE

GPA

 SCHOOL

 TEAM

STATE

Ross Hinkle

11

3.67

Wayland Middle School

G.R. Grizzlies PeeWee AA

MI*‡

Shannon Kelsey

14

4.0

Estero High School

Pinch a Penny Womens League

FL‡

Lucas Kelsey

13

3.57

Three Oaks Middle School

Jr. Everblades Bantam A

FL

Cliff Jones

13

3.86

Spring Lake Middle School

Muskegon Chiefs Bantam B3

MI*‡

Marshall Jones

11

4.0

Spring Lake Intermediate

Lakeshore House - Bonners

MI*‡

Brad Christiansen

MI*‡

Winston Jones

9

3.9

Holmes Elementary School

Shoreline Rec League Squirt

MI*‡

Brandan Ryfiak

11

3.538

N. Rockford Middle School

Rockford PeeWee

MI*‡

Marshall Jones

11

4.0

Spring Lake Intermediate

Lakeshore House - Bonners

MI*‡

Ryan Christiansen

MI‡

Jeremy Hopersberger

MI*‡

Andrew Frank

8

3.67

Eagle Lake Elementary

Irish Rover Mite A

MI

Paul Engman

MI*‡

Aaron Arkema

MI*‡

Matt Rosenthal

11

3.75

Chapparel  Elementary

Calababas Flyers PeeWee

CA*‡

Ryan Corgan

MI*‡

Josh Corgan

MI*‡

Caleb Weiler

PA

Harrison Huls

3.87

Blaisdale Montessori School

Ajax Knights A Minor Atoms

ONT

Sammie Baker

10

4.0

Fr. Marquette Middle School

Marquette LitiGators Girls 11 Under

MI*

Josh Weinstein

NJ‡

Bennett Schneider

13

3.78

Canterbury School

Jr. Everblades Bantam AA

FL

Madison Schneider

9

4.0

Canterbury School

Teco Squirt House

FL

Colton Ritchie

9

4.0

Schola Maxima

Red Wings Squirt House

AL

Dakota Abramowicz

11

4.0

Jane Addams Middle School

Royal Oak Eagles PeeWee A

MI

Go to - TOP  DAN'S TIP THIS MONTH'S QUESTION  HOCKEY CAMP  HONOR ROLL  DAN in the NHL  BOOKS  SUBSCRIBE

NHL PLAYER TO COACHES AND PARENTS from Dan...  

This is a little different - I'm writing to coaches this month.  I'm doing that because of the following letter we received:

Dan, I currently coach a mini-mite team in my state.  What is the end of year standard for 1st and second year mini-mite hockey players? What should their level of ability be?  I just want to make sure that I am tracking with what is being put out, and so that my kids are not behind the power curve. Does USA Hockey have published standards?  Thank you for any help. Coach G.

Dear Coach G.: I have a nephew, Jacob, who is a first year mini-mite.  This is what I hope for him after a year of Mini-Mites. I hope he's having so much fun at the game he is sorry when the final buzzer sounds.  I hope he is trying hard enough to break a sweat.  I hope he loves the game so much he can't wait until the season rolls around again in October. I hope he learns what "off-sides" is.  I hope he learns to respect the officials and that they might not always be right, but they will always be the officials. 

I hope Jake is learning how to get his gear on by himself and can tie his own skates (I know my brother hopes that, too).  I hope he learns to respect his opponents and that they are playmates who just happen to be on the other team.  I hope he begs my brother to take him to the city outdoor rink to play shinny and I hope my brother takes him and invites my father to go along.

I hope Jake has learned his numbers so he can read the scoreboard.  I hope that he gets B's or better or "Satisfactory" in his school work and he can color in the lines.  I hope he knows that hockey is the reward he gets for taking care of his chores at home and treating his little brother and sister with respect and kindness.  I hope he never thinks that because he plays hockey he doesn't need to do his chores or be nice to others.

If USA hockey has a power curve, I wouldn't pay any attention to it.  And the best practice you can create is to choose up sides, drop the puck, and go have a coffee in the players' bench where I hope you bite your tongue and just let 'em play.

Perhaps this isn't what you wanted to hear, but if I were a coach, those are the things I concentrate on.  I would figure that if they weren't old enough to read, I'm not sure teaching them anything more than having fun (this is a game, after all) would be productive.

This advice isn't coming without some experience.  I don't take Mini-Mites in my hockey school because I've learned their attention span, their ability to watch and imitate, and their ability to comprehend a verbal instruction and transform it into a physical action is limited.  Besides, the difference in growth rate and physical development between children at that age would make it impossible to say what is the norm for a 5 year old.

 Dan Bylsma

THIS MONTH'S SAYING TO PUT IN YOUR LOCKER...

"The greatest test of courage

on earth is to bear defeat

without losing heart."

Robert Green Ingersoll                 
 

ONE KID'S TRIP TO THE NHL - current installment...

An acquaintance of mine happened to be at Disney Ice recently and observed a Duck's practice.  (This lady has connections at the Crystal Cathedral and through her I was able to get tickets to see "The Glory of Christmas" tonight).  She made a comment that what struck her about the practice was that we appeared to be having so much fun. 

I'm pleased that Ms. P. noticed this and my first reaction was: "But... this is a game.  You should have fun if you're playing a game."  But Ms. P's comment (and surprise) reminds me there is something deeper here that some of you, your parents, and your coaches are missing.  It's simply this: hockey is a game.  Even at the NHL level, it's still a game.  And because it's a game, when we practice, we try to make practices a game as well.  When we do a drill and my line scores on that drill, we celebrate... not excessively, but perhaps a catcall to the goalie, a raised stick, or a bang or two on the boards. 

We make up games, like the four guys ganging up on the goalie and one defenseman I talked about in the last newsletter.  If the drills are skating drills, we make it a race.  Larry Robinson and I used to stay after practice and play a shooting game from all the dots that was scored like golf (in the net without touching the ice is a birdie, miss the net is a bogie, etc.).  The guys who are not playing because they're injured or are scratched often play three on three after practice.  

I'm living large because I am able to make a very nice living playing a game.  If it's a game at my level, how much more should it be a game at your level?  If you're a player, you should be having fun.  It's a game.

If you're a coach, your players should be having fun - games or practices - because hockey is a game.

If you're a parent, I frankly don't care if you're having fun.  Your child is not playing for your benefit.  But I think you should be concerned if your child isn't having fun.  It's a game.

I'll share a true story.  In my first season with the Kings, I sat next to Rob Blake in the locker room.  When I got my first paycheck, I had never seen so much money in one check before.  But Rob Blake leaned over and showed me his.  It was more than 10 times bigger than mine.  At which point Rob lowered his voice and whispered, "You want to know the joke of it?  I'd play the game for room and board."  Rob understood.  Based on a lot of my Emails, many of you don't get it.  It's a game.  Just a game.

***

And speaking of "it's just a game", one of our good friends in the hockey world, Steve Pesner, forwarded an article that should be required reading for all hockey players, coaches and parents.  It's entitled "What Hockey Doesn't Have To Offer" by Jim Parcels.  I don't know Mr. Parcels but his study and conclusions should be factored into your decision making process the next time a coach or GM recruits your child with promises and asks suggestively, "Don't you want to do what's best for your child?"  To read the article, click here.  

***

Both my father and I think the newsletter is much too serious.  Hockey should be about fun and because we're always dealing with problems and issues, the newsletter is far to serious.  So we think there ought to be the hockey joke or funny story of the month.  I'll start with an old joke and you send your favorites.  If we publish your story, you'll get a free one year subscription to the newsletter.  (That's a joke - the newsletter is free). 

Here's my entry...

My left-handed older brother who played goalie was a huge fan of Tony Esposito, the left- handed goalie who played for Chicago for many years.  When we lived in Chicago, my father took Greg to a Hawks game and waited around to meet Tony and get Greg's blocker signed .  The great goalie was very friendly and invited my father and brother to join him in the Stadium Club Room for dinner.  At the end of the meal my father (un-characteristically) fought with Tony O. for the check, but Tony insisted on paying.  So there they sat, the father, the son, and the goalie host.

I hope you can do better...

So Your Son Wants to Play In The NHL Published in 1998 by Sleeping Bear Press in the US and McClelland & Stewart in Canada. HC $24.95. The story of Dan’s journey from the ice rink in our back yard to the NHL. “This is the best hockey advice since ‘Don’t rile Gordie Howe’”. "This is more than a hockey book. It's a book about life and how to use simple lessons and values for success. …a refreshing straight-ahead approach that makes you feel that you've learned something." LA Times.  Autographed and personalized copies available at www.DanBylsma.com.

So You Want to Play In The NHL Published in November, 2000, by NTC/ Contemporary/McGraw-Hill. Trade paperback—$14.95. Thirty-five questions that aspiring young athletes have and Dan’s and Jay’s alternating answers. Forward by Luc Robitaille. This book won’t help you play the game better, but we think it will help you live the game better. “I am making this book required reading for my team because it confirms everything I have ever said in the locker room and to parents.” Coach John M. You can read a chapter by clicking here.  Autographed and personalized copies available at www.DanBylsma.com.