Dan Bylsma's Web Links

SUPER HOCKEY/YOUTH SPORTS SITES TO SURF

If you’ve spent any time on Dan’s site, read our books, or participated in Dan’s hockey camps, you’ve come to know that we value youth sports in general and hockey in particular as a way to let kids have fun and teach them life lessons. Left to their own devices, kids will do a pretty good job of using sports for that purpose. It’s when adults get involved that sports sometimes lose their fundamental focus.

We’ve received enough Email and questions in talks we’ve given over the past few years to know there are folks who question either our philosophy or our authority to espouse the things we say. It even prompted us to put a chapter in the “So You Want to Play in the NHL” book entitled “What if my coach or my parents think you guys are full of bunk”. It’s a fair question and our answer is that such wisdom as we have carries with it the weight of Dan’s successful journey and career in the NHL. But since writing the books, we have discovered we are not alone in some of our observations about youth hockey that are contrary to much of the prevailing conventional wisdom.

If youth sports in general and hockey in particular is a significant part of your life as a player or your child’s life as a parent, the following articles are important reading. You will find names like Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Ken Dryden and many other’s echoing some of the same themes we are talking about, i.e. “it’s about fun not winning”, “play all the sports”, “skills are not developed playing games”, “don’t play year around”, “develop skill not systems”.

We were alerted to many of these sites by a hockey parent/coach from Toronto – Steve Pesner. If you come across interesting sites or articles not listed – on either side of the debate - let us know and we’ll add the cite to our list of sites.

SOURCE FOR SPORTS BOOKS:

This site is fast becoming the ESPN for sports books

http://www.sportspublishingllc.com

YOUTH HOCKEY FUNDRAISING:

A former teammate of mine at Bowling Green and a former NHLer has a method of fundraising that has proven successful. If you are responsible for fund raising for your organization check out Signs 4 Pride at http://www.signs4pride.com/ .

SAFETY AND HEALTH ISSUES:

http://www.wipss.com/ (Mouth guards)

http://www.safehockey.com/ (Helmets)

http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/abstract/106/1/154 (Physical Development)

http://cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/hockeymasks/ (Face Masks)

http://www.hockeyinjuries.com (Great tips on first aid, treatment of injuries, etc for the coach and parent plus discussions on concussion issues. The site has a free newsletter featuring articles from the main steam press and medical journals on safety and nutritional issues for players of all ages.)

HOCKEY STATS:

http://www.hockeydb.com is a great site for finding stats on any player who played college, minor league, or NHL hockey.

COACHING ISSUES:

http://www.passthepuck.net A very informative site for coaches with drills from beginners to advanced and lots of other great information. The site provides maps for most (if not all) the arenas in North America. I searched for the St. Marys Area Arena (where I played Juniors) and there was a map for it. The site is operated by Robert Lopez a long time college and Olympic coach. You can also subscribe to his newsletter.

http://www.danbylsma.com/WhiteArticle.htm

A well-written, light-hearted article from a British football (soccer) coach on the struggles to maintain a wholesome perspective on the game through some trying times. From the British newspaper The Guardian

HOCKEY TIPS:

http://www.robbyglantz.com (Skating)

http://www.laurastamm.com/ (Skating)

http://www.coachesclub.net (Coaching tips and discussions)

Here's an informative and practical NEWSLETTER for hockey players, parents and coaches. It's put out by Dr. Vern Stenlund of the University of Windsor and contains player tips, coaching drills, and a lot of good advice. We recommend you sign up for a subscription at through vern@thehockeyjournal.com - it's free.

ARTICLES BY OTHERS THAT MOVED US:

Many of you have been intrigued by the value we placed on our backyard rink in my journey to the NHL. This man writes better than we do about the value of backyard rinks:

Back-yard rinks bring families and neighborhoods together by Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune 01/19/03

PHILOSOPHY OF YOUTH HOCKEY:

"A Teachable Moment: Calling All Hockey Parents" by Ron Foyt

Mr. Foyt is a former NHL linesman and a supervisor of college referees (NCHA)

"What hockey doesn't have to offer" by Jim Parcels - a CBC segment on the statistical chances of making it to the NHL.

http://www.globeandmail.com/series/hockey/gameincrisis/

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/hockey_peril/

http://www.danbylsma.com/JayGRPressEssay.htm

http://www.danbylsma.com/DanGRPressEssay.htm

http://www.ahai.org/Quotes.htm#jack

http://www.masshockey.com/Article/index.html

http://www.bcaha.org/artarchi.html

http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/sportsView.cgi?/news/2000/10/23/Sports/gretzky001023

http://www.danbylsma.com/mattltr.htm - an article in a school newspaper from a young player who got a scholarship to Cornell on what it took him to go from being called "the worst player in his league" to a Div 1 scholarship candidate.

OTHER SITES WE LIKE:

www.finnstarhockey.com is a site by a hockey friend and parent who promotes products and services that you may find useful

http://www.sportsparenting.org an outstanding site that deals with parenting issues involving all youth sports at every levels. We highly recommend this site - plan to spend some time reviewing their outstanding panel of experts and the FAQ page..