You created a playbook, now it's time to add fundamentals, templates and videos before introducing it to your team.
Now that the pretty things are behind us and we know how to draw the X & O’s, let’s start putting it all together.
Once you have the basic layout of your new Hockey Playbook, it’s time to decide what you’re going to track. And don’t just say “everything,” because that’s a lot. Faceoffs, for example, can be won or lost on the right or left side, in different zones. Do you need to separate it all out? I suggest sticking to the fundamentals, namely faceoff win/lost in three zones, breakouts, D-zone, rush, regroup, OZP, PP OZP, PP regroup, PP breakout, PK DZ, PK forecheck, PP/PK faceoff, 6v5, 5v6 and more.
Free download: Template Playbook
Fundamentals
Now, everyone doesn’t have the same fundamentals and that’s fine. It’s your motto, not somebody else motto. Having too much can be a nightmare as well. In the picture below, a friend of mine who won the NAPA Cup in Qc Jr.A League and finish 4th at the Centennial Cup was willing to share with me his three slides of his fundamentals. With that, he adds videos for each of them when he explains drills. He always refers to them. You now can too.
Template
This is how you will display it all. Having your rink with the drawing on it is so important, but don’t overdo it. If you are not sure, ask your wife/husband if they understand. The keys or details on the side will be the crucial part of it if the players understand or not. Less is more and be as specific as you can. You don’t have to type a full sentence, but only small words that will describe the role of the players. And remember, you already have your fundamentals before, so you don’t have to duplicate this stuff. I’ll suggest not going with more than two details per position. You can always implement more down the road, but not at the beginning. Most of the players have never seen this before, so it’s a lot to consume at the same time. You can have two different rinks on the page if you don’t need a lot of details.
Here’s an example of actual drill templates used in a U16 playbook.
Creating Your Video
The perfect video doesn’t exist. Because of this, you can spend so much time trying to find a better video. I’ve had that issue for a long time now and talking with other coaches, we are all in the same boat. You can easily use your video from last season, showing them that you can do it at that level. Showing the NHL is good, and mixing both is even better. If you are talking about the offensive zone forecheck, don’t have 10 different clips. That is way too much. Two or three are enough even if you don’t have all the details in the first one. To be more specific, in the defensive zone coverage let’s say, you can break it down by position. That way players are not looking all over the place in the video, but are more focused on one aspect of it.
Merging Your Video
I’ve found with experience that the players have a better response when you show the drawing first and the video after. You break down the details first, they can ask questions if they don’t understand, and then start showing the video. It’s now time to see if they were listening or not. Stop the video and pick someone with a question. Challenge your group and challenge your players to answer. In the end, they should be able to teach the systems the same way you do.
How To Introduce It
There are different ways to do it. You could print a playbook and giving it to the players; you could use the Cloud to upload everything and give a link to the players, or maybe having a YouTube link you share with players works best for highlights. But you have to make sure the players have access anytime to the playbook. With the phone now, it’s easy to share a video link to the group chat, they can see it from there.
How to present it? You can have a meeting before the practice and go through everything. What I like the most is right before the practice, I’ve had success doing it this way. Players dress up and they are ready to go on the ice, game on. Now, you take 10 minutes right before and you go through the one part that you want to show/teach. From there, they jump on the ice, still have everything in their head (you hope so) and you can start working on the details and fundamentals you have touched on in the presentation. You should find a way to do the presentation in 10 minutes. If nerves get the best of you, think of yourself as an actor with a show to do. Practice it alone before, find the right wording and feel confident. The more you are prepared, the better you are and the better your message will be received. That will reflect on your team.
If you have any questions or need more advice, you know how to reach me. Have a great season coaches.
