Looking over the words I have put into this column over the last few weeks, I think pretty much sums up almost every element that the camp at Nottawsaga had to offer the players.
Sure, the circumstances were different and the lessons learned were varied (they will be listed in point for - per day), the gist of this whole time together was to build an atmosphere of trust. This was an early season opportunity for the girls to see each other in a more natural light.
Away from the rink and the rigors and tension of the season ahead, we were together as a group and learned a lot about each other, every day with every activity and session - whether it be an off-ice exercise session, a nature walk with a message or the upbeat on-ice practices we had.
So much was revealed to me as a coach to see these players in this way, that to me, it was an invaluable experience - one that I wouldn't have missed for the world. I too learned a great deal about many things that had nothing to do with the game. It was proven beyond a shadow of doubt that if one's intentions are transparent and focused from the start, you can succeed with almost anything you try.
See? Even I learned the lesson of support and trust amongst my team.
Some may be saying that perhaps the Coach just ran out of things to say - that is the furthest thing from the truth, there just aren't enough hours in the day for me to transpose my notes to an online forum. I am working away at it slowly and it will serve me well in the months and years to come. I am at this point uncertain what I am going to do with these notes but, I am also sure it will come to me.
Thursday to Saturday - Encapsulated:
Day 2-4: Rise and Shine - Fuel the Furnace to turn on the Mind!
Breakfast together as a team - seeing your players FIRST thing in the morning tells you almost everything you need to know... not a whole lot of morning people on this team. However after five or ten minutes together, they were again open and loud. The food may have had something to do with it as well. This was the rule for the rest of the week rather than the exception.
HIT OF THE WEEK: Froot Loops cereal - a close second the syrup for the pancakes and french toast.
Exercise and off-ice testing:
We hit the ground running the second day as we only had one ice session on the Thursday - this would be the same on the Saturday. What would we do with ourselves?
Day 2: We explored the new program we will be following this season Total Female Hockey and got into the next phases of the warm-up and the 60-90 minute full work out. There are many elements to this program and I want the players to explore them all and learn the basics so it is a natural occurrence that we work out whenever we are together. I have also made the decision that we will do a 30-45 minute work-out before every practice this season to ramp up our readiness and fitness levels. I look at it as one more element of preparation.
The Nature Walk:
This took place after our work-out and after lunch. The girls really seemed to be looking forward to this. We set out in good spirits and sporadic signing and dancing was breaking out all over the place.
Spice Girls from one end of the line and Hakuna Matatah from the front of the line.
this was an opportunity for the players, and me, to just take a break and go for a walk. I had a plan in mind but, it was nothing strenuous or physically taxing. It was a visual example of "strength in numbers."
Along the path I asked each player to find a twig - I didn't stipulate what kind or how big, just that it be a twig they find on or near the path. Sure enough, they turned into whips and weapons used on the poor and unsuspecting foliage that surrounded the path.
It was one of those days you wish for, sunny but not stinking hot and the coverage of the forest seems to cool it off just right. We came upon a clearing and we took a break - we only had a limited time for this hike as we had to be on the ice this afternoon.
I looked around and everyone had a twig - I took the selected twig from Kaitlyn Taylor, raised it in front of my eyes - high enough for everyone to see and - I snapped it.
This twig represented one player, an individual.
I then asked for all the players to give me their sticks. I pulled them together and held them with both hands, again so everyone could see.
This represented the team - a group of players striving for the same goal, working together. I demonstrated that I could not - no matter how hard I tried, break the pieces that were together. I offered to let the other players try and break it as well.
This represents a team that trusts and supports each other no matter what the circumstance, you will notice that even the twig I broke before, now that it is part of this group, cannot be broken - it too has become stronger.
Day 3-4 - Friday August 15 & Saturday August 16:
Only one off-ice session - as we are on the ice twice today, so we will have some fun and do the on-ice testing now that Maddy and Alisha are here for the remainder of the week. We will do our off-ice testing. Always a popular choice!
The numbers are quite good overall with some surprises and some that are right where I thought they should be. We ended up needing one element to finish off and we will revisit it later in the season.
Saturday will be more of the same with a couple of surprises and shocks to keep them all honest. It's all information for the coming season and a huge bonus for me to see them in this environment. I also get to see the after effects the next day and beyond.
Day 3 & 4 - On-Ice:
The biggest focus of this camp as I have mentioned before and this is especially true for the on-ice portion - is to demonstrate to the players how a drill can progress from a simple passing and skating drill to something that is game specific.
Words that were drilled into my head by Ron was the term - "Game Specificity" VERY difficult to say when you've got cold "arena lips" or when you've had a few and are trying to explain what you are doing to a parent a function or tournament.
Try it - I dare you... I was always stumble over my tongue and lips.
I was also very encouraged by the enthusiasm and energy we brought to each session and instead of fading as we did the first day - we got progressively stronger and more efficient.
Not perfect of course - I'm not that naive and my visor is tinted but not a rose colour.
Let's just summarize the whole thing by saying - I am not used to having a group of players with this skill and aptitude together for more than one season. It is truly a wonderful thing.
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