Why NHD?

NHD vs. The Others

Welcome, you have found the most productive hockey skill development program in the country. I am sure you have witnessed many different teaching philosophies and it is sometimes difficult to differentiate one from the other. I will attempt to educate you so you can make informed decisions as to where you choose to send your child for hockey training.

Many parents have the desire to see their young player pushed to the point of exhaustion and sweat during their on-ice sessions. Every athlete is different and we all learn at different levels and in different ways. Simply telling a child to perform a task without detailed instruction and constant feedback is pointless. Hockey is a complex sport but when taught properly a player can learn at an exponential rate.

At the typical hockey camp the players are grouped into 5-6 stations. They have approximately 5-8 minutes to do the drill. They get two or three repetitions and are then skated or told to do push-ups until they build a good sweat and then they move to the next station. What have they learned in 10 minutes? Well they’ve learned to do a complex set of skills like checking for example at full speed the wrong way. There is no detailed instruction or teaching and certainly no correction. When we teach the pro’s we break down the skill sets and once perfected our coaches run the guys through their practice plan at full tempo.

For some reason some feel that children don’t need the same information. Why waste valuable ice time doing push-ups or suicide skating drills (blue line to blue line etc)? Our off-ice program will take care of the sweat factor I assure you.

All drills should be taught in a building block format with group sizes limited to no more than eight participants of similar ability. Drills should be done at slower speeds in order for players to gain confidence. As you progress into subsequent sections of the camp the tempo of the drills should be increased. Once the students master the drills, the progressions should be performed at full tempo to get maximum results. Far too many camps focus on the high tempo portion before the students get the chance to master the drill, therefore slowing the learning process. What’s better, practicing a body checking drill for 1 hour in an isolated learning environment, where each element of the body check is broken down and practiced until perfected; or doing a checking drill at full speed 3 times?

Keep in mind that in order for players to really learn and improve their skills, they must be pushed outside of their comfort zone. Hockey skills are most easily learned in small increments a bit at a time. Hockey skills should be taught as follows skating, puck control, passing and receiving, shooting, checking.