Floorball – coach for the right reasons

With the way most of our live and work these days, we have an increasingly isolated lifestyle. We sprint from our homes to our jobs, and then from our jobs to the grocery store, or to our children’s schools… and then if we’re lucky, from there to a quick dinner before collapsing into the sofa or bed, so we can get some sleep before the next day’s race. There is never time to become part of our community, never really time to do more than survive?

Coaching Young floorball players allows us to be part of the answer. Study after study has shown that when children are involved in organized activities like in floorball teams, they do better in school and within their families. So the real question isn’t how can we make time for this, it’s more like, how can we not make time for this?

Floorball practice shooting drill

I think we’ve all met the bad coach, the unreasonable guy who treats eight year olds like they are adult men in a NHL team. But we’ve also met the guy who motivates his floorball players to try new things in life, and to learn about self confidence and teamwork. You know… he’s the guy that we aspire to be, the one who generates respect from his players and their families. It really isn’t that hard… if you are coaching for the right reasons.

Floorball feedback, value it

and, always… coach for the right reasons. You are not involved with children in order to make all of them floorball superstars or national team heroes, you are coaching them into being better people …besides developing theire floorball skills.

 

Floorball is bigger than Ice Hockey in Denmark

I will continue with the learnings from the coaching training, I attended during the World Championships in hockey. Next up Denmark…

Per Bäckman the head coach of Denmarks national hockey team and Esben Nedermark GM Danish National Hockey Team started their presentation, with talking about how small sport hockey is in Denmark.

Danish hockey has:
– 4400 registered players
– 16 teams
– 24 indoor rinks

While there are:
– 5000 hockey officials/referees in Toronto
– 296818 licensed football players in Denmark
– 5800 badminton players in Denmark
and 6000 Floorball players : )

Still Denmark is in the highest division in hockey, I will altough also talk about Norway, they have done an impressive work, with small resources!

What have Denmark done then?

One of the focus areas have been to have short and quick attacks, if you have not scored after 15 seconds you can give the ball (puck) to the other team, like the Norwegian national football team manager “Drillo” Olsen once said.

The Danish team have also been working with tactic and the discipline to stick to it, teambuilding, social environment and technical skills (opposite to Norway). What they are not good in regarding the national team coaches, is the physical part, they are too weak. The hard practicing culture is not there…

About the future…

Regarding the future for Danish hockey, Per Bäckman was quite negative, “we are at the top now, we will not get better, and we will not get more players or rinks, we need to take care of what we have now and try to maintain that.”

Wrong attitude…

In my mind totally wrong attitude, you will always need development and try to recruit new players and develop the game, players and teams, the same goes for floorball. When you think you can not develop or are satisfied, you will start to roll down the hill you are climbing and be eliminated in the end!

Denmark hockey and floorball
Danish Hockey a good story (name of the presentation) – They have done a good work, but it will not last for so long, with the attitude I have described above…

“You have totally different view on game system and tactics than Sweden?”
“Yes, I can not understand, why you would chase another players on the ice for 60 minutes” /Per Bäckman

Floorball game drills and situations 3-0, 2-1, 2-2, 3-1 and 3-2

Salibandy peliharjoite pelitilanteet 3-0, 4-0, 3-1,3-2,4-2

3-0 Floorball practice to the right

Player 1 starts the floorball practice by running with ball towards the defensemen, the defensemen moves to the border and receives a pass from P1. P1 heads for the area in front of the goal, meanwhile D1 passes the ball to P2 , P2 immediately passes the ball to P1, who will shoot the ball into goal.

Make the floorball drill to the right a 2-1 practice

The floorball practice drill is performed as in the basic set up, but you can add a defensive player from the other corner. D1 will not be part of the floorball drill after the pass, therefore the situation will be 2 vs 1 in front of the goal.

Make the floorball practice to the right a 2-2 drill

The floorball practice drill is performed as in the basic set up, but you will add a defensive player from the opposite corner and one defensive player following P1. D1 will not be part of the floorball drill after the pass, therefore the situation will be 2 vs 2 in front of the goal.

Make the floorball practice to the right a 3-1 drill

The floorball practice drill is performed as in the basic set up, but you will add a defensive player from the opposite corner. D1 is part of the floorball drill after the pass, therefore the situation will be 3 vs 1.

Make the floorball practice drill to the right a 3-2 situation

The floorball practice drill is performed as in the basic set up, but you will add a defensive player from the opposite corner and one defensive player following P1. D1 is part of the floorball drill after the pass, therefore the situation will be 3 vs 2.

Smart Youth Floorball Players

Smart and well trained floorball players are a floorball coaches best assets. Well-conditioned smart floorball players will beat less intelligent, yet bigger and stronger players almost every time! If a floorball coach trains the minds of his floorball players while he is drilling them, he will be rewarded in the long run.
The best time to engage your floorball players’ minds is when you are drilling their bodies. This goes like a hand in a glove with the idea of keeping your drills fun and challenging (a post couple of days ago)!

Multidimensional floorball practices and drills

Work on several things at once in your floorball drills (multidimensional practicing), but get the basics in place before adding more dimensions to the floorball drills.
While the assistant coaches are observing technique performance, a smart head coach will be drilling his floorball players minds, teaching them game situations, preparing them to think for themselves when the time comes. Never waste an opportunity to succeed, and make a point of never wasting time.

Floorball practice warm up

Why this floorball drill or practice?

Know why you are running the drill! You can use the leadership model on this page and apply it on your drills and practices (why, goal, how, result and feedback). Don’t just find some floorball drill in an old floorball coaching manual and decide that you can waste twenty minutes on it at the next practice. Locate floorball drills that will improve what your players have been doing poorly or strengthen even more what you are strong in. If your players are making poor tactical decisions during the floorball games, find floorball drills that will teach them to think about that specific game situation. There is no sense in running them through another floorball drill that teaches them something that they already know by heart.

The floorball drills found on this page are created to develop your players’ skills in game like practices and drills.

So, keep your floorball drills fun and challenging, keep your players focused and challenge them to think ahead. Do this, and you will be a successful, floorball coach!

Fun and Challenging Floorball Drills and Practices

Every floorball coach knows that successful floorball practices and drills involve a lot of teaching. Floorball players learn the proper techniques and skills through hours and hours of repeating the same movements, and yes, this can be boring, but should it be? Of course not, since drills and practices are the key to teaching and learning in any sport.

Good floorball coaches manage to minimize the boredom, and great floorball coaches make the most boring activity entertaining and engaging.

Multidimensional Floorball training

I try to start to build up a floorball drill from a very basic format, just to get the foundation in place, and when you see your floorball players manage the skills, you add a new part to the floorball drill, one extra player, forward or defensive player, an extra shot, or a pass. To keep the development and the challenge. Competition is also a good motivational factor for very many floorball players.

Floorball skill practice drills

Mental training in Floorball

You can also add mental training into your floorball drills and practices, each time a defensive player goes out into the floorball drill he/she could have a mantra in his/her head repeated “I’m strong and I feel confident”, or something else that is building up them mentally, so when they manage the technical part of the floorball drill, you can add a mental part to develop and challenge your floorball players.

Eliminate waiting in Floorball Practices

Another thing you can use to keep your floorball drills fun and challenging is to eliminate the waiting time, waiting and standing is waste and boring for your floorball players, keep your players activated and focused! While they are waiting to perform the floorball drill, they can work with stick/ball handling and ball controling drills.

Waiting time at floorball practice before a drill

Focus on development – avoid status quo

Make your floorball drills fun and challenging! Don’t be stuck in status quo. This cannot be emphasized enough. It is also important that your floorball coaching staff is in place, during the floorball drills, and you have clear defined responsibilities and roles in the coaching team, making sure that your players are using the proper techniques and get the teaching they need for their development.

Make your players enjoy and look forward for the next floorball practice! You have their bodies, now work on getting their brains.