7. Over Time

Making The Team

This game is going into overtime, as many of your games will when the offense and defense have been about equal. The team that puts out that little extra in overtime will usually win, and the player who knows these little extras will certainly have a start in earning his place on the team.

You and Your Position

At team tryouts, most coaches will ask a player what position he prefers to play. Then as the team takes shape, some changes may have to be made. Maybe you started out as a center but are asked to switch to left wing. Your attitude is being tested. If you tell your coach that you will play any position he says and if you pitch in and try to learn all about playing left wing, you are hockey material!

If asked to switch positions, you should understand that, as you grow older, larger, and stronger, you develop certain hockey skills that may fit you better for a position other than the one you used to play. Also, in forming the team, your coach can see where your strong points best fit into the style of play he plans to use.

Besides, it is good for boys in their early playing days to get the experience of playing two or three different positions. You learn more about positional play this way; you also get training in the different skating techniques of wings, centers, or defensemen.

It might help you to have an idea of what a coach looks for in selecting players for the various positions.

GOALTENDER. A coach usually starts his search for a goalie by screening players on the basis of their quickness and their catching ability. To be quick, a boy must have good balance on skates first and fast reflexes next. Size is of no importance, provided the player has these assets.

A good catching hand and the natural ability to get the body in front of a fast flying object often are found in a boy who has done some baseball catching. A fast, accurate catching hand will cover more open net than any other part of the body. A puck that is caught is never converted into a loose rebound, either.

A coach likes a goalie to be very agile in covering the net, so a goalie must be able to regain his feet like a cat once he has been forced to the ice.

By the process of natural selection, goalies with the necessary physical equipment just mentioned will be found on many rinks all over the country. The truly good ones have something more.

They have some very special mental equipment. Some of it is God-given, and some is the result of self-training. Call it coolness under fire, or fearlessness, if you like. Call it the ability to refuse to be discouraged. Or call it the poised self-confidence that comes from pride in filling one of the most demanding positions in the sports' world. Whatever name you use, this quality can be learned if a boy is grimly determined to be the best goalie ever.

DEFENSEMEN. Traditionally, the two defensemen were the big, heavy body checkers, who were the slowest skaters on the team. This is not true any more. Against modern power play offensives, these men have to be very mobile skaters, who handle the puck well. They also should be rugged and aggressive, with the ability to check hard.

The average defenseman becomes a good one when he moves the puck well out of his own end. More mistakes are made in clearing the puck from the defensive end than in any other place. Here is where a "take charge" leader is a must - here is where a defenseman who does not get rattled easily but makes the right moves at the right time really "earns his keep."

Defensemen have a large part to play on the attack as well. They should be good passers and be able to shoot hard and quickly from the point position.

WINGMEN. The right and the left wings are the workhorses of the offensive line. They must be fast, hard skaters since they will be called upon to do more straight ahead, stop-and-go skating than other players on the team.

Aggressiveness is an important quality for these forwards. They often will be digging the puck out of the corners against the opposing defensemen. Successful fore checking and hard pressure on the opposing team will depend upon their desire to scrap for the puck.

It is not unusual for a left-hander to be asked to play right wing, and vice versa. This is not really too difficult if the player is willing to work on his backhand passes.

The wingers should be men who can shoot well, being particularly adept at angle shots taken as they break around the defense.

CENTER. This man is the key to a good offense. He should have the knack of passing both accurately and at the right time. He should know the styles of his wingmen - what moves they like to make when breaking over the blue line or going around the opponent's net.

Above all, the center should be the production man of both goals and assists. He should have a good sense of position play and the ability to shoot quickly and straight.

A valuable skating skill for this position is the ability to whirl into fast turns either way with no loss of time. The center should be a figure in perpetual motion, skating, circling, breaking, and turning constantly.

Many coaches like to assign the chief job of fore check-ing to the center. He then must be able to check well before his opponents have a chance to break out of their own end.

A hockey coach faced with the job of picking a team once asked another coach how he would go about the task.

"I'd choose my goalie first and then pick the 18 best hockey players from the rest, regardless of what positions they played," the second coach replied.

"On what basis do I do that?" asked the first.

"Pick them on the basis of speed, desire, and hockey brains," answered the second, ably summarizing the most important qualities of an outstanding hockey player.

Exercises to Keep You in Shape

The rinks are full of hockey players loaded with natural talent who know little and care less about being in top physical condition for their sport. Some of these gifted players fade in the crucial third period because they run out of steam. They don't realize that you just cannot be a top hockey player unless you intelligently condition your body to the increasing demands you make on it.

About a month before the ice is ready, you should start on a daily exercise program that will improve your strength and stamina. Whatever exercises you choose, do them daily and make them progressively harder.

You improve your strength by working your muscles, even after they hurt. You build your stamina by doing work that makes you breathless - running, for example. Working with weights is valuable in producing the grip, wrist, and arm strength used so often in hockey.

Your legs, ankles, and feet should get some special attention. Any exercise that will stretch and put strain on your ankles will help to get them ready for the stresses of skating. Walking on the outside, or on the inside, of your feet is an example of this kind of exercise. Jogging and striding are excellent for building both leg strength and stamina. Start with short distances and slow speeds, gradually building up both.

If you devote just 20 minutes a day to a well-designed training scheme, you will be in good physical condition in a month's time.

The thing to remember about the endurance needed in hockey is that you must go at top speed for very short periods of time. Then you rest for a longer period than you worked. During a game, forward lines are usually on the ice for about 60 to 90 seconds. They may rest for two minutes or so before returning.

Test your endurance in practice from time to time. Can you go up and down the ice at top skating speed for 20 seconds? 30? 60? Build gradually to this peak, using regular rest times between bursts. This is a well-known technique of track conditioning - a form of interval training.

Before leaving the topic of exercises, it might be good to remind you that a medical examination is necessary before you take to the ice, if you have not had one within the year. This is a wise precaution to take before placing vigorous stresses on your body.

Eight to ten hours of sleep are absolutely necessary throughout the hockey season. This cannot be stressed too heavily. If you do not get this much rest, fatigue will surely hit you - probably around play-off time, too.

Let us not have any doubt about smoking cigarettes, either. Oh sure, you will see other fellows your age pulling out cigarettes after the game or even between periods. They do it because they think they are men if they smoke. This is their way of being recognized as big shots.

But it takes a real man to say no - to refuse to go along with the smoking habit just because others do it. You can be sure of one thing - the guys who cannot or will not give up the weed will never go anywhere as athletes.

When you play hockey, you are in a game that is lightning-fast, with bangs, knocks, and spills likely to come your way. Whatever you do, be sure to pay attention to the slightest injury.

Maybe you think you should hide injuries from your coach because you are afraid you will be considered a sissy or will not be dressed for the next game. Actually, you are not being tough, just stupid, to try to keep going when you are hampered by a bad knee or a Charley horse. And the team is hurt, too, because you cannot be effective when playing with a handicap like that.

Minor cuts and scrapes, especially on the elbows, hips, or knee caps, should be cleansed and treated at once. You cannot do much about bruises, except let them heal by rest.

A twisted knee is a much more serious matter, however, which should be examined and treated by a doctor. Do not fool around with this type of injury; it can bother you the rest of your life, if not treated early and properly.

To prevent such mishaps, get off the ice at the first opportunity when you get tired. You will not always have a play stoppage to help you do this, so arrange with your coach a system of "changing on the fly." If you tire while the play is going, look or call to your bench first. As soon as the puck is harmlessly shot into the other team's end, race for the boards and let your next linemate replace you.

Rules, Referees, and Rookies

Knowing the rules is especially important in hockey, because it is one of the few games in which players are provided with equipment that could injure an opponent. Both sticks and skates can be dangerous if players do not use them properly, as described in the rules.

You should know the rules that describe the infractions calling for penalties. Not only should you know them, but you should understand their interpretations. For example, terms like cross-checking, hooking, slashing, and high-sticking tell you when you are committing a foul with your stick. Others like boarding, charging, kneeing, elbowing, and holding tell you how not to use the parts of your body in checking an opponent. These rules are intended to reduce the chances of injuries and to prevent one player from gaining an unfair advantage over another.

Another group of rules you need to know concerns the puck in play.

In addition to reading your league's official rule book, it is also a good idea to talk over with your buddies and your coach any rule calls made in practices and games that you do not understand.

Penalties may come your way by accident - especially if you play aggressively. But you give your team a big advantage if you cut out useless, foolish penalties and still play a hard, driving game. Remember that when you sit out a two-minute penalty, your teammates have to work much harder under greater pressure while shorthanded.

Also, the referee is not responsible for your penalties or your mistakes, so do not blame him for the game you just lost.

For your own and your team's good, you should develop the following attitudes toward the referee:

1. Respect what the referee stands for. He did not make the rules, but he is responsible for seeing that they are carried out, and you agreed to accept them when you stepped on the ice.
2. If you are the team captain or his alternate, be polite in asking for the interpretation of a call. If you are not the captain, stay away from the referee altogether.
3. Appreciate the difficulty of making split-second decisions in a fast game. The best way to develop this appreciation is to try refereeing a game or two yourself.
4. Try to realize how important it is to have good referees for your games. There is nothing worse than the chaos that occurs when poor officials referee a game. And the only way we can keep good referees working is to respect their judgments and abilities.

Once you discipline yourself to accept the referee's calls, whether you think them to be good or bad, your ability to concentrate every minute on your play will improve. You will not be easily upset or distracted by bad breaks. Only then will you know that you are no longer a rookie. You will have become a "coach's player" - a rare compliment in hockey language.

Success and You

Hockey is a fascinating game, and many boys become so caught up in the sport that they decide to make a career of it. They drop out of school and head for the rinks, but only a very few are ever heard of in the hockey world.

Others are smarter: they heed the advice given them to prepare for a secure future. These boys enjoy playing hockey while getting an education which will lead to a good, lasting career. They do not make the mistake of putting hockey before their futures.

And you should not either. You have a job to do at this point in your life, and that job is to do as well in your school work as you possibly can.

Playing hockey comes next to this. Sure, you love the game and want to get better at it, but just remember, the best way to get better at it is to play it all through high school and through college and even beyond.

When you do play hockey, you should want to be the best player in your league. Remember, though, that you get out of a thing just what you put into it. If you work hard at developing your hockey skills, you can expect to get a great deal from the game. But success is never yours alone in a team game. Success belongs to the team - usually to the one with the strongest team spirit. You can contribute to your team's spirit by following certain practices.

Never quit. Never give up no matter how far behind you are or how late in the game it is.

Encourage your teammates with praise. When they come up with outstanding plays, this is easy to do. It is tougher, but more important, to encourage a player after he has made a mistake.

Do not criticize the play of others on the team. That is the coach's job; your job is to improve your own weaknesses. Besides, your buddy might not go for your telling him what is wrong with his play.

Remember that there are no substitutes in hockey, as there are in other team sports. If you ever try to play all three 20-minute periods with just six men on the ice, you will soon realize that the second and third lines are alternate lines and you cannot win without them.

Be on hand for every practice. Nothing hurts a team's morale as much as having only half a squad turn out.

Do not be critical of your coach's decisions. If he assigns you to a different line and you do not like the move, swallow your dislike. Remember, the move is being made to strengthen your team. Also, do not criticize your coach's offensive and defensive strategy.

Harmony on the team may not necessarily mean you have to be close pals with all the boys. It does mean, however, that you forget your personal feelings and work closely with your teammates once you hit the ice.

No athlete ever performs well in the blind heat of rage. He makes glaring mistakes that badly hurt himself and his team. So, in hockey, learn to take the rough knocks and come up laughing.

Then, when you win, you can be proud of the fact that you kept a cool head and concentrated on playing the game. If you lose, at least you know you were beaten by a team that outplayed you, not by an outburst of temper.

The boy with the greatest potential to be a hockey star is the one who dedicates himself to the improvement of his individual skills. These skills he puts in the hands of his coach to be used in building the team. Then, in a determined fashion, he applies his skills to the game, coolly controlling it with intelligence and courage. Above all, he is a true sportsman in both victory and defeat.

Good skating, good shooting, and good luck!

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