May 9, 2024

The Ride To The Rink - Understanding Time and Space in Hockey: A Deep Dive for Players and Parents

Show Notes
Transcript

On this week's Ride To The Rink, Lee takes a detailed look into one of the most crucial aspects of hockey strategy — understanding "time and space." This episode is especially valuable for young players and their parents as we decode what coaches mean when they instruct players to "create time and space" on the ice.

Key Episode Highlights:

- Introduction to Time and Space: Lee kicks off the episode with a fundamental question from our Facebook group about what exactly coaches mean by "time and space." This sets the stage for a detailed exploration of the concept, emphasizing why it's a critical skill in today's fast-paced game.

- Breaking Down the Basics: Understanding the dynamics of timing — knowing when to accelerate or slow down during a game to maximize effectiveness. Lee explains the importance of speed modulation and deception in outmaneuvering opponents on the ice.

- Strategic Use of Space: This segment delves into how players can create and utilize space effectively. Whether it's finding open ice for a pass or positioning oneself to defend, mastering spatial awareness is key to enhancing gameplay.

- Practical Applications and Drills: Lee provides practical advice on drills and techniques to improve timing and space recognition. These skills are not just for handling the puck but are also crucial when players are off the puck, helping them make intelligent plays and decisions.

- Advice for Parents and Coaches: Tips on how to support young players in developing these skills. Lee emphasizes the importance of patience and proper guidance in helping young athletes understand and implement these concepts in their playing style.

Wrapping up, Lee reiterates the importance of fundamentals such as skating, shooting, and passing, which provide the foundation upon which advanced skills like time and space are built. He encourages players of all ages to continue honing these basic skills alongside strategic gameplay.

Whether you’re on the ice or cheering from the sidelines, understanding the strategic use of time and space can profoundly impact your appreciation and love for the game. Tune in to refine your skills and deepen your hockey knowledge—remember, you're never too young or too old to improve your game!

Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!

We're powered by NHL Sense Arena!

NHL Sense Arena, is a virtual reality training game designed specifically to improve hockey sense and IQ for both players and goalies. Experience the next generation of off-ice training in VR with over 100+ drills and training plans curated from top coaches and players.

Use Code "HockeyNeverStops" at Hockey.SenseArena.com to score $50 off an annual plan!

Have A Topic You Want Us To Cover? Let us know!

Please Be Sure To Subscribe & Leave A Review For Us On Apple Podcasts, doing so helps our show grow!

Follow Us On Social Media:

WEBVTT

00:00:08.192 --> 00:00:13.080
hello hockey skaters and goalies around the world and welcome back to another edition of the ride to the rink.

00:00:13.080 --> 00:00:21.129
It's lee with you today and I got this question from our facebook group and the question was what do coaches mean when they say time and space?

00:00:21.129 --> 00:00:23.300
Create time and space, find time and space?

00:00:23.300 --> 00:00:34.648
It actually made me start thinking a little bit about sometimes, as coaches and you know, we've been involved in the game 20, 30, 40 plus years at times we say things like that right, play the possession game, hit the forward, check.

00:00:34.648 --> 00:00:42.445
You know, understand what we mean by this, and sometimes even we need to be reminded that we need to break that down a little bit more than what we're just saying.

00:00:42.445 --> 00:00:46.133
So let's start with time and space, because I think that's a really important one in today's game.

00:00:46.133 --> 00:00:49.085
I think it's important for you, as youth hockey players, to understand what that means.

00:00:49.085 --> 00:00:54.326
It's probably also important for your parents to know why that's important and why that's a skillset that can really help your game.

00:00:54.326 --> 00:01:02.368
I do want to reiterate first off, especially at the younger levels, the fundamentals, those fundies, are the most important thing to work on.

00:01:02.368 --> 00:01:14.429
Your skating, your stride work, your ability to cross over all of that is the most important, followed by, you know, in a close second shooting, passing on ice, awareness of the play coming and going.

00:01:14.429 --> 00:01:22.027
All of that stuff is extremely, extremely important and if you have not gotten to a point where you're proficient with those, those are where you want your focus to be.

00:01:22.027 --> 00:01:23.441
They are extremely important.

00:01:23.441 --> 00:01:29.688
Now, if you feel like you've gotten to a place where those fundamentals are in place, you've built up some muscle memory and now you're playing the game.

00:01:29.688 --> 00:01:30.870
You feel like you're playing the game.

00:01:31.209 --> 00:01:34.493
This is where time and space really starts to come in.

00:01:34.493 --> 00:01:36.695
When we say time and space, let's break it down.

00:01:36.695 --> 00:01:54.278
Time timing, the ability to go 100%, go 25%, 50% speed and know how to modulate that speed within a game situation to arrive at a place at the right time or create some deception with the players in front of you is a skill set.

00:01:54.278 --> 00:02:04.828
If you just go 100 speed all the time, when don't get me wrong if you're a fast skater, that's awesome, but it becomes very easy for defensive players to predict where you're going to be and when you're going to get there.

00:02:04.828 --> 00:02:28.163
If you can modulate your speed and know what your 25%, 50%, 75% speed is, you can start to get a little deceptive with the puck, you can go 50% till the defenseman gets close and then explode to a hundred percent or, adversely, as a defenseman, you can deceivingly be going 50% backwards and then speed up to meet the person at the space, which is the other half of this.

00:02:28.163 --> 00:02:38.663
So, again, time timing arriving at a place at a certain time or creating that deception is what we mean by time and space, and you create the space by that timing.

00:02:39.044 --> 00:02:41.127
Now, what do we mean by space?

00:02:41.127 --> 00:02:45.566
Right Again, I see it a lot at the youth levels, and I'm talking to you, young hockey players.

00:02:45.566 --> 00:02:48.067
You get the puck, you go on a straight line to the net.

00:02:48.067 --> 00:03:00.903
Or you get the puck, you go right at the other team's defenseman, or you don't have the puck, more importantly, and you're just kind of watching your teammates skate down the ice, or you're skating kind of blindly because someone told you to go down the wing or go down the boards.

00:03:00.903 --> 00:03:21.604
Space is all about arriving at open ice to be in a position to either A receive a pass, receive a shot, right, if you're a defenseman, receive the body of the other player that you're trying to defend or, b with the puck, finding space for your teammates so you can move that puck to open space.

00:03:21.604 --> 00:03:25.639
So when we say time and space, it's about creating opportunities on the ice.

00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:34.887
When you don't have the puck, you want to find areas of the ice that are somewhat open to be available for that pass to continue to make a play.

00:03:35.407 --> 00:03:39.543
Too often in hockey we end drills with a shot, a shot, a shot.

00:03:39.543 --> 00:03:43.552
So you're conditioned that well, the drills, the hockey, ends in a shot.

00:03:43.552 --> 00:03:44.981
That's not always true.

00:03:44.981 --> 00:03:47.266
Our great friend on the show, mike Bonelli, says that all the time.

00:03:47.266 --> 00:03:50.332
Sometime the play ends for you in making that pass to an open player.

00:03:50.332 --> 00:03:56.698
Sometime it's a defensive play of getting the puck out of the zone to an open player or just out of the zone to an area where it's not dangerous.

00:03:56.698 --> 00:04:06.395
When we get into more advanced techniques like cross ice dumps or dumping the puck, we are putting the puck into a space where we know that our players can time and go get it.

00:04:06.395 --> 00:04:13.669
And again, timing and space is not only when you have the puck, it's specifically, and probably more importantly, when you don't have the puck.

00:04:14.330 --> 00:04:25.819
If you don't get what I'm saying, if this is going over your head, think about it like this when you have the puck, you should be in service of the four players on the ice, the four skaters that don't have the puck.

00:04:25.819 --> 00:04:29.761
They should all be options for you to pass to if you need.

00:04:29.761 --> 00:04:36.579
And, adversely, if you don't have the puck, you should be thinking where do I need to be to get open?

00:04:36.579 --> 00:04:38.617
Where do I need to be to assist my teammate?

00:04:38.617 --> 00:04:42.975
Keeping in mind also this doesn't mean always getting the puck.

00:04:42.975 --> 00:04:55.000
If you look at an offensive situation on a two-on-one, sometimes being a decoy and drawing that defenseman or drawing that goaltender towards your side when you don't have the puck, assist the puck carrier in getting an open net.

00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:56.336
It all works together.

00:04:56.336 --> 00:04:58.375
It's a beautiful symphony of hockey.

00:04:58.375 --> 00:05:00.822
An open net it all works together.

00:05:00.822 --> 00:05:02.406
It's a beautiful symphony of hockey.

00:05:02.447 --> 00:05:14.632
But time and space, understanding your speed, understanding the timing of getting yourself or the puck or a teammate into space that is available, that is uncontested or undefended or of higher percentage play, that's it.

00:05:14.632 --> 00:05:15.694
That's what we mean by time and space.

00:05:15.694 --> 00:05:16.456
I could go on.

00:05:16.456 --> 00:05:17.178
It expands.

00:05:17.178 --> 00:05:23.278
I could talk about things like shooting for a rebound and arriving to the front of the net or arriving where that rebound might be in time.

00:05:23.278 --> 00:05:41.177
But these are your basic building blocks of time and space Find open ice to be ready to receive a pass, or move the puck to open ice where a teammate can get it, or work together to create that deception, to move a goaltender or defenseman into a position that's going to allow you to get a better shot or a better scoring opportunity on net.

00:05:41.250 --> 00:05:43.798
Time and space is one of the best parts of our game.

00:05:43.798 --> 00:05:44.800
Work on that.

00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:46.076
You're never too young to work on that.

00:05:46.076 --> 00:05:52.451
I'm going to reiterate one more time Skating, shooting, passing the fundamentals you should be working on those your entire time.

00:05:52.451 --> 00:05:58.293
Playing hockey, whether you play until 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 100, we're going to get there one day.

00:05:58.293 --> 00:05:59.593
I wish that for all of you.

00:05:59.593 --> 00:06:02.615
This has been Leo Elias with another Ride to the Rink, remember.

00:06:02.615 --> 00:06:05.276
You can catch out all the Ride to the Rinks on OurKidsPlayHockeycom.

00:06:05.276 --> 00:06:09.798
But I want to tell you all have a great time playing, have a great summer, have a great spring, have a great winter or fall.

00:06:09.798 --> 00:06:10.358
You found value.

00:06:10.358 --> 00:06:19.000
Wherever you're listening, whether it's a podcast network, a social media network or our website, ourkidsplayhockeycom.

00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:23.262
Also, make sure to check out our children's book when Hockey Stops at whenhockeystopscom.

00:06:23.262 --> 00:06:26.403
It's a book that helps children deal with adversity in the game and in life.

00:06:26.403 --> 00:06:39.651
We're very proud of it.

00:06:39.651 --> 00:06:43.401
But thanks so much for listening to this edition of Our Kids Play Hockey and we'll see you on the next episode.