To all the coaches out there – I think we’re setting our players up to fail.

We preach making tape-to-tape passes all the time.

And while that might be ideal when there is time and space, that’s not the reality of the female game, especially at a young age.

I’ve said this many times before – girls hockey is over aggressive in the way most teams play without the puck. It’s pressure pressure pressure all the time in all 3 zones. And while this is a good way to win puck races and puck battles, it does eliminate the time and space needed to make a glorious tape-to-tape pass.

So when we spend all this time with tape-to-tape, the reality is that our players are rarely getting passes like that during the game. When the passer is under hard pressure, she’s much more likely to give a pass that’s in the receiver’s feet, rolling along the boards or chipped up in the air.

Traditionally, we would call those BAD passes.

But I believe we need to change our mindset on that.

Sure, when you have the time and space to go tape-to-tape, you should be able to make that pass every time.

But when you don’t have that time and space, you shouldn’t force something that isn’t really there. So you adjust and find another way to get the puck to your teammate.

We must teach our players how to make effective passes when under hard pressure. Players must learn the fine art of making the indirect pass, the flip pass or the saucer pass when they don’t have the time and space to go tape to tape.

And on the flip side of that, we must teach the pass receiver how to catch all those passes in addition to the perfect tape-to-tape pass.

How many times have you been watching a game and player after player misses a pass because they think it’s just a little too tough to handle?

By over-emphasizing the tape-to-tape pass, the pass receiver starts to expect that the incoming pass should be “perfect” and if it is behind them, in their feet or out ahead of them, it isn’t their fault that they can’t control it.

Wrong.

I believe it is the pass receiver’s job to be able to control any pass that is within 360 degrees of them.

Let me explain…

The 360 degrees refers to the space surrounds a player in an imaginary circle that would be drawn around them when they are standing on the ice holding their stick out in front of them in their top hand.

I truly believe that it is the pass receiver’s responsibility to control ANY puck that is inside that 360 degree circle. That includes passes in their feet, wobbly passes, slapshot passes and those really annoying passes that dribble a few feet behind you as you head up the ice.

Being able to control those kind of passes, as well as the ones of the laser-like tape-to-tape variety, is an absolutely essential skill for players who aspire to play at the elite level. And it is a skill that coaches must constantly teach and reinforce on the ice during skill sessions, practices and games.

So maybe as we start planning for next season, we start to re-think the focus on the tape-to-tape passes. Because the truth is our players are rarely giving or receiving passes without facing hard pressure. We must teach them how to get pucks to each other and receive those pucks in the type of environment they play in. It may not look as pretty, but it will get them ready to excel in game situations, instead of just looking good in practice.

Work Hard. Dream BIG.

Your friend and coach,

Kim