NS Coach Newsletter Vol 4(3) April, 2014

Volume: 4, Edition (3)

Posted: Monday, April 28^th, 2014

 

“Help them become the people they want to be

through exceptional life experiences like lacrosse”

 

News: “Season is On!”

Club presidents and executives have been working overtime as box lacrosse is just days away from the first league play in the HRM and communities across the province. This year, to help provide professional development and coaching clinics, all head coaches will fill out a 100B form and submit it to Lacrosse Nova Scotia. To complete the form, all coaching staff are to be included, as well as door openers and mangers. Within the MMLL the deadline is Friday, May 16^th.

Lacrosse Nova Scotia is required to submit coaching numbers to CLA each year and it will be a requirement of Sport Nova Scotia for block funding. The forms will also insure that all coaching staff at LNSS sanctioned events, practices and the like, are covered by the PSO’s insurance policy. Hopefully by next year head coaches will be able to complete the forms online on LNSS’s website.

News: “Special Novice Coaching Session”

Wayne Finck will again oversee the MMLL’s Novice division for the 2014 season and is inviting all novice coaches to attend one of two 30-45 minute sessions at Rockingham Elementary School, 31 Tremont Dr, Halifax, on Tuesday, April 29^th or Thursday, May 1^st at 7:00pm.

Both sessions will cover the modified rules specific to the age group, like the fall-back rule and defensive play/checking, and provide live coaching demonstrations with players. Not many times that you get to learn from a Hall of Famer within a sport, so don’t miss this opportunity with Wayne, and if you call him at 425-8333, he may even be able to attend one of your pre-season practices.

News: “Congratulations”

Congratulations to the following new coaches who completed the Box Community Development clinic this month and their impressive dedication in completing the pre-clinic work. Our coaching ranks now include: Joell Swann, Rachelle Gobeli, Evan McKean, Steven DeLisle, Kate Moore, Emma Hackett, Chris Burgess, Steve Giles, Luke Staples, Kirk Drabble, Holly Stuart, Jeff Brenna and Steve Soulis.

News: “Coaching Clinic”

For coaches who have completed their Box Community Development workbooks and need to up-grade to coach Bantam teams and above, there is a Box Competitive Introduction clinic scheduled for Friday and Saturday, May 30^th-31^st. The Friday evening session will be held at Sport Nova Scotia and the Saturday on-floor session is to be determined. Contact LNSS now if you would like to attend or need to know how to complete your “Comm Dev” workbooks.

News: “Aleš Hřebeský Memorial”

The 21^st Aleš Hřebeský Memorial box lacrosse tournament, the largest in Europe, is over for another year. Thousands of fans come every year to the outdoor box in Radotin to watch their local Czech heroes take on the world, which included 20 teams this year and players from: Israel, Poland, Scotland, Ireland, England, USA, Austria, Germany, Finland, France, Slovakia, the Mohawk Nation and Canada.

If you didn’t get a chance to see any of the games, you can watch them and the final match between Ontario’s Green Gaels and the Iroquois’ Kahnawake Rapids at http://www.net-tv.cz/866-59-kahnawake-rapids-green-gaels. Nova Scotia’s Privateers only lost one game, but unfortunately it was the critical cross-over game which kept them from getting into the upper level playoffs. One Nova Scotian did make the final game and that was Halifax Southwest Hurricane’s Mark Falkenham, who played for the Gaels and will do so this year in his last Junior season.

News: “Master This!”

The Maritime Masters League will be running a Free Try Lacrosse session Sunday, May 4^th at Shannon Park Arena from 5:00-6:30pm for new players and 6:30-8:00pm for experienced players. This is a great opportunity for coaches who want to bone up on their skills and besides, why let the kids have all the fun!

Masters runs from May to July and more details can be found at www.dartmouthbandits.com website or the Facebook group site. This is a non-contact, coed league so bring your significant other and give it a try. All you need is a helmet/mask and gloves and if you don’t have a stick there will be extra on hand, just pre-register and let the organizers know.

 

Technical Director’s “My 2 Cents”

It must be April. The turfs are busy again with school teams of all colours and Rocky Lake Dome has been abuzz with practices, tryouts, Provincial aspirations and the annual high school box tournament.

The Dome, what a great resource it has become to introduce high school students to box lacrosse and a venue for clubs to gear up their teams and coaching staffs for a whole month before the season starts.

For those of you who haven’t been out to the dome this year, you’ve missed the laundry line of lacrosse banners and pop-up posters that in future will hopefully be accompanied by club and team banners. What a great spot also to run a Giant Gear Swap the day after the surface opens or run a BBQ for some fundraising during the box tourney. I think we’re just finding out how lucky we are to have this space open at this time of year and that there’s more opportunities to make this lacrosse central.

As for the Burnside turf fields, last Monday afternoon you would have thought you were showing up to a Dartmouth High - Eastern Shore’s field lacrosse game, but there wasn’t a single net on the field or a lacrosse stick in sight, only rugby balls. Never more was I struck by the passion students have to play for their schools whether it’s rugby, football or lacrosse.

What I also find exciting for lacrosse is that a number of the teams that played in the box tournament this April are the same teams that showed up for last week’s season opener high school field games. Even more encouraging is that the players have taken a great deal of the initiative to create their school field clubs: If they’re going to play a school sport at this time of the year, why not lacrosse?

News: “Next Month”

Keep track of up-coming events on LNSS’s website newslider and calendar.

• Provincial Minor Box Team Rosters, End of April
• Milk Sport Fair, Amherst, NS, May 13^th-15^th
• Box Comp Intro Clinic, May 30^th-31^st

“Anyone who says ‘I’m just a volunteer coach’ should not be coaching. Just because you’re a volunteer doesn’t give you the right to be unorganized and unprepared and unprofessional.”

Mike Babcock: Head Coach, Team Canada,
2014 Olympic Gold Medalists

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April 1st Deadline!

Coaches,

The following online module on CAC's The Locker will no longer be free as of April 1st, 2014. Take advantage now and complete the competitive:

Make Ethical Decisions (all streams):        $85.00 (April 1st, 2014)

NS Coach Newsletter Vol 3(3) March, 2014

Volume: 3, Edition (3)

Posted: Tuesday, March 25^th, 2014

All Newsletters available at www.laxcoachns.blogspot.ca

Twitter: @Lawrenc70370068

“Help them become the people they want to be

through exceptional life experiences like lacrosse”

News: “Don’t Lose the Earlybird EDGE”

The Earlybird deadline, March 31^st, for the Edge Atlantic Coaches Conference is less than a week away (Earlybird $150, Full Fee $195). This is an opportunity to meet coaches from a wide variety of sports and compare notes on the cornerstones of performance (Technical, tactical, physical, nutritional and mental elements) and hear from leaders within their field.

Between April 25^th-26^th the Westin Nova Scotian will host the Edge conference, which you can register for through your The Locker account. If you don’t have an NCCP number you can set one up on the site, www.coach.ca by linking on “My Locker” or “The Locker” and then register for the conference.

Don’t forget, Certified Competitive Introduction coaches will receive valuable Professional Development points and there is some financial assistance available, but time is running out to take advantage so get in touch with LNSS’s Technical Director.

News: “Goalies: Past, Present and Supersized”

Whether you teach box goalies and/or have been one, this is a great article available on ILIndoor.com by Marty ONeil: http://www.ilindoor.com/2014/03/21/lost-art-of-goaltending-is-being-threatened-by-a-new-generation-of-bulk-taking-up-space/ . “Lost art of goaltending is being threatened by a new generation of bulk taking up space” is a thought provoking article worth the read. Google the title or try the link.

News: “Coaching Clinics Ready”

The first round of NCCP coaching clinics are ready to go in the Province. For new coaches, they need to complete the Box Community Development clinic (Comm Dev), whereas coaches who have taken the Comm Dev clinic and workbook, they can attend the Box Competitive Introduction clinic (Comp Intro).

Box Comp Intro, April 4^th – 5^th

Friday 7pm-9pm

Saturday 9am-3pm

East Dartmouth Community Centre

50 Caledonia Road, Dartmouth

LF – Kent Hayley

Box Comm Dev, April 12^th – 13^th

Saturday 5pm-10pm

Sunday 8am-1pm

Spryfield Community Gym (Behind the arena)

25 Drysdale Road, Halifax

LF – David Kehoe

Box Comm Dev, April 11^th-12^th

Digby, NS

Contact LF Bruce McCullogh (bruce@mccullogh.ca)

New coaches will need to set up a CLA coaching account and an NCCP number, which they can coordinate by contacting LNSS’s Technical Director. Every coach attending a coaching clinic will need to complete the CLA online pre-clinic work and then register for the clinic online. Again, if you have problems, get in touch with LNSS’s Technical Director.

News: “Try Lacrosse”

Congratulations to St. Margaret’s Storm, SW Hurricane and NW Rebel coaches and executives for running very successful Try Lacrosse sessions this month. There were a lot of happy faces and sweating brows from a new generation of lacrosse players. Great to see senior to peewee club players come out and assist and lead their programs and is why these sessions are so beneficial to the growth of lacrosse. New players love rubbing elbows with the Pros and players they look up to.

News: “The Dome Looms”

Despite the winter storm we’re about to be run over by within the next 24 hours, the days are notably longer, the sun’s strength is stronger and in just over a week, players and coaches will hit the Rocky Lake Dome floor and start another season of MMLL box lacrosse. As part of this year’s activity, LNSS’s Technical Director will be handing out Coach registration forms that can  be filled out on the spot or left in a drop-box at the arena.

The Coach Registration form, which is a modified 100B form (for those who remember) will ensure that coaches and their coaching staffs (Door openers and trainers) are covered by LNSS’s insurance policy while leading practices, games and any other LNSS sanctioned events. The plan is to have all coaching staffs registered by the end of April.

Technical Director’s “My 2 Cents”

I would highly recommend that in addition to the Edge Coaching Conference that coaches look into the NCCP multisport Competitive Development clinics. Over the past three months I’ve attended Developing Athletic Abilities, Prevention and Recovery, Managing Conflict and Leading Drug-free Sport. These clinics do cost $50 per clinic, but they are well worth the value.

There are four general categories that make up an athlete’s repertoire of athletic abilities: Physical, motor, tactical and mental. This repertoire gives an athlete the capacity to carry out the efforts, movements and tasks that support sport performance. At the core of this module are the seven physical and three athletic abilities in conjunction with the body’s energy systems. Coaches are then challenged to develop training strategies for their sport using these key elements through a wide variety of testing and training principles. Again, an intense course, but well worth the time.

A great follow-up to Athletic Abilities is the Prevention and Recovery module. Here coaches identify common injuries within their sport and the causes (poor training, overuse or physical forces) and create a Prevention Action Plan to minimize the risk of those injuries. This clinic isn’t just about improving your warm-ups and cool downs: High performance depends on how well you train and how thorough you plan and the same goes for injury prevention. In the end coaches have a much better appreciation for training fundaments, identifying fatigue and overtraining, recovery techniques and the incorporation of hydration, nutrition and sleep. This is definitely a very functional module.

In regards to Managing Conflict and Leading Drug-free Sport, these modules delve into ethical, social and legal aspects of coaching. In managing conflict coaches learn the potential sources and multipliers that can increase the difficulty of resolving issues then complete a short survey to see what strategies they use in conflict resolution. This last task can be an eye opener and can help develop your toolbox of skills.

As for drug-free sports, this module is essentially an extension of the ethical decision making process. After establishing the facts of a situation, coaches determine whether they are dealing with an ethical, legal or doping issue. Depending on the drug in question, like marijuana, the conclusion can be that they are dealing with a doping and legal issue. A good amount of debate resulted from the marijuana “The Season Up in Smoke” example.

Column: “Tips from the Crease”

“Periodization”

I had no idea who Istvan Bayli was a few weeks ago, or that he was the author of the LTAD model for Sport Canada, but I’m sure glad I do now. Istvan introduced Periodization, an extremely valuable tool that can provide “the framework for arranging the complex array of training processes (skill development, strength training and regeneration) into a logical schedule to bring about optimal improvements in performance”. Key take-home topics where, sleep, recovery and puberty.

Istvan could not stress enough the need for good sleeping habits. General guidelines being at least 6-8 hours per night, no electronics 2 hours before sleep and 20 minute naps between 2pm-4pm at competitions, particularly those where more than one game is played a day.

In regards to recovery, this is where periodization plays a strategic roll and Istvan stepped through a 10-step process on how to create your own plan. To maintain an athlete’s athletic abilities they need three training sessions or blocks per week, but to progress, they will require 6-8 weeks of training with 6, 9, 12, or at the elite/Olympic level, 15 sessions or training blocks a week. Therefore, adequate recovery needs to be planned into weekly, monthly and before championship competition, which should also include variation in training intensity and duration. Athletes won’t receive the benefits of training for 10-12 days after the last session and a great way to monitor a player’s level of fatigue is using the “bunny-hop” test.

A simply way to find out if your players are recovering well or starting to suffer from fatigue is to run them through the standing long jump test. Hopping on two feet like a bunny, the athletes make five consecutive standing long jumps in a row and the total distance is measured and recorded. The test is simple, fast, not energy “expensive” and can accommodate a large team. To monitor recovery and training demands, run the test at the beginning and end of the practice.

Lastly, do you know where your athletes stand in regards to their growth spurt? Istvan stepped through “Pubertal Periodization”, a method to modify your training plan to accommodate pre-pubescent athletes and those going through puberty. The key being, players between the ages of 10-12 do not have the hormonal machinery to benefit from adult exercise regimes. For those between the ages of 10-16, growth can be so rapid as to dramatically affect performance as their centre of gravity shifts and neural pathways struggle to coordinate rapidly growing limbs.

As parents struggle to combat growing limbs and the cost of re-clothing them, they can predict the age of Peak Height Velocity (point at which the body is growing at its fastest rate) by going to http://taurus.usask.ca/growthutility/phv_ui.cfm?type=1 or google “peak height velocity, University of Saskatchewan”. This information is then valuable to coaches in matching practice strategies to the needs of their players, particularly at the LTAD Learning-to-Train and Training-to-train stages, or in box lacrosse terms, roughly peewee to midget.

Note:

Talking with BC counter parts, they use “Blob Tag” (Chicken Tag, Vol3, Ed1) and Masters Rules with their Junior teams. Blob tag being just plain old fun and Masters’ box rules to keep the ball moving (4-5 second holding rule) and defensive positioning. There is no body or stick contact in Masters lacrosse, which means that defensive positioning is the only way to impede the progress of a ball carrier. And if I haven’t said it before, the best line I’ve ripped off recently is,

“Positioning improves Vision

Vision improves Anticipation

Anticipation improves Decision Making”

News: “Next Month”

Keep track of up-coming events on LNSS’s website newslider and calendar.

•  Atlantic Coaching Conference Earlybird Deadline, March 31^st, See above
• Box Officiating Clinics, March, See LNSS Website
• Box Coaching Clinics, April, See above

“Anyone who says ‘I’m just a volunteer coach’ should not be coaching. Just because you’re a volunteer doesn’t give you the right to be unorganized and unprepared and unprofessional.”

Mike Babcock: Head Coach, Team Canada,
2014 Olympic Gold Medalists

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NS Coach Newsletter Vol 3(2) February, 2014

Volume: 3, Edition (2)

Posted: Tuesday, February 25^th, 2014

All Newsletters available at www.laxcoachns.blogspot.ca

Twitter: @Lawrenc70370068

“Help them become the people they want to be

through exceptional life experiences like lacrosse”

News: “Workbook Club”

Coaches, whether you need to complete a box/field Comm Dev/Comp Intro workbook, an evening can be coordinated to get everyone through their online workbooks (including setting up CLA coaching accounts and pre-clinic online work). Get in touch with your club president and lets get this done! You will need your manual and a laptop computer with wifi ability in order to take advantage of this session.

News: “Coach Training”

Coaches, LNSS is always looking for more individuals to become Learning Facilitators (LFs), especially outside the HRM. LFs lead NCCP coaching clinics, but as of January 1^st, 2015, they must have completed the general NCCP LF module clinic. The only one scheduled at this time on The Locker is for March 28^th and 29^th. You will also need to go through LF training specific for lacrosse at some point, but without the NCCP modules, you can’t run a coaching clinic after 2014. To register for the clinic, log into your coaching account on The Locker (coach.ca “My Locker”) and go to the Calendar tab. If you don’t have an NCCP number, go through the registration process. The LF module is also a great resource for those who deliver business clinic or courses.

News: “Great Coaching Opportunity”

You could find yourself next to a Canada Games coach, even an Olympic coach, which is why every coach should take advantage of the NCCP’s Competition Development series. On March 21^st and 23^rd, “Prevention and Recovery” and Developing Athletic Abilities” will be offered at Daltech. Coaches will “identify common injuries in their sport and develop appropriate prevention and recovery strategies so that their athletes can continue to train and compete injury-free” in the first course. The second course will give coaches the working background on how to “build an athletes’ fitness in endurance, strength and speed as a well sport specific conditioning”.

To register for either or both clinics, log into your coaching account on The Locker (coach.ca “My Locker”) and go to the Calendar tab. If you don’t have an NCCP number, go through the registration process.

News: “Sackville Wolves Call-out”

If you live in the Sackville area, think about coaching a minor team this year. It’ll not only be a great life experience for yourself, but also for your players. Those interested should get in touch with Steve Brown: coachbrown@eastlink.ca or give him a call at 830-2710.

Technical Director’s “My 2 Cents”

You can only imagine the long-term commitment by Slovenia’s and Austria’s men’s national hockey teams at the Sochi Olympics, who stacked up well below the giants in relation to registered hockey players: Slovenia 900+ (Seven available rinks), Austria 11,000+, Russia 66,000+, USA 500,000+ and Canada 600,000+. Despite their small bases, 17^th ranked Slovenia and 15^th ranked Austria beat 10^th ranked Germany and 14^th ranked Belarus in Olympic qualifiers: And how about Latvia’s semi-final versus Canada?

What a great time then to reflect on the four common characteristics of successful coaches, as listed in the US Level 1 Men’s Field Lacrosse coaching manual. Quoting from the manual, research has found that:

1. “Coaches have defined purpose and motivation: The coach communicates clear purposes and objectives to his/her players”;

2. “Coaches have skill competence: The coach has a competent knowledge of the game and is able to translate those skills appropriately to players”;

3. “Coaches are relational: All players matter. And coaches demonstrate that all players matter through emphasizing respect for self, teammates, opponents, officials and others by Honoring the Game”; and,

4. “Coaches possess good character: The coach is a powerful role model and therefore models high standard of conduct and values in his or her own life.”

To become a giant slayer, we need to ask ourselves then what the profiles are of the best players on the best teams, which is exactly what Les Gilson’s IPP form addressed at the most recent provincial coach meeting. Les is Rugby Canada’s High Performance Atlantic Manager and a tool he uses to create a Gold Medal player is their Individual Performance Plan (IPP). The IPP spreadsheet (Email lacrossetechdirector@sportnovascotia.ca for excel file) has six key criteria: technical, tactical, physical, nutrition, mental and holistic/leadership. Within each criteria there are 5-6 elements that coaches or players rank using a colour code key system; red (weakness), yellow (competent) and green (strength).

An interesting conversation can develop between coach and player when the player fills out the form. Les is charged with selecting NS players to participate on Canada Games or National teams. When a player fills out the IPP form and uses the context of his club or provincial team, the form can have a lot of green. It’s Les’ job then to sit with each player and get them to reflect on their abilities in relation to international standards.

You could imagine that the above coach/player conversation could be a bit discouraging, but the purpose of the IPP form is to identify strengths and set a pathway to develop weaknesses within a reasonable timetable. And have you ever had this conversation with a parent or player, “why didn’t my son, or I, get more playing time?” This then is a great tool for coaches, players and parents to establish a baseline and work to improve performance and ultimately equal playing opportunities.

Column: “Tips from the Crease”

“Slam Dunk”

Need something new for the one-on-one drill book, then try, “Slam Dunk”. Set a bucket, pail, milk crate or whatever about 10m from the first offensive/defensive pair. The challenge for the ball carrier is to aggressively cradle and dodge their way to the bucket and put the ball into the container without it popping back out. If players don’t have full gear, then run the “light” version where the defender uses hands only (and no grabbing). For the high intensity version, go full gear, but again, start the defender without a stick to work on defensive body positioning. This can be quite a competitive drill and expect your players to have fun with it.

“Whitby Tips”

Nice group of seven video clips on YouTube from Whitby Warriors. Go to YouTube put and type “WMLAcoaching” into the search window. Great tips for those coaches just getting into lacrosse or wanting to review some basics.

News: “Next Month”

Keep track of up-coming events on LNSS’s website newslider.

• Provincial Head Coach Meeting, February 5^th
• Comp Dev Leading Prevention & Recovery, The Locker, March 21^st
• Comp Dev Developing Athletic Abilities, The Locker, March 23^rd

“Players should expect the best - We can deliver”

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