How to Coach Kids

I was watching Canada lose to Finland in the World Juniors and I kept on thinking to myself "call a timeout Sutter." Why? The team was coming unwound and Sutter let them. Sometimes you need a timeout to set up a play at the end, but sometimes it is better to use up your time out to calm your team down and remind them it is alright. They are kids that you are asking to be men. They are not ready for that and Sutter needs to realize that sometimes a timeout should not be saved for a hypothetical scenario that may not even occur.

There is more wrong with Canadian sports system though and it will take a lot to change the mentality. We have a pay to play system which can freeze out kids. Why don't NHL teams sponsor teams to make hockey more accessible, same with companies. I'm not talking about TimBits and AtoMC hockey, I'm talking making hockey cost $100 a year, equipment included. This will make the game more accessible for all.

Goalies have been the downfall of Canada in the past but Fucale looked really good this year. The problem with goaltending is it is so expensive. Someone (Sean Burke) needs to travel around Canada and train dedicated people on how to coach goalies. My dad was able to teach me how to coach water polo goalies and the first one I worked with made a national team. If Burke is in charge of Canadian goaltending he should be working in Canada 100% of the time with goalies of all ages. His NHL coaching should stop.

Finally we should look at how we train kids. Coaching water polo we encouraged many kids to play other sports. Volleyball, basketball, soccer, and track and field were all favourites. This allowed them to have more fun and improve other aspects of themselves. Most of our top players were good athletes not just water polo players. The expectation was that you email if you will be missing or be late for practice and you try not to miss games. This worked out really well for us. At younger ages (until about 15) kids should play other sports, make friends, and develop in more sports than just one.

We should also move kids to "small-sided" games. You split the the rink into two halves and let kids play in a format that makes them touch the puck more. Create balanced teams where stronger kids can help their weaker teammates. Kids love this stuff. If a game is getting out of hand, let the game be a mutual forfeit and balance the teams out. Play in tournaments where fair play is encouraged and scores are not as important. Emphasize skill above all else. Some of the best player I ever coached were smaller, skinny kids who could think the game. Emphasize tactics and kids of all sizes will flourish.

As they get older make nutritionists available through provincial sport organizations who emphasize healthy eating, not supplements. Did you know chocolate milk is an excellent recovery drink? Kids love it and it is cheaper than any sports you can buy. Kids and teenagers don't need fancy supplements, they need healthy food and positive, strong coaching. Once they get older, you can teach them about proper training, how not to overtrain and how to be fit for life. Some kids will be excelled down this path because they are excellent athletes. McDavid would most likely be a year or two ahead of his peer group and that is okay because he belongs there.

Kids are dropping out of sport because it becomes too much. All we should expect from them is for them to have fun. After that is accomplished, focus on all the positives and let kids make mistakes. We need to get back to playing and away from winning until kids are old enough to handle the pressure that comes with winning, probably around 12. Even then, the process should be the bigger picture.

More

When I look back on my life I realize how lucky I am, but I wish there was more I could do. I grew up in a middle class family where I always had more than enough. I still live at home. My parents are paying for my schooling. I have never not had enough. But I wish I could do more.

I am in education and I took a course called the History of Inner City Education. It was a course that you learned through discussion. I took almost no notes and left it wondering if I was doing the right thing. How could I help all the people that needed it? Was teaching them really going to help? I came out of that class with my eyes wide open but also with a growing sense of frustration because the resources you had access to was dictated by your geography. There is different levels of support for kids in the Inner City than there is for kids that live in poorer areas outside of the Inner City. I want to help, but I don't know how.

I take the bus everywhere. I have access to a car (sometimes) and I am a busy student. So I do what I can. I donate food to Winnipeg Harvest and the Christmas Cheer Board. I try to retweet anything that will help organizations that help people in need but I feel like I should do more. But I don't know what more is. So I do a little and hopes it helps a lot.

Baking for Newbies

Last night on Twitter there was a discussion over a bad experience someone had making cookies in their oven. The week before someone was bemoaning the fact that Christmas shopping sucks without a list (I have one with stored mapped out on it already). I suggested baking for everyone for Christmas (cheap and everybody like it), and if you are a non-baker to stick to easy stove-top stuff. Being a nice person, here are two easy and delicious stove-top recipes.

1. Chocolate Frogs (makes about 36)

Ingrediants

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup flaked coconut

3 cups quick rising oats

Steps

1. Line 2 cookie sheets with wax paper

2. In a large pot stir together cocoa, sugar, milk, and butter

3. Boil for 5 minutes, then remove from heat

4. Stir in vanilla extract, coconut, and oats. Combine well.

5. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Refrigerate for one hour or until set. Keep in the fridge until needed.

These also freeze well.

Rice Krispie Cake (http://www.ricekrispies.com/recipes/the-original-treats)

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
• — OR —
• 4 cups miniature marshmallows
• 6 cups Kellogg's® Rice Krispies® cereal

DIRECTIONS

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.

If you want to make them fancy, put some sprinkles on top :)

My Definitive Ranking of Christmas Movies

I love Christmas movies and because of this I have decided to rank my favourite movies. Warning: this is cartoon heavy.

1. Miracle on 34th Street (original)
I love this movie because it is about rediscovering youth and imagination. It is not just about Santa being real, but about how Christmas is as magical as we want it to be. And the original is just awesome in black and white.

2. Love Actually
One of my favourite movies, the idea that we fall in love so easily is sweet. I have watched the movie over 20 times since it was released and it gets me every time. The intertwining story lines are beautiful and the airport scenes are the best.

3. It's a Wonderful Life
This is where it gets hard for me but this timeless movie does it for me. The realization that you do matter no matter how useless you think you are is something that should be mentioned more than it is.

4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated)
The movie is short, sweet, and simple. The message is "even the coldest heart can warm when taught love". And the original is better than the remake of course.

5. Charlie Brown
My favourite screw up is one of my favourite movies. He can't do anything right and for that he finds the spirit of Christmas.

6. A Christmas Carol (original)
Timeless and great, this movie features ghosts and regrets. And the realization that it is never too late to change your outlook.

7. Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too
Winnie the Pooh is still my favourite Disney character and I have watched this movie every year on CBC, even as a teenager. Pooh screws up and tries to bring Christmas to his friends anyways. Silly old bear.

The More Things Change...

For the first time since my mom was six Christmas morning will not be at the house she grew up in. It will not be at the house where my Baba died, where we spent time as a big family. The house hasn't left our family as my older cousin and her husband bought it. But the most important part of our Christmas, waffles, ice cream and berries will still be around but in a different place. And it is not the same.

My Grandpa's old house is huge. An addition was built on to it so that eight people could comfortably live there. My mom has stories of her holding up heavy boards on a ladder as a teenager. But it is in capable hands now with my cousin. Christmas Eve dinner is too, though our Grandpa is going over to help. But breakfast has changed and that feels weird.

Christmas morning is when we exchange gifts but much more importantly we are all together. WE rarely ever are all together anymore with one aunt in Singapore, an aunt and uncle in Australia, and and aunt, uncle, and cousins in Vermont. But every once in a while we would all come together in the big family room at my Grandpa's on Christmas morning and laugh. Sure, we would open presents but we would also laugh.

There is a joke in our family that when all the Chaboyer women get together and laugh, it is a wall of laughter that you cannot escape even if you try. When my sister and I were young we would be kept awake by this laughter. It will never go away, but things change and it will not be in the same place again.

The kitchen was perfect for big meals. It was a kitchen that people would want to put an island in now. My Grandpa had this big table, way too big for one person but excellent for family gatherings. Christmas morning we would all sit around and eat waffles as my mom cooked. My parents even got my Grandpa a new waffle iron to speed up the cooking process. Everyone fit around the table and would have a good time together. We won't all fit anymore, the kitchen is too small for the table to be as big as it once was. The living room at his apartment will mean that we will have to squish to all fit. But we will be together and we will have a good time. 

It will not be the same. As much as I wish it would have never changed, everything changes. But the people who make it Christmas will be there. The food that makes it special will still be there. The quiet moments where my Grandpa struggles with the time of year when he lost his wife will still be there. But the setting won't be and that means that times are changing and that is hard to accept when the changes mean you are getting older and soon nothing will be the same.

What to Get the Book Lovers on Your List-Part One

I realize that I have finished exams but due to some other stuff haven't written for a bit. So here are my recommendations for the reader on your Holiday list. I realize I am late for Chanukah but I was busy.

Sports Lover- numerous books fit in this category but I'll stick with the two I've been able to read.

The Game-Ken Dryden
The Game is the quintessential hockey book written by Canadiens great Ken Dryden. It is about his last year. Reading it you realize how smart Dryden is and why he is a go to guy for the media whenever something controversial happens. This is a must read even if you are a Bruins fan.

The Greatest Game-Todd Denault

This book is also Habs centric, but it is fabulous for telling the history of hockey in the Soviet Union as well as how the last Habs dynasty was built. Talks about the rise of Philly and Boston through physicality. It cumulates with the historic 1975 game between the Habs and the Soviets.

Gretzky's Ghost-Stephen Brunt

This book is a collection of stories from Brunt; titled from the time he acted as Gretzky's ghost writer. It features some really neat stories (like the rise of Lafleur) and is an easy read.

The Hockey Sweater-Roch Carrier

How can I leave out this classic. Perfect for any Canadian of any age because it is awesome. It is Canadiens centric but you should read it even you you love the Leafs.

There are defiantly more awesome sports books but I chose to feature three I have really enjoyed.

For the Canadian War history lover. This is totally up my ally and it was because of books that I am a history lover today.

Vimy- Pierre Berton

Vimy is an amazing book about the preparation and battle at Vimy Ridge. The details are vivid and there are parts that are shocking and very real. It is not super gory though so anyone should be able to handle it.

Unlikely Soldiers-Jonathan Vance

Tales that you have never heard before about Canadian spies in France during WWII. I devoured it in about two days because it is so engaging. It is the tale of two young men who never should have been involved in the war effort.

Finally for the person who is hard to buy for.

These books are all easy reads and are really cool ideas for anyone on your list.

PostSecret Books-Frank Warren

These books are compilations of anonymous secrets sent to Frank and then published in book form. I read them and then my dad did too. Everyone will enjoy them. There are currently 5 books published.

The Book of Awesome and The Book of Even More Awesome-Neil Pasricha

Short quips about everyday things that are awesome. Really fast sections to read. Best book I've travelled with because long periods of concentration are not needed.

Hockey Markets and Ownership

I don't really watch any sports other than hockey and international sports, including the Olympics. I ask people questions about other sports because I like to learn things and frankly if nothing else is on TV basketball is an entertaining option. But I know the most (read very little) about hockey and I am from Winnipeg. Meaning I followed the Phoenix Coyotes saga closely and new about the Atlanta Thrashers problems with ownership well. Fans of those teams always say (or said) when we get a new owner it will all be better. But rarely does it work.

Not to say that new ownership doesn't help a fan base. Look at the Chicago Blackhawks, after their owner, Bill Wirtz, died and his son Rocky took over the team returned to TV, fans came back. But Chicago was an Original Six team whose had been frozen out of developing a relationship with their local team. That is not happening in places like Phoenix and Florida. They have access to their team. A family of four can go to a game without it costing an arm and a leg. But yet it doesn't happen. Even with stable ownership, fans don't come to games. At some point it has to be said that places are either A) not hockey markets (Florida or Phoenix)
B) too close to major hockey markets (Ottawa)
and that a hockey team in the area doesn't make sense. At some point the arena being in the middle of nowhere and requiring driving starts sounding like whining. 7:30 starts for all then. At some point you have to show you deserve a team.

Winnipeg lost a team because they couldn't afford it anymore due to the dollar and a sinking Manitoban economy that left little money for a NHL team and the NHL moved the Jets from Winnipeg. But after patiently building up the city, Manitoba rebuilt its economy, brought in the AHL, ran them well and showed the NHL that they could be a successful hockey market. Winnipeg showed they cared about hockey and had to earn a team back by selling of season tickets BEFORE the sale went through. This was unprecedented and is not required in other markets. Winnipeg won a team back. Other cities were gifted them and those markets are struggling. Maybe the NHL was onto something but how long can they stand by a sinking ship.

A hockey market is a hockey market no matter the ownership. If the economy doesn't allow for the NHL to be viable than the NHL should leave because market viability AND stable ownership should be priority not one or the other.