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S E A F A I R M I N O R H O C K E Y A S S O C I A T I O N N E W S L E T T E R
What a Difference a
Year Makes
Seafair’s Elementary
Hockey Program and
Coaching Clinics Prove to
be a Huge Success
Roughly 9 months ago, skill development at
Seafair was done by individual coaches who
sporadically picked up extra ice for their team
on an as needed basis. Despite the great
coaching abiliJes of our Seafair coaches, this
was not the recipe for successful skill
development for an enJre associaJon. A
change was imminent. Enter Yogi and Derek -­‐
the dynamic duo who were hired by Seafair
to spearhead the skill development program
of our players. Nine months later, Seafair’s
skill development program is off the charts
and reaping the rewards of an integrated
approach that involved development of both
coaches and players.
The inaugural year of Seafair’s Elementary
Hockey Program (EHP) was nothing short of a
success. Six skills groups were filled with 110
Seafair players ranging from H3 to Bantam.
The skill sessions were on a weekly basis for
twenty-­‐five weeks of the hockey season. Led
by Yogi Svejkovsky and Derek Popke, the
program focussed on skill development of
skaJng, passing, sJck handling and shooJng.
Having these two elite instructors work with
our Seafair players has brought out the best
in our players and taught them the finer
points of the greatest game on ice. With both
instructors on the ice at the same Jme for all
skill sessions, Yogi and Derek were able to
provide construcJve feedback to all players
and challenge all players regardless of skill
level.
Seafair’s monthly coaching clinics were just as
successful. Coaches adended both on-­‐ice and
off-­‐ice sessions each month to learn the finer
points of coaching hockey. The coaching
clinics were run by Yogi and provided coaches
with drills, technical points, strategic ideas
and game management ideas to implement
with their teams. The off-­‐ice sessions were
held on Monday nights and were organized
into three groups -­‐ H1-­‐4 coaches, Atom -­‐
Bantam house coaches, Atom-­‐Juvenile rep
coaches. Videos were oRen used to analyze
skills, tacJcs and strategy, and coaches leR
each session armed with a variety of new
ideas to try at their next pracJce or game.
The on-­‐ice sessions were run bright and early
on Saturday morning as Yogi ran the coaches
through a variety of drills to try with their
players. What a beder way to learn a drill
than by doing it!
Not only have the skill sessions and coaching
clinics improved the players and coaches, it
has changed the culture of hockey at Seafair.
No longer are coaches just running the
players through the paces at pracJce, but are
adending to the details of how each skill
should be performed. This adenJon to detail
is the biggest difference in the mind’s of
many of the coaches -­‐ a difference that will
pay forward for many years to come.
Next hockey season will undoubtedly see the
conJnuaJon of both the EHP and coaching
clinics. With these programs in place, and
more on the horizon, Seafair conJnues to live
the mantra “Great Hockey, Great People”.
Did You Know???
Five defensemen have scored over 100 points in a season,
a feat unlikely to be obtained anytime soon. Bobby Orr
reached the century mark 6 times, Paul Coffey did it 5
times, while Denis Potvin, Al Macinnis and Brian Leetch
each achieved the 100 point plateau once. The closest any
defenseman has come to this in recent years was Nik
Lidstrom with 80 points in 2005-­‐2006.
Did You Know???
When lining up for a face-­‐off, defensemen used to line up in the
‘eye’ formation, one behind the other. They were called ‘point’ and
‘cover point’ positions. But this changed in 1906 when players from
the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, who were playing in the Ontario
Hockey Association for the Argonauts Rowing Club hockey team,
began lining up beside each other as left and right defensemen.
Shortly thereafter, all defensemen were lined up beside each other
as we do in today’s game.
Volume IV Issue IV Seafair - Great Hockey, Great People Page 2