"Lastly, success comes from working hard and being in excellent condition. I guarantee you, we won't be beaten because of lack of conditioning! Line up on the goal line." the coach ordered. "Who can tell what suicides are?" he asked.
Danny Halloran, another senior defenseman, spoke up. "They're a series of continuous sprints that has players starting at a goal line. Those players skate from the goal line to the near blue line, back to the goal line, then to the center ice
red line, back to the goal line, to the far blue line, back to the goal line and finally the length of the ice to the far goal line and then all the way back to the starting goal line."
"Exactly. Now, who can tell me a problem with this drill?"
"Coach, we've all done the drill since Mites but it always seemed like other than getting fit, it never made much sense," Tommy answered.
"Okay Tommy, but what do you mean, 'It never made sense?'"
"Well, all we did was skate back and forth . . . kinda mindless."
"I said when we first started today's practice that we were going to change the way you look at the game and begin doing things that will contribute to a winning culture. Games are won or lost in the third period partly because of a lack of heart
and lung conditioning. All things being equal, the team in better condition and more desire usually wins. With that in mind, gentlemen, we're going to add a little different twist to this conditioning drill. No sense just having you skate up and
down the ice without any purpose or, as Tommy said, . . . mindless.
"We're going to build a challenge into this drill that will help you when you're tired and dragging. Remember, mistakes, like losing the puck especially in the neutral or defensive zones, are turnovers that give your opponent a chance to score a goal or worst yet, score a winning goal.
"Give me three seniors on the goal line and grab a puck." the coach barked. Tommy, Jimmy and Danny stepped forward, each cradling a puck on their stick.
"Here's the deal, boys. You're all familiar with suicides. Each of you will start the drill with a puck and the goal here is to maintain puck control throughout, while skating as fast as possible. Remember stay focused and concentrate especially when fatigue is settling in. Coach Villandry will time you and I want the line to
complete the drill in forty-five seconds or less. By the way, in case you're wondering, forty five seconds is typically the shift time I want you to be playing with an all-out effort.
"Goalies, I've got a little twist for you. Instead of carrying a puck, you're gonna skate to the far bench and back again. It's twice the distance you have to cover in a game but it will build your endurance. If we have a delayed penalty, I need you to get to the bench as fast as possible so we can get a sixth skater out there. Keep your head up because there's a lot of stuff that will be going on out there. Just like in a game! Coach Carpenito will time you and I want you back and forth in 15
seconds or less."
Joe hesitated for a moment and glanced over the group. "Any questions?" In unison, everyone shook his head.
"Good. On my whistle, begin!"
For the next ten minutes, the team ran through the "new suicide drill." With the exception of a small handful of players, many had difficulty successfully completely the drill. When the last group finished, Coach blew his whistle. "Guys I
know that you may be tired but your level of focus and work effort is just not there. Many of you lost control of the puck during the drill and that's unacceptable," he barked.
"Coach Villandry, roughly what was the time when most lost control of the puck?"
"Coach, the average was twenty-five seconds."
"Thanks Coach V. Obviously, conditioning played a role in this drill today but who can tell me the impact of not successfully completing the drill in the forty-five second time frame?"
"Well, coach, if we couldn't finish the drill in that time, that means that during one of our shifts, we'll get tired and lose the puck."
"Exactly, Tommy. This drill will improve as we get better conditioned but the lesson here is that you need to work through being tired and stay focused during your shifts. Again, I want you to realize why we do certain drills and their importance.
"Good effort everyone. Stretch for a few minutes and then a quick shower. We'll meet in the conference room in fifteen minutes."
As the last player made his way into the conference room, Collins addressed the group. "Guys, you all did as I asked today. For the most part, your work effort was there and that's the first lesson in turning this program around. Who can tell me two other thing you think are necessary for this team to be successful?"
"Discipline, coach," John blurted out.
"Okay, but tell me why you think that?"
"Well, if a team is undisciplined, they start doing stupid things like taking bad penalties or losing control in a tight game."
"Good answer, John."
Danny put up his hand and spoke out."Well. Coach. Last year, we lost three pretty good players because they flunked a course or two. Seems to me, you can't help the team if you're tossed off the squad."
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