Snow days ...

Rain is one thing … but snow!? What’s a coach to do? This is when you revamp your pre season plan. I have always felt that the NJSIAA made a huge mistake starting the first Friday in March. I also think that coaches can greatly improve skills inside. At Whippany Park, we used to spend over 75% of practice on personal skills and save team concepts for that little 25% or when we get outside.

Once the season starts, these little skills are forgotten or even neglected. Habits formed now make players better. I have always felt that this gave a huge advantage when the season started. We were ready to go into the season and do all the fundamentals correctly. We were ready to make the routine plays and play within ourselves. I also felt that this cleared up our mid-season to dedicate to the situations that win games in the post season. As a coach, you have to have a building design.

Think of it this way. Build the foundation. Make each player strong and you have a base come April 1st. That is, if you avoid April showers and wet fields. One of the secrets here, when the fields are snow-covered is to make sure that kids see a realistic time-line. As a coach, you need to never let cabin fever into the picture. My advice … do not get upset of things you cannot control. You cannot control the weather, you can control how to take advantage of your time inside.

Ice Hockey Note: Congratulations to Delbarton and Morris Knolls on your fantastic seasons. Randolph – keep it going!