The two most important elements of being a powerful, agile skater are: You must be 1) LOW to the ice and 2) you must be BALANCED. When you get lower and more balanced, you automatically become quicker, more powerful, and more efficient in everything you do during a ringette game.

Our visual for this low and balanced position is called the ‘toilet position’ – it is the basic stance where power comes from being bent at the knees, not at the waist. (Kids love scattalogical humour, and they giggle when they imagine themselves sitting on the toilet in their skates).

Figure 1: The “toilet position” in the defensive triangle allows these defenders to be agile and powerful, with their sticks low to the ice to take away passing lanes.

Figure 2: Being bent at the knees and not at the waist allows ringette players to turn quickly without falling or losing speed.

Figure 3: Being bent at the knees allows ringette athletes to use a full stride for speed and power. The opposite of being low and balanced is being “upright” and off balance. We often call this position the “flower” position because the athlete looks like she is bending over to smell the roses!

Ringette instructors (during costume day) demonstrate the “flower position” – bent at the waist.

Now they demonstrate the “toilet” position, bent at the knees.

For more advanced athletes, a 3^rd option is a position somewhere in between that we call “making a mess” because you are not quite on the toilet. The player is bending her knees, but not quite as low as the toilet position. Most athletes think they are in the toilet position but they are actually in the mess position. Here’s why.

At your next practice, stand face to face with a teammate about a stick length apart. On the count of three, get into the toilet position and try to hold it for two minutes. You do this with a teammate so you can watch how your bodies move as your legs become tired.

What you’ll probably find is that your bum slowly moves higher to relieve some of the pain you start to feel in your legs (this would be the “mess” position). You may also notice that your head gets lower – not because your knees are bending more but because you start to bend at your waist (this would be the “flower” position). Again, this is because your legs will start to feel tired and your body will look for ways to make it easier. This small but noticeable change makes a huge difference in agility and power. You must feel uncomfortable and a little off balance at first to become an efficient and powerful skater.

It may sound like a contradiction, but the key to teaching your athletes to get lower and more balanced is to have them feel what puts them off balance. Having a discussion about these positions is crucial. Ask your athletes to describe how it feels in both positions (legs, toes, back, etc.). Have your athletes perform various skating exercises in the “flower” position and in the “toilet” position.

How To Master The Basic Stance

Progression #1 – Standing

Your first job, as we mentioned above, is to crouch in the toilet position. Force yourself to hold it until your legs burn. When your legs get tired you will start to stand up a little. Do this exercise with your eyes closed this time and pay very close attention to how your body changes when your legs start to get tired. You have to know exactly what the toilet, mess, and flower positions feel like if you want to be able to force yourself into the toilet position when it matters most – with two minutes left in a tied playoff game when your coach asks you to go score the winning goal even when you’re tired!

This clip shows an athlete moving from the toilet position to the flower position.

As you practice moving between toilet and mess, pay attention to your toes. You should notice that in the toilet position, you can wiggle your toes freely. In the mess position, you start to lean forward (bend at the waist) and your toes start to crunch because the weight is coming off of your bum/legs and onto your toes. (You can use this tool in practice to perfect your basic stance and skating stride. At any given time, you should be able to wiggle your toes freely.)

Coaches, especially with beginners, you’ll have to review more than their bent knees. Make sure all parts of your athletes’ bodies are in an effective position. For example, check whether their head is up, looking at the play, or down, looking at the ice. Are they gripping their stick correctly? Are their knees close together / touching or can your athletes get at least one glove width between their knees?

For each of these parts of the powerful stance, have your athletes try it both ways. So, for example, while your athletes are standing in the toilet position, tell them to hold it for 30 seconds with their knees touching then ask them to hold it for 30 seconds while they pass their glove between their knees. Ditto for head down, looking at the ice versus head up, watching the play (you could ask them how many fingers you are holding up to make sure they’re in the right position).

For their knees, have them stand or glide with their knees touching, then have them do it while swinging a glove through their knees to ensure there is enough space between them:

The key for each element of the basic stance is showing or demonstrating each awareness exercise rather than just describing it.

Progression #2 – Gliding

Skate to the blue line and purposely glide in the “mess” or flower position. Notice exactly how your body feels. Now do it in the toilet position and notice the difference.

Progression #3 – Striding

Now, skate or glide in the flower, mess, and toilet positions.

In these progressions you are training your body to get as low as possible by bending at the knees. The reason you practice all the different positions is because you probably think you are really low and bent at the knees but don’t realize that you can get even lower. If you can get that extra one inch, you will get dramatically faster.

There is a small minority of players who cannot really bend into the toilet position because their skates do not fit properly, and they do not have enough flexibility in their skates to manage the toilet position.

There are usually two remedies to this problem: 1) getting the player’s blade re-aligned on their skate, and 2) having the athlete tie her skates differently (skip the third hole when tying the skates). If you suspect this is happening to your players most skate stores will do a free skate fit analysis for you.

Drills & Games to Practice the Toilet Position

Once you’ve mastered the Toilet position, starting and stopping is much, much easier and will come naturally as you practice both. I recommend you working on the skill of stopping first. Here’s what to do:

If you’re a younger athlete, start with the Snow Plow stop. When gliding in the Toilet position, simply turn your heels outward while putting your toes together. You will naturally stop. 

If you’re an older, more advanced skater, while gliding in the Toilet position,
simply turn left or right. You will naturally stop. 

Drills to Practice Stopping and Starting

The post How To Improve Your Skating Stops and Starts in Ringette Using These Key Drills first appeared on Ringette Tips.

1. Severely limit the amount of time you spend talking.

Sport is not for talking.

It’s a “see and do” activity.

Most coaches take 5 minutes to explain a drill…while the players are twirling in the corner. At ringette camp, we ask our instructors to talk for 2 minutes maximum (ideally, 30 seconds or less).

And, demos are better than talking – so if you don’t have a player on your coaching staff, use your own players.

Let’s say you are teaching your athletes how to skate with efficiency so they can get more speed with less effort. All you want to do is get your players pumping their arms from front to back instead of from side to side.

Have a player demo the skating drill two ways: once where she is moving her arms from side to side, and once where she is moving her arms from front to back.

Here’s the first way (arms side to side):

Here’s the second way (arms front to back):

Now have your players “copy” the demo. That’s it.

2. Use drills that keep your athletes moving at all times.

An athlete should never go more than 15 seconds between repetitions in a drill.

Some ideas:

• Add a line of defenders, checkers or chasers to the drill.
• Send more than one athlete at a time from each line.
• Tell athletes to leave sooner in the drill.

3. Use music.

Many arenas have sound systems you can take advantage of. Put in some Dance Mix ’95 and blast it.

4. Use your own voice to create energy.

Yell out words of encouragement during the drill.

“Perfect, Susan, keep your feet moving!”

“Force yourself to stay low… I know it burns but you’re almost there.”

“Drive, drive, drive to that net! Yes! Great shot!”

(It never hurts to add in a fist bump or a high five).

Hokey? Yes.

Effective? Yes.

Try these four methods and your players will positively clamor to get on the ice.

Your friends,
Lisa Brown and Laura Warner

The post How To Create High Energy Ringette Practices first appeared on Ringette Tips.

• Skating
• Passing
• Lead Passing
• Shooting
• Ring Protection
• Checking

Over the course of the season, you should gauge whether your team is progressing enough to be introduced to these tactical concepts:

• Zone defence
• Goalie ring distribution
• How to mark and intercept passes
• How to get open for passes
• How to play 3 v 3 offence

While each team will be different, here is a rough overview of what you might teach your U7 or U10 team in the first three months of your season:

September
Basic stance and grip, Forward glide, forward stride, stationary passing, ring protection, slider shot.

October
Skating agility (edges, tight turns, crossovers), lead passing, checking, backhand flip shot.

For U10 in particular, you will probably review rules and start to introduce the concept of where defenders, forwards, and centres play on the ice and what their separate roles are.

For active start, you will start to play games and so you may start to talk about the basics of positional play but don’t stress if you don’t cover this in any meaningful way until early November.

November
Backwards skating, wrist shot.

If you are coaching U10 and haven’t yet reviewed the basic grip, make sure you go back and do it. Here are the details:

Stick grip

A proper grip is simple yet often overlooked. A common mistake ringette players make is holding their hands too close together on their stick:

A stick grip that is “too close” will result in a weak shot, (the athlete being in a more upright position), and a lack of accuracy and control.

Another common error that ringette players make is holding their hands too far apart:

The misconception is that this type of grip will give the athlete more power because they feel they can lean into it more. But, a stick grip that is “too far” apart will result in a lack of balance, inability to transfer your weight, and lack of accuracy and control. Also, if a player’s hands are too far apart, she might be called on a bottom third violation.

Another classic mistake is cupping the stick with your top hand, like this:

A stick grip that is “just right” will result in a strong, accurate and controlled shot.

To teach the proper grip, demonstrate a grip that is too close, too far, and just right. Have your athletes try all three while standing stationary. Next, put them into a basic partner passing drill and practice all three ways. When they’re done, discuss with them which grip felt most comfortable. Return to these two exercises as often as needed until your athletes are consistently using balanced and strong grips.

And, if you want some help this year, check out our new hot off the presses Ringette Beginner Drill Book. You will learn how to create amazingly skilled, confident U10 players while slashing your workload by 60% this season.

Check it out here:

Ringette Beginner Drill Book

Let us know what you think.

Your friends,
Lisa Brown and Laura Warner

The post What Skills Should U10 Coaches Be Teaching? first appeared on Ringette Tips.

Ready?

“If you receive the ring over the offensive blue line, ALWAYS drive to the net.”

We call this rule, “Drive and Thrive.” You may not always shoot, but you should always drive to the net at top speed.

Here’s why:

Most players pick up the ring over the blue line and immediately slow down.

They skate in a big circle around the net and look to make a pass.

This is one of the nicest gifts you can possibly give the other team’s defense.

You give them a chance to set up their triangle, you lose your speed, and you are not a threat to score.

When you take your speed to the net, you make life difficult for the defense.

If you’re really quick, you may create a 2v1, a 1v1, or even a breakaway for yourself!

This is always a better scoring chance than shooting against a triangle.

By driving, you force the defense to channel you and honour you.

If your teammate can get open, you can dish the ring to her and set her up to cash in on a beautiful goal!

Check out this cool video tip of a player taking the ring to the net:

Remember, the rule is definitely not that the first player over the blue line always shoots.

There are many times when shooting is NOT a good option.

For example:

– When you are 1v2
– When the defence does a good job of channeling you to the
outside
– If your team is winning and it’s close to the end of the game
– If your team has been in your own end for a long time and you
want to keep in the ring for awhile in the other team’s end

However, even if you don’t shoot, driving to the net with speed is the best play.

You will either create a great scoring chance for yourself or draw the defenders to you and set up a teammate.

Here’s a terrific drill that will help you always “Drive and Thrive”:

Let us know what you think.

Your friends,
Lisa Brown, Laura Warner, and Abbey Van Roekel

The post #1 Rule for Creating Sweet Scoring Chances in Ringette first appeared on Ringette Tips.

The Keys to Perfect Positioning in the Net – for Ringette Goalies
As a goalie, you need to find the “sweet spot” in your net – how far out can you challenge the shooter?

If you are too far OUT of the net, the shooter can easily deke you out of position.

If you are too far IN your net, you will leave massive holes in the net for a shooter to pick off.

If you are JUST RIGHT in your net, you will be in the perfect place – the Sweet Spot. We call this being a Position Magician in the net.
Here’s a simple diagram that shows all three:

Here’s a great way to discover your sweet spot:

Do the drill below.

First off, do the drill standing at a 1. Then move to a 2. Finally, do the drill at a 3. Talk about where your felt most comfortable.

You will probably have trouble standing too deep in your crease so make sure that when you are supposed to be standing at a 3 that you are standing right up at the crease (no exceptions!).

Very soon, you will start to find the Sweet Spot. If you have a habit of being too far in your net or too far out, just doing this drill will allow you to correct the and become a Position Magician.

Let us know what you think.

Your friends,
Lisa Brown, Laura Warner, and Abbey Van Roekel

The post The Keys to Perfect Positioning in the Net – for Ringette Goalies first appeared on Ringette Tips.

Since ringette is a possession game, 50% of your success will come from having your breakout mastered. If your team can break out of your own end well, you will:

• Maintain possession of the ring
• Control the pace of the game
• Create fast break opportunities and score goals

Here’s a killer breakout you can steal to help your team move the ring up the ice with ease. It’s called Power Left or Power Right.

Here’s how to execute Power Left:

Both defenders are going to the Left, the second one delaying about 1 second.

The center delays until the defenders have made their cuts and then cuts towards the goalie and to the right hand side. The forwards in this breakout are making lateral cuts.

Both forwards are starting on the ringette line. The forward that starts on the left hand side is cutting to the right and is an outlet if the center gets the ring; if the defender gets the ring she will be breaking up the ice into the offensive zone.

The forward that starts on the right sire cuts laterally along the blue line to receive a pass from the defender. Once she gets the ring she is looking for her forward partner that is breaking into the offensive end.

Here’s a simple drill you can use to practice Power Left:

Let us know what you think.

Your friends,
Lisa Brown, Laura Warner, and Abbey Van Roekel

The post Steal This Killer Ringette Team Breakout Pattern first appeared on Ringette Tips.

To successfully get the ring out of your own end, your two defenders and center need to work as a unit.

Good defensive support can be the difference between getting a scoring chance or losing the ring deep in your own end.

“Support Your Cohort”

“Support your cohort” is what you do as the non-ring carrying defender or centre to help the ring carrier get out of trouble.

A support pass is not necessarily one that moves your team closer to the other team’s net right away.  Rather, it is a pass that gets the ring carrier out of trouble so the new ring carrier can make the good break-out pass.

What is good support?

Good support is:

1. Close
2. On a “goal side” angle
3. In a safe position

Check out these excellent keys for mastering defensive support so you can transition out of your end like a pro:

1) Close: Sometimes defenders make the mistake of getting open for their D partner but ending up all the way across the ice.  If the ring carrier is being pressured deep in one corner, a wide open D partner does her no good if she’s all the way in the opposite corner of the ice.  This doesn’t work because the ring carrier cannot get the ring to the supporting defender, even if she is unmarked.

1. Note: Athletes will sometimes get into trouble because their support is “too close”.

Depending on the situation, a support pass to an athlete who is only 4 feet away may do more harm than good.  If the checkers are on top of the ring carrier as soon as she stabs the support pass, the pass didn’t accomplish anything.  “Ideal” support, then is likely 7 – 12 feet away from the ring carrier.

2) On a “goal side” angle: Supporting “square” means supporting directly parallel across the ice.  This is dangerous because it makes the pass much easier for the other team to intercept.  If the pass does get intercepted, there is no one back to prevent a breakaway.

That’s why you should train your athletes to support on an angle (and goal side).  In general, the non ring carrying defender should be slightly closer to your own team’s net than the ring carrier.

(The exception to this is when the ring carrier is right up against the end boards in your own team’s zone.  In this scenario, it is impossible for the other defender to be “behind” the ring carrier.)

3) In a safe position: Your team could be in trouble if the support pass is made right in front of your own team’s net or right across the front of your team’s net.

To ensure this doesn’t happen, your ring carrier must make smart pass choices.  Also, the supporting players must make good decisions about where they position themselves on the ice.

Typically, the best support options are either across the ice behind the net or up the boards near the ringette line.

Let us know what you think.

Your friends,
Lisa Brown, Laura Warner, and Abbey Van Roekel

The post Advanced Breakout Strategies – How to Get the Ring Out of Your End first appeared on Ringette Tips.

We call this system “Angle the Triangle” because what you are doing is keeping a perfect angle on the ring carrier at all times so she cannot get a lane to the net.

1) “Ring”

This player puts pressure on the ring carrier by staying in front of her. She tries to prevent the ring carrier from shooting. She also tries to take away passing lanes by staying close to the ring carrier.

2) “Support”

This player supports the defender who is pushing out on the ring carrier. She stays close to the person pushing out on the ring and also remains at a bit of an angle to her.

3) “Talk”

This player remains near the middle of the ice in front of her own net. Her job is to talk and let the other defenders know where the offensive players are at all times. She also uses her stick to take away passing lanes and her body to defend against non ring carrier opponents.

Here’s a great drill for teaching and practicing the three roles in the defensive triangle:

Let us know what you think.

Your friends,

Lisa Brown, Laura Warner, and Abbey Hoes

The post How to Be Amazing in the Defensive Triangle first appeared on Ringette Tips.

Get as close to the net as possible (without going in the crease) before shooting.

At RingetteTips.com, we call this “getting to the Goal Hole.”

Consider the following pictures as proof. Note that these are all DIFFERENT Team Canada forwards, but they are all very close to the net and making the goalie move.

Believe me now? I rest my case.

MOST players are shooting from the hash marks (or above) and wondering why their shots aren’t going in.

That’s why I have a challenge for you.

In your next practice, ONLY take a shot when you are right in front of the crease. And, do anything and everything you can to get there. Climb up, over, and around the defenders to get to the Goal Hole, and watch your goal-scoring take off.

Let us know what you think.

Your friends,
Lisa Brown, Laura Warner, and Abbey Van Roekel

The post #1 Tip for Scoring Goals in Ringette first appeared on Ringette Tips.

This is also true for goalies.

As you perfect your basic stance, your t-pushing, your telescoping, and your shuffling, you will become formidable in the net.

We call become a great skater in the net, “Movement Improvement.” The better you skate, the better you move, and the better you save the ring.

The Shuffle

When you can shuffle across the net with authority and speed, you become lightening fast and tough to beat.

Shuffling starts by getting in a low, balanced position. Check out the basic stance:

With a low basic stance, you maximize your power and can easily move around the net.

When you shuffle, you keep your toe caps facing the shooter and pushes with your far leg to move in the opposite direction. Here’s what it looks like:

Watch as this goalie uses the shuffle step. Notice that she stays in a low position, keeps her upper body square to the shooter:

You will want to use the shuffle step as long as possible as it is the most solid position to be in. When you are using a shuffle step you can easily butterfly, and it is easier for you to keep you stick on the ice.

The key to the shuffle step is staying in that low, balanced position, and staying square to the shooter (keeping your shoulders and toe caps facing the ring).

Here is a terrific drill to use to practice your shuffle:

Try this today and let us know what you think.

Your friends,
Lisa Brown, Laura Warner, and Abbey Van Roekel

The post The Secret to Lightening Speed in the Net first appeared on Ringette Tips.