Arena Notes | What to do about huddle puck?
When young children first start playing organized soccer, they play "huddle ball." The energetic players all start following the ball around the field. Although, there are positions, such as forward, half back, and full back, nobody is playing them. This phenomenon can be attributed to lack of knowledge, lack of maturity, and simple enthusiasm. Kids start playing positions as they grow older and taught a better way. They become more skilled at passing the ball, so chasing is less effective. Also, a full-size soccer pitch is large, so it's not feasible for player to follow the ball.
The same evolution happens in hockey. Kids start out playing huddle puck. They need knowledge, skill, and trust to play positions. There are a few factors working against us in house league.
- There's a lot of variation in skill level. Some kids can't skate fast enough to keep up with the action. Some kids are highly skilled and are capable of carrying the play themselves.
- The playing surface is smaller and skating is easier than running, so kids receive less negative reinforcement for chasing the puck constantly.
- There's a lack of trust in playing positions. They don't trust the system. The kids don't trust each other to be in the right place to take advantage of the positions.
Our team is playing huddle puck, and winning games. I'm worried about how long this will last. We are going to start losing to teams that play positions.
The professional coaches are emphasizing individual skills, so they're not covering this area. I asked Coach Matthew about this and he said that it takes a long time for kids to learn this. He kindly found some videos for the me, and the kids to watch.
Whether or not we are successful, we need to start setting the expectation that kids play the position that they are assigned.
I don't know how to teach this skill. I don't have the experience playing or teaching. Since, I don't have anything better to offer, I'm going to leave things be. It's especially hard to mess with a winning record.