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Learning the fundamentals is important in any sport, but it is absolutely essential in hockey, where mastering balance on the ice is paramount. De La Salle, a prominent Level V NCCP hockey skills coach and founder of the de la Salle School of Hockey Basics, stresses the importance of acquiring basic individual skill sets before an aspiring hockey player can concentrate on the team game. As a result, he argues, the gap between European-trained hockey players and players from Canada, where he hosts his clinics, is greater than ever.
The author’s writing style for the first quarter of the book is conversational and inviting to parents and coaches, particularly those who work with children that are getting their first taste of ice hockey. He shows how to do certain drills well, where the downfalls may occur, and how to rectify them. Salle covers concepts from walking to gliding on ice, positioning your toes effectively, using your knees correctly, gripping your stick in the most optimal manner, and much more.
Simply put, The Hockey Method is as comprehensive as they come, providing guidelines for all aspects of training a beginning-level hockey player. Midway through the guide, Salle goes as far as using his grandson to demonstrate nearly three hundred drills followed by his own advice-filled analysis. Examples of these drills include the two-hand puck carry, dribbling through the legs, and dribbling around the body. Hockey aficionados of all levels can attest to the relentless detail and overall usefulness of this book, a definite necessity for beginning hockey players and even fans worldwide.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review