(Teaching & Troubleshooting) Basic Breakouts

For sure, breakout plays can be designed to be pretty sophisticated. However, ask any high level coach about the real key to breakout success, and he or should will likely tell you it relies heavily on execution. That said, I'd like member players, parents and coaches to pay particular attention to the so-called "little things" I point-out in the following video. For, I think an awareness of these skills -- from both a physical and mental perspective -- can make a profound impact on any individual's or team's ability to move the puck out of their end. Then, once you've seen the video, I'd like to add a few more comments (below)... http://coachchic2.s3.amazonaws.com/BreakoutBasics.mp4 Now that you've had a chance to watch that video, I'd like to emphasize a few things... As you'll catch me saying often, playing the game well calls for great skills and an ability to think the game. (Believe it or not, I occasionally run across folks at local arenas who feel players can avoid one or the other and still excel.) As I said in the video, skill-wise a player needs to be able to skate his or her position, handling the puck under pressure is essential, and it's also an absolute necessity that players make and catch passes. It should also be evident that players can't just close their eyes and fire the puck in some general direction. In fact, I made the point that we would like to fool the opposition forecheckers when possible, and that the first pass in our zone is especially important. Finally, because the breakout is actually a combination of many skills and thought processes, look for me to add a number of new videos in coming months, these focusing in more depth on each small breakout part.