That Time Lessons Went Virtual
When the stay-at-home order shut down all businesses and sanctioned people to stay home - that didn’t stop the players from continuing their training!
Coach Nick and the players, through virtual sessions, found new and creative ways to continue our training and progression.
The pandemic may have made us practice social distance and wear masks, but it surely didn’t stop our training!
VIRTUAL LESSONS
“The training was new and was different”, said coach nick in regards to the switch to online instruction. “There really was no other option as the players and myself wanted to continue lessons and we managed to find way”.
The pandemic became serious enough in March that it forced a complete stay-at-home order for all citizens. The closure of local businesses including ice rinks left many players and their families without any hockey or recreational activity.
The players rely on sports such as ours for the physical, social, and mental development. With academics and schools being closed as well, the players had all learning and instruction put to a halt. This forced a lot of hockey coaches to start to transition to virtual training.
“I’m just looking for any type of instruction at this point”, said josh moline when asked about why virtual lessons during the lock down.
It was clear the players needed hockey more than ever during that period. It was a real wake up call to a lot of us coaches and players about how we may have taken hockey and ice rinks for granted.
The switch to virtual lessons was a temporary one but very welcomed. It definitely was not without its challenges and growing pains but in the end it managed to succeed. Coach Nick stocked up on pucks, training tiles, cones, etc. The setup was simple but effective; laptop on a small table, lights on either side, tiles down with training gear, and a solid plan. The use of services such as facetime, google hangouts, and skype made it possible to set up multiple players at once to help bring more players into the mix.
Overall the lessons were a lot of fun and we feel the players were able to get a lot of benefit out of it. With shooting, passing, stickhandling, conditioning & stamina, leg and core strength building, cardio training, and more - the players had great sessions and got to continue to progress even if it was off the ice!
“I just want to thank each and every player who wanted to continue hockey training virtually with me. It was beneficial for you guys as players and for me as a coach. I know it was unprecedented times, but you all pushed through and managed to make a safe return to the rink. Hopefully we can keep this going and all that virtual training pays off for the upcoming season!” - Coach Nick
Both the players and Coach nick recognized the severity of the pandemic and what guidelines, recommendations, and sanctions were in place. The virtual training gave them the opportunity to train and workout safely and effectively. The safety of the players and thier families was the number one important thing and with today’s tech, it made it easy to have accessible tools to make sure we could have lessons.
*For more information on private lessons, check out our lessons page