At team tryouts, most coaches will ask a player what position he prefers to play. Then as the team takes shape, some changes may have to be made. Maybe you started out as a center but are asked to switch to left wing. Your attitude is being tested. If you tell your coach that you will play any position he says and if you pitch in and try to learn all about playing left wing, you are hockey material!
If asked to switch positions, you should understand that, as you grow older, larger, and stronger, you develop certain hockey skills that may fit you better for a position other than the one you used to play. Also, in forming the team, your coach can see where your strong points best fit into the style of play he plans to use.
Besides, it is good for boys in their early playing days to get the experience of playing two or three different positions. You learn more about positional play this way; you also get training in the different skating techniques of wings, centers, or defensemen.
It might help you to have an idea of what a coach looks for in selecting players for the various positions.
GOALTENDER. A coach usually starts his search for a goalie by screening players on the basis of their quickness and their catching ability. To be quick, a boy must have good balance on skates first and fast reflexes next. Size is of no importance, provided the player has these assets.
DEFENSEMEN. Traditionally, the two defensemen were the big, heavy body checkers, who were the slowest skaters on the team. This is not true any more. Against modern power play offensives, these men have to be very mobile skaters, who handle the puck well. They also should be rugged and aggressive, with the ability to check hard.
WINGMEN. The right and the left wings are the workhorses of the offensive line. They must be fast, hard skaters since they will be called upon to do more straight ahead, stop-and-go skating than other players on the team.
CENTER. This man is the key to a good offense. He should have the knack of passing both accurately and at the right time. He should know the styles of his wingmen - what moves they like to make when breaking over the blue line or going around the opponent's net.
Above all, the center should be the production man of both goals and assists. He should have a good sense of position play and the ability to shoot quickly and straight.
A valuable skating skill for this position is the ability to whirl into fast turns either way with no loss of time. The center should be a figure in perpetual motion, skating, circling, breaking, and turning constantly.
Many coaches like to assign the chief job of fore checking to the center. He then must be able to check well before his opponents have a chance to break out of their own end.
A hockey coach faced with the job of picking a team once asked another coach how he would go about the task.
"I'd choose my goalie first and then pick the 18 best hockey players from the rest, regardless of what positions they played," the second coach replied.
"On what basis do I do that?" asked the first.
"Pick them on the basis of speed, desire, and hockey brains," answered the second, ably summarizing the most important qualities of an outstanding hockey player.
NHL jerseys have become increasingly popular over recent years as ice hockey is now being watched by more and more people. This is a great way of supporting your team and uniting with fellow fans at live matches or in the pub. The only problem is that fake shirts are also becoming increasingly popular.
This is especially the case with websites such as eBay because you don't physically see the item before you buy it. Whereas something may look genuine in a photo, this may not be the case when you get the actual product. Another way you can get conned is sellers may use a photo of a genuine shirt which is completely different to the item that they are actually selling.
There are a variety of ways of spotting fake NHL jerseys so if you wise up to the clues you should never find yourself stuck with a fake shirt that you've paid a fortune for. One of the most obvious giveaways that a shirt is fake is that the tags will be sewn onto the neck label. All genuine NHL jerseys will have the label attached to the left cuff of the shirt. As well as this there should be an NHL hologram label which you will not find on a fake shirt.
There are also several small things that are harder to check but if you know what to look for will stop you from buying a fake. Check that the font used is the same as a shirt you know for a fact is genuine, there should be three layers of twill whereas fake shirts normally only have two as well as this most fakes have a layer of twill that is smooth whereas the real thing should have a glacier twill.
Look at the material that is used for the lettering on the NHL jerseys. This can be hard to do from just photos but can be easy to spot if you have the shirt in your hand. Before investing in a shirt look on the website of the team you support and study the shirts so you know exactly what to look for. This way it will be easy to spot a fake should you come across one.
Unfortunately there will always be people out there who are trying to rip people off by selling fake merchandise. However, if you know exactly what to look for and do your research you should never find yourself in the position where you have just spent a fortune on fake NHL jerseys.
Both Jimmy Cox & Derek Both are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Jimmy Cox has sinced written about articles on various topics from Web Development, Horse Racing and Investments. Discover The Well Kept Secrets Of How To Become A Hockey Drill Pro And Be Your Team's Star!Click here for FREE online Ebook