MacDonald all about fundamentals

Times Reporter   

 

Dan MacDonald of the UFA Bisons coaches the Strathmore High School hockey program.

“We have just one group of 30 kids in the hockey program, 28 guys and two girls,” said MacDonald.

He really likes to have up-tempo on-ice sessions with the players and making sure the players have a respectable fitness level and habve the basic fundamentals of the game.

“From  an athletic stance, we would like them to get a really good fundamental,  strong and want them to play fast and you can’t play fast unless you have really strong fundamentals,” said MacDonald.

“You’ve got be able to pass and receive that puck really well, have to have good edges and dig in and drive hard.”

MacDonald wants the players to be able to learn how to drive to the net and be more puck possessive.

Skills are a major component that the players work on in the program and repetitions are required to have success as a player.

“We work on their skills through repetition without a doubt. We try to make it so we’re working on their skills but at the same time not doing the same drills over and over so that they still stay focused and interested,” said MacDonald.

In the camp, MacDonald just wants the kids to really think that possession overrides 

Positioning, and for the players to go out and work hard to get the puck and be creative.

The program also involves nutrition and how to stay fit, which is taught in the classroom portion of the program.