A One-on-One with Mike Bonelli

Introducing a chat with Mike Bonelli, who works alongside some of the best hockey support groups in the hockey world, including USA Hockey, the NHL, USA Floorball, local teams like the NY Rangers, Islanders, Devils, and that’s not even all!

There’s nothing quite like witnessing the progression of your players skills; having an influence in skill development gives a sense of accomplishment. Bonelli feels this sense of accomplishment from the practice of skating; how important it is to master this skill, plus how CoachThem has improved these skills for players.

 

“As a coach, it’s helpful to go to the marketplace

& find even the most basic striding drills,

including a video backup, where it gives a visual

for both coaches & players,” -Bonelli says.

 

Of course, we already know that skating is a crucial part of the sport. “A focus on skating is crucial, it’s one of the main skills you need to help develop your hockey career,” Bonelli says. He further explains that to shape a player into an established skater, someone who “can get around the rink, they aren’t falling down, they can pivot, turn”, the next step is to then make sure that player is in the proper position on the ice.

Bonelli builds drills on our hockey drill drawing platform, he positions players in the appropriate stances, and creates advancement drills so that players can learn how to properly skate as they go through different reps. This encourages players to stay in the respective proper stance, whether that’s “keeping your head up, an athletic stance, making sure feet, knees, and shoulders are all aligned”, to maximize players' strides.

 

1. 1 Foot Stop

 

 

2. 1 Foot Backward Stop And T-Push - Version 2

 

These are two simple and effective progression drills! Coaches can make it as easy or as difficult as they want. 

Bonelli explains that one of the most beneficial aspects of our platform is the incorporation of video clips within the database. “As a coach, it’s helpful to go to the marketplace and find even the most basic striding drills, including a video backup, where it gives a visual for both coaches and players,” Bonelli says. If you’re a new coach teaching a drill, there’s the ability to see and explain where players bodies are positioned, “the weight transfer, stride length, power push, etc.”, it’s all in the drill or your practice plan template.

Learning proper positions and stances isn’t easy. It’s best for visual learners to watch these clips, so that they can master the stance and/or drill, but it’s also beneficial for a coach that isn’t physically doing the drill alongside players, or if it’s being handed to coaching staff; they have a better understanding on how to teach the drill.

“You can tell a kid to go full extension but if that full extension is out and to the side and not out and to the back, that’s a whole different stride,” Bonelli says, so this is where the visual comes in handy. “Little nuances of striding out and to the side and the blade being on the ice for the longest period of time, will give much more power, but can be a make or break when a drill is taught.” This is another reason why adding the video feature while drawing hockey drills on our platform is constructive.

The last thing Bonelli wanted to add is that there’s the option to find resources in which outline what “a 10U kid does, 12U, adult, etc.”, and build age-appropriate and skill appropriate drills. With this guidance, coaches can see what kids in a certain age group should and can be doing, which shapes the model of drill design and skill development.

We thank Bonelli for spending time chatting with us and providing his insight! 

 

Written by Kelsey Dold 

March 23, 2023

 

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