Play and Coach Hockey Like 1959!

By Paul Langan

In 1959, The Royal Canadian Air Force released a series of booklets on hockey titled, Beginning Hockey, How to Play Better Hockey and Coach's Manual. 

 

They included skill development,instruction and drills for the player and coach. These booklets are being reprinted in their entirety for the first time in half a century. 

 

Go "old school" and read this book. Learn how hockey was played and taught in 1959. - Paul Langan

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul Langan
• Release date: Aug 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781778128967

Book preview

PLAY AND COACH HOCKEY

LIKE 1959!

A compilation of R.C.A.F. sports series booklets from 1959 - Beginning Hockey, How to Play Better Hockey and Coach’s Manual.

COMPILED BY PAUL LANGAN

Historical advisory

Certain parts of this book contain advice relating to conditioning, getting in shape, what to eat, and equipment to wear that in 1959 was the most current information. Please understand that this information is presented in this book for historical purposes only. For people interested in the latest health and training information for hockey please consult current information on the subject.

ISBN 978-1-7781289-5-0

Play and Coach Hockey Like 1959!

A compilation of R.C.A.F. sports series compilation, 1959 - Beginning Hockey, How to Play Better Hockey and Coach’s Manual.

Compiled by Paul Langan

All rights reserved

Copyright 2022

[e-mail]

paullangan.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

BEGINNING HOCKEY

BEGINNING HOCKEY

How the Game is Played

Equipment

Basic Hockey Skills

Skating

Stickhandling

Passing

Shooting

Checking

The Goalkeeper

The Defencemen

The Forwards

Training for the Game

Sleep

Food

Exercise

Skating

HOW TO PLAY BETTER HOCKEY

Hockey-The Fastest Game on Earth

The Player and the Game League Play

Player-Coach Relationships

A Code for Players:

Selection and Care of Equipment

Fundamental Skills

Skating

Stickhandling

Passing

Shooting

Team Play

OFFENSIVE PLAY

Forwards on the Attack

Defencemen on the Attack

The Power Play

Face-off

At the attacking net

DEFENSIVE PLAY

Forwards on the Defence

Defenceman on the Defence

Playing a Man Short

The Goalkeeper

Getting in Shape

COACH’S MANUAL - HOCKEY

The Coach

Organization and Administration

Planning The Season

Selection of Players

Utilization of Practice Periods

The Whistle

Game Responsibilities

Building Team Morale

Public Relations and Publicity

Facilities and Equipment

Fundamental Skills

Skating

Skating Drills

Stickhandling

Passing

Passing Drills

Shooting Drills

Checking

Team Play

Offensive Hockey

Face-Offs

Individual Techniques

At the Attacking Net

Defensive Hockey

Conditioning the Team

REFERENCES

ADDITIONAL BOOKS BY PAUL LANGAN

INTRODUCTION

Sometime in the 1960s my dad got a used copy of How to Play Better Hockey by the Royal Canadian Air Force (R.C.A.F.) and gave it to me. It was my only hockey training reference I had in my house league hockey career.

Over the next couple decades I found the other two booklets in the series, Beginning Hockey and Coach’s Manual.

Last year, I released Classic Hockey Stories - From the Golden Era of Pulp Magazines 1930s-1950s. It educated people on the forgotten history hockey themed pulp magazines from the past.

I decided to compile all three of the R.C.A.F. publications into one for the public to get a historical perspective of what advice and training materials were out there for coaches and players in 1959 on hockey.

Reading the chapters on, What to Eat, Conditioning, Training, Goalie Tips and Equipment will show you how much our knowledge base and technology has changed on these subjects.

However, a great deal of the coaching drills and basic strategy has remained unchanged since these were first published in 1959.

Please enjoy this look back at how to play and coach Canada’s greatest game.

Paul Langan

Hespeler, Ontario

August 14, 2022

BEGINNING HOCKEY

The Queen’s Printer and Controller of Stationery, Ottawa, 1959

Cat. No. DC 3-359

Foreword

In the Royal Canadian Air Force wholesome and constructive recreation programmes play an important role in the development of individual character and Service efficiency. RCAF station recreation programmes are designed to provide opportunities for participation by all personnel and their families the whole year round.

To assist the Recreation Specialists and the many volunteer leaders on whose services the extent and quality of recreation programmes depend, and to assist participants to improve their skills, the RCAF prepares and distributes special guidance and instructional material concerning the many aspects of recreation. The RCAF series of sports booklets are also intended to assist Service personnel and their families to enrich their leisure time in Service life by increasing their interest in sports and improving their playing ability within the best rules of sportsmanship.

The Royal Canadian Air Force is indebted to the Department of National Health and Welfare for their cooperation and assistance in the preparation of the Hockey Booklets and to the author, Flying Officer W. J. L'Heureux (Supplementary Reserve) who, in his civilian occupation, is a professor of the Physical Health and Recreation Education Department of a prominent Canadian university.

Air Vice-Marshal for Chief of the Air Staff

BEGINNING HOCKEY

Hockey - Canada’s Game

In Canada, hockey is more than just a game... It is an institution. Traditionally, a sport played by thousands the length and breadth of the country, in hamlets as well as the largest cities, it is unequalled in popularity. The shinny of a century ago is very much in evidence in the form of backyard or 'pond' hockey. Radio and television now bring the fast action, skill, teamwork, thrills, and sustained excitement of hockey to millions of enthusiastic fans.

HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED

The object of the game is to score goals by shooting the puck into the opponents' net. A legal goal is scored when the puck passes clearly over the goal line. Fig. 1 shows the ice surface marked for play.

BLUE LINES DIVIDE THE rink into three equal zones. The centre line is red, as are the goal lines which extend the width of the rink. The goals are framed nets six feet wide and four feet high. The goal crease is an area four feet by eight feet which no attacking player, except the puck-carrier, may enter.

Players of both teams are shown in Fig. 1 as they line up in position on the ice for the opening face-off. The referee is at centre ice with the puck, facing the timer, while his assistant stands at the boards ready to work along the opposite side of the rink.

The centre sets himself for the face-off at the centre spot, flanked on each side by his left and right forwards. The latter, also called wings, position themselves about midway between the edge of the restraining circle and the boards a few feet on their own side of the centre line.

The two defencemen station themselves on the neutral side of their own blue line, about ten feet apart. The goalkeeper stands between the goalposts just inside his crease line.

The game is started by a face-off at the centre spot shown in Fig. 1. Two opposing players, facing each other and the opponent's goal, place the blades of their sticks flat on the ice. The tip of each stick must be resting at the outer edge of the spot. When the puck dropped by the referee strikes the ice, the players facing off play it with their sticks. No other players may enter the restraining circle until this occurs.

Face-offs occur after each stoppage of play, either at one of the spots shown in Fig. l or at the place where an infraction occurs. The rules provide that play after all stoppages near the ends of the rink shall be resumed at the nearest end face-off spot and state that no face-off shall take place within fifteen feet of the boards.

The puck may be passed in any direction except in the cases of offside and "icing the puck'. (See Figs. 2 and 3.) 

A player is offside if:

(a) the puck crosses his opponent's blue line after he does (C to L.W. in Fig. 2);

(b) a player takes a pass which starts behind his own blue line, when he is beyond the centre line. (R.W. from R.D. in Fig. 2).

The infraction known as icing is called on a player who shoots the puck from his own side of the centre line, as illustrated by Shot No. I in Fig. 3. The whistle blows the moment an opposing player touches an iced puck, with the face-off being taken at the end spot near the net of the shooting team.

ICING IS NOT CALLED if:

The goalie touches the puck, or the latter enter the empty net. (Shot No 2 in Figure 3)

The team shooting is shorthanded.

One of the oponents is able to reach the puck before it crosses the goal line (Shot No. 3 in Fig. 3), since a player of team X is in a position to play the puck before it crossed the goal line.

EQUIPMENT

For comfort and prevention of injury, suitable equipment should be worn. Personal equipment includes:

Underclothing - sufficiently heavy for warmth.

Athletic support- cup-and-pouch type necessary for older boys and men.

Stockings - extra-long, without feet along with one pair of proper fitting woollen socks.

Shin pads - with a hard knee cap.

Elbow-pads - soft leather, sausage-type worn under the sweater.

Pants - roomy and provided with thigh guards and held up by. suspenders.

Sweater - large enough to go over pads and loose at the neck to avoid chafing.

Gloves - padded to protect the thumb and the back of the fingers.

Skates - the most important piece of equipment, should be regular hockey tubes. The boots should be dried at room temperature and oiled to keep them soft and waterproof. The blades need to be rockered, the toe points removed, and sharpened by the hollowground method, after being used five or six times. Wipe the blades dry after use. (See also Skating).

Stick - selected for weight, balance, and proper lie, and cut to comfortable length. A light rigid stick is best (too whippy a shaft, hinders good puck control). Wrap the full blade with black friction tape. (See also Stickhandling).

Goalkeeping equipment - special goal skates are necessary for proper balance. Soft, flexible leg pads with straps and buckles in good repair, should cover from the instep to just above the knee. A chest protector worn over a quilted padded jacket protects the upper body. The glove of the stick hand needs extra padding on the back. The catching hand may wear a trapper mitt. (See also Goalkeeper).

BASIC HOCKEY SKILLS

In order to score goals , you must know how to stickhandle, pass, and shoot the puck; to keep the opponents from scoring, you need to know how to check. Before you can do any of these things you must know how to skate.

Skating

You need to know how :

to start and stop quickly;

to turn either way without losing balance or speed;

to skate backwards.

Examine your skates first. They should fit snugly with a single pair of socks. Firm leather boots extending well above the ankle bone do not need ankle supports.

Here are some good pointers on skating:

Lean forward from the hips to help your balance.

Keep your feet about shoulder width apart.

Bend your knees and keep them flexible.

Use short, digging strides to pick up speed quickly.

Be sure your rear knee is bent to give you the thrust as it straightens. Power comes from the drive off the rear foot.

Avoid swinging your arms from side to side by carrying a stick in both hands, keeping the blade on the ice as you skate.

Turning without loss of speed is difficult for many skaters. Don't coast around the corners on your skate edges. Place one foot over the other, dipping the inside shoulder. You can actually gain speed by a light hopping or running action on your turns. Add a lifting movement of both shoulders as you do this and notice how your speed increases. Be sure to practise turning to the right as well as to the left.

Skating backwards is a good balancing exercise, and an essential skill for defencemen. Adopt almost a sitting position with the weight forward on the balls of the feet. Get speed by increasing the hip-swing and the twisting shove-off with each outside foot. If you play defence, practise skating forward at top speed, jump to skate backwards, and follow that with a jump to a forward drive again.

Stickhandling

You need to know how :

to carry the puck forward on your stick;

to stickhandle around a checker.

A left-handed player holds his stick