Cheverie makes history

If Corey McNabb wanted to coach elite level cricket, he wouldn’t know where to begin.

“I don’t even know what the bat is called, or the stick, or whatever you use,” he said with a chuckle. “I
would have no idea how … to teach kids.”

So what would help Hockey Canada’s senior manager of coaching and playing development instruct athletes in
a sport he doesn’t know much about?

An interactive digital resource for coaches that includes printable drill diagrams, accompanying
descriptions, and videos demonstrating exactly how those drills are done, would certainly be a good place for
him to start.

Replace the cricket pitch with a hockey rink, and that’s exactly what McNabb and his staff have created to
help coaches across the country prepare players who are Peewee age or older for elite level hockey – which
could include participation in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, celebrating three decades of on-ice
success this year.

From the pitch to the rink, and everywhere in between, he said there’s nothing else quite like the new
Hockey Canada Program of Excellence Drills and Videos DVD available in the sports world. Not unlike the Team
Canada Skills of Gold video series that came before it, this special multimedia coaching tool shows, once
again, that Hockey Canada is at the forefront of sport development.

“The Program of Excellence DVD is bar none, the best resource in the world for teaching,” McNabb said of
the brand new resource for hockey coaches, now available for $39.95 online right HERE on Hockey Canada’s website.

“It’s different than a traditional DVD because … we designed it all in Flash, which makes it much more
user-friendly,” he said. “It’s the only one that really combines manual, which is the actual drill and the
description, with video.”

In addition to about 140 video drill demonstrations, the DVD features 180 drill diagrams, more than 50
different skill concepts, 15 set practice plans and the ability for coaches to mix-and-match all of that
material to create upwards of 60 different practice progressions for their teams.

McNabb’s favourite features are that you can access the matching video by clicking your mouse directly on
the drill diagram, and “the fact that you can print off the practice plans and take them to the rink with
you.”

Perhaps one of the DVD’s top selling point is that its “designed right after the Hockey Canada Program of
Excellence manual,” which means its jam-packed with knowledge from many of the country’s top hockey
minds.

“Tom Renney, Mike Johnston, Mike Babcock, Ken Hitchcock, Brent Sutter – all the guys who have coached in
that program before, we’ve collected drills and concepts (from),” he said. “They’ve basically said, ‘This is
what players should know.’ ”

In fact, it’s what Canadian players NEED to know if they want to fulfil their dreams of representing their
country on the ice, McNabb said. That includes players such as Emerance Maschmeyer, who won a gold medal with
Canada at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship in the Czech Republic, and is featured on
the DVD demonstrating Program of Excellence goaltending skills.

Young up-and-comers such as the Western Hockey League’s Troy Bourke of the Prince George Cougars and Colin
Smith of the Kamloops Blazers also perform drill demonstrations featured on the DVD’s video clips, which were
filmed over the course of three summers at Rexall Place in Edmonton.

Ultimately, the goal is to get the DVD filled with skills and drills into the hands of as many coaches as
possible across the country, McNabb said, so that each and every Canadian player can be at their best –
including those who will one day wear a maple leaf on their jerseys.

“It’s really trying to provide some standard of play, skill and understanding, as far as what coaches are
teaching and players are learning,” McNabb said. “Too many times some of our high performance materials only
get into the hands of the coaches and players once they actually get to the high performance level. This is
all about preparing them in order to get there.”

Its consistency at the grassroots level across the country that will result in Canadian gold medals on
international ice, McNabb said, adding the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence Drills and Videos DVD is the
best way for coaches to tap into the incredible potential of their players.

“It’s one-stop shopping,” he said. “This is the only thing you need; it’s got everything you want.”

Order your copy at www.HockeyCanada.ca/Breakaway today.