Whose Puck Is It, Anyway?: A Season with a Minor Novice Hockey Team

By Ed Arnold

Book Overview

Every winter, in hockey arenas across North America, as soon as the kids step onto the ice, the abuse begins. Coaches yell at the players, parents yell at the coaches, and everyone yells at the referees. After nearly a decade of coaching youngsters, Ed Arnold decided he wanted kids to learn the fundamentals of hockey but he also wanted them to have fun. He got support in this enterprise from two former NHL players, goalie Greg Millen and forward Steve Larmer. Concerned that the children's game was being taken far too seriously by both parents and coaches, they also believed that the kids were losing the opportunity to reinvent the game for themselves.

So it came about that in the winter of 2000, when the parents of the would-be Minor Novice Peterborough Petes showed up with their kids for tryouts, they were handed a letter outlining the coaches' new philosophy. There would be no yelling at players, coaches, or referees. Players would play all positions. They would not be forced to follow a "systems" approach to hockey, but would be left to figure out what to do in a given situation for themselves. And all members of the team would be given equal ice time.

Not every parent liked it, but the kids sure had a good time. Readers of this inspiring book will have a wonderful time, too, as they follow the adventures of the team. Coach Larmer wears a Stanley Cup ring but he meant exactly what he said when he told a reporter that his year with the kids was the most fun he ever had in hockey.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0771007817
• ISBN13: 9780771007811
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Great writing, great coaching, adorable kids.

I love hockey books and this one is tops. Don't believe the three star review, Ed Arnold is just the right voice to describe these kids and why he and his co-coaches wanted a chance to teach kids that there are always options to choose from and to encourage them to play with open eyes and respect--never afraid to create. The characters are fascinating, funny, and the author is very engaging and likable. It's a great hockey story. It's one of those that i was so happy to get back to when i got the chance. A real pleasure read. There's really no way to rate anything higher than this book. It deserves 17 stars. Thank you Ed Arnold and the community of Peterborough. The Minor Pete's rock.

More parents & coaches should read this book!

Having sidelined several years worth of US kids' hockey games, I picked up this book with great interest. In it I found useful self-reflection for parents and coaches alike. Parents trying to out-coach the coaches and berating their kids and referees alike is a common problem that needs to be held up more often for examination and I think these issues are well-addressed in this book. Coaches with a "win-at-all-costs" attitude -- yelling at players and shortening the bench need to realize the emotional damage they are inflicting on a kid who just wants to play for fun. (And we wonder why inactivity and childhood obesity is such a growing problem?) It also helped me understand why not using a strictly enforced positional-type play is good for kids' education in the sport and fosters a truly creative player rather than an automaton.Mr. Arnold's revised attitude to coaching is emphasized rather than explicit counselling on the "options" they reviewed with each player after a failed play. Yet the anecdotes culled from hanging around a bunch of 7-9 year olds make for entertaining reading. Mr. Arnold does state that the book is based on a diary he kept during the season which accounts for the slightly disjointed format but as it is chronologically organized I did not find it difficult to read. Yes, I would heartily recommend this book to anyone who attends kids' sporting events and we would all realize that a positive compliment to a kid, coach, or referee after a game will go miles farther than criticism.

Whose puck is it anyway ?

This book is a terrific account of how the game of hockey should be treated. It's all about fun and enjoyment. As a coach, I found myself wondering if I could make the types of change that Ed and his coaches did. They tried something different and it worked. The kids and the coaches had fun, and sometimes too many coaches lose sight of that. Read this book if you are a hockey parent, coach or player.

Fun and entertaining

Wonderful if you've ever coached youth sports, or had a kid in youth sports, or played hockey. There are no X's and O's in here, just an expanded "journal" of the season with some philosophy thrown in. Lots of fun anecdotes about the kids and the coaches, some about the parents, and road trips in the Canadian Winter (brrr). I picked it up on a whim, blew thru it in a day or two.This book might have been more useful for the prospective coach if showed exactly what they DID do in practice. Arnold discusses what they DIDN'T do - "positional hockey" and systems - but does not go into what they did. It would have been nice to know what skating and stick-handling drills etc the coaches decided did mesh with their "equal ice time, learn and have fun" approach; especially with Steve Larmer and Greg Millen having input into how the team spent practice time. That way a coach might be better equipped to follow in their footsteps.Still a very fun read. And - highest compliment - if I had a kid in sports, I wouldn't hesitate to let him or her be coached by Arnold.