Last week Alberta Minor Hockey declared that it is now mandatory for all coaches to wear helmets as well when they're on the ice during practices [CBC News]. They were actually the last province in Canada to bring in this rule and it's just another indication of how important safety is for all, at all levels of play.

The job of being a coach changes so much each year and in this age of internet tools, coaches and players can learn skills and grow their teams using a new set of equipment: online games and websites.

For example, you can throw away notebooks and whiteboards and discover some really cool plays online. Coaches can share a website like this Animated Hockey Playbook with their team and they can all learn strategies through the computer.

Aside from games and animated pucks, there are so many great resources available on minor hockey websites as each league, team and association makes sure to nurture up-and-coming coaches as well as share the expertise of veterans.

In BC, there's the Coaches Association website that also provides resources for coaches much like the Ontario Minor Hockey Association. Another good resource is Hockey Canada which has an extensive drill library, as well as videos, articles, and practice plans.

A coach's role is as much about keeping players (and themselves) safe and challenging to grow their skills as it is about making sure the team runs smoothly and pucks go in the net.

In 1959, after being struck in the face with a puck, Jacques Plante became the first goalie to ever wear a hockey mask. Now, helmets and masks are a regular and required part of any hockey game. Depending on league rules, there are four types of helmets that can be worn. Plain helmets, or ones with a visor, a cage, or a combination (half-visor). Surrey Minor Hockey rules simply state: "Helmets must be worn at all times while on the bench or on the ice surface," and that "No player is to remove his/her helmet while on the bench or ice surface."

Hockey skates were first modified in 1866 [see: Hockey 101: History Notes] and now we can choose from countless brand names customized by boot, blade, and blade holder. Stephenville Minor Hockey suggests this to parents and players, "Keeping your skates sharp helps maneuverability and prevents you from catching your blade on the ice, which can lead to leg and knee injuries. Brand-name skates are your best bet. Make sure the skate has a well-constructed heel and ankle support."

When it comes to sticks, they're pretty much essential - not so much for safety but it is your best bet to get a puck in the net. There are three main types of stick to choose from - wood, fiberglass or graphite - and each have their advantages. According to Gloucester Centre Minor Hockey, wood sticks are recommended for "budding stars" as they can give you a better feel for the puck.

Many other pieces of equipment help your play and keep you safe, like gloves, mouth guards, pants and pads (and don't forget the socks and tape). At the end of the day, it comes down to fit and safety. If you find the right equipment for your skill level, your body, and your style of play, you can't go wrong.

Looking back at where hockey got its start in last week's post, it's funny to see some of the old rules: all players played the entire game, there was no forward passing, the goalie had to stand the entire game, and whenever a goal was scored teams changed ends.

It's an ever-changing game but one thing stays the same: put the puck in the net. Over the years (and it seems like every year) rules are revised and rewritten, but what about some of those basics? Do you know what it means when the referee blows his whistle and with his arms? Is there more to the game than 5 players with a stick on each end trying to get the puck past the other team's goalie? Let's start with some of the basic rules:

Penalties are actually a way to keep the game safe for all by letting players know when they're not playing fair. Some of the most common penalties include: boarding, charging, checking from behind, cross-checking, elbowing, hand pass, high-sticking, holding, hooking, icing, interference, slashing, spearing, and tripping.

It's actually perfectly acceptable for a player to fire a puck all the way down the ice - but it all depends on what it runs into along the way. Icing is when a player sends the puck down the ice, from behind his own red line, and it cruises all the way past the other goal line - without going to the net.

Offside happens when a player heads over their opponent's blue line before getting the puck. If that puck follows and they make contact with it, offside will be called and a faceoff will take place outside of the zone.

These are some of the rules that make sure everyone on the ice has a nice clean game and by paying attention to them, you can help your team be successful by avoiding unneeded penalties.

Image courtesy of After The Whistle.

A while back I watched Hockey: A People's History and over the course of many chapters (and weeks) I fell in love with our nation's winter sport all over again. Its origins are rooted in some places you may not expect, and others are pretty obvious. Here are some unique tidbits that you can share with your friends:

As far back at 1800, a game called "Hurley-on-Ice" was played by students in Windsor, Nova Scotia at King's College. Hurley was an Irish field game of Gaelic origin that involved using a wooden axe-shaped stick, called a "Hurley" to hit a ball and score on the goalkeeper. The game took off in various forms but as a winter sport played on ice, its popularity grew and within only a few years, more ice rinks were being built in Eastern Canada. Equipment started to take shape as spring skates modified for ice hockey were invented and patented in 1866 and sticks carved by the Mi'kmaq first nation were the most popular for decades to follow.

When the young sport is introduced to Montreal at McGill university a few years later, it was played by rugby teams and actually resembled rugby; with no forward passing and lot of bodychecking. In 1892, a Canadian Governor called Lord Stanley of Preston purchased a silver cup and decided to present it every year to the best hockey team in Canada. Actually as the story goes, it was his hockey-loving children that convinced him to do honor the sport in this way.

If you live in Vancouver, there's a statue of Lord Stanley at the entrance to Stanley Park, which is also named after him.

And to think, if not for his children and their love of the sport - we wouldn't have the Stanley Cup.

Photo of McGill hockey match in Montreal, Quebec from Wikimedia Commons.