Hockey tips to be in the cards

University of Maine hockey coach Tim Whitehead and Lou Vairo, who has coached the U.S. national team in the World Championships the past four years and was the head coach for the 1984 U.S. Olympic team, are the primary consultants for a soon-to-be released deck of cards outlining hockey fundamentals, rules and drills.

The cards are the size of regular playing cards and there will be 60 in each deck with information on both sides. They will be released this fall.

The 3-year-old Seattle-based company that produces and markets them is called Sport Moves.

They already have produced golf, baseball, basketball and soccer decks. Softball decks will debut in the fall along with hockey.

The cards have illustrations of players performing the particular fundamental listed.

Here is an example of a hockey card explaining the art of skating backward with an illustration of a skater doing so complete with arrows extending from his skates to show the correct skating pattern.

‘Start in the ready position but 1. Bend your knees even more as if you were sitting down; 2. Balance your weight on the balls of your feet. Then, 3. Use the front inside edge of the blade to push your left foot out to the front and side (the motion should cut a letter ‘C’ in the ice). Fully extend your leg during the C-cut and return it low. 4. The other foot should glide while bearing most of your weight. 5. Your bottom should remain still, and 6. Your chest should stay up. Continue making C’s with alternating feet.”

The company, which has sold 70,000 decks of golf, baseball, basketball and soccer cards, was the brainchild of Charlie Cowan. The woman doing the research and text work on the hockey cards is Melissa Butheau, a 2002 University of Florida graduate with a degree in journalism. Dana Robinson is the illustrator.

“What I do is buy every research material possible, videos, books, whatever is out there, and I come up with a possible card list based on the materials. I contact some local coaches, we meet, and we come up with a card list. After that, I write the cards and, a month later, I meet again with the local coaches and we go over all the cards and critique them. After two meetings with the local coaches, I submit the cards to the national coaches,” said Butheau. “We want to be sure the cards are accurate and correct.”

She said she obtained 20 books and eight videotapes about hockey to put together the deck.

The cards are currently in production.

The hockey cards are divided into 12 categories: skating, puck control, shooting and scoring, checking, positions and responsibilities, defense, offense, situations, special teams, rules, home practice [off-ice] drills and bonus [off- and on-ice] drills. There are also charts so players can note their progress.

Butheau said she got Whitehead’s name from talking to several coaches and researching Whitehead’s credentials.

“I was very flattered,” said Whitehead, noting that University of Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun is a consultant for the basketball cards.

She said the language on the cards is at a “junior-high level.

“It isn’t too mature. An 8-year-old can understand them. Since most of the cards deal with the fundamentals of the sport, they are more for the new players,” said Butheau. “But 20 percent of our cards are for older, more advanced players.”

“It’s a neat idea,” said Whitehead. “She sent me some cards from the other sports and I was very impressed. They do a very thorough and very professional job.”

He said based on his conversations with Butheau about the hockey cards, “they will be really informative and you can use them for a lot of different purposes. They’re fun.”

Whitehead and Vairo will receive the final proofs of the cards for their approval.

The hockey cards will cost $8.95 per deck. If you purchase 12 or more decks, they will cost a discounted rate of $4.50 per deck. They can be obtained at sporting goods stores and on-line at www.sportmoves.com.