Protection Newbees

Identifying a newbie in the water is beneficial.
It allows the seasoned players to recognise the newbie and so not tackle so quickly or so enthusiastically as would another seasoned player.


So far i know this:
In the Netherlands(in Tilburg) the newbie player gets a green hat (seasoned players wear black/blue or white hats).
In the UK and a another team in the Netherlands)they get an orange pusher stick (seasoned players use black or white pusher sticks).


On the photo is alexje, phot made by Sven

The reasons for the hat and most times a different type and colour glove
(the glove on the picture is the former model we made.and were we learnt much from)

Reason 1. Why not the sticks/pushers
Simpley. By using the same stick/pushers as all the other players they can try differend sticks from different players. All the players in TIlburg have there own model stick/pusher.

Reason2. Why caps an cloves
Because i train the players to look not only to the puck or stick off the other players. But look to the game around them and to the players always. Body langaues tells much off what an player want to do.

Other teams ask us why we protect the newbees. The mean reason. TO let them have fun also. If they go on with underwaterhockey, after some times they are no longer newbees. Especialy the non growing clubs ask us that.
No new players means at some time no team left. :lol: Protection for getting new players and maybe by that new good players after a time period. Is nessesairy to grow as team and club. Invest in new players is also investing in the game/sport underwaterhockey.
More players means more teams.
More teams means more games to play in competition.
More players mean more people nowing the game/sport,
people to start talking asbout the sport.
Getting interested in the game/sport.

All with all. PROTECTION NEW PLAYERS IS A GOOD THING.
How do you protect your new players?

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When you are good, then you are not bad..

In Dunedin they protect new players by them wearing a bright orange glove. I wouldn't be able to see a hat half the time. The gloves work pretty well. Except the first night you play there and nobody tells you what the gloves mean and you smash some poor learner on the wall.

Every bit of gear counts, and helps. Clup Puck in San Jose has been looking into the best solution for this for a bit, as there have been issues recently. Since new players often wear borrowed gear, and often the players that have gear to lend out are the better or top players it can get confusing. One particular incedent we had a new player who happened to be a pretty decent triathelete so he was good and fit, and was using gear all borowed from Mike Grimm, one of our top Masters men. Needless to say they looked quite a bit alike at first glance, and I was so proud of myself for timing the pass and flying through him like he wasn't even there... till I ran into the real mike and realized I had just blown over a brand new rookie!. Due to body position I'm not sure I would have seen just a different colored stick, I thought I recognized the player from a glance and played the puck accordingly. A bright green or off color cap may have changed the incedent.
There is now a growing bag of sticks, including some yellow, red hats, and orange gloves.

How about a vest?

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We also have a system in place so that our new players don't get scared off too soon. Our new players are called Redcaps, as, obviously, they wear red caps and red gloves. Also making everyone else that's playing that there is Redcap or 2 in the water makes them aware of them. The newbies remain a Redcap until they are deemed to be competant enough to look after themselves when they become a B grade player.

Unfortunaltey you will always get other players, sometimes very experienced, that can't deferentiate between a new player and someone who's been playing for 20 years. They seem to have tunnel vision for the puck only and are oblivous to everything around them. These are the players that tend to scare off the Newbies and it's hard to get these players to ease up.

Having set games where the majority of players are Redcaps, with a few experienced players amongst them to help control the game, can also be a good way to start things off.

We use a yellow golve in Warragul. We also put up free pucks when a yellow glove gets smashed and we call yellow glove strikes, where the yellow golves get a 2mt heat start off a strike.
It works well in social games
Cheers
Belle

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Underwater Hockey Rules!

We have nice bright pink sticks and bright gloves.

So, how do they know what side they are on??
Belle

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Underwater Hockey Rules!

Good point.

Clearly we don't get many newbies :S

Hi

we dont have anything as such to distinguish new players in our squad

our club in the UK is like an 'old boys club' if you know what I mean, its an old team and we have been playing together for a lot of years so we know each other really well, new members tend to really stick out (from my point of view anyway) from all the others, so you know to give a bit time to control the puck, look up etc and not to just smash them

I think its a common problem not just in this sport, some players just play at 'full tilt' regardless of who is their opponent, I guess they only know 1 way to play.