Strategy and tactics are two terms often used to describe the choices that a team can make during an end, or during a game.
Former National Training Centre coach Bill Tschirhart describes strategy this way:
Strategy is the shot called after considering a variety of factors in light of a pre-determined game plan which results from an overall philosophy.
That “overall philosophy” is the style of play suited to your team: defense first, offense first, or balanced attack – now sometimes referred to as “prevent”, “pursue”, and “probe” respectively. Tactics, on the other hand, relate to the factors that determine the outcome of the particular shot:
- What turn do we play?
- What weight do we play?
- How much ice do we take?
- How does our sweeping effect this shot?
- How do the abilities of the specific player affect this shot?
Strategy and tactics are inter-related; they represent a continuum of choices from the high-level (how does our team want to control the last two ends of play?) to the low-level (precisely what weight should be thrown, and where should we place the broom, so that we can make this double-takeout?).
Coaches at the High Performance Centre can lead both on-ice and off-ice sessions in strategy and tactics to help you play a better game. They can also help determine what style of play is best suited to your team, and consequently what strategy choices are most advantageous to your rink.
Additional information
See the Resources pages for articles and coaching tips on strategy, shot selection, and tactics.