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Coach Guide

Design a play, check it the way the kids will, then send the link to the team. About ten minutes the first time, a few minutes after that. No accounts, no app to install.

Open the Play Designer →

Watch it first

A quick run-through of designing a two-step play: pick a faceoff dot, let the description write itself, save each step, slide the puck along the boards for a rim, preview and copy the share link. It ends with placing the puck anywhere and saving your own starting position. Drag the slider to jump to any part.

1Pick a starting position

The rink shows our end on the left and the neutral zone to the right. Orange are our forwards, navy are our D and goalie, and grey X's are the other team. Under Starting position you have three ways to set up the Lineup (where everyone starts, before the puck moves):

Faceoff dot
The five dots on this half of the ice: Our end ↑ and Our end ↓ (the two D-zone circles), Neutral ↑ and Neutral ↓ (the dots just outside our blue line), and Center ice. Everyone lines up for the draw on that dot.
📍 Place puck anywhere: make your own
Right under the faceoff dots. Press it, then tap the ice where the puck starts. Both teams line up around it. Drag anyone to where you want them. If you'll use this setup again, press ＋ Save as my starting position (it appears under the timeline once you've moved something on Lineup) and give it a name. It shows up under My starting positions next time (on this device).
Situation
Breakout, D-zone coverage or Regroup, for plays that don't start with a faceoff.
Want to adjust the lineup? A faceoff dot or situation gives you a saved lineup. Press ✎ Edit lineup, drag anyone, then ✓ Save lineup. After Place puck, the lineup stays open until you press ✓ Save lineup.

2Design the play

The Play timeline reads Lineup → 1 → 2 → 3. Lineup is where everyone starts; each number is one move. Tap any of them to go back and change it.

  1. Name it. Use something the kids will recognise, like "D-zone faceoff loss".
  2. Drag the first move. Drag a player or the puck to where they are at the end of the move. Step 1 starts on its own, and the lineup stays as it was. (Pressing + Add step first works too.) Faded players with arrows show where everyone started.
  3. Draw the puck's path as you drag it. Slide the puck along the boards and it becomes a rim. Touch the boards partway and it becomes a bank pass off the wall; drag the orange ◆ to fine-tune where it hits. Anything else is a straight pass. A note under the buttons says what it picked. To change it, just drag the puck again.
  4. Check the description. As you move things, What happens in step N writes itself, like "C wins the draw to LW in the strong-side corner." That's the caption the kids read. Change any words you like; if you want it rewritten from your moves, press ↻ Rewrite it from my moves.
  5. Save the step. After your first move, + Add step turns into ✓ Save step N. Press it. Then just drag the next move and the next step starts on its own. A step with a red ring isn't saved yet.
  6. Repeat for each step. Three or four steps is the sweet spot, and nine is the maximum.
Curves: players move in straight lines between steps. To go behind the net or around a player, add an extra step at the turn.
Moving the puck: drag the puck to the player who receives the pass. Put it just in front of them, not on top, so it's easy to grab next time.
Rims and bank passes: there are no buttons to press. Drag the puck along the boards for a rim, or bounce it off the boards for a bank pass, and the designer reads it from your drag. While you drag, a dotted line shows the path the puck will take. It's always straight, except when it curves along the boards.

3Add player names and jobs (optional)

Open Player names & jobs. Type a name next to any position, and it shows under that player on the rink and on the position buttons the kids tap ("C · Emma"). Leave it blank to show just the position. Names go inside the share link, so use first names only.

Under each name you can write one sentence for that position's job. Each kid sees the job for the position they pick. For defensive plays, tick Show the house & shot lanes.

4Check it the way the kids will

5Send it to the team

  1. Press Copy share link. The whole play is packed into that link.
  2. Paste it into an email, a text or the team chat, with a line like "Faceoff play for Saturday. Pick your position, Watch it, then Play it."
  3. Players tap the link. It opens on a phone, tablet or laptop, with nothing to sign up for. They pick their position, watch the play step by step, then skate it themselves and get a grade.
Changed the play after sending it? A link always shows the version it was made from. Copy a new link and send that one.

6Keep your plays

Save keeps the play on this device and browser only. Reopen it later from My saved plays. Saved plays and starting positions don't sync between devices, but a share link works everywhere. To move a play to another device, open its link there and press ✎ Edit (coaches).

Quick answers

Can I edit a play someone shared with me?
Yes. Open the link, then press ✎ Edit (coaches). It opens a copy in the designer. Save it or share it as a new link. The old link keeps showing the old version.
Does it work on a phone or iPad?
Yes. Turn it sideways and drag with your finger. A laptop is easier for designing; phones are great for playing.
Why can't I move players on an earlier step?
Saved steps are locked so they don't change by accident. Tap the step on the timeline and press ✎ Edit step N, make your changes, then ✓ Save step N.
I messed up a step.
Select the step and press Delete step, or press ✎ Edit step and drag players back. Picking a new starting position starts over; names and jobs are kept.
Who can see my plays?
Only people you send the link to. Nothing is uploaded: the play lives in the link itself.

Open the Play Designer →