A Coach's Creed

A team can lose. Any team can lose. But in a sense, a coach never loses. And the job of the coach is over and finished once the puck is dropped. A coach knows if they won or lost long before play begins.

For a coach has two tasks. The minor is to teach skills - to teach a player how to skate faster, shoot harder, check smarter and execute more efficiently. The second task, the major task, is to make adults out of children! It is to teach an attitude of mind. It is to implant character and not simply to impact skills. It's to teach fair play... and that goes without saying. It's also to teach how to be humble in victory and proud in defeat... this too goes without saying. But more importantly it is to teach young people how to live up to their potential no matter what that potential might be.

It's to teach them to do their best, yet never to become too satisfied with what they have achieved. After all, we must also teach them to strive to be as good as they can be if they would only try a little harder.

A coach can never make a great player out of someone who isn't potentially great. But you can help to make a great citizen out of any youngster. For a good coach, the final score doesn't read "so many goals for out team, so many goals for theirs". It doesn't say "this many wins and that many losses". Instead, it simply reads: "So many lives affected, so much potential realized".

This is a score that will never be published, yet this is the score that will be read in the silence of a coach's own thoughts. And, inevitably, this is where a true coach will find their real joy long after the final game has been played.

Experiences In The Game

How many of you have developed friendships because of your involvement in hockey? How many have developed best friendships? Sports, as competitive as they are, also teach life lessons and provide great memories. When we talk to parents and coaches at our Chevrolet Safe & Fun Hockey Festivals we do an exercise with them about 'experiences in the game'. We often conduct the same exercise with players.

We simply ask: What is their most memorable experience in hockey?

For players, it usually relates to memories of a first experience like a first goal, first time skating, or a recent achievement like a big save, break-away goal, championship or tournament win.

Adults tend to have memories of a coach or influential figure when they played. And they love seeing their child playing and enjoying the game or a championship they may have once won.

We then ask: What is their most memorable experience in hockey away from the rink?

Memories of team get-togethers, getting lost on road trips, mini-sticks in hotels and, of course for adults, the 1972 summit series, are all things that come to mind.

This exercise demonstrates how insignificant winning and losing really is in minor hockey. As we grow through different life stages, we may tend to lose memories of our first achievements as youngsters. Memories of fun, positive experiences tend to last forever. Think about your own situation. Many of us will, from time to time, get together with old friends, co-workers, teammates and family. Nicknames come out, old stories are revisited and most of the conversation is reflective of the fun, and sometimes hilarious embarrassing moments or events from the past. These are the memories that you keep and treasure. Minor hockey should provide our children with such experiences along with developing skills needed to play the game.

Congratulations to those coaches and managers that provide opportunities for team experiences outside the rink. Host a team BBQ / pool party, hold a practice on an outdoor rink or pond, go bowling on a road trip and provide fun, positive experiences for your team each year.

Coaching Bag Of Tricks

A coach's purpose is to teach the skills necessary for their athletes to play and compete in the sport. Regardless of individual skill level or team success, stimulating players to keep learning is often challenging. True to this point, coaches must also often adopt alternative teaching methods. Below are some suggestions that may stimulate ideas for you as a coach to keep practices unique and exciting.

Do you need ice for a practice? Sports fields, gymnasiums and parking lots are a great alternative when ice is not available or when you wish to add that extra practice from time to time.

Use a football, soccer ball, road hockey equipment, etc. and practice that breakout play, power-play or penalty kill. When you get on the ice next, run the same drill for a few minutes to acclimatize your players to performing it on the ice. Make it fun out there. Using other apparatus like rubber chickens, mini footballs, soccer balls, parachutes, tackle dummies, etc. in drills can provide a unique, fun and enjoyable approach to a drill.

Practice Planning

With ice being as valuable as it is in today's society - both in cost and availability, it is important for coaches at all levels to be prepared before their team hits the ice for practice. Below are a few simple suggestions that could save you valuable minutes in your future practices:

Plan The Practice - Planning your ice session and reviewing with your coaches before going on the ice will enable all coaches to have input, discuss the objectives of drills and review their duties.

Stretch - Having players stretch and warm-up prior to going on the ice will save valuable time usually taken up by a 'team' stretch at the start of practice - the same stretching routines can be accomplished off-ice.

Chalk Talk - Review the ice session with your players in the dressing room prior to going on the ice. It allows you the time to detail the objectives of the drill and will help to alleviate the downtime of your "chalk talk" during the practice. It will also help you reinforce key reminders before the drill starts.

Use Coaches - Have coaches set up the next drill immediately after the conclusion of a previous drill. Allow them to run drills and showcase their "expertise". Have them conduct one-on-one instruction with single players or small groups.

On the Whistle - How many times do you tell your players to stop shooting pucks after the whistle? Team Canada uses a strategy to save time and invoke the competitive nature in players. Once a coach blows the whistle to switch drills, all players stop what they're doing and race to where the coach is standing. The last player to arrive (goalies included) does a lap of the ice by themselves.

Road Trips & Tournaments

As the holiday season nears, one of the best and busiest times of the hockey season will soon be here - Christmas tournaments. Whether your team enters local tournaments or travels to other parts of the world, a road trip can be a great experience for your team.

Here are a few things to consider:

Keep your plans to a reasonable budget - one that complements the fundraising your team has done.
Work with your players to develop a theme or slogan for the trip.
Plan excursions for players and parents in the host community. Consider excursions organized by the tournament host. Also, most tourist attractions offer group facilities and discounts.
Don't forget the parents. Include them in all activities and team events.
Host team events regularly. They can be a lot of fun and a great team-building experience. Hold a skit or air band competition one night or host a holiday gift exchange.
Provide your players with a memento to trade with other teams. Bring city pins, pennants or badges.
Don't forget about school studies. Be sensitive to individual player situations with school projects. Encourage all players to bring their school work with them and devote time each day for studies.