What coaches, parents, and players need to know

The Basics

Play multiple sports

Wayne Gretzky put his hockey bag in the garage and didn’t pull it out until baseball season was finished.

Involvement in other activities and sports is great for physical development + mental development. Players come back with more athletic and cognitive skills. Problem solving skills are enhanced.

Let them fail

Development is impossible without mistakes.

Failure is a critical factor in development. Much more is learned when people are humbled by failure than when they win.

It’s not supposed to be smooth

Players play the game and need to develop the skills to handle independence and the failure that can come from their decisions.

Just get better

Nearly all issues come back to one simple thing… the player isn’t quite good enough right now.

100% of the time the best thing to do is work at getting better and making it painfully obvious.

Build resiliency. Have a growth mindset.

 

Working on strengths is just as important was working on weaknesses

Often scouting seems to knock what a player is not.

What a player does to create a competitive advantage needs continuously improved and often takes players to the next levels.

The big items = most improvement

There are 4 key areas:

  • Skating

  • Hockey IQ

  • Puck Skills

  • Habits

Character Matters

Becoming a better person is just as important as becoming a better hockey player.

Discipline and much more translate onto the ice.

When scouts are at games or coaches are looking to fill teams, they look for and notice how player’s body language + how they interact with teammates.

“Own your development”

The player must own their development. If they don’t feel they do there is no sense in pushing them.

This phrase has been made famous by the USA National Team Development Program. It’s a key pillar to what makes their program special.

Player’s must feel ownership.

Player, not position

If a player tells you they are a”right winger” then something is off in their development.

Hockey is played by players, not positions.

Each player should have experience playing all of the positions. It’s valuable experience and new perspectives expand their cognitive abilities.

Player’s fight their own battles

When upset about something players should approach the coach or whoever and get used to fighting their own battles.

This allows them to develop comfort in having those types of conversations and being able to follow up on them.