Reply To: Game Intelligence / Decision Training

[DaveM]

Tough question Dean….I guess I never have taken the time to articulate this.

Some background: I had three distinctly different styles of coaches as I progressed through competitive hockey. 1)The "dump it in & go hit 'em" one, who got us in better shape than anyone else and stressed body contact. This team relied on emotion more than skill, and had lots of 3rd period wins by wearing down the other teams. 2) The technical expert, who probably developed a hundred or more Division 1 college players in his career, but who absolutely berated players when they made mistakes. Players were motivated by fear more than anything. 3) The tactician – this coach changed the way I looked at the game – made it creative & fun, even with 3 hour practices and missed vacations I always looked forward to playing. He had terrible people skills, but the way we played the game made up for it…it was wide open, creative, and all about speed. Only twice in four years did we have a bag skate, and we deserved it both times, but we were in shape from the constant flow of our practices. We won a lot of games, too.

I'd say I am a hybrid of these 3 distinctly different approaches. I would love to play the wide open game (experience #3), but without the raw skill of experience #1 and the refinement of experience #2, it's tough to play at that level….but the goal is to get there! The biggest things I've learned and I now focus on are:

1) Coach at the players level: You have to be wiling to adjust and go backwards if needed. A glaring lack of fundamental skills cannot be overlooked. Hockey is a continuum of acquired skills, and you can't move forward very far without the fundamentals. There are no shortcuts!

2) Build players up, don't tear them down: I never enjoyed playing in fear, and I catch myself often barking like the old drill sergeant I had in experience #2 above. I'm working hard at remembering these are kids, not small adults, and they are often way more fragile than they act. Encourage them when they do things right, convince them that they can and that it will make a big difference.

3) Details Matter!: Small details can make the difference between an average team/player and a good one, and they're things that everyone is capable of…stick on the puck, blocking shots, backchecking & short shifts are examples of things that everyone can do that make a difference. Do your job with attention to detail and trust that your team mates will do theirs. Do not try to do someone else's job. Reward excellence in this area but do not tolerate mediocrity. We are all capable of doing these little things that make the difference.

4) Discipline in the defensive zone, creativity everywhere else.

I still catch myself falling back to old drill sergeant skill and drill coaching from time to time, but the input of coaches here on this sight…..Tom's books & videos, Dean's relentless rants, and Kai's wealth of knowledge…..have convinced me that games are the best teacher. This has made coaching more fun too.

Dave