Reply To: Game Intelligence / Decision Training

[hockeygod]

I met with a Junior B coach from BC this morning. We discussed how to get volunteer board members to work well together (leadership through influence) and how to best structure the board. We discussed how it takes time to change the culture of a program at the bottom and how patience and 'keeping the big picture in mind' are important. Educating the board members that winning isn't the only measure of success – even at the Junior B level – it must take into account academics, citizenship, individual player development (graduating to the next level) probably even moreson than winning. If you can achieve high marks in all of these, you have a strong process (a good program) and you will probably 'see' a successful outcome (winning). We talked about how important it is as a coach / GM to carry oneself with high morals and ethics because this will allow one to look in the mirror at the end of each day… keep your personal values intact and do what is right for the team. We didn't have time to get into player development, but I hope I will get the chance to go watch / run a practice in January for him. (We wanted to follow up on the TGfU session last week and will do so in the future.)

Following that, I met with one of the A/C's from Slovakia. I went and watched their practice (and saw the end of the Russian's and the Swedes) but we really talked about the game itself; the challenges surrounding development in both our countries, as well as in other countries.

We also talked about coaching methodologies and how we can improve the education of coaches with mentorship and ongoing clinics – rather than merely providing them with an academic weekend seminar to achieve certification and then 'throw them to the wolves'. We both agreed that we need to do a better job of supporting the coaches AFTER the initial clinics AND we should ensure we provide lots of useful material (delivered in a meaningful / practical way) during the seminar. Right now, we see lots of room for improvement in these areas – all across the globe!

We talked about the concussion issue – how we think fighting will be gome in 5-10 years (due to heavy penalties and suspensions) and perhaps changing the men's / boys body contact rules to mirror that of the women – no head-on or open ice hitting; only angling and finishing along the boards – to allow the "pure skills" to be displayed.

Skill-wise, it was neat to see the Slovaks off-ice warmup prior to and after the practice. (And the Swiss, Russians, etc.!) They all used a soccer ball (or rubber ball) to juggle and pass with their feet and heads. They did lots of individual stick and ball warmups too.

The hand-eye coordination of these young players is amazing. Thanks to the preponderance of online media (YouTube, etc.) and more emphasis on skills in today's game (plus more skill academies), I saw lots of creative stuff! Rob Cookson, longtime NHL coach remarked to me that these are "YouTube Tricks" and not applicable in the game. I respectively disagreed; if a kid can perform stuff like this, he has shown that not only does he have the 'stick-to-it-ness' to work towards a goal and improve his eye-hand coordination, but he shows that he can imitate and or create moves… highly important in the game today where 45% comes down to winning the 1 vs 1 battles (one of the most overlooked components of the game, IMO)!

I saw a Slovak pick up the puck on his forehand, flip the puck AND HIS STICK up into the air, catch the stick so he was "shooting" with the oppoosite hand, then catch the puck with his flat blade… it fell off, but WOW! I also so many kids imitating Ryan Ellis from when he was playing in Windsor (OHL) – a TSN clip prior to the World Junior game showed him keeping the puck balanced ON THE BUTT OF HIS STICK while he whipped it around in the air (also on YouTube)!

I will try to see more international teams practice and play this coming week…

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."