Transcript “MAKING A DIFFERENCE” By Stan Butler INTRODUCTION • Don’t ever underestimate the influence that a coach can have on a player, whether it.

“MAKING A DIFFERENCE”
By Stan Butler
INTRODUCTION
• Don’t ever underestimate the influence that a
coach can have on a player, whether it is on a
Select 6 team, midget AAA team or Junior A tean.
Players look up to coaches and value them as role
models. Every time you are with your players you
are “Making A Difference”. This presentation will
outline some strategies to make you a better coach
so you can make sure every player and parent
have a positive experience with the great game of
hockey.
DEVELOPING A COACHING
PHILOSOPHY
I think any time you coach a hockey team you must first
establish a philosophy for that specific team for that
specific season. Hull warm-up
To do this you must take into consideration:
 The age of the players and the level of competition they are
playing at
 Your personal values as a coach
 The value system of the organization
 Once you have established this philosophy, it’s important to make
sure that everybody on your staff goes along with it.
DEVELOPING GOALS FOR
YOUR TEAM
Once you have developed your team’s philosophy,
the next step is to develop a set of goals for your
hockey team for the coming season. I always like
to do this in a group setting.
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What age are your players?
What level is your team at?
How do you measure these goals?
What inside and outside influences affect these goals?
Review your team’s results from last year
PLAYER EVALUATION
At any level of hockey there are things I look for in
a player:
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Can the player skate well?
Does he have the hockey sense?
Does he compete in all situations?
How is their work ethic?
Are they coachable?
How do they act in a team situation?
Do they show poor sportsmanship?
Do they love to play the game?
What kind of outside influences does the player have?
PROCESS I WOULD USE IN
RELEASING A PLAYER
 Do it face to face
 Tell them what they need to work on in order to
improve their chances in the future
 Have the parents involved in the process
 Have the team management sit in with you
 Always try to be positive towards the player in this
situation
DEVELOPING A SEASONAL
PLAN
Once you have picked the team you need to find out the following things:
How much practice time do you have?
How many games will you play each week?
How long is the season?
Once you have all this information, you and your coaching staff can sit
down and plan your season. In this plan you should do an outline:
 What you want to do for practices
 How much time you want to spend on certain things
 When during the season do you want to implement this
DEALING WITH PARENTS
Now that you have your team you have to create the best
possible environment to give each and every player on
your team a chance to be successful.
My experience in dealing with parents is as follows:
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Make no promises
Be straightforward
Treat all players the same
Communicate the rules clearly with the parents
Have a complaint procedure set up before the season starts
Explain to them the protocol both in and out of the arena
Deal with problems when they are small. Do not let them get
bigger
PREPARING A PROPER
PRACTICE
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The key to a good practice is as follows:
Do not waste time
Have a practice written down
Make sure you go over the practice with your assistant
coaches before you start
You might even want to go over the practice with your
players if you deem them old enough to do this with
Develop discipline on the ice right from the first practice
Move quickly from drill to drill
Have good communication at all times while on the ice
KEYS TO A GOOD PRACTICE
MINOR HOCKEY
 Developing individual skills first (ie. skating, shooting,
passing, stickhandling, bodychecking)
 Keep the players moving at all times
 Do your talking off the ice
 Maximize your ice time
 Hidden cardio component
 Keep the teaching of systems to a minimum
 Have variety in the drills
 Develop a thinking process for the player
 Develop good work habits
 Make sure there is a fun component to the practice
MY CONCERNS IN MINOR
HOCKEY
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Development vs. Winning
Skills vs. Systems
Over coaching vs. Under coaching
Self esteem vs. Low self esteem
Cost vs. Opportunities
Hockey season vs. Extended hockey season
Good luck with your team!
CONCLUSION
Hopefully the information I have presented today will help you make a
difference with the group of players you are coaching this year.
There is no such thing as a bad volunteer, there are just some who are
more prepared than others.
Without volunteers like the people in this room we would not have been
able to develop the great players we have in this country.
The greatest satisfaction a volunteer can get is when a player they
coached 10 years ago comes up to them and says “you made a
difference and you have contributed to my future success.”