Coaches
Coaching hockey is about teaching and helping. Coaches help players individually, as a group, in a team or they help other coaches. This section will provide you with the important elements that surround the world of coaching.
Role of the Coach
The primary role of the coach is to teach, guide and help players. The secondary roles are to evaluate, recruit and mentor players and others. The effectiveness of a coach is dependent on 4 personal attributes:
- Ethics
- Knowledge of the game
- Communication skills
- Resourcefulness
Ethics
Ethics are the primary trait of a coach. They are revealed in the behavior and will dictate how he/she conducts him/herself. Before taking on a coaching role, coaches must be clear on their own ethics. This will help answer two questions:
1) What do I believe in as a coach?
2) How should I act as a coach?
Skills of a Coach
The skills to coach are divided into 4 groups:
- Hockey skills - The ability to play the game and the knowledge about the game.
- Administrative skills - The ability to plan, organize, execute and evaluate.
- Learning skills - The ability to research, understand, retain and recall information.
- Communication skills - The ability to listen, watch, speak and write effectively.
Tools for a Coach
Tools for a coach are very subjective. What one coach considers to be an asset another will believe it to be a hindrance. The primary tools for coaches are:
- Teaching Tools: These constitute items that will help explain the message that a coach is trying to convey in meetings, before games and practices.
- Examples : white boards and markers, chalk boards and chalk, TV & video, computer programs, hand-outs, play books, speeches and internet
- Statistics: These are the facts about games or practices
- On-Ice: These are the tools that are needed in a practice or game.
- Examples : skates, stick, track suit, gloves, pucks, cones, tennis balls, tires, chairs, clip board, coaching card
- Resources: These are tools which can be places or people to help make your message more effective.
- Examples: gym/dry land training centres, conditioning coaches, meeting rooms, other coaches, mentor, parents, sponsors
Head Coach vs. Assistant Coach
In any discipline, a great team is made of up quality leaders, effective doers and supportive followers. Hockey teams are no exception to that. For most hockey teams:
- The leader is the head coach.
- The doers are the assistant coaches.
- The followers are the hockey players.
We define leader, doer and follower as follows:
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Leaders:
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The individual who accepts full responsibility for the team. There can only be one person who has the final say
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Doers:
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The individual(s) who shares in the responsibility to carry out the strategies and plans
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Followers:
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The individuals who execute on the plans.
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In most cases, it is up to the head coach to hire a staff of assistant coaches. Together, they select players and goalies to form a team. Another one of his duties is to create a season plan that will help develop the players. Together with the head coach, the assistant coach teaches and guides the players through the plan. His main role is to provide input by sharing his knowledge and expertise to the head coach, other assistant coaches and players.
Role-Specific Coach
Today more than ever, coaches are learning that this game requires proper teaching ratios in order to be effective. Having one coach to do it all can be strenuous on the coach and not very helpful for a player. From a young age, players need encouragement and guidance for proper skill development. Also known as assistant coaches, these role-specific coaches provide explicit and precise teaching for a player. For example, a coaching staff can be comprised of:
- Goalie Coach
- Forward Coach
- Defence Coach
- Special Teams Coach
- Strength and Conditioning Coach
- Power Skating Coach
From The Hockey Source
http://www.thehockeysource.tv/sectionsourceknowledge/coaches.php
Why do I want to become a female hockey coach?
• create a positive and dynamic environment for the participants
• allow for the opportunity to be a role model and make a difference in the lives of others
• be a positive influence and develop good people and good athletes
• give back to the community
• develop and improve leadership skills
• for the love of the game
From Hockey Canada
Why we Coach Youth Hockey: http://www.hockeyshare.com/why-we-coach-youth-hockey.php
Coach Clinics/Education
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