Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Sometimes the coach IS right!

I received a letter from a parent this week concerning a coach who wanted their son (goalie) to work harder and felt he wasn't making a solid efort for his team while playing much better for an 'alll star' team as well as being called up a division for another team in the system.

I've been bashing a few coaches lately, so I thought I'd print a good one.

I'm always happy to offer advice or help out, but please be aware that I am honest in my replies, sometimes brutally honest. If someone asks me, I assume they want the truth.


MY REPLY


Sorry guys, as a (team & goalie) coach I agree 100% with him.

I want the kids I coach to know where they stand the true reasons they are being benched, short shifted or used in specific situations and not others. This is simply good communication. Comparing players is essential when you have to explain why someone is playing more or in different situations, again simply good communication.

I have an issue with the "he's better" part of the comment, perhaps you misunderstood this part, because with Jimmy playing UP, it is obvious that he is capable and likely has better skills and/or ability than his partner, otherwise he'd be the one playing up. The coach should use this as motivation and it sounds like he was trying to get him to realize that as a part of the team, he needs to be there 100% in mind, body and effort. Every player owes this to their team mates and coaches.

If in fact he's "not trying anymore" and I were his coach, I would not play him at all and I would put a stop to his playing up - this is something he earned because he did well, he can't abandon his team because of it. His first priority must be HIS team. He has a commitment and needs to honour and respect it. I'm sorry to be strong on this, but hockey skills translate into life skills and I STRONGLY believe (even at 9) that it is imperative that kids learn this. In terms of comparisons, they happen in every aspect of life; promotions, raises, relationships, interviews, so although they are 9, I really don't see a problem pointing out that his partner is working harder.

The fact the younger kids are much slower will indeed be challenging, but he needs to understand that this is a great opportunity to work on his technical game, be perfect in his moves and positioning and work on every aspect of his game. The speed of the game isn't the key, his focus and his desire to be at the top of his game are the keys and he needs to understand this.

I'm sorry, I know this isn't the answer you were expecting, but I believe in being honest and sometimes this isn't what folks want to hear.

Chris



Here is a link to another article on dealing with your coach

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