Thanksgiving Through The Eyes Of A Coach

Definition of gratitude; 'the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.'

Thank you to the coaches that I asked to share some of their thoughts and gave me some material for this post. Great responses!

Before listing some of the many things most coaches are thankful for and having some fun, I felt compelled to mention some things I personally am very grateful for this Thanksgiving. 
My loved ones, my family, my friends and the great people I work with. My health, my happiness and all the incredible things that I have been blessed to experience over the years, including coaching.

50 Things Coaches are 'giving thanks' for this year:

Home games.
Road trips.
Practices.
Power Forwards.
Pesky Forwards.
Passionate players.
Calm players.
White boards.
Respectful cellys....(that means celebrations I guess.....)
Blue line and backs....
Red line and backs.....
Down and backs....
Over and backs.....
Video.
Good power plays.
Better penalty kills.
Solid forwards.
Solid defense.
Rock solid goaltending.........
Parents who see the 'big picture'.
Advisers who actually advise.......
Players who forecheck well.
Players who backcheck always.
The top player on the roster,
The last player on the roster.....
Leaders.
Followers....
Warm coaches coats.
Bad rink coffee.
Good bus drivers.
Respectful scouts.
Team meals.
Team managers.
Unselfish players.
Unselfish parents.
Coaches who share information.
NHL Center Ice package.
Pre-game meals.
Post game decompression sessions.....
Good ice when you team is playing well.
Bad ice when they are struggling.....
Players that don't talk back.
Players that say thank you.....
Players that that are thankful for their parents sacrifice.
Loved ones.
Family.
Friends.
Great people to work with.
Health.
Happiness.
All the incredible things experienced over the years.

Being a coach.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

What's The Rush?

"Be quick but don't hurry."
John Wooden

"Let's not be in a rush to look like crap......"
Unnamed Coach


One of the age old questions in sport, and in hockey especially, is when should a player move to 'the next level', or play at a 'higher level'? Obviously there is no single correct answer. All players develop at a different pace and no one path is correct for everyone. Nobody can accurately predict what a very young player can turn out to be and what they should or should not do to find their way.
(It is important to remember and note at this point the large number of players playing in the NHL who were undrafted.....)
What seems to constantly appear though are players rushing to get to the 'highest level' they can play at as soon as they can. Not factoring how much they are going to play or even how much they will be able to develop in that environment. It is a very dangerous area and can make an extreme difference in the development trajectory of a player.
Certainly there are players that can excel and need to be challenged by older more experienced players, but they are few and far between. It is only my opinion but there seems to be a huge focus on 'getting there', and not really thinking about what can go on once 'there'.......
This is something that has been sticking in my head for quite a while so I wanted to get some other opinions and ideas about this topic. I asked about ten Division 1 college coaches about this and it was really interesting to hear their input. A common thread became obvious. Here are some of their answers:

Coach 1: "When we look at a player to recruit, remember we are looking at what a player will be like two, three, four or even five years down the road..... but we want to see them play, what they can do in a game, whatever the level. It is no use trying to evaluate a young player sitting on the bench in a really good league."

Coach 2: "The most frustrating thing we come across is seeing a young player who is a huge part of his team, a leader, playing in key parts of a game........move to a higher level too quickly, hit a wall and start to struggle. Some of them, a lot of them...don't recover."

Coach 3: "Do we like to see players play at the highest and most competitive level? Absolutely but it is not the league or level we commit to.....it is the player. Whether we recruit at the U16, U18, Junior, NAHL or USHL, that player has to be a big part of that team. No question about it......"

One of my favorite quotes from a coach was this, "There is a difference between playing at a high level and playing with a high level of intelligence........"

In having these conversations, the common thing that kept coming from these coaches was that in their opinion, it is best to be patient. Take your time. Do not rush into chasing a higher league or level. Make sure whatever team you are on, you are going to be a very important player for that team. If you can do that and be that player at the highest level, then go for it!

Here are some interesting numbers about the best junior league in the United States, the USHL and it's players. A lot of young players I talk to say they are looking and ready to go play there. But are they really?
We took a look at the players birth years on the active rosters and broke it down. The NTDP was eliminated as all their players are mainly 96 birth years. Here is the remaining 15 Teams and the approximate breakdown.
Birth Year
1993-41 players
1994-138 players
1995- 126 players
1996-51 players
1997 12 players

What is really interesting is out of the approximately 60 or so 96 and 97 birth year players, less than half seem to be playing average amounts of minutes or contributing significantly statistically to their teams. 

There is always a lot to consider when making the decision on what level to play at. 
I hope some of this helps when evaluating your options. 

All the best!

A Little Fellow Follows Me

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I found this while doing some coaching research on the legendary basketball coach, John Wooden. 
In case you did not know, Coach Wooden was voted the greatest coach of all time by The Sporting News in 2009. Coach Wooden passed away in 2010 at the age of 99.
Coach Wooden won 10 national championships at UCLA, winning more than 80 percent of his games over 27 seasons. When asked about his winning ways and success, he constantly shifted focus away from that and said that true fulfillment came from the rewards of a life spent teaching, mentoring and improving lives.

One of the amazing things I found out about him was that he kept this poem in his wallet with him at all times, right up to his death. Through all the championships, games, travel, accolades and practices.
It just so happens that the poem was presented to Coach in 1936 when his son was born but he said it helped him along the way remember the true meaning of coaching throughout his amazing career. 
If this is good enough for the greatest coach of all time........it is good enough to share with everyone.
Enjoy.

A Little Fellow Follows Me

A careful man I want to be,

a little fellow follows me.

I do not dare to go astray,

for fear he'll go the self-same way.

I cannot once escape his eyes,

what err he sees me do he tries.

Like me he says he's going to be,

the little chap who follows me.

He thinks that I am good and fine,

believes in every word of mine.

The base in me he must not see,

the little chap who follows me.

I must remember as I go,

through summer sun and winter snow,

I'm building for the years to be,

that little chap who follows me.

Yesterday, Hockey Won

The last few weeks there have been a lot of things involving hockey that have been concerning to say the least. Ugly on ice incidents, arrests off the ice and a continual parade of players heading to the NHL league offices to be the latest players suspended for violent head shots. Tough to read the old Twitter feed lately these days.....
But yesterday I witnessed something that in my opinion was pretty special. 
Yesterday, hockey won.
I help coach the U18 Wilkes Barre/Scranton Hockey team and we played Team Comcast U18. Both teams are filled with very talented, passionate young hockey players. All our games against them this season will no doubt be very competitive and intense. 
Yesterday was supposed to be different. Yesterday was different.
Early in the week, Comcast had tragically lost a fellow teammate, Alexander Thomas. The circumstances of Alexander's death are not important. Their team and their family lost someone who they loved dearly and was part of them.
There are no words that adequately express that kind of loss and pain. Especially for 16 and 17 year old teammates.
But yesterday for a short time, hockey won. 
Those young men from Team Comcast wanted to play and here is what they did. They pulled together. They began to mourn their loss. And they asked us not to cancel a game we had scheduled shortly after Alexander's death. His teammates wanted to play. The needed to play.....They wanted to be together. They needed to be together. They needed the game.......
Looking at the game you would think that Team Comcast would have a very difficult time. It would be virtually impossible for them to prepare, focus and play a game after the week they had just lived through.
For close to 60 minutes yesterday, their young players put on their hockey gear as players do, warmed up, and battled a team that was well rested and had not gone through anything emotionally close to what they had gone through. They played hard, they played smart and they played disciplined. They deserved to win the game although they came up just short. I found a big part of myself cheering for them and in some ways hoping they would find a way to win. Not really what a coach of an opposing team should do, but I am sorry. That is how I felt. 
But here is the most important thing. They did not lose. We did not win. Hockey won. Again. Like it has so many times over the course of history, hockey was there to help people heal. It gave those young men a reprieve from the agony. It gave them a place they could go to temporarily be free from the pain. During a game at that level a certain kind of focus takes over where so many things have to get blocked out. That team and coaching staff should be proud of their will, strength and commitment to lace up their skates and compete like they did. Their coach even came in after the game to thank our team for playing and shared some kind words. I guess he understood that our guys were confused too. It was an example of total class.
Yesterday, hockey won......
As a young player in the NHL I was once on a team where one of our teammates lost his wife during childbirth and we had to play that night after getting the news. It was one of the most confusing and difficult things I have been through. Hockey didn't make it right, but it provided a platform for us to lean on one another and somehow find the strength to move forward. We managed to come together, pray for our teammate, and get out as a family and play a good game. 
Hockey won that night for a brief time.
I think I saw that same power again yesterday.
People will often say, "Hockey just really isn't that important....." In the grand scheme of things, they are 100% correct. But we should also never underestimate or forget that hockey also has some special qualities that help us all heal.
Dealing with their loss will forever be difficult. It is part of growing into an adult. But I hope that what those young Comcast players take away from yesterday is a feeling of pride about how they competed. They began to overcome what life has thrown at them. How it is important to always remember a fallen teammate and to honor him by being a team that forges on.

Yesterday, hockey won.

Knight Time

I was chatting with one of our players from the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Knights the other day and we were looking at a Knight statue that stands in the home rink. We got talking about what a 'Knight' really did and what their role was in history. I told him I would do some homework and get back to him.

(thought it was pretty interesting how some of it relates to hockey)

Enjoy

Knight Time

The Knight was one of three types of fighting men during the middle ages: Knights, Foot Soldiers, and Archers. The medieval knight was the equivalent of the modern tank. He was covered in multiple layers of armor, and could plow through foot soldiers standing in his way. No single foot soldier or archer could stand up to any one knight.

Armor and Weapons

A knight was armed and armored to the teeth. He had so much armor and weapons that he depended on his squire to keep his armor and weapons clean and in good working condition. At first the armor was made of small metal rings called chain mail. A knight wore a linen shirt and a pair of pants as well as heavy woolen pads underneath the metal-ringed tunic. A suit of chain mail could have more than 200,000 rings. However, chain mail was heavy, uncomfortable, and difficult to move in. As time passed, knights covered their bodies with plates of metal. Plates covered their chests, back, arms, and legs. A bucket like helmet protected the knight’s head and had a hinged metal visor to cover his face. Suits of armor were hot, uncomfortable, and heavy to wear. A suit of armor weighed between forty and sixty pounds. Some knights even protected their horses in armor. A knight also needed a shield to hold in front of himself during battle. Shields were made of either wood or metal. Knights decorated their shields with their family emblem or crest and the family motto. A knight'’s weapon was his sword, which was about thirty-two pounds. It was worn on his left side in a case fastened around his waist. A knife was worn on the knight’s right side. Knights used other weapons in combat as well. A lance was a long spear used in jousts. Metal axes, battle hammers, and maces were also used to defeat the enemy.

Becoming a Knight

There were only a few ways in which a person could become a knight. The first way was the normal course of action for the son of a noble:

When a boy was eight years old, he was sent to the neighboring castle where he was trained as a page. He spent most of his time strengthening his body, wrestling and riding horses. He also learned how to fight with a spear and a sword. He practiced against a wooden dummie called a quintain. It was essentially a heavy sack or dummie in the form of a human. It was hung on a wooden pole along with a shield. The young page had to hit the shield in its center. When hit, the whole structure would spin around and around. The page had to maneuver away quickly without getting hit. The young man was also taught more civilized topics. He would be taught to read and write by a schoolmaster. He could also be taught some Latin and French. The lady of the castle taught the page to sing and dance and how to behave in the king’s court.

At the age of fifteen or sixteen, a boy became a squire in service to a knight. His duties included dressing the knight in the morning, serving all of the knight’s meals, caring for the knight’s horse, and cleaning the knight’s armor and weapons. He followed the knight to tournaments and assisted his lord on the battlefield. A squire also prepared himself by learning how to handle a sword and lance while wearing forty pounds of armor and riding a horse. When he was about twenty, a squire could become a knight after proving himself worthy. A lord would agree to knight him in a dubbing ceremony. The night before the ceremony, the squire would dress in a white tunic and red robes. He would then fast and pray all night for the purification of his soul. The chaplain would bless the future knight's sword and then lay it on the chapel or church's altar. Before dawn, he took a bath to show that he was pure, and he dressed in his best clothes. When dawn came, the priest would hear the young man's confession, a Catholic contrition rite. The squire would then eat breakfast. Soon the dubbing ceremony began. The outdoor ceremony took place in front of family, friends, and nobility. The squire knelt in front of the lord, who tapped the squire lightly on each shoulder with his sword and proclaimed him a knight. This was symbolic of what occurred in earlier times. In the earlier middle ages, the person doing the dubbing would actually hit the squire forcefully, knocking him over. After the dubbing, a great feast followed with music and dancing.

A young man could also become a knight for valor in combat after a battle or sometimes before a battle to help him gain courage.

Chivalry:

Knights believed in the code of chivalry. They promised to defend the weak, be courteous to all women, be loyal to their king, and serve God at all times. Knights were expected to be humble before others, especially their superiors. They were also expected to not "talk too much". In other words, they shouldn't boast. The code of chivalry demanded that a knight give mercy to a vanquished enemy. However, the very fact that knights were trained as men of war belied this code.


These Knights are pretty good too!!! :)