There has probably never been a better time to be a hockey coach who wants to learn.

Between certification, clinics, podcasts, video, social media, articles and platforms like The Coaches Site, there is an incredible amount of information available to us.

I use it constantly.

But I have also learned that having access to information and knowing what to do with it are two completely different things.

Sometimes the hardest part of coaching isn't finding another drill.

It's figuring out what problem you're actually trying to solve.

I Wanted Someone to Call

Last season really drove this home for me.

We started our season 2-10.

That's not a typo.

As the coach, I could see progress. I knew what we were working on. I could see things beginning to change even though the scoreboard wasn't showing it yet.

But that didn't mean I always felt confident about it.

When you're losing, you start feeling the eyes around you.

Parents are watching. Players are looking to you for answers. You're questioning your practices. You're wondering whether you're teaching the right things. You're trying to stay confident for everyone else while privately wondering whether you're getting it right.

There were a lot of times during that stretch when I wanted to pick up the phone and call another coach.

Not necessarily because I needed that coach to give me the answer.

Sometimes I just wanted to say:

"Here's what I'm seeing. Here's what we're trying. Am I crazy? What would you look at?"

I actually wrote about wanting a mentor before Candela Hockey Development was even an idea.

Looking back, that experience is probably one of the biggest reasons CHD exists today.

Information Isn't the Problem

One of the challenges coaches have now is almost the opposite of what coaches had years ago.

There is so much good information available.

You can watch a presentation from an NHL coach, find 50 drills for the same concept, listen to a podcast on practice design and read an article about team culture — all before your next practice.

That's amazing.

It can also become overwhelming.

You see something great and think, I need to implement that.

Then you see something else.

And something else.

Pretty soon we're trying to change six things at once.

Meanwhile, most volunteer coaches have worked all day. They have families. They have kids to get to the rink. They have 50 minutes of ice coming up and 15 players waiting for them when the Zamboni doors close.

The question stops being:

"Where can I find information?"

It becomes:

"What does my team actually need right now?"

I think that's a very different question.

Find the Problem Before You Find the Drill

This is something I have become much more conscious of with my own teams.

If I don't understand the why, the drill is just a drill.

What problem are we solving?

What are we seeing in games?

What is the root of it?

Then I want to find one thing that starts picking away at that problem.

And sometimes the answer is doing the same drill again.

As coaches, I think we can become afraid of repetition.

We think the players are going to get bored.

We wonder if parents watching practice are thinking, "Didn't they do this last week?"

So we change the drill.

But players need repetition.

They need to become comfortable. They need to recognize the picture. Once they recognize it, we can change the pressure, add another decision or build another layer.

That's where development starts happening.

The Drill That Almost Died on Day One

I had a drill last season that reminded me of this.

I saw a 2-on-1 tip drill that I liked.

On paper, it looked simple.

I drew it on the board. Everyone seemed to understand it.

Then we ran it.

The first time through, two kids nearly collided at centre ice.

Immediately I'm thinking:

This is a disaster.

Parents are watching. Players are confused. I'm standing there wondering why something that looked so easy on paper suddenly looks nothing like what I imagined.

It would have been easy to throw the drill away.

Instead, we slowed it down.

We stayed with it.

Eventually, the players became comfortable with the movement.

Then we progressed it into a 3-on-2 version.

Later, we added puck retrievals off the wall because we had identified another problem in our games: our wingers were struggling to handle rimmed pucks and help us exit the zone.

Now one drill had become three variations.

More importantly, those variations were connected to things we were actually seeing in games.

Eventually, we started seeing better exits.

That's the part of coaching I find fascinating.

The value wasn't really the drill I found.

It was understanding why we were using it, being patient enough to teach it and knowing how to build from it.

What Mentorship Could Look Like

That's also where I think there is an opportunity for more coach mentorship in hockey.

And I don't think mentorship should look exactly the same for every coach.

We understand that players learn differently.

Why wouldn't coaches?

One coach might want someone to review a practice plan.

Another might need to call after a terrible game and talk through what happened.

Someone else might want to sit together and watch video.

A new assistant might need help understanding how to teach a position.

Another coach might have an idea for a drill but isn't sure how to structure it.

Sometimes the best thing another coach can do is ask the right questions until you work your way to the answer.

That's the type of support I believe in.

Not:

"Here's how I coach, so this is how you should coach."

More:

"What are you seeing? What are you trying to fix? Why is it happening? Okay — now what can we do about it?"

There should also be honest conversations.

Mentorship shouldn't just be somebody telling you everything you're doing is great.

Sometimes we need someone willing to say:

"I don't think that's the issue."

Or:

"You're trying to teach too much."

Or:

"Stay with this for another two weeks before you change it."

That's valuable too.

This Can't Only Be for the Highest Levels

This is another part of coach development I care a lot about.

Support shouldn't only exist for AAA coaches, junior coaches or people trying to climb the coaching ladder.

Our house league and local league coaches deserve attention too.

Those coaches might be working with a seven- or eight-year-old who falls in love with hockey because of the experience they create.

They might also be coaching a player who eventually wants to move into rep hockey and needs somebody who can help build the habits to get there.

Good coaching matters at every level.

And I believe there is a trickle-down effect.

Better supported coaches can become better coaches.

Better coaches create better environments.

Players become more comfortable. They get challenged appropriately. They feel like they matter.

And maybe they become better hockey players.

But hopefully there's something bigger happening too.

Youth sports are hard to navigate right now. There is pressure on kids, pressure on parents and pressure on volunteer coaches.

A great coach can have an impact far beyond what happens on the scoreboard.

I can still name coaches I had when I was young who influence the way I think today.

That's powerful.

Why I Started Candela Hockey Development

All of this is a big part of why I recently launched Candela Hockey Development.

CHD is being built around two sides: player development and coach development.

On the player side, I want to help athletes better understand the game, develop habits that carry into real situations and connect skill development with hockey IQ.

But coach development is equally important to me.

I want to help coaches with the things that happen between the certification course and the actual game.

Practice planning.

Drill selection.

Video.

Player communication.

Working through team problems.

A conversation after a difficult game.

Sometimes just having someone available to bounce an idea off.

There are already tremendous coaching resources available to us. I know because I've benefited from them myself, especially through The Coaches Site.

What I'm interested in is helping coaches take those ideas and ask:

How does this apply to the team I have in front of me tonight?

I'm still building this.

I'm still learning what coaches need.

And, like coaching itself, I expect the idea to evolve as I get more reps.

But the principle behind it is pretty simple:

Development shouldn't feel overwhelming.

Not for the player.

And not for the coach either.

If this idea resonates with you, or you're a coach looking for support, I'd love to hear from you.

Jesse.Candela@candelahockey.com
Instagram: @candelahockeydev

 

About Jesse Candela

Jesse Candela is a coach, scout and video analyst, and the founder of Candela Hockey Development, which focuses on practical player development, coach mentorship, video and hockey IQ. He is also a contributor to The Coaches Site.