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In episode #285 we welcome Greg Walters, Head Coach of the Ontario Hockey League's Windsor Spitfires, someone who has thrived on his ability to be consistent and has never had a losing season.
He is currently in his first season with the Spitfires following a year-long suspension that involved an inappropriate altercation with another Owen Sound employee. In this episode he shares what he learned from that experience and we believe it’s something all coaches can benefit from hearing.
Following eight seasons as an Assistant Coach with the Sarnia Sting to begin his coaching journey, Walters took over the Georgetown Raiders of the Ontario Jr A league for eight seasons, guiding them to 295 wins, a league championship, and earning himself both coach and executive of the year honors.
He would then return to the OHL as a Head Coach in Oshawa and Owen Sound, before landing in Windsor following the aforementioned suspension.
Listen as he shares what he learned from the incident that led to his suspension and the work he's done to overcome it, why good defence starts with breaking out the puck, and creating a culture of quality and self-evaluation.
Video Timestamps:
- 0:00 Brian Kilrea/Practice focus areas
- 2:35 Defence starts with the breakout
- 5:30 Tracking odd man rushes/Selling without the puck
- 9:55 The meaning of “Quality”
- 11:00 Coaching a huge team
- 14:05 Story behind suspension/internal psychology
- 15:45 Coaching special talents
- 19:05 Coaching in Sarnia/Learning from the Red Wings
- 22:15 First time being a head coach/Auto-pilot
- 25:50 Coaching 15 year-old Jack Hughes
- 29:15 Fundamentals of compete/Practicing hard
- 36:35 Playing for Torts/Boudreau
- 38:35 Outlook for rest of OHL season
- 40:25 Applying internal psychology
