"The Coaches Site is my mentor and my microphone, connecting me to the global game and giving my ideas a place to be heard."

When coaches first come onto The Coaches Site, we encourage them to start producing Community Content, usually suggesting a simple drill or a short leadership lesson.

Coach Barry Jones has taken a different path.

Jones is the Director of Coaching at NRG Hockey, a development hub that blends technical skill work with game understanding, offering a range of coaching options for aspiring players across ages and levels. Jones reinforces the NRG Hockey ethos: developing the whole person, not just the player.

Jones has truly leaned in to creating content on The Coaches Site, sharing thoughtful, in-depth pieces that challenge how coaches design practices, shape environments, and think about learning itself.

Barry’s recent articles explore everything from small area game design to adaptation over time, hockey sense emerging from the right environments, psychological constraints, and what it really means to be an adaptive coach. His contributions (usually layered with multiple articles within each topic) do not just provide drills. They provide frameworks. They invite reflection. They push conversation forward.

What we didn't mention yet is that Jones is doing this all from Australia, a country not considered a traditional hockey hotbed.

That's actually what makes his experience contributing to The Coaches Site so much more valuable.

"Living in Perth, Western Australia, I don’t have access to the depth of hockey mentors or daily hockey conversations that many coaches elsewhere take for granted," said Jones via-email. "The Coaches Site effectively became my mentor. It allowed me to see how the game is being taught and developed globally, challenged my thinking, and pushed me to grow as a coach and educator.

"Beyond learning, TCS gave me a platform to share ideas, test thinking, and connect with coaches around the world, connections that would have been almost impossible to build from where I live. Posting on The Coaches Site hasn’t just helped me develop as a coach, it’s helped me become part of a global coaching conversation, and that’s been incredibly powerful."

Jones' articles are a great reminder that contributing on The Coaches Site does not have to be complicated. It starts with sharing how you see the game. What are you experimenting with? What are you learning? What questions are shaping your practice?

If you have ideas, lessons, or frameworks that could help other coaches grow, we would love to help you bring them to life on The Coaches Site.

The community gets stronger every time a coach chooses to share.