Go beyond the buzz term.

Every team wants to play with pace, but what does that really mean?

You may know as a coach, but you’d better make sure your players know too.

We were lucky to hear from former Baie-Comeau Drakkar head coach Jon Goyens at our Virtual Hockey Summit, where he dove into the topic of playing fast — beyond the buzzword.

Goyens has 26 years of coaching experience at the minor hockey level, and has worked with players from all ages — from five-year-old boys and girls all the way up to pro players.

His advice? Know your audience.

“If a player cannot recite back to you the definition of that particular buzz term the way you understand it, then there is definitely a disconnect,” he said. “At the end of the day, the players aren’t looking for the coaches with the fanciest terminology or the coaches that seem to know it all or have all the answers.

“They’re looking for coaches that connect with them.”

From there, Goyens dove into what it really means to play fast — with and without the puck — and even offered up a few drill ideas for your practices.