There are a few wingers on our team who are constantly getting caught on the wrong side in our own zone — and often too low. It creates problems where they end up shooting the puck up the boards on the side they’re on, and we lose possession.
I’ve sent home homework.
I’ve talked to parents.
I’ve run multiple drills.
I’ve drawn it up on the whiteboard during and before games.
We’ve even watched film.
And yet, a few still can’t seem to grasp where they need to be.
It’s frustrating — not because they don’t care, but because I’ve caught myself expecting them to learn at the same pace as older players I’ve coached. Having the experience of working with U Sport athletes, I take for granted sometimes that U9s just don’t get it yet.
Some players have started to understand it, and it’s clicked through repetition and different teaching approaches. Others, though, are still struggling. It’s forced me to reflect on my own coaching — what can I change in how I’m teaching this? What am I doing that might be getting in their way?
Lately, I’ve noticed a pattern: a few players get so puck-focused that they forget their positioning entirely. So, over the next few weeks, my focus is shifting toward teaching more about playing without the puck — helping them understand space, reads, and awareness.
The interesting part is that one of the players having the hardest time with positioning is also one of our most skilled in practice. But that skill doesn’t translate to games if he’s constantly out of position.
Hockey has gone in a direction where everything seems to be about skills — private lessons, fancy stickhandling drills, shooting pads in the basement. Those are great tools, but positioning and awareness are skills too — they just take a different kind of coaching to develop.
Regardless of how frustrated we might get, our job as coaches is not to give up on players. It’s to coach — over and over — until they get it.
It’s easy to say “they just don’t listen.” But if we believe in teaching, development, and accountability, then we have to live it. Even when it takes longer than we’d like.
About the author:
Jesse Candela is a U10 Rep A Head Coach and regional scout in the OJHL. He’s passionate about player development, leadership, and sharing lessons from the rink to help other coaches grow the game.
