Being afforded to lead the U13AAA program in Red Deer, AB this season is an amazing opportunity.  It has been a great start to the season for the club.  The team has played great & the coaching staff is really happy with the direction we are headed.  With that being said, I find the conversations in the coaches room centered around the small details of the game & how we can work with our 17 players to achieve incremental growth and gains!  I'm quite sure it's the same version of a conversation heard in coaches rooms across this great country every week!

We talk a lot to our group about the small details of the game & really trying to pull the details from the drills in practice, in order to customize what you as a player is trying to improve upon.  Easier said, than done.  That is where our new process comes in, we are going to try to be intentional about these details- both in a game and practice setting.  The ask of each player is that they complete a sheet for each practice and game in the room when things are fresh.  Each coach on the staff has been assigned a pod of 3 players & it's the responsibility of every player to connect with their pod leader before leaving the rink- for a quick 2-3 minute discussion of their debrief notes.  We are excited to see how it goes, last night's practice was our first venture & I think both the players and coaches got great value from this intentional process.

We hope it does a few things:

• Personal reflection is a powerful tool for athletes.  The ability to truthfully reflect on your effort at both practices and games is super powerful.
• We think this will add more ownership to each player's personal development plan & puts ownership on them as far as what they are working on.
• Creates meaningful and lasting connections between the players and the coaching staff.  With 17 athletes it can be difficult to connect with every player.  This helps us bridge that gap and keeps the lines of communication open.

We know this won't be a perfect process & some debriefs will have more meat on the bone than others, but we are excited to see where this process heads & the growth it will promote for both the coaching staff and players! Here are some snapshots from some debriefs last night!

Would love to hear from other coaches in the comments what you and your staff are doing to promote intentional growth on the finer details within the game with your players!