One of the biggest responsibilities we have as coaches is teaching players what it means to compete.

We often tell players to “compete harder,” but what does that actually mean?

It means getting to loose pucks.
It means winning races.
It means battling along the wall.
It means getting back into the play after getting beat.
It means staying engaged when you don't have the puck.
It means responding after something doesn't go your way.

Compete is not just about being physical or playing with more energy. It is about effort, decision-making, accountability and having the willingness to stay involved in the play.

The other important piece is that competing needs to be coached. We need to put players in situations where they have to battle, make decisions under pressure and respond to adversity.

Then we need to explain what good compete looks like and recognize it when we see it.

Not every example of compete will show up on the scoresheet.

A player can lose a puck battle and still show excellent compete by immediately working to get it back. A player can lose a race and still compete by continuing to recover and get back into the play.

Those are habits we need to develop.

Skill development is important. Tactical development is important. But if we don't teach players how to compete, we're missing a big part of player development.