It is no secret that the key to Gardiner MacDougall’s remarkable coaching success is his high energy and passion and he brought all of it to TCS Live 2024 in Ann Arbor. 

MacDougall stressed the most important part of the season as a coach is at the beginning - at the very first team meeting. As a coach, this is your opportunity to set the standard and lay out the plan for the season. MacDougall always starts with the end in mind at this first meeting. He will often show a video of previous success that his teams have experienced. From there, MacDougall will shift into what needs to be accomplished on a day-to-day basis in order to achieve success. MacDougall emphasizes that players don’t care about the past year; it's all about today and what can be accomplished this season. As a coach you can’t change what was done yesterday, but you can show up today and find a way to get better every single day. 

MacDougall emphasizes that a successful program is one that has clear and direct objectives set on the ice in conjunction with a coaching staff who cares about the players off the ice. As a coach, your role is not just to help them grow on the ice but also to play a role in changing their lives for the better. Hockey is about connections and relationships and how, as a coach, you can be an impactful figure for your players. A question that MacDougall asks himself everyday is how can I make this day and year the best for my team and my staff. As a Head Coach, MacDougall prioritizes setting a clear standard for his team. 

On the ice MacDougall expects two things out of his players: respect everyone in their lives and be on time. The two ingredients that MacDougall believes are the most important in coaching are work ethic and joy. Teams that possess these two traits have the ability to achieve high performance. The ones without these two traits experience drudgery. Additionally, MacDougall expresses that successful teams also need to be passionate and gritty. 

To be a great coach you have to be a great person. MacDougall’s primary focus is getting to know his players and creating a cohesive environment where each player can trust one another and feed off his enthusiastic energy. In the end, it all boils down to one thing which is love. Love is who you are and how you feel about the game, your players, and your team. Love, alongside passion and perseverance, leads to long-term success.

Noteworthy timestamps:

• 0:00 JGS: Just Getting Started
• 3:45 Faceoffs, battles and races
• 5:00 "Wow" factors
• 6:45 Mindset for success/ Important phone calls
• 12:00 First meeting of the year
• 16:10 Championships
• 19:20 Andy O’Brien’s camp
• 20:10 Building a championship culture
• 23:00 GRIT
• 24:00 Training camp keys
• 27:45 3 Ladies for Team Success