LEADERSHIP

Teaching Concepts and Principles, with Mike Johnston

Mike Johnston Photo
Mike Johnston
TCS+


Less is more.

Showing video and powerpoint presentations until your players fall asleep is easy. But according to long-time Portland Winterhawks coach Mike Johnston, more is not always better.

In his presentation at this summer’s TeamSnap Hockey Coaches Conference in Toronto, Johnston shared his typical plan for training camp. It included the systems he teaches each year, as well as the rules he sets out for his team.

“Early in my career I had too many rules. I believed I needed to control everything, but all it led to was players catching me in loopholes. So now we only have two rules.”

Johnston is best-known for his time in Portland, but we forget that he, along with coaches like Ken Hitchcock and Wayne Fleming, set the stage for coaching conferences back in the early 90’s when he was coaching at Augustana University in Camrose, Alberta.






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