First Loss, Lessons Gained

Not every game can be a win.

That is something that every team must learn early in the season, and depending on team, it can be a hard pill to swallow. That walk to the dressing room after a hard fought loss is seldom fun. Heads hanging a little low, sticks are tossed with disappointment into the corner, the dressing room can get a little bit silent. Like any sport, hockey is a competition, and winning games is part of what every team strives for.

This was the scene after our game this weekend, the kids first loss of the young season. And the first one can be harder than most. Obviously no one is truly happy with a loss, but defeat can often teach better than a win.

We start off by giving the floor to the players, ask them what they though of the game. The kids are smart, often pointing out either why the think the other team came out on top and not them. Some blame the referee (easy scapegoat) or the dirty play of the other team. Perhaps surprisingly, very rarely do we hear "they were better than us" or "we just aren't good enough".
It is our job as coaches to bridge the gap between weaknesses and improvements. The loss exposes weaknesses that may not have been visible in a win, and will usually the next practice will be geared towards helping the team improve in this area.

Some of the most valuable weapons that a team can possess cannot be taught by any drills though. The success of the team depends on them. No matter how hard their parents push them, or how skillfully they are coached, they are the ones out there on the ice playing the game. No one else. Proper coaching and supporting parents are obviously important, but to see the kids grasp the fact that it is in their hands is always a pleasure.

It's a lesson that will serve them well all through life, but it can also be the difference between a winning and a losing season.

Stand Out Players

Sometimes these kids can really come out and surprise you. Watching them practice, you can evaluate them in many ways. Who are the fastest skaters, the best stick handlers or the hardest shooters? How well do they listen, and how quick do they pick up the skills that are taught? But something that often escapes notice is how much heart the player has.

The players that generally stand out the most are those who have that raw talent, those that seem to skate effortlessly around the opposition, .

We had only our second game yesterday and the player who stood out the most on the ice, wasn't one of these. It's only his first year playing ice hockey, and you can tell. Though he still may be a little unsteady on his skates, he stood out for another reason altogether. Not a player who you would think would show up on the score sheet four times, but he managed a pair of goals and another pair of assists. What he lacked in practiced skill, he more than made up for in energy and aggressiveness.

Seeing him at the first practice, you would have seen one of the weaker players on the team, but I'm fairly confident that by the end of the season, he may show quite differently. He was tenacious, seldom giving up on the puck, even if the opposing player was bigger and faster. He played smart, looked for openings and was constantly skating hard. This is the definitely the type of player that makes it fun to coach.

He wasn't the only player on our team who played hard, which is one of the main reasons why we won the game 5 -3, against a bigger and what seemed to be a more skilled team. The boys wanted the puck, and weren't afraid to work for it. They made some nice passes in front of the net, and even popped in a short-handed goal.

There are few things more exciting for a coach than to walk into an energy filled dressing room after a well fought win. It builds great confidence in the kids, and although not every game can be a win like that, I expect plenty more to come.

Tips for a Fun Hockey Season

As much fun as the game itself is, I thought I'd post a few ideas that we have used in the past to help make sure the players enjoy their season. In no particular order :

#1. Keep practices high tempo and upbeat - don't allow the players to just stand around becoming bored

#2. Organize family hockey games - players vs. parents / siblings

#3. Find a place to get the team together for a road hockey game

#4. Organize a trip to see a local upper level team play

#5. Attend one of the many tournaments being offered around Christmas and March Break - this is one of my personal favorites, while offering both extra ice time, we usually see a large improvement in the teams play after a tournament

#6. Pizza parties at the end of the season - end the season on a high note!

#7. Make it a habit to do at least one fun drill at the end of practice - Freeze Tag, British Bulldog, etc.

These are a few of the things that coaches, in cooperation with the parents can do to help ensure the players enjoy a fun, successful season. There are many more ideas out there, but these are some of what we have used in the past, which always seem to be well appreciated by both players and parents.

A Winning Attitude

The way a coach approaches the game can have a deep effect on their players. Hockey is a deeply competitive sport, and an effective coach must strike a balance between the desire to win, whilst always trying to keep the game fun and exciting. Teams at the minor level are sometimes an uneven mix of talent and beginners, which can definitely pose a challenge to coaches to keep all the players happy.

The start of a season, even with recreational hockey, can always be a bit of headache. This year for example, we have but twelve players, for two of whom this is there first year playing ice hockey. Practices must be balanced, challenging enough not to bore the more skilled players, but not too complicated for the players who are still learning the basics. Things are disorganized, players are still trying to figure out what position they will play, and who they'll be playing with.

This where skilled coaching comes into play. The same balance must be struck between winning and just going out there to have fun. Only one team can be number 1, and someone always has to finish last. While winning isn't everything, it is one of the reason why we play the game. So this is how we stress it: Play hard for the win, but don't be too disapointed with a loss. There are many things that can be learned from a loss, and there's always the next game.

I've seen certain coaches who can just rip into their players after a loss (we've all had coaches like this, no matter what sport, or what level) - but yelling about everything that went wrong often has little positive impact. After a loss, I find it best to find both things that could be improved upon, and always stress the things that were done right. Even after a win, we usually take the same approach, just because you've won the game, seldom means that everything was done to perfection. Improvements can always be made.

While coaches interested only in winning can often suck a great deal of fun out of the game, making sure that all the players are enjoying themselves and are having a fun season can be an essential element of winning. Many forget this simple fact, hats off to all the coaches who haven't.