Has a less skilled player ever tried to tell you how to play?

[bolt91 31]

I agree with MT. Everyone can learn something from somebody.

[BenderHockey 127]

Lesser skilled doesn't necessarily mean they aren't knowledgeable about the game, and vice-versa. Gretzky was arguably the greatest player ever, but wasn't a tremendous coach.

[bandits_5 18]

Scotty Bowman won 9 Cups as a coach and Im sure he wasnt as good as Mario Lemieux. Yet, he told him what to do.....

[JonoDigz 4]

Haha always listen. Not a big deal. The second you respond with a wise remark, you look like the a hole. Not to mention if this guy is on your team you dont want to disturb anything and make anyone feel discomfort.

[MN old and slow 92]

I agree, listen and maintain their self esteem. Inside I chuckle at the foolishness of some things I hear at da rink from folks that simply do not know da game.

[Neo5370 132]

You can learn something from everyone, even if it's what not to do. Always listen to what people have to say with an open mind, you might be surprised by what you learn from people you would otherwise ignore.

This is good life advice, not just hockey advice.

[YesLanges 126]

What BenderHockey said about Gretzky being a lousy coach

(This is still the only way I can quote here: can't even cut/paste and manually insert inside HTML quotes.)

It makes perfect sense that Gretzky wouldn't be anything near as good as coach as a player. His most amazing talents were his awareness of space and all the other people in it, and his uncanny ability to anticipate the flow of things. Not only is all that stuff mostly un-coachable in the first place (just like running speed, throwing velocity, and vertical leap), but a lot of Gretzky's areas of greatness were also unique even among the most elite players in the world. I'm not saying that everything he did was un-coachable, either; in fact, plenty of stuff he essentially introduced to NA hockey (like one-timers and really using the space behind the net) has now become so standard that little kids do it. I'm not saying that track coaches and pitching coaches can't maximize running or throwing speed or that hockey coaches can't improve situational awareness and positioning based on better flow recognition; but no coach can turn a slow person with no arm into a base-stealing outfielder with a cannon arm. Same goes for most of what made 99 such a hockey phenom.

[Ram 1]

I try to be cool with everyone on the team reguardless of their skill set and just take any advice or tips in stride. I'd say the toughest is the "I'm open, look for me" one. It usually comes from a source of frustation and the player is looking to blame someone for their struggles; most often a lack of goals/scoring chances I don't think there is a fool proof method other than just keep playing your game and try to keep them clam.

[Thinkingjack 51]

I listen, let them talk, sometimes theres some who have great ideas and others who sound pretty bad.

I'm not big into acting arrogant so i just let them have their say and continue on