Trials and Tribulations of a rookie minor hockey coach

[Cams 7]

Back in the summer, some of you may remember this topic: http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php?/topic/61553-taking-on-head-coach-position-for-upcoming-houseleage-season/

Well, I will give you my experience so far with this season.

We just finished a 1 week break (aside from a tournament to raise money for a local charity). I knew it would be a challenge, but never in my years of playing, coaching, parenting, watching, did I ever expect my season to turn out like it has.

I won't get into the ratings/draft, etc. we did in September..... I will say this though....Wow, are some guys coaching minor houseleague hockey for the fun of it, and for the kids...sure, but holy cow with the win at all costs mentality of some of these clowns!

Anyways..... we drafted a good group of kids. To accommodate some parent requests, and to make sure the teams are 'equal', there were some roster changes done. This really ended up hurting my team, more than you could imagine. We are coaching bantam level houseleague - 1998, and 1999 birth year. We ended up trading 2 "major" players, or 2 "minor" to accommodate the parent requests (skill ratings were equal). This left us younger than the other teams - which looking back, does make a difference, especially at that age. The jump from peewee to bantam is noticeable.

One of our top players (a major we will call "Wheels") was scoring a goal or 2 each game in the preseason games we played - we went .500. We were going to have to rely on our defence and goaltending, as scoring could be an issue.

For the player ratings - they go A (the best), B, C (weaker skater, average player). We only ended up with one "A", and he is a minor.

2 weeks into our season, Wheels breaks his foot and is done for the year. Our other offensive threats, are not playing to their abilities (especially my one "A"), aside from my one major Dman - who is simply an amazing young man - will do whatever we ask of him, he helps all his teammates out, leads most of our drills, even is "AP" to the travel team. Named him our captain - we rotate 2 assistants based on performance, work ethic, attendance, etc.. My goaltender is displaying an "I don't care" attitude on and off ice. Wheels was a major I should note. Does 1 kid make that much of a difference????? YES!

Not only were we the team with the fewest on our roster, but losing this kid, brought our number down one more.

With our goaltending issue, and absolutely zero offense, we have been unable to generate anything! We are now 0-9, only scored 7 goals, and have allowed 43! The kids are still having fun at practice, and have heard no complaints from anyone - other than a grandparent we suspect, yelling for a coaching change during our last game.

In practice we have done many different drills, some easy, some more complex.

I have to utmost respect for our division convenor who has tried to help us out - too much in fact! Because we were struggling - winless - he called me and told me to "AP" 2 kids from the division below. They are great kids, probably our 2 best game to game. The week after, we sends my team 2 kids from midget, who are smaller kids and didn't feel comfortable the level up. They are average players at the bantam level.

See the problem here - we have too many guys now! I had to play a game (50 mins, minus a 2 min warm up) with 3 full forward lines, and 3 pairs of D! Hard to do! Our peewee "AP" are only supposed to be used when needed, however, both parents said that if they don't play all the time, then they won't play at all for us. :(

So..... some of our kids complain during the games, but everybody for the most part is at every practice, team function, etc. We have tried everything as a coaching staff, I will be bringing in a current NHL player to help at a practice or 2 or should my co-worker come through, and the lockout continues. Was going to do it as a reward kind of, but figured I'd do it anyways.

That's our season in a nutshell so far. We have 5 regular season games left, hopefully the kids can start playing as a team, as that is what our problem has been. Our team play is terrible! Luckily, playoffs are ahead and everyone makes the playoffs.

It's been a very tough season for me personally. I've looked in the mirror thinking it was me, and so have my other coaches. We have been told it's not us. :) I want another shot at coaching in this level again next year - to prove to the organization, and myself that me and my staff can lead a team.

Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? It's sooo hard to get through.. yet I just want the kids to get 1 win under our belts. We want to coach in this level again next year. We want to be a staff that kids want to play for. I am hoping this year, as a rookie coach, isn't going to be held against us in the future.

[SydNap 25]

I was a HS football coach in Texas and South Carolina...Texas being by far the worst. After you've had a few parents pull guns and knives on you, then I'll feel bad. Until then, just know there will always be complaints, because everyone is the next Wayne Gretzky..

On a serious note, keep it fun and mark your value as a coach by how much improvement happens. My best coaching performance was for a team that went 3 and 7. How we won 3 games is a marvel. I also had two 10 and 0 seasons and three 9 and 1 seasons, but didn't have the most improvement.

[wrangler 157]

It sounds like you're working hard.

How are they not playing as a team? The usual -- abandoning positions to cluster around the puck? Not passing? I'm sure you're teaching them position play, and to skate with their heads up when they have the puck. I'm curious how well the other teams are doing with regard to the areas in which your team has problems. And, if they're noticeably better, I'm wondering what their coaches may be doing to make them better. Or is it just a matter of a core of players being together longer?

[Cams 7]

wrangler - another thing too - we are by far the smallest team - yes, it's no contact, but still, it's intimidating for a lot of the kids. My father in law couldn't believe how small our team is compared to others.

Not passing is the biggest problem. We work on it, and they do it in practice, but tunnel vision takes over in games. Especially our one minor "A" I mentioned. In peewee the last 2 years, this kid was awesome, burned us every game. We talked to his Dad, and made sure he was having fun, etc. His father tells us, he is 13 yrs old, is lazy at home, lazy on the ice. It's coming around, but very slowly.

Also - if you looked at our roster and the ratings of the players now, we are definately weaker than the other teams. Each time, aside from mine, has one elite player - There are 2 kids (on two different teams), who are scoring 3 or 4 or more per game. Should easily be in travel - have size, skating, skill, shooting advantage over most of the other kids in this division.

I think we've taken it too easy on the kids almost. I would say, all my staff would be considered "players coaches". We talked, and figured it might be time to crack the whip more starting now. I know the extreme opposite isn't good either. For example, one of the other coaches, of a stronger team. (He actually went undefeated last year, lost in championship game), is a coach that coached a couple kids last year, than are on my team. They said sure we won all the time, but they hated the guy. It's a fine line between being the guy everyone hates, but win, and being too nice a guy, and not winning?

[chippa13 1844]

I don't see the problem with 3 lines and 3 sets of D. Just about every year that I played growing up that was what the teams had for personnel. Perhaps you need someone else running the lines and D if kids are complaining about icetime, but if they're truly hustling out there then there should be plenty of icetime to go around.

[Powerfibers 8]

I don't see the problem with 3 lines and 3 sets of D. Just about every year that I played growing up that was what the teams had for personnel. Perhaps you need someone else running the lines and D if kids are complaining about icetime, but if they're truly hustling out there then there should be plenty of icetime to go around.

I agree with Chippa that this sounds rather normal. The biggest problem you are facing is simply that this age group is really tough. They can be lazy and nasty like no others. It's a tough time for a young kid, and they are not always pleasant of be around.

Plus, house hockey is house hockey. For the most part, they would possibly be playing travel if they had desire and motivation to succeed. You get a lot of misfits because of this.

For passing, one drill I love doing with our pee weeks is to set up three sets of cones. Play three on three and give one point for each time they connect on a pass that goes between the cones. Search YouTube for USA Hockey Small Area Games - Gate Passing Game. I can't seem to post a link. Sorry.

Keep trying. You sound like you are very dedicated and this will trump some of your problems for sure.

[hunt3rsean 44]

I agree with Chippa that this sounds rather normal. The biggest problem you are facing is simply that this age group is really tough. They can be lazy and nasty like no others. It's a tough time for a young kid, and they are not always pleasant of be around.

Plus, house hockey is house hockey. For the most part, they would possibly be playing travel if they had desire and motivation to succeed. You get a lot of misfits because of this.

For passing, one drill I love doing with our pee weeks is to set up three sets of cones. Play three on three and give one point for each time they connect on a pass that goes between the cones. Search YouTube for USA Hockey Small Area Games - Gate Passing Game. I can't seem to post a link. Sorry.

Keep trying. You sound like you are very dedicated and this will trump some of your problems for sure.

You mean the egg passing drill isn't real??

That drill actually sounds fun and I'm an adult. I have horrible pass receiving skills.

[MN old and slow 92]

Coached youth soccer >15 years. Same issues but overall fun. Parents can be a pain. Good practice to have a parent meeting up front at the start so they know how things will be run. Also, good time time to set your expecations and hear theirs. Coached K-5 main goal teach and have fun. We " rolled the whole bench" and actually won at times. House so all played equal. Works well as a head coach to have a partner run the subs. I wrote out a "rotation" pre game and had my partner actually move the players in and out.

Not sure I could coach the teenagers. That would be an impossible task!

There are actually quite a few really good house or park and rec league players whose parents simply cannot afford the time or $ to play up.

I am proud when players I had show up on varsity.

[Powerfibers 8]

You mean the egg passing drill isn't real??

That drill actually sounds fun and I'm an adult. I have horrible pass receiving skills.

I cannot imagine what our Zamboni driver would do if we showed up with a carton of eggs! Gordon Bombay...now that guy could coach! He was no coach Jules though!

[Law Goalie 147]

[...] We were going to have to rely on our defence and goaltending, as scoring could be an issue.

[...] My goaltender is displaying an "I don't care" attitude on and off ice.

[...] With our goaltending issue, and absolutely zero offense, we have been unable to generate anything! We are now 0-9, only scored 7 goals, and have allowed 43! The kids are still having fun at practice, and have heard no complaints from anyone - other than a grandparent we suspect, yelling for a coaching change during our last game.

If you don't mind my sticking an oar in, I want to suggest a couple of things. I'm assuming that you do, indeed, have one goalie, singular.

The fact that the practices remain fun and instructive is, bar none, the most important thing: you can sit back on Sunday evenings with your pipe, slippers, and whiskey, and reflect on how awesome you are for doing that. Welcome to the Bruichladdichood.

The first thing I want to point out is that a GAA of less than 5 on an 0-9 team that scores less than a goal a game is not that horrible; it's actually kind of admirable.

The indifferent attitude you're seeing is your goalie's attempt, psychologically, to cope with what is to his mind a hopeless situation. It's sort of an unhealthy version of what would, under normal circumstances, be not only acceptable but beneficial: the 'just control the next puck' motivation that keeps goalies going through tough games. Your goalie, being a lone goalie, doesn't even have the hope of sharing the load or the implicit blame -- which, no matter how much you tell him you don't blame him, he will feel *unless* he believes in himself and his game. The fact that you, and I'm sure everyone else on the team, knew from the start that you'd be relying on your goaltending is upping those stakes as well. That's not to say you did anything wrong -- kids aren't stupid, and any goalie who can read a scoreboard knows when his team is depending on him -- but only to point out certain murky realities. At the very least, you've kept the poor kid from deliberately attempting to get himself thrown out of the game by fighting, cursing the ref, etc., and thus deliberately forfeiting the games ot hurt his team and deprive his teammates of play, which I have seen in some similar situations. Again, congratulatory drams all round.

The best thing you can do, from a goaltending perspective, is to give him some sort of control over his game. That's really what goalies do: they attempt, using observation and communication (from their unique, QB-like perspective), puck-handling, and, for the remaining ~30 seconds in a 60min game, actually stopping pucks, to control a game in which they are unusual participants.

If you haven't already made your goalie the centrepiece of your team's defensive communication, do it now. There are lots of threads on this; Ryan Walter's book on Hockey Plays has some other good stuff. (I recently put together a condensed one-page 'call-sheet' for my organisation's coaches and goalies, so if that would help, PM me and I'll email it to you. It's nothing new, just a collection of what works.) Basically, you want your goalie to know that he CAN, if he wants, tell his D what to do, and they'll do it. That degree of mastery will give him enormous confidence, and he'll enjoy the hell out of bossing everyone around. It will also allow him both to blame the D more freely and less problematically if they screw up, and to accept responsibility if HE screws up. Even if he doesn't actually do it often in games, the mere idea that he *could* will be helpful to him.

This should also extend to your goalie's puck-handling. Any time you can get him to involve himself in the play, do it. It doesn't matter if he can't shoot well; Brodeur can, and he's a terribly predictable, increasingly ineffective puck-handler. (Oh, look, forehand rim up the glove-side glass AGAIN...) Ed Belfour is routinely cited as one of the best puck-handling goalies of all-time by his defencemen, and all he did was listen to Tretiak, and largely confine his puck-handling to teeing up the puck for his defencemen on their forehands, and sometimes sweeping it into a useful area (away from the forecheck, towards his guys) Any time you run a breakout drill, dump the puck to him first. If he's having trouble with his puck-handling from a skill perspective, struggling to pass on the backhand, or to hold his stick strongly with his glove-hand, bring in a goalie coach for one ice-time to address that specifically. He will have a TON more fun on the ice.

Definitely start having a parent or assistant run a rebound rating stat for the goalie. This may seem unfair, but it will actually help him to understand how he can control the scoring chances he faces. My system is to mark 5 for a weak-side rebound that is essentially a pass to an opposing player; 4 for a weak-side rebound that is NOT to an opponent, but is above the bottom of the circles; 3 for a mid-line rebound (more or less straight back out); 2 for any rebound angled away below the circles; 1 for rebounds ramped up and away with elevation below the circles; and 0 for pucks caught or trapped to the body, directed out of play, or intentionally passed to a teammate. Goals don't count, except as asterisks on rebounds with directly consequent goals. (This isn't everybody's system, but I prefer it.) What he'll learn, gradually, is that by controlling his rebounds he can, to a considerable extent, control the scoring chances the other team receives. Having a goalie coach come out, for a practice or two, to get him to work on catching pucks in front of his body and pads, absorbing shots to the body he can't catch, and ramping low shots to the back glass would likely be useful.

Finally, in your position, I'd suggest cooking up a new set of goalie stats. I'm assuming, given what you describe, that your team gives up a lot of 'premium' scoring chances. So without going into to much detail, start excerpting those from GAA and SV%, so that he has, in effect, two sets of stats: his GAA and SV% against 'reasonable' scoring chances, and his GAA and SV% against scoring chances where he's essentially trying to steal a goal away from the other team. When he sees (as I'd imagine) that he's actually doing pretty well in both, irrespective of whether a 4.8 GAA is 'good' or 'bad' in the abstract and what his team's record is, he'll gain even more confidence. His game will become about keeping reasonable goals to a minimum and trying to steal back maybe one more goal a game with circus saves. Situationally, if he gives up a weak-side rebound against a 2v0 and it's potted for a goal, the cause of the goal is not the rebound but the 2v0, and you should be singing his praises for even delaying the inevitable; conversely, if he gives up a weak-side rebound in a 2v2 with the shooter limited out wide in a non-threatening position, you can definitely ask him whether he'd like to have controlled that puck better.

So there are a few ideas about how to deal with your goaltending issues. I really do want to stress that no matter how annoying the kid's attitude is it's totally understandable and, potentially, the sign of someone who can improve. The kids you can't help are the ones who treat every goal like a personal apocalypse. or who aren't indifferent but actually sullen and accusatory.

Plus, you can always offer the kid a chance to swap gear with someone his size for a practice or even a game: that's always fun.

[Cams 7]

Thanks LG. Some good stuff in there.

Here is what happened last week........

We won! And a shutout to boot too! 2-0. We basically told the kids before practice, the country club atmosphere (not that it was) is over. You skate hard, work hard in practice, then you'll skate and work hard in games. Practice = work, game = fun. We got our guys a good practice in, and it obviously spilled over to the game the next day.

The kids were pumped to get a fresh start, which is another thing we stressed. Even the coach of the team we played, noticed something different. They were jacked up, and noisy going on the ice, rallied around the goalie for a little team cheer before puck drop. The kids kept the intensity up the whole game, and.....the biggest part....we played a full game 'as a team'. We moved some positions around, and you could see how happy the kids were to finally get that first win.

Wow did that feel good. One of the best feelings I have felt, relating to hockey, in a long time.

This week will be a real test too. We play a team who scores 6 or 7 each game - probably 5 from one guy. Here's hoping they are ready to play!!!!

[wrangler 157]

Good to hear. It will be interesting to see how it goes from here.

[Law Goalie 147]

That's awesome, Cams-- thanks for the update. Great stuff.

[Cams 7]

Here is the latest update, seeing as my "kids" are heading into a week off...

The week after the win, you will notice I mentioned we would play the top team next. We did. We lost 5-0, however the game was a hard fought game, a couple breakdowns. They key part was, we were outshot badly, and if not for the strong play of our goalie, would have been much worse. Plus, we shut down the leagues best player. I can't complain about a game like that. It was a game where we showed strong team play.

The next game, was a close one too, lost 4-2, but again, our goaltender was fantastic! Defensively our team had a bad game, mistakes that shouldn't be made, and a few bad bounces. Overall, a pretty good game.

We had one more game after the 4-2 loss. We worked the kids pretty hard in practice, introduced some new drills, and we started adjusting our line combos to match the opponent. Does that work in houseleague - absolutely it does! We played a team that had won 8-2 and something like 6-0 the one before. We out skated, out worked, took the play to them most of the game. We got great goaltending again. Ended up 1-1 tie! What a great game.

So..... things have surely turned the corner for the good. Since our "ultimatum" talk to the kids, we are 1-1-1, we are no longer the team with the most goals against (we play them next). Sure, we can't score many, but team defense and team play has improved greatly! You can see it on their faces and the way they carry themselves on and off the ice too. It's a great feeling to have.

[Law Goalie 147]

Wonderful stuff: it sounds like everything, including the kids themselves, is looking up.

[wrangler 157]

Better and better. It's good to hear that not only is your goalie making the effort, but he's got some ability. How about your "A" player?