Being a coach may be one of the toughest jobs in the world. They are trusted with developing a group of young kids on and off the ice.  Right or wrong, they tend to shoulder most of the praise or blame for how a season goes, and there’s typically no shortage of opinions on how things could have been handled differently.  

With tryouts and team meetings taking place, this time of year can be particularly difficult.  It almost begs the question, “What would an ideal youth hockey coach be like?”

While there may be no answer that everyone agrees on, District 4 Head Coach Derrick Brown believes there are certain qualities every coach should strive for and every parent can appreciate.

“The biggest thing we want is people with our kids that want to be there,” said Brown, who leads the USA Hockey Coaching Education Program in District 4. “The second thing is that they’re building good people. They’re going to be probably the best adult, the best guardian these people have besides their parents.”

For Brown, who led Luverne to the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament last spring, coaching isn’t so much about the win-loss record as the daily impact you can make on kids. 

“If you’re in here to win trophies, that’s not necessarily the motto, we want,” Brown said.  “We want guys and girls that want to be mentors, to get to know these kids and to come to the rink with that energy.”

As some of the world’s greatest coaches have shown, teams that focus on doing the right things throughout the season will often see results take care of themselves. Here are a few more signs of a great youth hockey coach.   

Clear and Consistent Communication

“Communication is kind of the key to all of coaching,” said Brown. “You have to be able to speak on the ice, in the locker room, on the bench, and it’s how you come across. Sometimes, as adults, we don’t realize that what we’re saying may not come off the way we think it is.”

Whether it is Bantams or 8U, every age group will have a different ability to listen and process what coaches are telling them. The most effective coaches learn to read their players’ moods and personalities and adapt their communication technique to fit that player and situation.

Another communication challenge for coaches is working with parents.  Some coaches shy away from working closely with parents because of bad experiences in the past. Unfortunately, that can actually generate more problems than it solves. It is human nature for parents to care about their son or daughter and the type of experience he or she is having so it is important for coaches to talk with them regularly.  

Coaches that express their expectations early in the season, get both sides to commit to them and follow through set the foundation for a great year.

“You have to have good communication with your parents,” said Brown. “Right away in the season, you try to have a meeting. You try sit down and set your guidelines. I think it’s key that once you have your meeting you make sure that those guidelines are expressed.  Then, just follow through with it.”

Dedication to Development

Typically, the coaches that really stand out are the ones constantly making an effort to improve themselves as well as their players.

“It’s the ever-evolving position,” said Brown, who was named the boys Class A coach of the year in 2014.  “You can never be a master coach. Every day that you go to the rink you can get better. I think that’s what makes the profession unique.”

As Brown eludes to, one of the easiest ways for coaches to improve is by watching what other coaches do and learning from them.  That is true for drills, practice structure and game situations. On top of that, USA Hockey and Minnesota Hockey provide clinics, programs and hundreds of resources to ensure that every coach has the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills.

Establish a Personal Connection

In order to develop kids on and off the ice, coaches need to get to know their players. Every player is different so learning about who they are and what motivates them is critical to the team’s success.

“You really have to figure out your kids right away,” said Brown. “You have to kind of have in your mind what you want to accomplish, what you want to become important and then figure out, with those guidelines, how are you going to establish that with each kid on kind of a different basis.”

Taking the time to develop relationships with players can also provide coaches with more opportunities to teach life lessons.

“Everything feeds off the coach,” said Brown.  “If you come to the rink every single day, you’re excited, you get to know the kids like I talked about earlier, you start to figure out who they are as people, you’re going to have a successful season.”

Do you have a trait that is important for an ideal youth hockey coach to have? Share it with us @MinnHockey!