Whether a youth team or a pro one, few hockey teams can be successful without some semblance of structure, reasonable and achievable expectations and “rules of the road” that all involved must follow in order to stay on track.
“Setting boundaries and defining roles for players and parents at the start of the season gives all involved parties guardrails for the months that will follow,” said Ted Cheesebrough, Hamline University Men’s Hockey Assistant Coach and Assistant Coach of the Jamaican Olympic Ice Hockey Team. “It’s an opportunity for coaches to stress the items that are important to them and which they feel are critical to the team’s success.”
Cheesebrough, who has on his resume more than 20 seasons of coaching youth and high school hockey, shared his top five “golden rules” that players and parents should understand and abide by to ensure a positive team culture and improve the team’s chances at accomplishing their goals.
1. Growth Comes from Mistakes
“Errors is a baseball statistic, but it’s not a statistic used in hockey because errors occur during every shift. Whether it’s a missed pass, a bad route, misreading a situation, or you simply catch an edge and fall, hockey is a game filled with errors. Don’t fret over every error or turnover. Instead, identify what went wrong, think about what could’ve been done differently and be ready to attack the situation again. Players frequently make mistakes when they’re pushing themselves and when they’re on the margins, so it is on those margins where growth occurs. Understand that practicing your skating, passing, puck protection or certain situational play will lead to fewer errors, but you can never eliminate mistakes entirely. Rather, acknowledge and accept that mistakes are always going to occur in our sport. It’s how you deal with those mistakes, seek to correct them and keep moving forward that counts the most.”
2. Be Respectful, Be Ready, Be Willing
“Some tenets are the same every year: be a good listener, a hard worker, a generous teammate and a curious learner. Be sure to look your coach in the eye and listen when they are talking, whether that’s during practice, in between periods or in the locker room. Come to the rink ready to give 100% effort, especially at practice. You will touch more pucks, make more passes and take more shots in practice than you will in a game, so coming to practice with a can-do attitude and a positive work ethic is the best way to make yourself and your teammates better. Also, be willing to play every position. When a coach asks or needs you to play in a different position, embrace it. The wider variety of experiences and situations that you are placed in gives you a more diverse skill set and makes you more versatile, which will make you more valuable as you progress.”
3. Remember: Coaches Coach, Players Play, Officials Officiate and Parents Support
“Coaching youth hockey requires commitment, people skills, tactical know-how, time management abilities, patience, resilience and a ton of time. Parents and players must value and treat them accordingly. This includes giving coaches the respect and space to do what they’re asked to do. I’d urge parents to support your sons’ and daughters’ coaches even when (and perhaps especially when) you might use a different approach or make another choice. Similarly, nothing good will come from parents undermining their kids’ coaches, be it to other parents or even their own children. Most of these coaches are volunteers, while those who might get provided a stipend definitely aren’t getting rich coaching youth hockey. So, find and focus on the positive things that your kids’ coaches do and be a source of support, not a source of negativity.”
4. Find & Maintain Proper Perspective
“Keep in mind that no one outside of the arena truly cares about the result of your youth hockey game. Whether it’s Bantam AA or an 8U Jamboree, if you stop at the convenience store on the drive home, it’s likely nobody there knows nor cares which team won. As such, players and fans must keep things in perspective during the game. That goes for how you treat your teammates, officials, opposing players and coaches and opposing fans. The result should not significantly impact your life a day later or a month later, and most of the time, not even an hour later. It shouldn’t bog you down or dictate how you treat others. Everyone must keep their cool during a hotly contested game. This doesn’t diminish the importance or fun of youth hockey games. Games are rewarding, challenging, and fulfilling, and they teach life lessons. And, of course, they are fun. But keep youth hockey games in perspective, see the big picture, and know that there will be another game next week, next month and next season.”
5. Be in a position to succeed before arriving at the Rink
“Parents can set their athletes up for success by ensuring that their skates are sharpened, they have the equipment they need, they’ve had something to eat, they’re bringing a water bottle and that they are getting to the rink on time. Players also have a responsibility to take care of certain things themselves. Players should check their own bag for all of their gear before they leave for the rink. Mom and Dad might help out the youngest players, but Peewees/12U and Bantams/15U are fully capable of making sure that they have all of their equipment. Coaches talk about controlling the controllables and this is just another example of that. There is a universe of things that are outside of your control, but having your equipment packed, your skates sharp and leaving for the rink on time are all things within your own domain.”