Players by the U18 level and certainly any level of Jr hockey, will have accumulated an expansive and wide range of skill sets. At one point in each of their playing careers they will have been the goal scorer or top player. Many will have been the top defenseman or penalty killer. All will have seen some power play time or end of game time along the way. To assist these players at the next level, help them identify what they are really good at, and foster this “Role” within the team’s roster.
Simon Sinek has some outstanding online tutorials and seminars on developing leaders and empowering group dynamics. Look at some of these quotes from his online series:
The great leaders can’t do everything, they are the ones who look to others to help them.
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.
A leader’s job is not to do the work for others, it’s to help others figure out how to do it themselves, to get things done, and to succeed beyond what they thought possible.
– Simon Sinek
Being the leader of this age group athlete, the coach will be looked upon to put his athletes in the best position possible for their own personal success AND the success of the team. Gone are the days of completely equal playing time for all players. In fact, I would argue that giving equal playing time to everyone does not highlight the special and unique skills of each athlete. It does not set them up for success.
I took over coaching our New England Wolves EHL team in 2017-18. I had coached our younger (EHL Elite U19 team) to the conference finals and a record setting win total in the 2016-17 season, and this promotion was a rebuilding scenario when the team the year prior (at the EHL level) was in last place with only 8 wins on the season. Finding a young core and recruiting a roster full of gritty role players became paramount. One player in particular, Blake Harlow, was a scorer from Alabama. His excellence on the forecheck, aggressive stick pressure and intelligence, set him up to be an ideal penalty killer, and he was identified as having these characteristics. Then with practice and determination he thrived in this role, leading all of US Tier III Junior Hockey in Shorthanded goals in the 2017-18 season. Undersized (only 5 ’10 and 175-180 lbs) I doubt Blake Harlow would have had the opportunity to play NCAA hockey had we not discovered a role for him and then he accepted and flourished in it.
Help your athletes and encourage them to find a home on your roster. A place where each athlete can perform and become an integral part of the team. At U18 and Jr it can be the biggest difference in getting a player to the next level.
Yet every team’s set up is different. AAA teams may practice 3 days a week. Academy U18 teams might have multiple ice sessions a day. AA or Single A teams might only practice once a week. Junior Hockey is extremely different program to program and league to league.
Regardless of your structure, team practices leading up to games should be hard. Players should compete and earn everything during their time on the ice at this level. These are young men at or near their physical peak, and it is my opinion that you are doing a disservice to your athletes if you are not making the practices as hard or difficult as the games they will play in.
That means, if your U18 team has 3 lines and you play a 60 minute game, each kid in a game is “skating” for roughly 20 minutes. 20 minutes. Not 60 minutes. 20 minutes. At practice however, with your group divided in half and shorter duration drill sequences, you can more than double that “skating” time within an hour practice slot. You should not shorten it. Practices are the studying and the games are the test… you study more than you take tests right?
People didn’t believe me when I told them I practiced harder than I played, but it was true.
The only way to relieve that pressure is to build your fundamentals, practice them over and over, so when the game breaks down, you can handle anything that transpires.
- Michael Jordan
By Andrew Trimble
Andrew Trimble is the General Manager and Co- Owner of the New England Wolves Hockey Club. He is also the Owner of Scoring Concepts LLC, a New Hampshire based hockey training company that offers camps, clinics, private lessons and teams. He has coached at all levels from Learn to Skate to College Hockey. For more info on his teams and programs check out- www.scoringconcepts.com or www.ne-wolveshockey.com
Andrew’s new book- “The Hockey Planner: A Year-by-Year Plan to Assist You on Your Hockey Coaching Journey: From Learn to Play to Junior Hockey.” is available now.
This essential guide is designed to elevate the coaching experience for those involved in Amateur Hockey, providing invaluable insights and practical tools for coaches, parents, and players alike.
Click Here to Purchase- The Hockey Planner: A Year by Year Plan to Assist You on Your Hockey Coaching Journey: From Learn to Play to Junior Hockey: Trimble, Andrew: 9781963743388: Amazon.com: Books
