In 1300-game NHL veteran turned broadcaster Ray Ferraro’s fantastic positivity-centered talk — Building a Player — he noted that “the days of tearing players down to build them up are gone. If a player is playing with a coach on his shoulder he can never be successful, but if the message is positive, the player is more likely to get it.” He spoke from personal experience about the detrimental impacts of negative coaching. “No player wants to be embarrassed in front of their teammates, parents, friends. No coach should create performance anxiety.” In one story of a difficult time in his career that was helped by positive coaching, he commented that “I was 27 years old and I needed someone to believe in me,” then asked us all to “think about that when you’re coaching 10-year olds.”
Echoing coaches Gulutzan, Shaw, Paek, and so many others, Ray also pointed out that “the way coaches talk to players is more important than almost anything else.” And in comments that definitely resonated with us at PowerPlayer, he stressed the fact that for players to be successful, “the coach-player-parent dynamic is critical,” and implored coaches to “tell players what you see and what to work on, because feedback is critical.”
Jets assistant coach Jamie Kompon shared a wealth of knowledge re teaching the new game for defenders, and emphasized in a subsequent conversation that he always lets his players know that he’s their partner, there to help them succeed.
Walter Aguilar, a performance coach specializing in mindfulness, asked attendees if they’d ever played for a coach they’d “go through a wall for.” To those (including me) who raised a hand, he commented “They’re why you’re here.” His talk also focused on the importance of positivity to drive performance, noting that “our energies are generated by the thoughts we have about ourselves.” He pointed out that coaches who provoke fear in their players are actually inhibiting their potential, since “performance equals potential (skill/talent/intuition) minus interference (distractions causing stress reactions).” If players are afraid of you they won’t talk to you, and “fear shuts down engagement, shifts focus to negative outcomes, and creates flight or fight syndrome — negative energy.” He further explained that “power is effortless while force is hard work. When you coach from positivity you create power.” Wrapping up, he reminded us that “coaching isn’t about what you need to do for your players. It’s about who you need to be for them.”
Recently appointed Kingston Frontenacs head coach Jay Varady shared a brief history of the evolution of collecting and analyzing game statistics, and also stressed the importance of communicating with players: “Give your players their game stats. Give them feedback.”
Three-time Stanley Cup winner and Carolina Hurricanes assistant coach Steve Smith shared his insights into the defensive game and into teaching young players, and got us all laughing with the story of the time he almost fought Tiger Williams.
For me, and I’m sure many others, the most moving presentation of the weekend came from Craig Cunningham, who courageously shared his very recent personal challenge. In November, 2016, Craig collapsed on the ice during the warmup before an AHL game, and ultimately had his lower left leg amputated as a result of tissue damage incurred while he was undergoing the 85 minutes of CPR that kept him alive after his heart inexplicably failed. In his talk, Craig certainly didn’t focus on what he’d lost, but instead focused on the love and caring he’d received from his various coaches as he grew up, and the outpouring of support from all over the hockey world that came his way after his injury. His simple but powerful summation: “I can’t put enough emphasis on the importance of positive influence and people who believed in me.”
To say Craig’s talk was emotional would be an understatement, but when an audience member commented that his young son had watched Craig play as a member of the Vancouver Giants, and that he wanted Craig to know that his son thought of him not just as a hockey hero, but as a life hero, it was a powerful reminder of what really matters.
The words I heard at this year’s Coaches Site Conference were encouraging in so many ways. As someone involved in trying to create a better way for coaches to communicate with players and parents, it was great to hear so many of the presenters stress what we believe so strongly when it comes to coaching kids: that feedback is fuel and knowledge is power.
And finally, it was fantastic to hear the words ‘love, respect, and trust’ so often in a room full of people involved in youth hockey. Because while some coaches — the pros whose livelihoods depend on it — might be in the business of winning, most coaches are really in the business of developing winners.
