Coach (ice hockey)

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Coach Claude Julien (standing) studies the action during a game. 081128 Claude Julien.jpg
Coach Claude Julien (standing) studies the action during a game.

The coach in ice hockey is the person responsible for directing the team during games and practices, prepares strategy and decides which players will participate in games. [1]

Contents

Role

As each game is given great importance, a coach will analyse past games and prepare for future games. Coaches are important in determining the style of hockey the team plays. [2] While winning is a primary goal at the professional level, at the other extreme of minor hockey, teaching is given greater importance. [3]

The specific responsibilities of a coach vary according to the level at which they are coaching. For example, unique to coaching at the professional level, a coach, especially a head coach, needs to have skills in dealing with the media. [4] In sport, the role of an expert coach entails more than teaching. [5] Position or skill coaches such as for goaltenders or skating development. Support coaches include Video coaches and Strength and conditioning coach. Professional coaching staffs will include multiple Assistant coaches and sometimes an Associate coach. Associate coaches are a step above a normal assistant coach and one step below a head coach. [6]

Youth Hockey

Youth hockey Youth hockey.JPG
Youth hockey

The role of a youth ice hockey coach is a combination of teacher, motivator, organizer, listener, and disciplinarian. [7] In addition, there are many other responsibilities that a youth hockey coach will fulfill. Some responsibilities include: facilitator, demonstrator, evaluator, supporter, and planner. [8]

In the case of coaching of youth hockey, while strategy and tactic skills are still required, there would be the added responsibility of teaching participants the fundamental skills and rules of the game; providing a fun and safe environment; developing character; teaching physical fitness; and having the ability to communicate in a positive manner. [9] [10]

Youth coaches influence the degree of enjoyment experienced by youth and their desire to continue participating in sport. [11] This influence occurs through the coaches’ goals, values, attitudes, and behaviors. [12]

Coaching preparation

Prior to coaching on the ice in the United States, coaches must complete a certification course and age specific modules sanctioned by USA Hockey and then register with USA Hockey. Coaching clinics for certification are offered at various locations across the country, broken down by districts. Formal coaching education programs are not the only way coaches are developed. Other learning opportunities, such as playing experience, mentoring, and discussions with other coaches play a significant role. [13]

Game plan

A coach should focus their attention on individual skill development first. Individual skill development should be mastered prior to focusing on competition. For players to become successful in a team situation, they must develop their skating, stick handling, passing, and shooting skills. Individual skill development is the foundation for every player and of primary importance before advancing in competitive situations. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

A teaching method is a set of principles and methods used by teachers to enable student learning. These strategies are determined partly on subject matter to be taught and partly by the nature of the learner. For a particular teaching method to be appropriate and efficient it has take into account the learner, the nature of the subject matter, and the type of learning it is supposed to bring about.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Training</span> Acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of teaching or practice

Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of technology. In addition to the basic training required for a trade, occupation or profession, training may continue beyond initial competence to maintain, upgrade and update skills throughout working life. People within some professions and occupations may refer to this sort of training as professional development. Training also refers to the development of physical fitness related to a specific competence, such as sport, martial arts, military applications and some other occupations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physical education</span> Educational course related to the physique and care of the body

Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement exploration setting to promote health and physical fitness. Activities in P.E. include football, netball, hockey, rounders, cricket, four square, racing, and numerous other children's games. Physical education also teaches nutrition, healthy habits, and individuality of needs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Team building</span> Term for activities used to enhance social relations and define roles within teams

Team building is a collective term for various types of activities used to enhance social relations and define roles within teams, often involving collaborative tasks. It is distinct from team training, which is designed by a combine of business managers, learning and development/OD and an HR Business Partner to improve the efficiency, rather than interpersonal relations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedagogy</span> Theory and practice of education

Pedagogy, from Ancient Greek παιδαγωγία (paidagōgía), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as an academic discipline, is the study of how knowledge and skills are imparted in an educational context, and it considers the interactions that take place during learning. Both the theory and practice of pedagogy vary greatly as they reflect different social, political, and cultural contexts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Experiential education</span> Philosophy of education

Experiential education is a philosophy of education that describes the process that occurs between a teacher and student that infuses direct experience with the learning environment and content. The term is not interchangeable with experiential learning; however experiential learning is a sub-field and operates under the methodologies of experiential education. The Association for Experiential Education regards experiential education as "a philosophy that informs many methodologies in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop people's capacity to contribute to their communities". Experiential education is the term for the philosophy and educational progressivism is the movement which it informed. The Journal of Experiential Education publishes peer-reviewed empirical and theoretical academic research within the field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Experiential learning</span> Learn by reflect on active involvement

Experiential learning (ExL) is the process of learning through experience, and is more narrowly defined as "learning through reflection on doing". Hands-on learning can be a form of experiential learning, but does not necessarily involve students reflecting on their product. Experiential learning is distinct from rote or didactic learning, in which the learner plays a comparatively passive role. It is related to, but not synonymous with, other forms of active learning such as action learning, adventure learning, free-choice learning, cooperative learning, service-learning, and situated learning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flow (psychology)</span> Full immersion in an activity

In positive psychology, a flow state, also known colloquially as being inthe zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one's sense of time. Flow is the melting together of action and consciousness; the state of finding a balance between a skill and how challenging that task is. It requires a high level of concentration. Flow is used as a coping skill for stress and anxiety when productively pursuing a form of leisure that matches one's skill set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coach (sport)</span> Person involved in directing, instructing and training sportspeople

An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constructivism (philosophy of education)</span> Philosophical viewpoint about the nature of knowledge; theory of knowledge

Constructivism is a theory in education which posits that individuals or learners do not acquire knowledge and understanding by passively perceiving it within a direct process of knowledge transmission, rather they construct new understandings and knowledge through experience and social discourse, integrating new information with what they already know. For children, this includes knowledge gained prior to entering school. It is associated with various philosophical positions, particularly in epistemology as well as ontology, politics, and ethics. The origin of the theory is also linked to Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from class to class. In North America, the rules are governed by the national bodies, Hockey Canada and USA Hockey, while local hockey associations administer players and leagues for their region. Many provinces and states organize regional and provincial championship tournaments, and the highest age groups in Canada and USA also participate in national championships.

Social learning is learning that takes place at a wider scale than individual or group learning, up to a societal scale, through social interaction between peers. It may or may not lead to a change in attitudes and behaviour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Play (activity)</span> Voluntary, intrinsically motivated recreation

Play is a range of intrinsically motivated activities done for recreational pleasure and enjoyment. Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities, but may be engaged in at any life stage, and among other higher-functioning animals as well, most notably mammals and birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Alliance for Youth Sports</span>

The National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.. NAYS provides a variety of programs and services for everyone involved in youth sports, including professional and volunteer administrators, volunteer coaches, officials, parents and young athletes.

Sport psychology was defined by the European Federation of Sport Psychology (FEPSAC) in 1996, as the study of the psychological basis, processes, and effects of sport. Otherwise, sport is considered as any physical activity where the individuals engage for competition and health. Sport psychology is recognized as an interdisciplinary science that draws on knowledge from many related fields including biomechanics, physiology, kinesiology and psychology. It involves the study of how psychological factors affect performance and how participation in sport and exercise affect psychological and physical factors. Sport psychologists teach cognitive and behavioral strategies to athletes in order to improve their experience and performance in sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth sports</span> Sport practiced by youth

Youth sports is any sports event where competitors are younger than adult age, whether children or adolescents. Youth sports includes school sports at primary and secondary level, as well as sports played outside the education system, whether informally or organized.

Wendy Piltz is an Australian former cricketer who played as a right-arm medium bowler. She appeared in one Test match and three One Day Internationals for Australia in 1984, all against India. She played domestic cricket for South Australia.

Mark John Aubry is a Canadian physician and sports medicine specialist. He is the team physician for the Ottawa Senators, and serves as the Chief Medical Officer of both the International Ice Hockey Federation, and Hockey Canada. He researches and lectures on concussions, plays a leadership role for safety in sport, and is an injury prevention activist in minor ice hockey. He is a recipient of the Paul Loicq Award for his international work, the Dr. Tom Pashby Sports Safety Fund Award for Canada, and the USA Hockey Excellence in Safety Award for the United States.

Coaching psychology is a field of applied psychology that applies psychological theories and concepts to the practice of coaching. Its aim is to increase performance, self-actualization, achievement and well-being in individuals, teams and organisations by utilising evidence-based methods grounded in scientific research. Coaching psychology is influenced by theories in various psychological fields, such as humanistic psychology, positive psychology, learning theory and social psychology.

The Open Ice Summit was an ice hockey conference held in Toronto on August 25–27, 1999. It was arranged by Hockey Canada in co-operation with the National Hockey League and the Canadian Hockey League, in response to Canadian national ice hockey teams struggling and a general panic in Canada. The summit's primary focus was player development in Canada, and was targeted at league executives, parents, coaches and hockey associations. Discussions produced a list of 11 recommendations to improve hockey in Canada, which included a campaign aimed at Canadian parents on why players needed more practices than games. The summit's recommendations ultimately led to fundamental changes in how Canadian players were trained.

References

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