How Coaches Should Handle Bad Plays

[Liam Herbst]

Hey Guys!
I'm new to HF Boards. I (Liam Herbst) am a former OHL player, and am working on giving back to the hockey in whatever ways I can!
Thus, I have started my own Youtube channel, where I will be putting up videos on my hockey experience/knowledge and my life.

This first video is on why coaches should avoid screaming and yelling at players.



Please feel free to leave any comments and/or suggestions on the video.
I am very happy to hear from you guys!

Thank you,

Liam

Click to read more...

 

[ref88]

Good shit man. Just a little advice... Try and find something where you don't have to hold the camera, it's pretty shaky throughout the video. I like your thoughts.

 

[Liam Herbst]

Good **** man. Just a little advice... Try and find something where you don't have to hold the camera, it's pretty shaky throughout the video. I like your thoughts.

Thanks for watching and the feedback! I appreciate it. In my recent videos, the camera is stationary.

 

[Canadian Chris]

Very much my coaching philosophy actually. Granted I’m an assistant with a Jr B team, so I don’t have as much to deal with, but working with our dmen, when a mistake is made I try to remain calm and actually coach the situation at the time, review the video later, and revisit in practice. That being said, when it’s the same mistake time and time again, it can be tough.

But really enjoyed your video!

 

[Canadiens1958]

Played youth hockey in the east end of Montreal in the 1950s and 1960s. Coached afterwards - pre-teens.

A few points. Montreal coaching at that time had a great role model in Toe Blake who kept everything in the room.

Coaching youngsters. Remember and understand who is the adult in the relationship between coach and player. Apply it at all times.

Language. Review your 5+ minute tape. You used a word a few times(in app 5 minutes) that none of my coaches used or that I ever used in app. 40+ seasons. Hint - starts with an s and ends with a y. Adults should be better spoken than children.

 

[Doctor No]

One reason why coaches (and other authority figures) feel that yelling leads to results is because of regression to the mean.

Players don't always perform at the same level, and have highs and lows. When they make a play poorly, it's very likely that their next play will be better (and when they make a good play, it's very likely that their next play will be worse).

As a result, when a player makes a bad play, they get yelled at, and their next play is better (but it would have been better anyhow). This reinforces "yelling works" in the coach's brain, so they continue.

Conversely, when a player makes a good play, they get praised, and their next play is worse (but it would have been worse anyhow).

 

[Canadiens1958]

One reason why coaches (and other authority figures) feel that yelling leads to results is because of regression to the mean.

Players don't always perform at the same level, and have highs and lows. When they make a play poorly, it's very likely that their next play will be better (and when they make a good play, it's very likely that their next play will be worse).

As a result, when a player makes a bad play, they get yelled at, and their next play is better (but it would have been better anyhow). This reinforces "yelling works" in the coach's brain, so they continue.

Conversely, when a player makes a good play, they get praised, and their next play is worse (but it would have been worse anyhow).

Bottom line, good, bad or in between play handle it with positive humour and as a teaching opportunity.

In an organization, the coaching tone is set by the master coach and/or the elder coach, respected former pro,etc. They have nothing to prove,have gone thru the battles,winning and losing. They know it is a kids game.

 

[Liam Herbst]

Very much my coaching philosophy actually. Granted I’m an assistant with a Jr B team, so I don’t have as much to deal with, but working with our dmen, when a mistake is made I try to remain calm and actually coach the situation at the time, review the video later, and revisit in practice. That being said, when it’s the same mistake time and time again, it can be tough.

But really enjoyed your video!

Thanks for the kind words! Happy to hear you have an awesome approach as a coach! As I touched on in the vid: it can be tough when players make mistakes.... and there is a place for constructive criticism. But the screaming and yelling (IMO) always makes this worse in the long run.

 

[Liam Herbst]

One reason why coaches (and other authority figures) feel that yelling leads to results is because of regression to the mean.

Players don't always perform at the same level, and have highs and lows. When they make a play poorly, it's very likely that their next play will be better (and when they make a good play, it's very likely that their next play will be worse).

As a result, when a player makes a bad play, they get yelled at, and their next play is better (but it would have been better anyhow). This reinforces "yelling works" in the coach's brain, so they continue.

Conversely, when a player makes a good play, they get praised, and their next play is worse (but it would have been worse anyhow).

This is a great thought. So true! Thanks for your insight.

 

[BogsDiamond]

Great thoughts and I totally agree.
If I can provide some advice as well, don't force kids into a role on the team. Don't tell kids that they can't be creative and that they have to keep things simple.
If you listen to guys like Gretzky he says this is what's killing hockey and I totally agree. In a recent interview with Peter Mansbridge, he said "Go watch a PW game in Toronto. It's nothing but systems".
The kids are robots today who are forced to engage in a systematic approach to the game. Only the top, top players are given any leeway in expressing themselves on the ice.

Case in point, my son.
He's no superstar and he's sure as heck will never earn a dime playing hockey.
He's 10 and this is his first year playing travel hockey.
Prior to this he was a HL defenseman, but was converted to a winger for travel.

He used to skate the puck end to end in HL on every shift. He didn't always score but he made something happen. And he loved being creative.
It helped that his coach allowed him the freedom to do so.
In travel, he's told to either pass or dump. Then go to the net for rebounds. That's it.

In a recent pick-up, 3-on-3 game he couldn't even carry the puck anymore. He kept losing it for no reason.
I was pretty upset watching this. How do you go from playing 20 games to 50 and get worse? (never mind the extra time and money travel costs compared to HL!)
But then it hit me; in HL, he'd play 25 min a night and have the puck on his stick probably 3-5 minutes a game.
In travel he gets 10 minutes and has the puck for maybe 20s.
So no wonder his skills went downhill.
What was more troubling is that at the start of the year he'd try to be creative. He'd try to thread passes or make a move. And then when he'd get back to the bench he'd be told to stop doing those things.
So he did. And now he's a worse player than before.

I don't blame the coaches. It's how things are now. Parents expect wins. And you need systems and robotic players to win.
It's just too bad that in today's youth hockey it's all about winning instead of creativity and fun.
And that IMO is the reason why registration steadily declines in Canada.
And it's really going down in regards to travel players. In our area, we have 4 towns amalgamated in order to make a travel team in each age group.
That was never a problem 'back in my day'.
In a 2013 survey asking kids why they're not playing the #1 reason was "it's not fun".
My own son, who considered hockey to be his favourite sport a season ago, said that he now likes baseball better.
The reason? He said "Because in baseball nobody forces me to play a certain way".
To make a poor comparison, the style of hockey he's forced to play would be like his baseball coach telling him he's only allowed to push the ball the opposite way and try to leg out a single.
No doubles, triples or HR's. Just put the ball in play on the opposite side of the field.

Do yourself a favour and read the book "Who's Puck is it Anyway?"
''

A coach wrote it diary-style over the course of a season. He was so tired of all the systems and overcoaching that he decided to let the kids decide how to play the game.
Practices focused exclusively on skill development. They didn't win the Championship of the universe, but the kids had a great time and so did the coaches.

 

[Double]

Good stuff here. I'll share my favorite coaching axiom:

Kids don't care what you know, until they know you care.

 

[Liam Herbst]

Great thoughts and I totally agree.
If I can provide some advice as well, don't force kids into a role on the team. Don't tell kids that they can't be creative and that they have to keep things simple.
If you listen to guys like Gretzky he says this is what's killing hockey and I totally agree. In a recent interview with Peter Mansbridge, he said "Go watch a PW game in Toronto. It's nothing but systems".
The kids are robots today who are forced to engage in a systematic approach to the game. Only the top, top players are given any leeway in expressing themselves on the ice.

Case in point, my son.
He's no superstar and he's sure as heck will never earn a dime playing hockey.
He's 10 and this is his first year playing travel hockey.
Prior to this he was a HL defenseman, but was converted to a winger for travel.

He used to skate the puck end to end in HL on every shift. He didn't always score but he made something happen. And he loved being creative.
It helped that his coach allowed him the freedom to do so.
In travel, he's told to either pass or dump. Then go to the net for rebounds. That's it.

In a recent pick-up, 3-on-3 game he couldn't even carry the puck anymore. He kept losing it for no reason.
I was pretty upset watching this. How do you go from playing 20 games to 50 and get worse? (never mind the extra time and money travel costs compared to HL!)
But then it hit me; in HL, he'd play 25 min a night and have the puck on his stick probably 3-5 minutes a game.
In travel he gets 10 minutes and has the puck for maybe 20s.
So no wonder his skills went downhill.
What was more troubling is that at the start of the year he'd try to be creative. He'd try to thread passes or make a move. And then when he'd get back to the bench he'd be told to stop doing those things.
So he did. And now he's a worse player than before.

I don't blame the coaches. It's how things are now. Parents expect wins. And you need systems and robotic players to win.
It's just too bad that in today's youth hockey it's all about winning instead of creativity and fun.
And that IMO is the reason why registration steadily declines in Canada.
And it's really going down in regards to travel players. In our area, we have 4 towns amalgamated in order to make a travel team in each age group.
That was never a problem 'back in my day'.
In a 2013 survey asking kids why they're not playing the #1 reason was "it's not fun".
My own son, who considered hockey to be his favourite sport a season ago, said that he now likes baseball better.
The reason? He said "Because in baseball nobody forces me to play a certain way".
To make a poor comparison, the style of hockey he's forced to play would be like his baseball coach telling him he's only allowed to push the ball the opposite way and try to leg out a single.
No doubles, triples or HR's. Just put the ball in play on the opposite side of the field.

Do yourself a favour and read the book "Who's Puck is it Anyway?"
''

A coach wrote it diary-style over the course of a season. He was so tired of all the systems and overcoaching that he decided to let the kids decide how to play the game.
Practices focused exclusively on skill development. They didn't win the Championship of the universe, but the kids had a great time and so did the coaches.

Couldn't agree with you more! Thank you for sharing. Wishing your son the best. You have a great outlook on the way things should be!

 

[Pez68]

Great thoughts and I totally agree.
If I can provide some advice as well, don't force kids into a role on the team. Don't tell kids that they can't be creative and that they have to keep things simple.
If you listen to guys like Gretzky he says this is what's killing hockey and I totally agree. In a recent interview with Peter Mansbridge, he said "Go watch a PW game in Toronto. It's nothing but systems".
The kids are robots today who are forced to engage in a systematic approach to the game. Only the top, top players are given any leeway in expressing themselves on the ice.

Case in point, my son.
He's no superstar and he's sure as heck will never earn a dime playing hockey.
He's 10 and this is his first year playing travel hockey.
Prior to this he was a HL defenseman, but was converted to a winger for travel.

He used to skate the puck end to end in HL on every shift. He didn't always score but he made something happen. And he loved being creative.
It helped that his coach allowed him the freedom to do so.
In travel, he's told to either pass or dump. Then go to the net for rebounds. That's it.

In a recent pick-up, 3-on-3 game he couldn't even carry the puck anymore. He kept losing it for no reason.
I was pretty upset watching this. How do you go from playing 20 games to 50 and get worse? (never mind the extra time and money travel costs compared to HL!)
But then it hit me; in HL, he'd play 25 min a night and have the puck on his stick probably 3-5 minutes a game.
In travel he gets 10 minutes and has the puck for maybe 20s.
So no wonder his skills went downhill.
What was more troubling is that at the start of the year he'd try to be creative. He'd try to thread passes or make a move. And then when he'd get back to the bench he'd be told to stop doing those things.
So he did. And now he's a worse player than before.

I don't blame the coaches. It's how things are now. Parents expect wins. And you need systems and robotic players to win.
It's just too bad that in today's youth hockey it's all about winning instead of creativity and fun.
And that IMO is the reason why registration steadily declines in Canada.
And it's really going down in regards to travel players. In our area, we have 4 towns amalgamated in order to make a travel team in each age group.
That was never a problem 'back in my day'.
In a 2013 survey asking kids why they're not playing the #1 reason was "it's not fun".
My own son, who considered hockey to be his favourite sport a season ago, said that he now likes baseball better.
The reason? He said "Because in baseball nobody forces me to play a certain way".
To make a poor comparison, the style of hockey he's forced to play would be like his baseball coach telling him he's only allowed to push the ball the opposite way and try to leg out a single.
No doubles, triples or HR's. Just put the ball in play on the opposite side of the field.

Do yourself a favour and read the book "Who's Puck is it Anyway?"
''

A coach wrote it diary-style over the course of a season. He was so tired of all the systems and overcoaching that he decided to let the kids decide how to play the game.
Practices focused exclusively on skill development. They didn't win the Championship of the universe, but the kids had a great time and so did the coaches.

This happens only because most coaches are clowns, that do not actually understand the game, or possess creativity themselves. Systems are easy. Developing players into the best players they can be, while playing "fundamental" hockey, is not. So most coaches opt for the easy route. The beautiful part about hockey is...you can do both.