Any minor league coaches here ?

[Andrei79]

It's always been something that's interested me.

If you do coach, what was your hockey experience before starting ? How did you get into it ? Did it take a toll on family life ?

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[Dreakmur]

It's always been something that's interested me.

If you do coach, what was your hockey experience before starting ? How did you get into it ? Did it take a toll on family life ?

This season will be my 20th year coaching minor hockey. I started coaching with my dad when I was in high school, and enjoy it enough each year to come back for more. Before coaching, my only experience was playing - mostly local league, a few years of rep.

If you are interested in coaching, I would approach your local minor hockey association. You can find out from them if any teams need or want help. At the minimum, you need a Vulnerable Sector Check from your local police department, which is free with a letter from the hockey association. You will also need to take two online courses called "Respect In Sports" and "Gender Identity and Expression". Depending on the level you want to coach, you'll also need to get certified as either a Coach or a Trainer. Trainer certification is done online in a few hours, so if you're not sure you want to coach long term, that's the easy way. The coaching course is a two day in class thing, and they are not always close.

As for the toll on family life, that depends entirely on the level of hockey you want to coach. If you coach a local league team, you could be on the ice as little as once per week for games. If you coach a AAA team, you're looking at 4 or 5 nights a week with significant travel for some game.

Hope to see you at the rink!