Observations From the Rink: It’s Not So Obvious

It’s Not So Obvious

It’s so obvious, and everyone knows that if you do something consistently every day you’ll get better.

Well it’s not that obvious after all.

Take golf for instance.

Tons of people play every day, they practice, sadly they see little improvement or progression.

Are they working on the right things when practicing or are they engraining poor swing habits into their game?

Dr Carol Salva’s work in the area of education specifically language acquisition is truly remarkable. Dr. Salva talks about Day 1, and if consistent routines and lessons are in place where might the student be with their comfort and language on Day 175 or whatever the day might be.

Is the classroom different than the golf course or rink when it comes to learning a new skill or building upon skills? Obviously, we all know the answer to that one, but let’s be serious.

What if coaches looked upon the upcoming hockey season like Dr Slava and so many other amazing teachers look at teaching?

Day 1 vs Day 90 or the end of the season whatever number that might be.

Where did the player start?

Where are they going to end?

What does each player need to work on to get better?

How are we going to get better as a team every day?

What did you learn this year?

That’s a question that every young aspiring athlete should be asked at the end of every season.

Ok, great, you learned a lot and improved, but how did you learn?

Let’s pause for a moment and take a step back.

About a year before the pandemic, a new educational slogan was developed stressing the importance of attendance in schools across the province.

“Every day matters”

Obviously, every day or class matters. Everyone would agree with that. What if we changed that to every practice matters, then what happens?

Attending or just showing up is half the battle, right?

Well, it’s not that obvious is it.

What is the teacher or coach trying to get across each and every day?

How are they delivering the material or curriculum?

How do they motivate?

Are the students or players engaged?

Are they having fun?

What variables are associated with the learning environment?

The list could go on and on.

What about this question?

Do students or player learn something new every class or practice?

As a teacher I hope to hell they do, but how do we check for understanding at the end every class?

What did you learn today?

What about an exit pass strategy at the end of every class?

You see the exit pass in the game of hockey or the hockey world appears in the game or does it?

Some times the exit pass is let’s skate the living shit out of the team because they didn’t practice well tonight.

Looking at Dr Salva’s work and so many others around the area of language acquisition is so important because it’s a shared endeavour. From each student in the class to the teacher directed initiatives learning happens over each and every day. The exact same thing should be said about hockey practice. From a hockey perspective, every player has things to work on, but those individual aspects sometimes get overlooked because of the emphasis that is placed on team systems or team initiatives.

“Oh, don’t worry, we have tons of focus with regards to player development and growth in our program.”

Minor hockey organizations that come out and guarantee that usually fall short on their promises because “team success” takes priority and the first thing that gets cut or cancelled when games need to be rescheduled is player development sessions.

With all the focus, time and money on player development and skill development that’s in the game today what is being accomplished in that area “in season”?

Players are with the same coaching staff for the entire season, let’s say for argument sake that’s 7 months worth of time.

What’s happening on Day 1 versus Day 230?

What’s happening on Practice 1 versus Practice 55?

Skill acquisition happens in a lot of ways, but I’m drawn to a question from a concerned hockey parent of a QMJHL Draft eligible player.

They asked an amazing question very early on in the season that lead directly to the writing of “Losing An Edge”

Here’s what they asked;

How do young players work on things like explosiveness, speed and agility work other than practicing with the team, also given their limited time outside of school and other team events?

What an amazing question!

You would hope that coaches would target certain aspects of every players game and work on it or that over the course of the season. If it’s skating or pivots or puck skills or whatever.

See it all boils down to time.

Unfortunately, some skill development sessions are set aside from the get go, which is great, but the focus is usually on puck prowess rather than skating or specific player needs.

You see that brings us back to the importance of the delivery model in the classroom or on the ice. Those aspects of the job are so important. Obviously, every day, class or practice matter, but how is that class or practice being taught?

You can have all the ice time or practice time in the world and still not see or witness individual or team improvement because of the coaches delivery model.

Just imagine if each player was given specific directives surrounding individual areas of improvement. Those focal points were to be worked on at the end or beginning of every practice for just ten minutes and the three or four coaches that are on the ice overwatch that progression and execution. When the “accepted” level of mastery is acquired, then another skill or area of improvement is developed and that becomes the focus for the next few sessions.

Every day, class or practice matters, but every aspect of the delivery and learning environment matter as well and unfortunately that’s not so obvious.

If every day, class or practice matters, as a player what are you doing to get better every day?

If every day, class or practice matters what are you as a coach or teacher doing to get better each and every day and how are you ensuring your kids are as well?