The Guessing Game

Every young player wants to please. Every young player wants to make people around them proud.
Every young player doesn’t get treated the same way.
Some get paid for goals.
Some get paid for assists.
Some don’t get paid for everything, because that’s ludicrous.
Every young player wants to know where they stand.
On the surface they crave the attention and notoriety of being the go to player on the team, but at the end of the day and deep down every kid wants to please their parents, family and coaches.
Let’s face it, every young aspiring player wants to feel valued, appreciated and part of the team. Ironically, a lot of young players in the game of hockey feel alienated and are constantly playing a guessing game.

They have no idea where they stand because many of those in charge continuously flip flop. The kid is left in a state of uncertainty and that’s no way to play the game of hockey.
Case in point, could you imagine one QMJHL player being told to work on their puck skills. So the kid works on their puck skills endlessly for weeks.
The same player gets called into the coaches office a few days before the start of the playoffs and is told he will be a healthy scratch because he held on to the puck and over handled it coming down the stretch.
Like holy shit. What are we doing people?
You see it doesn’t matter if it’s young highly touted players or players entering their 2nd or 3rd year in the QMJHL, the guessing game is ever present and it needs to end.
Why would a coach ever tell a player go work on your puck skills one day and a week later tell them that they over handled it and that they’re benched because of it? That makes zero sense. Oh yeah and in between that time the player was given very little to no feedback or analysis of their game. I don’t care who you are, how much playing and coaching experience you have or how impressive your coaching resume is at’s not coaching, that’s just crazy! Why would anyone put their players through that torture?
This isn’t about the “old school” way of doing things versus the “new age” of coaching. This is simply about communication and the lack there of.
Could you imagine living like that?
Not knowing where you stand?
Not knowing if the next shift you take, you will be praised or reprimanded?
Trying everything in your power to improve and give it your all. Basically the player would go through the wall for the coach and the team only to be stuck playing the guessing game. It’s total bull shit.
This has nothing to do with positive or negative reinforcement, or breaking a player of their bad habits or breaking down a player only to build them back up again this has everything to do with transparency.
Young players and their families need to know where they stand. They need to know the expectations, those expectations need to be outlined and/or updated on weekly or even a daily basis depending on the situation.
Young players and their families deserve to know what’s going on, they need to be in the loop and informed not stuck playing a non stop guessing game.
With everything we know about brain development, and how the kids these days learn or grasp knowledge, one would think coaches would adapt or change their methodology. Sadly, that’s not the case. Coaches that are stuck spinning their tires often throw around these quotes.
“I’ve taken them as far as they can go.”
“I’ve tried everything with them, they need to figure it out on their own.”
“When they are willing to listen and buy in to what the plan is, I’ll be here to help them.”
How could anyone play the game with a coach like that?
Guessing games suck.
Guessing games lead to confusion and anger.
Guessing games destroy people’s confidence.
Guessing games are endless in the game of hockey and they need to stop.
The coach that told the player to work on their puck skills and then benched them because of it, with little to no feedback throughout the entire process is still coaching in the QMJHL. I wonder how that coach would feel if those in charge of the organization treated them the same way as they treat some players?
It’s different when the tables are turned and you become the next contestant on the guessing game!