That Won’t Translate

Everyone wants to know why a marquee prospect isn’t having success at the next level or living up to their billing? Obviously, some things take time, every player develops at their own pace, and there’s always an adjustment period, but in some cases, there were signs of potential struggle well before it ever started.

In many cases it was predictable. How could it be predictable? You see it all started when the player took shortcuts or developed poor habits or tendencies in their game, and those tendencies went uncorrected. Sometimes those subtle nuances, tendencies and bad habits could have existed in their game for years.

Now it’s hard to believe and fathom that no one would hold them accountable or try to correct or provide feedback, but that’s why things might not trend or translate for them when the time comes.

Everyone talks about player development and getting to the next level. Coaches and programs pride themselves on that ability and to produce players, but the main focus in any process should always be on identifying aspects of a player’s game that might not translate to the higher level and work on those endlessly until they’re completely eradicated from their game. Clearly coaches want to always add to the toolbox, but in some cases, players need to take certain elements out of their game to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. Case in point, why are coaches repeatedly working on individual skill development with pucks when the main issue with let’s say a towering defenceman is their lateral mobility, foot work and agility in small areas?  

Don’t get me wrong you could work on all of those skills collectively if coaches design player specific drills to build capacity for everyone within the team framework and systems.

The biggest disservice a coach could ever make is not providing feedback or corrections, or I hate to say it “not coach” highly touted prospects and address the deficiencies in their game that could hold them back at the next level.

Now everyone is out there thinking I’m full of shit for saying that, and that it doesn’t happen, but there were tons of times over the years especially at the U18 AAA level that I have observed a “high-profile” player that was given a “free pass” just because of who they were or what they may have meant to getting the almighty “W.”

You see those tendencies became glaring holes in a player’s overall style of play which in turn starts to hold them back or is the root cause of their struggles or lack of success at the next level. At that point everyone starts asking questions about the player and questioning their skill or their deficiencies rather than discussing their strengths or what they are capable of bringing to the table. That’s where things get lost in translation.

There’s a massive disconnect during a players climb in minor hockey; everyone gets fixated on just how “good” the kid is and how many points they amass rather than looking at the aspects of their game that might not translate.

As I’ve written countless times, “gone are the days where the player will figure it out on their own when they get there.”  If that’s the case those players are already behind their counterparts and let’s be brutally honest playing catch up nowadays just doesn’t float.

What’s the main goal of any coach? Win championships/banners or prepare players for the next level? Last week I was able to catch a period and half of a U15 AAA game. Obviously, everyone can spot the up and comers or the top performers at that level, unfortunately most of those “top players” had some gaping holes and some glaring tendencies especially away from the puck that were ever present. Now I realize they’re young and that’s the reality of the age group, but if those tendencies don’t get addressed or discussed or even worse ignored how the hell is the player going to survive when they make the jump?

At every rung of the ladder there should be continual and impactful development and growth occur. There’s always going to be an adjustment period at a higher level and of course that period varies from player to player, but that shouldn’t be dependent on unpreparedness or elements that were never built in, reinforced or taught during the player’s developmental path.