Reviewing The 2019 Hockey Coaches Conference

It’s been a full week since the 2019 TeamSnap Hockey Coaches Conference wrapped up in our home city of Toronto. After an exciting few days filled with insights, innovation, and great conversations, I’ve had time to reflect—and now, I’m ready to share the CoachThem team’s experience at our favorite event of the year!
 

 

Over the past two years, we’ve seen amazing speakers discussing topics like, how you teach the power play, teaching hockey sense through small area games and technology in youth sports! From presentations on relating to the players of today, to revisiting Game 7 - San Jose VS Las Vegas in Pete DeBoer's words… we’re learning about events and concepts from an angle that we would have never been exposed to. Hearing from some of the top minds of the game has truly opened up our eyes to player and coach development and has allowed us to identify innovation in the game, at a completely different level.

 

 

 

 

While tending our table inhibited us from capturing many of the presentations, we still learned a ton from our time at the conference. These are our three main takeaways:

 

1. Technology is here to stay but what is too much? 

 

The tech world was extremely well represented by the vendors who sponsored the conference. Nearly every company was showcasing their new website or application (us included), and during the panel on Technology in Hockey, one topic was brought up numerous times - How much is too much? 

 

Currently, I coach a 2007 AA team, 11 and 12 year old boys. My main focus is looking at what data and tools can I add to my arsenal, to help my players develop into great hockey players, and even better people. With the age and skill of my players, I want to integrate tools that will help tell the full story of their development, both the headline stats (ie. shots, goals, assists) and intangibles (ie. work ethic, teamwork and attitude). I don’t need every stat in the book to tell me how each player is performing, but I do want to use specific data to tell the story on how my team is developing throughout the year. On top of that, I want to add tools to help me be a better coach. Using a tool like CoachThem has been amazing for me and my staff because it allows us to be prepped for practice and spend more time developing our players.

 

If you give data a chance, it can verify strengths and point out weaknesses in your group. Data is data, but it’s how you apply it, is the real secret. Addressing this data with the athlete is your next step. Knowing how that player takes positive and negative feedback will change how they are approached. Always use data in a positive way when explaining to your players.

 

2. The Game is Changing

 

In 2017, I attended the State of Hockey High-Performance Coaching Summit and it blew me away LINK. Seeing how advanced Minnesota Hockey was using what they called "ADM" or American Development Model, was remarkable. This framework takes a different spin development, where they've integrated cross-ice practices and small area games throughout every agegroup, at different capacities. They've been using this model since 2010, so this isn’t new news, but it was new to me - and it makes total sense… 

 

Based on stats for 8 and under (8U) using a cross-ice practice set-up:

• Puck Touches: 2x More
• Pass Attempts: 2x More
• Shot Attempts: 6x More
• Passes Received: 5x More
• Puck Battles: 2x More
• Changes of Direction: 2x More
• Goalie Shots/Minute: 4x More

 

The State of Hockey Coaching Summit opened my eyes to the benefits of cross-ice practices and small-area games, but this past weekend’s event gave me a second major coaching insight—thanks to NCAA Analyst and USA Hockey ADM expert, Dave Starman. While coaches have embraced the cross-ice mindset, it’s now time for parents to adjust. Many grew up practicing on full ice or see NHL teams doing so, making them skeptical of smaller-space training. But the data doesn’t lie—small-area games and cross-ice practices are here to stay. Stick to the process, trust your Association’s development model, and prioritize player growth over outdated habits.

Another exciting shift in coaching is the increase in knowledge-sharing. More than ever, coaches are collaborating, exchanging resources, and helping each other improve. A great example was our CoachThem drill-sharing project at the conference, where coaches submitted nearly 60 drills to be shared worldwide—for free. This is a huge step forward from the old-school mindset of keeping playbooks private. The more we share, learn, and evolve, the better we can develop the game and push ourselves as coaches.

 

3. How many coaches are still stuck in yesteryear!

We had a great spot set up at the conference that welcomed many new faces, and some familiar too - but when we asked these forward-thinking coaches how they drew their practice plans, most said pencil and paper. How can that be? An overwhelming majority of coaches at every level,  who are open and want to evolve their game, are still using a medium where you have to draw the same thing over and over! With technology comes efficiency, and that’s what we’re all about. We asked the question, how much is your time worth? The time spent drawing up the same old practice plan, week after week can be better spent learning new aspects of the game, new ways to coach and new ways to improve the sport. It’s time to break the habit of putting a pencil to paper, organize your playbook using technology and improving how the game is taught!

 

 

The Teamsnap Hockey Coaches Conference is getting bigger and better every year. Being in the same room with amazing coaches at the top of their game feels like I’m back in my playing days. The connection with your peers that stems from working together towards the common goal of developing our youth is pretty special. We are coaches, we teach our youth to be amazing people both on and off the ice.

 

 

 

Written by Mike Weaver and the CoachThem Team

 

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