Thanks for the memories

As the regular season comes to an end I go back over my notes and gauge how much the team has progressed. I start off each season looking to see where each player stands as far as skill, and how the team plays together. I always have standards that I use as reference depending on each players experience playing the game. USA Hockey has a very good guide for each level that I still use each year to develop practice plans that will move each player and the team towards developing the highest level of skill and game knowledge possible for the team. I usually have a good idea what will get accomplished, but often I am pleasantly impressed by how the players surpass some goals. You won’t know how much you can accomplish unless you continue to raise the bar and challenge your players. When we started this season I did not know most of the players, and they had no idea who I was. My style of coaching may have seemed very strange to some players who had come from different teams and coaches that have their own way of doing things. You start asking players to basically start from the beginning of skill work that are really more interested in just playing games and you never know how well it will go over. This year the team was very open to developing their basic skills. That set the tone for the season and we accomplished a lot. Some teams stay together for more than one season and the results can be seen in how well they play together. We saw that this weekend in Buffalo from a very skilled team that has been together for a few years. Our team has only been together for one season, and we also play very well. There is a great benefit to keeping a team together over more than one season. I believe that as these players continue to work together they will become even stronger and display a style of play that will continue to raise the standards for their skill. The reality is that because of age differences it happens that some players move up, while some younger players stay at the same level. That brings me back to using standards to teach the game from level to level. I know that the players moving up will be prepared for the next level, by working on basics that are required for their current level of play. I also hope that players moving up from the younger levels will be well prepared by having the skills required of their last level. Hockey camps, clinics, and other team sports help make the transition from season to season much easier. Playing in the spring and summer leagues and clinics allow players to get a taste of the next level when they join teams that allow them to play with future teammates and coaches. Although the end of the season is sometimes a little bit sad for some, I also know that those that are moving up will be in good hands with their new coaches. I’ve gotten to know their new coaches, and seen how well they work with their players, so I am confident that not only am I sending up some pretty good players, I know they will have a very positive year ahead of them. The players that are staying back for another season will become the next line of veterans. I know that they will form a very solid foundation for the next season. Spring hockey and other spring sports move into the main view and a great hockey season comes to a close. I have had a blast, and will never forget the season of 2006-07. I salute the players, parents, opposing teams, our assistant coach, manager, refs, junior coaches, rink guys, and the makers of Orange soda everywhere.