2016 Coaches Conference puts the focus on player development

CALGARY – As the inaugural Hockey Alberta Coaches Conference wrapped up on Sunday in Calgary, coaches departed with one resonating theme: process over outcome.

More than 80 coaches of all levels from across the province took part in the two-day conference, hearing from 17 of the top minds in the game.

The weekend opened with a keynote address from Dr. Stephen Norris, who challenged coaches to take a hard look at what the future looks like, and to focus that future on the children. Norris also talked about the importance of giving the game back to the players, as it is their game.

Following Dr. Norris on Saturday was Corey McNabb, Director Hockey Development, Hockey Canada (linking practice to games); Jeff Truitt, Associate Coach, Red Deer Rebels (special teams); Dr. Matt Brown, Mental Training Consultant (mental preparation and awareness); Barry Medori, High Performance Coach Mentor, Hockey Alberta (creating a team culture); David Marcoux, Goaltending Coach. Carolina Hurricanes (goalie strategies and goal scoring); and Guy Gadowsky, Head Coach Men’s Hockey, Penn State University (teaching habits over systems).

Saturday’s program wrapped up with a hot stove panel, hosted by Sportsnet 960 The Fan’s Rob Kerr, featuring Hockey Alberta’s Senior Manager, Hockey Development Justin Fesyk, Finnish Ice Hockey Association Regional Coach Kalle Valiaho, NHL officiale Kyle Rehman, and former NHL player and two-time Stanley Cup champion Brad Lukowich.

On Sunday, Tyler Dellow, an Analytics Consultant with the Edmonton Oilers, opened with a presentation on analytics, breaking down what they really mean and how they can be employed by minor hockey coaches.

Sunday’s program also included Steve Hamilton, Head Coach, Edmonton Oil Kings (coaching the ‘right way’); Fran Gow, Provincial Coach Mentor, Hockey Alberta, and Vice President, Hockey Operations of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (game and bench management); Bert Gilling, Head Coach Men’s Hockey, Mount Royal University (the transition game), Shaun Clouston, Head Coach, Medicine Hat Tigers (creating a blueprint for success), and Mel Davidson, General Manager, Hockey Canada National Women’s Team Programs (preparing for short-term competition).

To close out the weekend, Valiaho spoke about international excellence, outlining the similarities and differences in the development of coaches and players in Finland, compared to the process in Alberta.

RED DEER – Members of Alberta’s hockey community were challenged to take a serious look at what the future looks like, and to remember that the future needs to focus on the children in their organization.

The challenge came from Dr. Stephen Norris, Consultant Performance and Development with Hockey Canada. He was the keynote speaker on Friday to kick off Hockey Alberta’s Hockey Conference and Annual General Meeting at the Sheraton Hotel in Red Deer.

Norris told the approximately 150 people in attendance that it is their job to step beyond the gossip that tends to dominate their time, and to overcome the existing practices and common ways of doing things to help ensure the future success and existence of the sport. He cited the statistic that hockey in Canada sees a 50 per cent drop in player numbers at each age level.

"We need to think even more creatively in how we are going to keep this sport alive in this province," said Norris. "If you add up all the years of experience in hockey in this room, we should be able to solve anything. But we don’t allow ourselves to."

Norris said that the focus must be on what is best for the players, the children who are interested in playing hockey.

"When kids start playing hockey in Initiation, we have no idea where they’re going in their lives," Norris said. "If we do our jobs well, when they graduate from minor hockey, if they say they learned a lot, and had a great time, you will have done your job. The most precious commodity we have in this commodity-rich province is our children."

The focus of the 2016 Hockey Conference is “Building Your Team”. The goal is help those in attendance develop techniques to:

• Influence people to embrace change and strive towards being an organization that provides positive experiences for all participants
• Educate on the reasons why change is beneficial by considering age/level appropriate programming
• Implement a structure that enables the organization to establish and operate successful programs.

"As you soon as you step up and say, ’I want to be involved,’ there is a responsibility," said Norris.

Following the keynote presentation, Norris was joined in a round-table panel discussion by Keith Hansen, retired volleyball coach at Red Deer College and member of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame; Lyn Radford, Board Chair, 2019 Canada Winter Games; and Rob Litwinski, Executive Director, Hockey Alberta.

During the round-table discussion, the panel talked about some of the key aspects that resonated for them from Norris’ comments in their respective areas of athletics.

Radford talked about the challenges that can exist in putting together a successful administrative team, and the importance of ensuring diversity and a variety of personalities, philosophies and opinions.

Hansen outlined some of the developments that occurred in the world of volleyball at younger age divisions to help overall skill development for all 12 players on a team. He suggested that to reduce the number of players leaving the sport hockey needed to take a new look at how training occurs for athletes at all ages.

And Litwinski reminded everyone that real change has to be inspired locally, it is not something that can be mandated by a provincial body.

Norris previously served as the Executive Vice-President and Chief Sport Officer at Winsport Canada. He played a key role as consultant to the ‘Own The Podium’ program high performance/technical group in the five years prior to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. And he was one of the five founding members and contributors to the ‘Canadian Sport For Life’ movement concerning athlete/participant development and the concept of ‘physical literacy’ within Canada.

The Hockey Conference runs through Saturday, with morning and afternoon sessions focused on guiding and assisting Hockey Operations and Hockey Development personnel to better provide positive services and experiences to the players, and other hockey stakeholders, in their associations.

Other events on Saturday include the annual Hockey Alberta Awards luncheon, and the Annual General Meeting.