Coach Chris McSorley Builds Winners

Coach Chris McSorley builds winners
By Janet Del Tufo
Oct 30, 2001, 07:03

(Photo courtesy Anaheim Bullfrogs.)

Coaching a team to a championship is an adventure that most men who stand behind the bench will only dream about. It’s a dream highlighted with handshakes and pats on the back, and dazzling photogenic smiles next to a prized piece of hardware called the trophy. Some may catch a glimpse of this dream by way of coaching a son’s or daughter’s team, or through neighborhood youth centers and public schools. They will celebrate their winnings with hot dogs and root beer, and for a fleeting moment perhaps understand what an individual who coaches for a living might one day experience.

But few professionals realize the championship dream. They rarely hold the hardware and taste the champagne. But from the shadows of minor league hockey, comes a man—an intense man with an intense presence—who, over a two-year period, has seen, felt and lived the dream not once, but four times. Four times. His name is Chris McSorley, and he has impressed the hockey world with his ability to win championships.

At 33 years old, McSorley has surprised people with his coaching abilities, especially those who remember him from his short-lived professional playing career. A gritty and tough player—reminiscent of his younger brother, Marty, of the Los Angeles Kings—the older McSorley has no regrets about his career as a player, years spent traveling the American and International hockey leagues. At age 22, then a steel company employee, McSorley had a pro tryout, and has been thankful to have stayed around as long as he did.

“To have played five years of professional hockey, to me, I’ve considered myself the luckiest man alive. And to be able to move on and contribute in a non-playing capacity is truly the greatest privilege that anyone in sports can ever ask for,” McSorley says. “(Going from) not contributing as a player to contributing as a non-player is truly the greatest movement any athlete can make.”

His transition from player to coach was not planned, yet it has been an outstanding move for the sport of hockey. After upsetting various neighborhoods throughout the hard-fought “lunch box” leagues, his presence was beginning to tire the rank and file. McSorley then secured a position as coach with Winston-Salem (NC) of the East Coast Hockey League.

“The real story is that, Rick Dudley—whom I had the opportunity to play for in Flint, Michigan—was coaching New Haven, which we were going to see 14 or 15 times over the course of the season. Rick didn’t want me to be playing anymore against his teams, so what he did was to get me an opportunity to coach at a lower level. His motivations were purely—well, maybe a little selfish—but at the same time they were truly beneficial for me,” McSorley says. “So, it was Rick that obtained the opportunity for me to coach at Winston-Salem in 88/89.”

Those who can’t do…

Still, his success continued to puzzle some, as he was not a skilled player and did not appear to possess the makings of a coach—let alone a championship coach.

“They say sometimes that the worst players make the best coaches, which means that I should be one hell of a coach some day,” laughs the light-hearted McSorley.

Throughout his transition, he has crossed paths with individuals whom he once played against. Some were on opposing teams, others he has coached directly. He recruits players based on merit and personal nature, and has never let past playing experiences get in the way of assembling the most competitive individuals he can find to get the job done.

Terror was often be the main ingredient in McSorley’s on-ice responsibilities, and he has found a way to maintain that aspect of his style in the coaching ranks. But his self-confident and in-control aura has enabled him to develop players he once squared off with at center ice.

“As a coach, not many people have really taken an attitude with me. Fear is still a great motivator to keeping people silent, and it’s worked well within my career.”

After his stay in Winston-Salem, coach McSorley moved on to Richmond, VA, and then to Toledo, OH, where in 1993 he and the Storm took the ECAC’s championship title. While all this was happening, an observant Ralph Backstrom—who himself has more than 50 years of hockey experience under his belt, along with six Stanley Cup Rings—was waiting in the wings.

He and Dennis Murphy, founder of the old World Hockey Association, were on the lookout for talent to supply a new professional sports league called Roller Hockey International. RHI sought to develop the sport of hockey in a whole new way, and needed individuals with the ability to develop talent. Enter Chris McSorley, who was brought on board to spice things up and be part of something new.

“I was approached by commissioner Ralph Backstrom, and Ralph recommended me to Maury Silver of Anaheim,” McSorley says of his introduction to roller hockey. “Anaheim, being a flagship franchise for Roller Hockey International, Ralph felt that Maury might need someone of some experience with him. I had just won my first title when I took the opportunity with Maury. Coming off a championship, I took quite a gamble by taking on 16 individuals who had never participated in inline hockey before.”

Backstrom could see the things in McSorley that had been hidden deep in the South-Easterly corners of the US—a far cry’s from the hockey Mecca Ontario, Canada, where you will find McSorley’s roots. And if Backstrom’s hockey smarts weren’t demonstrated well enough from having taken home the sport’s biggest and grandest prize—the Stanley Cup—then they are now, for having recruited one of the most productive individuals the sport of roller hockey has known.

He didn’t disappoint

“I felt that Chris was the type of coach that we would like to attract to our league—guys that had good foresight, that could see the potential of the sport,” Backstrom says of his early observations of McSorley. “Chris is very knowledgeable of the sport of hockey and I felt that his qualities as a roller hockey coach would be just as good, and Chris did not disappoint us. He is certainly one of the most outstanding coaches in our (league’s) short, short career.”

McSorley won the first ever RHI championship while coaching the Anaheim Bullfrogs, and then scurried back off to Toledo so that he could resume his coaching duties with the ECHL Storm. After another winning season, McSorley once again tasted champagne. After a back-to-back championship efforts (and a combined third in a row), people started thinking and wondering just where Chris McSorley had come from.

“When I think of Chris McSorley,” Backstrom says, “I think of an outstanding coach, both in ice hockey and in roller hockey. He’s an inundator; a very aggressive type of coach, one who truly has done an outstanding job in both sports.”

As soon as the champagne in Toledo dried from his lips, McSorley said yes to an offer in Buffalo, NY, where he would start from scratch—with an entirely new lineup—and guide the Stampede to RHI’s second championship. McSorley proved that a winner can win, wherever he or she may go, and the uninterrupted string of four championship celebrations left everybody in the hockey world wondering about the secret of McSorley’s success.

His greatest gift is his ability to assemble teams. To start with, he recruits his own players, and his last two summers began in both Anaheim and Buffalo with 16 individuals per team who had never inline skated before. Who makes the grade? Well, certain criteria must be met before one can gain membership on one of McSorley’s clubs.

“I look for individuals who are, number one, hugely competitive; skill level—average to about above average; and committed to physical play—100%,” McSorley says. He compares the roller game to that of a driving experience. “Roller hockey,” he says, “is a game that puts players on wheels with no brakes—on a collision course—and it’s the biggest vehicle that is going to win the collision. That’s been my formula to success for roller hockey.”

A secret formula?

After winning back-to-back RHI titles, with different players, it would appear that McSorley has a great playbook, or a gift for complex strategy. But that’s not the case. The strategy has been a simple one.

“I say: drop the puck and let’s play some hockey. Because until each hockey player is comfortable on his inline skates, which takes about a month, (set) plays are non-beneficial,” McSorley says of the training camp period. “Once they obtain a comfort level on their wheels, strong man-on-man coverage and passing skills take precedence.”

If a player wants to join one of McSorley’s championship teams, he better have something significant in his background that will attract the attention of a man with strong coaching instincts.

“I don’t take players on tryouts. I research my players thoroughly enough that I bring in my team; I don’t bring in camps,” McSorley says of his recruiting techniques. “It’s unfortunate for individuals hoping to have the chance to play for my roller hockey team, but I only bring in 16 individuals who are going to stay. The conversion period is about a month from ice skates to inline skates, and training camp is not a fair assessment of individuals attempting to tryout.”

It has been asked what happens to ice hockey players after they have spent the summer months on wheels. Ice skates and inline skates resemble each other in appearance and style, but the new “boys of summer” are often shocked to find their skating legs in far different condition after a season on Sportcourt, than before it.

“The first week back on the ice, the players wonder if they have ever skated before and amazingly, it’s very tough for them to re-convert back,” McSorley says, having watched players re-enter the winter work force. “They act as though they have never before skated on the ice; it’s that crazy.”

Obviously the coaching transition is a little easier, at least for McSorley. After winning his fourth championship, McSorley is getting the type of attention and respect that goes with being a proven winner.

“Respect is given to individuals as players, or individuals as coaches, if they compliment your position, and if you’re consistent with your authority,” McSorley says. “I mean, there is no such thing as two roosters in a hen house, and the boss is always boss. If there is a problem, you kill the rooster and get new hens.”

Spoken like a man who spent his childhood tending farm animals, and his adult life making players do it his way.

While McSorley’s career forges ever present, so should the championships. He is continuing his hectic pace, and when be concludes his current duties in Las Vegas, where he is associate coach of the IHL’s Thunder, he will be back to work with the Bullfrogs—this time as Head of Player Personnel.

The new position represents a much-needed rest for McSorley, who will watch from the sidelines while Grant Sonier—a coach that McSorley describes as “excellent”—runs the Bullfrogs stage show. His desire to remain part of the growing sensation of roller hockey is evident in the fact that it was he who approached the Anaheim group with the idea for his new position.

With McSorley as part of the organization, the Bullfrogs should have a leap-frogs chance of reaching the championship plateau once again. He brings with him a winning attitude and a burning desire to taste champagne.

“My greatest memory in regards to roller hockey was my first championship in Anaheim, with Maury Silver and Grant Sonier,” McSorley says, his voice peaceful and calm. “We had great ownership, a good staff and a close knit team.”

It’s the thoughts of Anaheim that bring a smile to Chris McSorley’s face—the people, the place, and that prized piece of hardware called the trophy.

Janet Del Tufo is a freelance writer based in Southern California.

This first appeared in the 07/1995 issue of Hockey Player Magazine®
© Copyright 1991-2001 Hockey Player® and Hockey Player Magazine®

Motivation toolbox

By Julia Negro
Oct 23, 2001, 18:19

Julia Negro

George Gwozdecky, a NCAA Division I Coach of the Year, believes motivation is the key component for a successful season. And motivation and leadership starts with the coach. Try these tips that Gwozdecky, now in his first year with the University of Denver Pioneers, used to lead his Miami (Ohio) team to the CCHA regular season championship in 1993.

Good coaching habits

Gwozdecky feels that the coach’s practice habits add to the motivation and consistency of a team. A coach has to be confident and consistent in team preparation. Go into the season with a general philosophy about how to play. Don’t change your game plan every weekend just because you are facing a new opponent. Make players realize that each game is equally important, no matter who you are playing.

There are days when your team won’t be perfect, and you can’t blow up and send them off the ice. Expect your team to have some bad days. Gwozdecky believes the best thing to do is talk to your players individually. He tries to talk to each player at least once a week, whether it is for 30 seconds or 30 minutes.

As a coach, if you feel your team is taking the opponent too lightly in practice, do something to make them realize that you aren’t happy with their behavior. You can stop practice and skate them, or just pull them off the ice for the rest of practice. The team should quickly realize that their level of practice intensity has to improve.

Accountable players

You also have to hold players accountable for their actions. Gwozdecky finds that one of the quickest ways to motivate players is by using the superstar to set an example. He tells of one of Miami’s star players who didn’t follow the team rules. For a week he made that player change at home or in another part of the ice arena.

The team got a great laugh out of it, but at the same time they knew they were going to be held accountable for certain things. As long as players are held accountable for their actions, they will respect you and understand that you have their best interest in mind.

A time to talk

Another tip is to motivate through timely communication. Gwozdecky recalls a particular game where he feels motivation was a key factor in winning. Miami’s first league series in 1992-93 was at Michigan State. Miami had never won in East Lansing before, and it was one of those rinks where the players are in awe and feel afraid or intimidated. Miami was down 3-1 to MSU after the second period. The players came into the locker room and they weren’t happy.

“Before the players entered the locker room after the period, I wrote ‘You Are Intimidated’ on the blackboard,” Gwozdecky said. I don’t know if you could do that to every team, but I knew this team and the older players, and how they would react to that. I came back into the locker room about five minutes after they had a chance to read the blackboard.”

Gwozdecky told them their focus was on the bright lights and MSU rather than on working hard and playing their game. The coach spewed a few other motivating words and the team went out and rallied for a 4-3 win.

They charged into the locker room after the final buzzer and couldn’t wait to erase the blackboard.

“The team expected to be praised, and at that point I was upset with them. We just made a great comeback in a rink that we had never won in and against a team that had a great winning tradition. I talked with the team and told them we wouldn’t have won if it wasn’t for our goaltender. I told the guys that I wouldn’t expect anything less than what they were capable of.

“We played much better (the next) night and consequently won that game also. This was a situation where communication was timely and probably helped us.”

Motivate with competition

Try to formulate games within drills, one-on-one competitions, and situations that force the players to work hard but have fun at the same time. Gwozdecky comments: “We’ll give an apple, an orange, or a can of fruit juice to the winning player or group. The guys love to compete even for the silliest things. This really helps with morale on the ice because it’s a competition, not just another drill.”

Reinforcement…either way

If positive reinforcement doesn’t work, try negative reinforcement. An example of this would be a player continually making the same mistakes at practice. Gwozdecky says that “every situation is different, so I would approach the problem one step at a time. I would first speak to the captain and let him know that he should inform the player that he needs to pick up his performance in practice. If that doesn’t help, I will speak to the player myself.”

Gwozdecky might say to the player, “You are doing this well, but we need you to start working harder and let’s see you do it. You are capable of this and we expect you to achieve this level of play. If that kind of motivation doesn’t work, then there is nothing wrong with negative reinforcement. For example, I will stop practice and skate the group for 45 seconds. It’s not a long skate but enough for them to get the point.

“Believe me, peer pressure from your teammates is a great motivational tool in itself. I haven’t had to raise my voice at all, but (meanwhile) this player has four of his teammates on his back for the rest of practice. So he works hard.”

Rate the troops

Gwozdecky advocates using a rating system on players in practice. If you have the time and resources, a rating players from one to five can possibly point out the team members who may need some extra motivation. At Miami, this was done on a daily basis by the hockey support staff. If you don’t have the staff, (a youth coach) could take notes after practice. Then after three or four practices you may want to review your evaluations. Look for players who are having problems, or lagging, in practice and may need some extra motivation or a talk from their coach.

George Gwozdecky turned around the Miami program in his five years behind the bench. Hopefully some of these tips can help your program become a winner, too.

Julia Negro is a conditioning instructor at Michigan State University and an Administrator for Huron Hockey School in Traverse City, MI.

This first appeared in the 04/1995 issue of Hockey Player Magazine®
© Copyright 1991-2011 Hockey Player® and Hockey Player Magazine®

Larry Robinson: The joy of teaching

By Stan Fischler

©BBS

Ranked among the greatest NHL defenseman of all time, Larry Robinson is now attempting to duplicate that achievement in the coaching realm. During the 1993/94 season, Robinson was an effective assistant to New Jersey Devils coach Jacques Lemaire. When the lockout forced suspension of NHL play this fall, Larry moved up to Albany where he has worked with young Devils prospects on their AHL River Rats farm team. And his tenure there has been an unqualified success.

“He teaches me the little things about the game,” says young defenseman Chris McAlpine, “they’re actually big things, but they’re little things. Everything that my game is right now is attributable to him.”

Why do the future Devils respect Robbie? There are many reasons, not the least of which is his championship pedigree.

Robinson was an integral part of the Canadiens glorious run of four consecutive Stanley Cups (1976-79), and, despite his advanced age, he also played a major role in Montreal’s surprise Cup win in 1986. “That last one,” Robinson recalls, “was the most satisfying to me, and the most fun simply because we weren’t supposed to win.

“Having played on six Stanley Cup-winning teams, starting way back in 1973 and coming all the way up to 1986—that’s a span of 13 years—is not bad. I’m proud of that, and of my longevity. The fact that I outlasted almost all the draft picks higher than myself—with the exception of Marcel Dionne—is, in my mind, a great accomplishment.”

Though not the prolific scorer that some of his contemporaries were, Robinson established his ability as a strong, rushing puck carrier. And his ability to lug the rubber and engineer the offense in clutch situations made his offensive contributions most timely. “He took quite a few games and broke them open with an end-to-end rush,” said ex-Bruins defenseman Mike Milbury. In time, Robinson reached NHL maturity and ranked with Denis Potvin, Kevin Lowe, and Rod Langway as one of his decade’s best defenseman.

“Skating always was my most valuable asset,” Robinson explains. “The fact that I’ve been able to combine my size with my skating has made a difference, particularly when you consider that there have been a lot of guys in the NHL who were big but didn’t have the quickness or anticipation that I had. To be over six feet and more than 200 pounds and still be a mobile defenseman are qualities that helped me stay around for a long time.”

In the following interview at Albany’s Knickerbocker Arena, home of the River Rats, Robinson expounded on his new role.

Tell us about some of the Devils prospects at Albany. Start with Brad Bombardir.

Bombardir is right out of college, an excellent skater. They said he had great potential. He’s probably been the most consistent and the best defenseman on this club so far.

What have you tried to do to make him better?

Learning his position. College players have a tendency to clutch and grab a lot. They play a lot of man-to-man. In the game today there’s so many guys picking, there’s so much more movement in the game than there is in college, so you can’t get tied up as a defenseman. You can make contact, but you’ve got to make contact and release, so you can react to different situations.

What about Cale Hulse?

Cale has im-proved a lot over the last year. He is a big strong kid and like most youngsters he has got to learn when to pinch, when to stand up, when to back off, (and) his reactions around the net. Right now the difference between him being here and being in the NHL is foot speed and his reactions around the net.

How do you make him better with foot speed?

You do little drills. We’re trying to get him to work on his foot drills. Hand speed, too; doing things with the puck, without the puck. He has all the tools. It’s just to get him working on them away from the game, so that in the game he doesn’t have to think about it.

What about Chris McAlpine?

Chris is going to be good, too. He’s another throwback from college. Right now he’s pinching when he shouldn’t and hanging on to the puck instead of moving it up quickly. He’s a big, strong kid and he can work on his foot speed as well. A lot of these things that I’m talking about are things that come with experience as well.

Who is your pet project?

I don’t really have a pet project. I try to give everybody equal time. Some need a little more work than others. I’d like to see Cale Hulse and Bombardir get up there. They both deserve it. If half the guys on the club had the heart and determination of Geordie Kinnear they’d be even better hockey players. His problem is he’s not overly big and sometimes he’s over-aggressive. He wants to do such a good job out there sometimes he’s over-aggressive and takes some foolish penalties. He can move the puck well; he’s a good skater.

Why did you want to be here working in the American League?

I thought it was a good opportunity. We weren’t doing anything at home. The easiest thing would’ve been to say to Lou Lamoriello, ‘Hey listen, we’ll go home and call us when the [lockout] is over.’ My first thought when I was coming down here was that we’d come down for two or three weeks, see how it went, see what went on with the [lockout]. But as it carried on, I got along so well with (Albany head coach) Robbie Ftorek and he welcomed us with open arms. Basically, I’m doing the same things down here that I was doing in New Jersey. I want to learn and the only way I’m going to learn is to participate and to be active doing the things I was doing up there. I’ve learned a lot.

What have you learned in Albany?

I’ve run a few practices. I’m finding out what that is like. I’m giving a few talks to the boys, when Robbie is involved in his meetings. In New Jersey, when Jacques Lemaire calls a meeting he does his thing and all of our input as coaches is prior to that. In Albany, I’ve been involved more in talking to the guys, just learning to communicate.

What would you tell the guys on the River Rats?

Different things, it depends on what we’re talking about. Certain guys it’s about positioning or for defense, making sure not to get caught. Little things to do, what to watch for on the ice. I’ll bring those points up. Maybe some of things that we’re doing on the power play that I think we could improve on. Things like that.

Do you expect guys to play as well as you did?

I don’t expect anyone to play like I did. I have a style, same as Cale Hulse has a style and Brad Bombardir, but I don’t expect Brad to go out there and play like Cale, same as I don’t expect Cale Hulse to play like Bobby Orr and so on. At first, and at times I still do, get frustrated inside because I see things happening out there that, deep inside, I just want to go out and show them exactly how I’d like it done. But you have to channel those thoughts of what you’d do it and try to get it across to the kids. That’s where the challenge comes of being a coach. You try to get your point across in such a manner that they’ll understand what you want them to do. Then when they do it, you feel just great. That’s the joy of teaching.

What did you learn from Jacques Le-maire?

I’m always learning from Jacques, the way he handles different situations. He’ll give me little tidbits; what I should say in certain situations and what not to say—how to think. He involves me in a lot of his decisions. I feel very fortunate to work with him. He is one of the great hockey minds in the game today.

What is your target date for becoming an NHL head coach?

I don’t know. I haven’t really set a target. When I feel that I am ready and that I could do a good job. A lot of it is going to have to do with the right situation, as well. I don’t want to step into a can of worms and really put myself into a hole. I don’t want to throw everything I’ve worked for over the years out the window just because I got into a bad situation. It’s not something I’m going to just jump into. I want to think about it and talk to the right people before I make that decision. Most of all, I have to feel comfortable with what I’m stepping into.

How much did your former coach Scotty Bowman communicate?

Scotty was different. Scotty always kept you off balance. He was prepared really well. He had us prepared at the top (of our game) all the time. He knew what buttons to push at the right times. He was a tremendous motivator for that time. A lot of things that he did in that era I don’t think you could do with hockey players today. You can ask a player to do something, but you can’t threaten them like in the old days. (Back then) you would say to the guy ‘you are either playing here or you are going to the minors.’

Was Scotty the best coach you ever played for?

One of the best. Jacques Lemaire was a hell of a coach, although he only coached me for one year. He has a great mind. I also got along really well with Pat Burns. He was a great motivator. He did a lot while I was in Montreal.

What is the difference between coaching these kids in Albany and when you were a player in Montreal?

I find these kids in Albany are just terrific. They all want to work hard. They are all great listeners. If you ask these kids to stay out late or come in early, they are there. I couldn’t ask anything more of the kids. There isn’t too much of a difference when I first started and I was happy to make thousands of dollars, let alone millions. The salaries have gotten a little out of whack. Our sense of what is right and what is wrong, what is a good salary and what’s a bad salary has been blown out of proportion.

What is the difference between working with the Devils and with these kids in Albany?

Not much difference at all. A difference in talent. You have more work to do down here with the little things, and that is why the kids are here. So you work on those things here rather than on the big club. If you ask them to do something they are right there. The Devils organization can be proud of the people it’s got as far as drafting good character. They’ve got character kids in the organization.

This first appeared in the 03/1995 issue of Hockey Player Magazine®
© Copyright 1991-2011 Hockey Player® and Hockey Player Magazine®

Words to coach by

By Wayne Anderson

Fred Shero: hockey philosopher. ©BBS

Whether they play on wheels or on ice, even the best team will rarely succeed without a good coach. And while technical aspects are critical—especially in a new and quickly evolving sport like roller hockey—there are other, equally-critical elements to being a quality bench boss.

A good coach must be many things. He (or she) must be a leader, capable of commanding the loyalty and respect of his players through his understanding and interest in them as individuals. He must be a teacher, able to adapt fundamental progressions to the age level of the players. A good coach will be a student of the game, constantly seeking to increase their knowledge of its fundamentals, techniques and tactics. And a good coach must be an organizer, who plans and uses effective methods to communicate with his players.

But there’s more.

A good coach must be a philosopher who helps develop attitudes toward the game, as well as the society in which we live and play. Finally, a good coach must be a sportsman, attempting to instill a winning spirit but remembering the importance of being a gracious loser.

If you look for these qualities in a coach, or look to develop them as a coach, you will definitely be heading in the right direction.

Always evaluate

In order to ensure that a coach develops and betters himself each time he takes the ice, coaches should be regularly evaluated either by their peers or by a group such as a parents’ association. These evaluations should cover both practice and game situations, and should include some of the following topics.

In a practice environment, look for;

• Objectives—evidence of specific technical objectives.

• Organization—dressing room discussions, preparation of assistant coaches and equipment.

• Practice Outline—clear, organized diagrams (including warm-up and cool-down) related to stated objectives.

• Long-term Planning—a yearly or seasonal practice plan featuring objectives and drills related to games and practices.

In a game situation, note how a coach handles;

• Organization—the responsibilities of team personnel, lineups, punctuality and dressing room preparation.

• Behavior—attitude, verbal and body language, appearance (dress code), rapport with players and reaction to game situations.

• Bench Management—control of players, referee relations, length of shifts, specialty team usage, use of other coaches, communication with players, tactical preparation and execution.

• Post-game Analysis—locker room behavior, communication with players, team analysis, coaching staff analysis and self-analysis.

Words of wisdom

In striving to be a good coach, one can often find wisdom in the words of others. Here are some brief but powerful quotes that I think every coach should keep in mind.

“A man may make mistakes, but he isn’t a failure until he starts blaming someone else”—Anonymous.

“It’s the little things that win games, and you never know when one of them is coming up”—Anonymous.

“The less you say, the more people will listen to you”—Anonymous

“A leader is interested in finding the best way, not his own way”—W.A. Peterson.

“Rationalization after a loss is a sure route to failure”—Fred Shero.

“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts”—John Wooden.

Also from John Wooden: “It’s amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.”

If a coach can address his or her players, and the game, with these things in mind, his coaching career—at any level—should be a successful one. But the most important thing to remember is to always try and increase your knowledge of the game, and to strive to be the best coach you can be—just as you ask your players to be the best players they can be.

Wayne Anderson is Managing Director of Huron Hockey’s new roller hockey schools based in Matawan NJ.

This first appeared in the 01/1995 issue of Hockey Player Magazine®
© Copyright 1991-2011 Hockey Player® and Hockey Player Magazine®

How to Run Practice

Mike Milbury teaches his players NHL fundamentals. ©BBS

We’ve all heard the phrase “Practice Makes Perfect.” But when it comes to hockey that old adage can get you in hot water. And as we all know, hot water and ice hockey don’t mix. A more accurate phrase might be “Practice Makes Permanent.” With that in mind this article looks at how to structure practices and get the most out of them?

I spoke with Guy Gadowsky, assistant coach of the Fresno Falcons of the West Coast Hockey League, who ran most of the daily Falcon practices this past season. The Edmonton natives’ hockey experience includes college, European pro Leagues and the IHL. This summer he was the head coach of the Oklahoma City Coyotes of RHI. He mentioned that every coach has his own style, which may change as needed during the season depending on how the team is playing.

Gadowsky’s personal style is to get a little blood flow going even before stretching, then incorporate conditioning into every drill he runs, rather than trying to cram all the conditioning into the very last part of practice. The coach prefers to go into goalie warmup drills right after stretching, then move to the more “combative” drills, such as 1 on 1’s, and 2 on 2’s, saving “team system” drills for last. Yet he makes sure that each drill includes some element of conditioning.

A lot of sense

This makes a lot of sense when you consider that hockey isn’t a game that’s played in fits and spurts. You want to be able to give 100% effort from buzzer to buzzer. Players who become accustomed to saving their energy for the “end of practice conditioning” will probably have strong finishes, yet may well need them because of a lack of effort early on.

Adds “Gads” — as he is known to his team mates — “With ice time as valuable as it is, plus it’s boring to be on the ice standing around for three hours, I like to keep practices to an hour and a half at the start of the season, then later on no more than an hour and fifteen minutes, so that the guys are still awake and intense. You want to get your skating in every drill.”

He recalls practices in college when guys wouldn’t put out in every drill, knowing that if they did, they might not have enough left at the end, thereby looking bad in the coach’s eye during the tough conditioning drills. “You don’t want guys pacing themselves, and you want to change things frequently enough to keep their imagination; you don’t want to blow their mind, or their body.”

Continuing, Gadowsky points out, “You don’t want guys to be able to do the drills in their sleep; you want drills where players have to think.” No matter how many ice rinks are going up, there will never be enough ice to go around. “As a kid, when parents would say ‘O.K., you’ve got just one hour, so go get ‘em’, then to spend half an hour on one knee with the coach talking just infuriated me!”

One thing that my co-coaches and I experienced with our Mite team this year, was that if we ran drills with just two to four players skating at a time, those standing in line would end up goofing around, and invariably someone would get hurt (at least his feelings) and start crying. As mad as we got at the kids for this, we really just had ourselves to blame since we set up the drills. To avoid this, we learned to set up “stations”, where we were actually running three or four mini-drills at a time, leaving very little time for any player to stand around. It made practices flow much more smoothly and the time seemed to pass more quickly as well. Yet we accomplished much more by not having to discipline misbehavers, who actually had gotten bored. Planning — along with plenty of help from assistant coaches — is the key here.

Precise plan required

Any coach who shows up for practice without a precise plan of what he wants to cover, thinking instead that “I’ve got lots of experience, I can just wing it,” is doing his players a disservice. He might do just as well to stretch them out, then say, O.K., SCRIMMAGE!

Think of it this way. If you were lost in the woods, even if you had a map, it would be difficult to find your way out unless you could determine where you were located. The best way to determine what you need to cover in practice is to do an in depth analysis of each player to determine strengths and weaknesses.

As difficult as this might sound, when my assistants and I sat down with our team manager and took an hour to evaluate what were the most critical individual and team skills for a player, then graded each player on those skills, it was amazing how many of our players needed work on the same areas of the game. Once we knew what our key areas for improvement were, we could then incorporate those skills into as many drills as possible so we could work on them each night.

Another coaching technique, taught to me by long-time youth hockey coach Jack White, who has turned out many pro caliber players, was to take a skill, work on it, then build on it, with each subsequent drill that night having the original skill at its core. By the end of practice we may have completed 15 or 20 different variations of that same skill. This certainly got the players thinking while they worked, and gave practices a good flow.

Good practices seem to go quickly, while bad practices, like bad coaches, seem to go on forever. The coach who sticks with the same three or four drills for a whole practice, thinking this will force his players to “make it automatic,” is really more of a drill instructor than a coach. One needs to be a little more creative, if he is to avoid “blowing their mind, or their body,” as Gadowsky put it.

Since virtually all pro roller hockey players play pro ice hockey through the winter months, Gadowsky emphasizes practices at the start of the roller hockey season designed to get his players more comfortable on their wheels. “Eventually we might see a situation where we will see roller hockey players and ice hockey players, but now the best roller hockey players are professional ice hockey players. You don’t want to get into a lot of tough 1-on-1 battles when guys are still trying to get comfortable with their turns and stops. Initially there is a bit of a difference there, (from ice to sport court), where a lot more emphasis will be on just basic skating.”

Gadowsky also mentions how in ice hockey you can cover up your mistakes by stopping and going the other way, whereas in roller hockey you don’t have that luxury. “A lot of our drills are based in terms of proper angles, and reading the play as early as you can because once you commit yourself to an angle you can’t change it.”

Roller vs. ice

Those who play roller hockey regularly know that at the higher levels of roller you see more side to side movement as opposed to ice hockey which is more up and down your position. For those who can make this transition from the ice to roller, there are a lot of opportunities opening up which didn’t exist as recently as a couple of years ago.

Coaches who demand more from their players, may not be the most popular guys to play for. Players who get in the habit of doing enough to get by, will never be happy with a demanding coach, because what was your best yesterday, isn’t good enough today. “Business as usual” never enters the rink of the demanding coach. Players who seek out that level will never find it from a top coach, because it’s always changing. Players who have trouble accepting this will find it difficult to advance to the top ranks in hockey.

In discussing two brothers, life-long coach John Olver once told me, “This one brother, who appears more talented today, won’t ever make it. The other brother will, because he’s coachable.” You must be coachable, meaning willing to always learn more, if you are ever to make it to the top.

The bottom line for a coach is this: Your players don’t have to like you; they have to respect you. There is nothing that will earn their respect more than being able to get more out of them than they ever thought possible.

If that is what it takes to get the most out of them, coaches must be willing to sacrifice some friendship with their players, . Be it ice or roller hockey, remember, “you play the way you practice.” So get in the habit of pushing players past their level individual comfort levels. It’s only by stretching their boundaries that they can move on to the next level.

Coaching with Jim Roberts

Jim Roberts. ©BBS

On July 17, 1996, Jim Roberts took the position of assistant coach for the St. Louis Blues, joining Roger Neilson in helping head coach Mike Keenan. Roberts brought plenty of coaching experience with him. Starting his 14-year coaching career as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres (1979-84), he took over as the Sabres head coach for a period in 1981-82. He was an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins (1984-87) and then went to the American Hockey League as head coach of the Springfield Indians, where he took Springfield to the Calder Cup Championships two consecutive years (1988-89). Roberts returned to the NHL in 1991-92 as head coach of the Hartford Whalers. He spent 1993-1995 as the GM and head coach of the St. Louis Blues minor league affiliate, the Worcester Ice Cats. Now, he’s back in the NHL.

Perhaps it’s Robert’s history as a player that has helped him the most as a hockey coach. He played in the NHL from 1963-78, primarily with the Montreal Canadiens and the Blues, earning 320 points and five Stanley Cup Championship rings. Roberts claims these years gave him an understanding of how to deal with today’s players.

“Being a player myself, I respect the players and I hope they respect me.” Respect, Robert says, is vital when coaching any level of hockey: respect and honesty. Players look to their coaches for advice in all kinds of situations. Coaches need to level with their players.

“I show honesty to players,” Roberts continues. “There are some pretty important questions that players ask you that need some honest answers. Over the years, I’ve found that honesty is the way to get the respect of the players and not cause any problems down the road.”

Quickness key

Having coached in the minor league as well as the NHL, Roberts has had a chance to compare athletes at different levels of play. Roberts offered his estimation as to where many younger hockey players need a bit of improvement or focus.

“They need to adjust to the quickness of the game. They have to adjust to the speed at which things happen on the ice. Every level you move up, things happen a little quicker. As a fan sitting there watching it, you wouldn’t notice it much. However, there’s an elevation in the speed and intensity of the game.

“Coaches need to practice their team hard. Concentrate on speed,” Roberts advises. Just because an athlete skates quickly doesn’t mean he can play the game quickly. You still have to handle the puck, and the defense with the same speed.

When it comes to practice drills, Roberts likes to stick to the basics. “Practices and drills are similar to real games,” he says. “That way intensity carries over to the real games. Make the players practice with quicker players so they have to adjust. They will find the quickness in themselves to keep up with them.

“My theory is that I use the whole ice so that people who are playing a good offense can switch and try to play a good defense. Using the whole ice gets them to use their speed more effectively.

Coach Roberts considers his most important job to be that of motivation. “The big thing that I find missing is consistent intensity. It’s all mental. You have to learn how to handle the ups and downs. It’s about being able to use your God-given skills on the ice, but then carry your emotions off the ice.”

No master plan

Unfortunately, Roberts doesn’t have the master plan to bring players to the appropriate level. “Every player is different. You have to be honest with them about their strengths and weaknesses. You have to motivate each one differently. Knowing your players is important. Know what they can do. Know how to handle them. It’s a tough game. Players have to be at a mental peak. If they’re not, your team won’t be as good. If it’s happening, correct it any way you can. Some players you can sit down and read the riot act. Others you have to baby along. It can depend on how young the player is, of course.”

Roberts believes that motivation can also elevate players who are not as talented to get to another level. To help these players along Roberts suggests: “Simplify their game. If their capabilities don’t let them do certain things, concentrate on what they do better. If a guy is only going to get three or four goals a year, you don’t want him rushing the net. You might try to put him in a position where he can be a safety valve on the rush and check defensively. You have to know who your players are and where they contribute the most.” Roberts says these role-players can concentrate on the things they do well and work on weaknesses. Even if the other skills don’t come around, they can still do their jobs.

Coach Roberts summed things up by hitting on the importance of motivation again. “My general philosophy is you have to practice hard to play hard. You also have to stick to your team strategy. Other than that, you have to have your players ready to play. Getting the fever is a big deal for some players and not others. For those who have trouble, it’s my job to help them find it.”

— Mike Neuman

Secrets of Hockey Speed Volume 1

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From North America to Europe, Robby Glantz continues to be hockey’s most requested skating instructor. His innovative methods for teaching the foundations for speed are used by players at all levels — from youth hockey to the pros. Now these same techniques are available to you in his first instructional videotape; the first video to truly detail the step-by-step methods that will generate top speed. And with demonstrations from NHLers Tony Granato and Steve Dechesne, easy-to-grasp terminology, and creative camera angles, you are sure to learn what it takes to attain that extra step you have always been looking for. Available on DVD.

Vol. 1 Highlights Include:
• Breakdown of all stride techniques
• Backwards skating movement
• How to increase your stride
• Acceleration while turning
• Edgework and counterbalancing
• Explode in your starts
• Plus, much more!

About Robby Glantz Robby’s resume includes: Power Skating Coach for the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and Atlanta Thrashers. Robby has worked with players in the Chicago Blackhawks organization … and Swedish Champs Malmo, the German National Teams and numerous pro and youth hockey teams worldwide. He is the first power skating coach ever hired by the hockey associations of Germany, Norway and Switzerland, and is the power skating expert for Hockey Player Magazine. Robby specializes in teaching and motivating youth hockey players worldwide to skate quicker, faster and stronger.

Secrets of Hockey Speed Volume 2

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With the same techniques and innovative camera angles, Volume 2 picks up where Volume 1 left off, concentrating on speed with one and two hands on the stick, lateral mobility, pivot stops, quick feet, edge work and much more… And Vol. 2 will show you how to reach top speed with the puck on your stick: breakaway speed, change of direction, power moves, puck protection and stick handling.

Vol. 2 Highlights Include:
• Advanced techniques and drills
• 1 & 2 hands on the stick
• Backward skating techniques
• Forward and backward stops
• Gretzky-type tight turns
• Quick feet and edge drills
• Breakaway speed with the pucks
• Power moves
• Puck protection
• Stickhandling

About Robby Glantz Robby’s resume includes: Power Skating Coach for the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and Atlanta Thrashers. Robby has worked with players in the Chicago Blackhawks organization … and Swedish Champs Malmo, the German National Teams and numerous pro and youth hockey teams worldwide. He is the first power skating coach ever hired by the hockey associations of Germany, Norway and Switzerland, and is the power skating expert for Hockey Player Magazine. Robby specializes in teaching and motivating youth hockey players worldwide to skate quicker, faster and stronger.

Plays as it Practices

It is said that a team “plays as it practices,” and Shawn Walsh believes a coach must be thoroughly prepared for practice if he expects his players to be properly prepared for games.

“The key is to prepare when you’ve got quality time,” says the University of Maine coach, who recorded 200 NCAA Division 1 hockey victories faster than any bench boss in history. “I’ve found I can’t even prepare my practices in the office anymore because there are just too many distractions. Just to give you an idea, and we were only too glad to sign every one of them, our team (once) had 17 requests in one week alone from different charities in the area (asking) for autographed sticks. So I try to stay at home for at least a half hour—sometimes an hour—and just sit there and plan my practices.”
The inspiration for good practice ideas should come from your most recent game action.

Make notes, improve thinking

“The key to developing a good practice is to watch situations that are happening on the ice and, when you see them happen, make a mental note or physically write them down,” says Walsh. “Then, when it’s time to plan your next practice you know what you have to do to put your players in those same situation.”

It’s important to place young players, especially elite players, into thinking situations.

“I think we’re all doing a pretty good job in North America of trying to improve our physical skills,” Walsh notes. “There are plenty of handouts available on what drills can improve agility, what drills can improve shooting and what drills can improve stick-handling. But what drills are there to improve thinking?”

Can’t you tell he’s a college coach?

Walsh says coaches (and players) should look at NHL games and watch how an Yzerman, or a Lemieux, or a Gretzky thinks. Study the really intelligent players and try to glean something from them that will help your players think a little quicker, anticipate things a little faster and, in the big picture, understand the game better.

From a team perspective, practice must be as challenging for the best players on a team as it is for the least-skilled.

“Kids love competition,” says Walsh. “The only thing you’ve got to watch with competition is that it has to be structured so that the worst players aren’t always losing. You know who is constantly getting beaten on your team, who’s not scoring goals and who’s playing the third line. So set up a drill that almost guarantees that those kids are going to have success.”

For example, take your two best forwards and match them against the other seven. Let the bottom seven guys feel good about themselves.

Draft, play games

Walsh also likes to see situational zone play made into a “game within a game” at practice.

“Face off scrimmages are always fun,” says the coach who knows a strenuous workout has been successful when he sees smiles on his players’ faces when it’s over. “You take ten guys in an offensive zone face off and the squad that’s on defense gets one point for carrying the puck, not shooting the puck, out over the blue line. The offensive team gets two points if it gets a shot on net and five points for a goal. At the end of the drill, or end of practice, see how many points the groups have accumulated.

“Many youth hockey teams consist of three units of five players,” Walsh adds, “so maybe you could have a draft before practice. But set it up so that some of those lesser players will be rewarded, and watch how hard they will work when they have an incentive in mind.”

Walsh uses a similar system at Maine, and the incentive there is that the losing five some has to clean up the locker room after practice. Walsh adds his players love the challenge, and if he can get his Hobey Baker Award candidates picking up used tape and soda cans, youth hockey coaches should be able to get their star players doing it, too.

Walsh says he constantly has to remind himself that hockey is a game of mistakes—although there’s a consensus among opposition teams that Maine makes fewer than most. He’s been a head coach for 10 seasons, but is just beginning to learn about the ratio of positive-feedback-to-constructive-criticism when dealing with players.

“All of us that coach, whether you’re a volunteer or (someone) coaching an
NHL club, want to see your guys do well, and the natural tendency is to point out the things they don’t do well. We pat them on the back, but I wonder if we do it enough. We’ve got to make sure we try to improve that end of it by just staying positive. Don’t jump on your guys too much, and just let them play through it. It helps.”

Endless Ice 2009