Ask an Odd Question
“Hey Drew, I took the initiative to draw a heat map of where you stand and coach from during practice, would you like to see it?” My theoretical assistant coach asked.
Before reading The Coaches Guide to Teaching by Doug Lemov, if one of my assistants did that…
I would have thought, “seems like an odd thing to do.”
But then I thought, wait a minute…
That judgment is the problem in coaching…
Okay, it’s ONE of the problems.
The odd questions are where the magic exists. Most people won’t ask so there is an edge to being someone who will.
Question everything about everything.
My Heat Map is Missing Something
Let’s talk about what my heat map looks like and how that compares to Chris.
For a full ice drill, this is where I was the first two years as a head coach. I drew the benches in so you can see that I loved being on the bench side. Maybe because sometimes players used the benches when not in the drill.
Depending on the drill, maybe I stood in the middle circle, but it was less common for me to be there.
However, I was a ghost on the far side of the ice.
Here’s why it matters…
Proximity Matters
Chris shares this seemingly harmless nugget. It made me close the book immediately and start thinking about the players that missed out on my coaching.
You’re going to coach the players that are in close proximity to you.
For example, let’s say it was a 5v5 controlled scrimmage. I was focusing on the light-colored jersey team. If I was on the bench side like this diagram, I would probably only be coaching the right-winger, right defenseman, and maybe the center. The closest players to me.
Do that every day for a 7 month season… It compounds and creates massive asymmetry in who is being coached.
If you’re never close to the left-winger, chances are, you’ll never coach the left-winger.
To coach your entire team, you’ll have to get close to all of them…
Not just in your relationships but your proximity to them on the ice at practice.
Application
What does your heat map look like?
What players are you coaching most often?
How can I get closer to “coaching everyone in this next drill?”
Can you ask an “odd question” today that might unlock new potential in your coaching?