“Alright, guys we’re going to move on to the next drill.”
Coach proceeds to explain the drill and right when he is about to send them to their starting positions, he says some version of:
“alright got it?”
“we good?”
“understood?”
“we’re clear on that?”
I was guilty of this for 2 years with my junior team and was so sick of hearing crickets chirping in the background. They had no questions, yet the drill would break down.
This is going to be the default if you ask questions like this. Most players don’t want to speak up and be the one guy that has a question.
My check for understanding was an afterthought instead of at the top of my mind.
I started being more intentional when I was coaching the high school fall team a few months ago. I started beta testing a new approach.
The New Approach
First, I was very transparent with the players. In the past they may have gotten laughed at by teammates or their coaches weren’t happy to answer the clarifying questions they had.
I told them this was a learning environment, everyone is trying to get better including me as the coach. If I explain something and it isn’t clear, it’s my fault as the coach. So please ask, it’s going to help both of us.
I can understand where I’m not being clear in the future and you can perform what I’m asking to the best of your ability without second-guessing.
I also noticed when I asked for questions or comments the old way, only one or two players would speak up. Everyone else could almost “check out” of what I was saying because they knew someone else would answer the question.
To prevent this from happening I started to “cold call” on players. I would explain the drill and then ask 2 or 3 questions about what was expected. Picking players at random to answer.
Doug Lemov talks about creating a “culture of attentiveness” where players are mentally on their toes during debriefs, meetings, etc.
For example, after explaining a drill I would say “alright let’s make sure we have this, Jake where would you go as the left-winger if the puck changes sides here?”
“Great and when that happens Chris what should you be thinking as the center?”
Over the course of 2 practices, you can ask each player on your team something, they now expect to be called on at any time and have to think about what you’re saying.
That environment just created more expectation and accountability.
If you want to start somewhere simpler than that, try this instead of your typical, “all good?” or “we clear on that?”
What questions do you have for me?
It might invite them in by signaling you weren’t 100% clear and there should certainly be at least one question.
You might even consider skipping a step in a drill when you decide to use that question for the first time. This way you know there is missing information that they need.
Try it out, let me know.