Do you know the one assistant on NHL benches is always talking into his suit sleeve like a secret agent…
The guy he’s talking to is sitting high in the arena, watching everything… He’s the “eye in the sky.”
He can watch from the best tactical seat in the house. He sees:
what’s working
what isn’t
how it can be tweaked to have more success or deny the other team’s success
However, this eye-in-the-sky experiment has nothing to do with tactics…
But everything has to do with making you a better coach.
I recently was at a youth hockey game over the holidays, just observing. I was less interested in the game and more interested in the parents. Here were some observations. If you haven’t read this, do so before continuing for context.
The Youth Coach “Eye in the Sky”
Every time I see a youth game, there are 3 or 4 coaches on the bench. So for one game or five… (if you have some really crazy parents…)
Have one coach sit up top with a clipboard. The parents will think he’s tracking stats, but really, he’ll be tracking the parents’ behavior.
Step 1: Observe the Parents
You need to know which parents are overly emotional and overly involved in their kids’ hockey careers. Who is yelling at their kids from the stands? What are they yelling? Who is filming their kids’ shifts? Who is writing down notes of everything their kid does wrong?
Yes, this all happened at the game I watched…
Step 2: Talk to the Players
“Hey Johnny, I noticed your parents try and send you some messages in-game from the stands, how does that make you feel? Does it affect your play?
Hey Billy, I noticed your dad films your shifts, does he go over it with you after the game? What are those conversations like?
Hey Carson, I noticed your dad writes notes on your game. What do you guys talk about after games?
Step 3: Love up those kids more…
The kids that have “tough parents” need your special attention as a youth coach or even a junior coach… Because those kids might be falling out of love with the game slowly. You have to be the coach that notices these kinds of parents and can put systems in place to keep those kids going. If you remain unaware of these parents, those kids might be 1 more cut away from quitting your team and quitting the game they love.
Be the coach who notices the players receiving those cuts and heals them.
Do the “eye in the sky experiment”, and use it as a tool to connect with your players that need connection the most.
Nice idea. I have several players whose fathers are coaching them away from the rink. “Well my father said …”. Tough to compete with that. “Your Dad might be correct however I want you to learn it this way also which will give choices in games “ seems to work
In youth hockey in Minnesota the coaches are mostly the parents of the players
By the time a kid is a senior in HS he/she has had upwards to 100 coaches - just in hockey.
Lots of noise around the games .(