BY Jonathan Huntington
SASKATOON – If you spend a few minutes in the tunnels under the concourse at Merlis Belsher Place this week during the Saskatchewan Hockey Classic, you quickly realize the different styles of coaching.
I asked three head coaches for their answers to two important questions:
What is the most important factor in coaching?
Troy Walkington, Saskatoon Blazers: “Communication. Each player wants to the know the ‘why’. Before, you would tell the player ‘what’ we are doing. Now, you tell them ‘why’ we are doing it this way… ‘why’ we are running a specific system (on the ice).”
Dion Antisin, Prince Albert Mintos: “Understanding the player. Some guys respond to straight forward (communication) and some people you need to be (extra) careful in how you speak.”
Wes Rudy, Tisdale Trojans: “Development. You are giving these guys the same opportunity that a lot of coaches in this league had when they were younger. You need to understand the players but also how to manage the dressing room. There are 20 different people and they are all a part of the team.”
How has coaching changed in the last 10 years?
Walkington: “This would have been in 1999… we had a game when we were down 7-1 entering the third period of a road game. If we lost the game, we would skate when we got home. We lost the game, took the bus home for an hour and a half – and then skated. You can’t do that anymore. But good players still want to be accountable. Do we address it in different ways today – of course we do.”
Antisin: “I remember being scared of my coaches (when I was young). Now, you are more respectful. You are a life teacher and a coach at the same time.”
Rudy: “Kids are motivated differently. They need to feel they are doing the right things. And they don’t want to be called-out in front of their peers.”
