My coaching philosophy is derived from my experience as a player and personal pursuit in becoming the best man I can be. I was fortunate enough to play 12 years of competitive hockey but in my second year of U18 I had to stop due to a lower body injury. For years I had a resentment towards the sport that I had given everything I could to. It felt as if it gave me nothing in return, but as I pursued new goals there was a common theme in what was required to achieve them.
In order to achieve anything I realized there were four main ‘ingredients’; ownership, persistence, hard work and an objective along with the steps required to hit my intended target.
It’s my purpose as a coach to clearly state the correlation between these values and success on the ice and more importantly off the ice to ensure none of my players leave the game feeling empty handed. These are transferable skills that take a much higher priority in my coaching philosophy than skills that can only be expressed physically. Ultimately if a player lacks these qualities their hockey career will be short lived. Hockey is a vehicle for developing the values and skills required to be successful in whatever one pursues.
