If you flip to Page 4 of Hockey Canada’s “Coaching Program—Minor Hockey Development Guide” you will find what the major emphasis is in the minor hockey system:
Having fun, learning skills, developing confidence and self-esteem.
And when Lynn Kellar, who is the long-time president of the Fort Frances Minor Hockey Association, was asked what philosophies he hopes his minor hockey coaches are implementing in Fort Frances, his answer was shot five-hole.
“Our philosophy for people wanting to get involved is that we’re looking for a focus on fun and skill development,” answered Kellar.
“We want this to be a positive experience for kids and that comes from coaches. We want to make sure they are there for the kids, making it fun and interesting, and challenge the kids at the level they are at.
“If we make it a fun experience then that’s what they are going to take it as. And it’s about having fun, participating, trying your best, and that’s something we’ve really been trying to stress,” he added.
That has always been Hockey Canada’s philosophy when dealing with minor hockey in the country where hockey is king, and to keep coaches in the system garnered with new ideas and programs, the association’s National Coaching Certification Program has undertaken a facelift, which began five years ago, and started to roll out last fall.
The national program, which was implemented in Fort Frances this year, aims at “delivering educational activities to coaches that allows them to have a more meaningful, positive impact on the players they coach” as outlined in Page 2 of the guide.
One of the main differences between this program compared to previous ones is that a new or experienced coach has the opportunity to enter the stream of coaching that is suited for the players they coach.
“In the past what’s happened was that initially you take a coach’s course and then there was no requirements past that. It was up to the individual to go out and find the information you wanted, and now with the Internet, there’s a lot of people that can do that,” said Kellar.
“And one of the big things they’ve changed in the past, is before, there was just a progression. You went from the initiation program into what they called the Level 1-2 Coach, to Intermediate to Advanced.
“Now if I only want to coach recreational hockey then that’s the course I take, or if I want to coach competitive hockey then I go straight into that stream, and I think that’s a good thing,” said Kellar, who believes the programs that Hockey Canada implement are some of the best, if not the best, in hockey.
Another positive in the program is that coaches learning coaching practices say at the IP level in Vancouver, will be the same techniques an IP coach in Fort Frances will use, and that is a huge factor says Ed Vold, who is the head instructor/coach of the “Thursday Night” IP1 team.
“The new program we had to take with the IP1 gives us real guidance. The program we have is the one that Canadian Amateur Hockey is doing and this is a program they are teaching throughout Canada. It’s nice for us to be on the same level knowing that a coach in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Quebec are teaching their players the same things we are,” said Vold after a team practice.
“You always see these NHL players coming from these big centres, and it’s nice to be on the same program and teaching our kids the same things. That gives us a chance. Even though we’re a small town, we’re coaching them the same way, and as coaches, we know that we’re on the same level as them,” Vold added.
Another important distinction in the new program is that it is an “athlete-centered approach to training coaches”, which implies the coaching needs are defined by the needs of the players they are working with.
For example, in the Coach Level, which is lowest level and designed for someone new to coaching, its major emphasis follows suit with the philosophies in minor hockey, which is having fun, learning basic skills and developing confidence.
Where as Level IV, which is the highest bracket in the program, is designed to prepare candidates for leadership roles in national hockey and international hockey, and is open to only 10 high-level coaches every two to three years.
In Fort Frances there is always a desire to have more coaches in the ranks of the system says Kellar, but there are plenty of qualified coaches in the program right now.
“We find there’s a lot of people that are willing to help, but not everybody wants to take on the head coaching role, which assumes a lot more responsibility,” said Kellar.
But one must remember that all of those coaches are volunteers. The coaches have jobs and wives and children, but they take time out of their schedules to contribute to a sport that has meant so much to them.
“For myself, I came out of the program and I know how valuable hockey is to these kids and to yourself in life,” said Vold when asked why he takes time out of his schedule to volunteer with the program.
“It’s fulfilling to me. It’s like being a parent to your own kids. You see them grow up and they move up, and it’s just fun. It’s just awesome to watch the smiles on their face,” Vold said.
Added Kellar: “It’s for the kids. At the end of the day, it’s for the kids, and that’s why we do it.
“You have to enjoy working with the kids and you can get a lot of satisfaction from that,” he added. “It is a tremendous amount of time, but it’s a chance for them to give something back to hockey.”
Fort Frances Times
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