In-Season Coaching Education and Training Program
Professional development and continuing education of minor hockey coaches, while encouraged, is optional in most cases. There is a rapidly expanding body of coaching knowledge and its proper application towards training minor hockey players about which many coaches are essentially unaware. The existing training and development offered to the player is a further issue and challenge in terms of consumer satisfaction for dollars spent. Performance Standards are intended to form the backbone of coach training and professional development.
Performance Standards will help:
- Identify and recognize coaching competencies;
- Lead to consistency in designing challenging, effective, and enjoyable hockey practices;
- Improve the general quality of service to the client base (players and parents);
- Enhance professional credibility by establishing a “core standard of coaching.
Performance Standards are based on:
- Measurability – Each performance standard is based upon a clear description of skills the coach must be able to perform, the circumstances in which the skills can be demonstrated, and a clear measure of acceptable performance.
- Flexible Learning Outcomes – While a minimum overall standard must be set for ensuring adequate competence, there is value in maintaining a flexible approach that accommodates the individual differences in learning rates and abilities of each coach.
- Progressive Complexity in Learning – These Performance Standards represent a progressively complex learning continuum. This principle recognizes the extensive scope of learning opportunities that have been designed for minor hockey coaches.
Recommended Steps for Implementation
The implementation of the Performance Standards follows a competency-based educational model, where it’s first determined what knowledge base and skills are required, and then a curriculum based educational program is designed and provided, and finally, a series of measuring tools created to assess the required competencies.
Coaching Performance Standards
Knowledge Based Performance Standards
- Each coach should be well versed in the development requirements pertaining to coaching development, team play development, and individual player development.
- Each coach should be well versed in the technical, tactical, physical, and mental preparation skills they are required to teach at each development level. (Novice / Atom / Peewee / Bantam / Midget
Skills Based Performance Standards
- Each coach should be able to, as realistically as possible, per iodize the technical, tactical, physical, and mental skills required at each development level.
- Each coach should be well versed in the design and execution of high tempo flow practices.
- Each coach should be able to design and utilize drills that contain high flow with accurate game specificity.
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