Developing Hockey Talent – Competition Versus Coaching

By - Dr. Dale Jasinski

One of the main arguments for the promotion of travel teams and for allowing some players to play in an older age bracket is that to develop hockey players, they must play against players that are at least or even more talented than them. The reasoning goes that playing and practicing with and against taller, faster, stronger, etc. players force the individual to develop their own talents.

Without this competition, it is suggested that the player will stagnate or even worse develop bad habits from playing against inferior competition. Finally, it is argued that it is only through experiences gained from playing a high number of games against this type of competition that talent development is best accomplished. The role of the coach, then, is game oriented, systems, match-ups, strategy, etc. that results in winning the games against the competition. It is the competition itself that results in player development and the role of the coach is minimal.

I suggest that this competition based model of player development is backwards and that coaching should be the primary source of developing a player’s talent. A coach should be able to take a player of any ability and through well constructed practices, and a system of positive reinforcement that provides constructive feedback, assist that individual in becoming a better hockey player irrespective of the abilities of either teammates or the competition.

Confidence is built through successful execution in a game of those skills honed through repetition of practiced drills which require the player to continually improve his execution. Beating a shorter, slower, weaker player on the opposition in a game reinforces that confidence and provides the developing player with a chance to experiment, be creative, and stretch his boundaries. This in turn increases the player’s “hockey sense” and the ability to “see the game”. As he matures and the level of competition changes he has amassed an arsenal of skills and techniques that he can draw from in order to continue his success.

In other words, proper coaching develops a player more fully and with a wider range of skills that in the long run better prepare him for the next level, whatever that may be, better than simply moving up to that level early and leaving it the opposition that has no stake in that player’s development.