100 players (approximately) x $250 each player = $25,000

Ice expense of approximately 25 hours at $150/hr = $5,250

Total approximate profit: $19,750 – not bad for a weekend’s work!  No matter what the dollar amount equals out to, my main hope is the players attending are being treated honestly and fairly.  Let me make it clear by saying I am NOT saying they aren’t being treated fairly/honestly.  I hope that when players attend ANY junior tryout (or any other level tryout for that matter), the coaching staff is having a completely honest conversation with the players as opposed to stringing them along to get more money out of them.  Good luck to all the skaters on the ice this weekend!

The Capitals who were this season’s President’s Trophy winners were pegged by many to win the Stanley Cup this season.  Instead, they’ve emptied their locker room, and are finished for the year.  When I read the question posted on TSN.ca, I stopped and thought about it for a while.  My initial reaction was it seemed like a pretty negative way to pose the question of the relevance between the regular season and playoffs.  I believe the Caps’ loss does NOT make a mockery of the regular season, but instead presents us with several great lessons/reminders.

1. It doesn’t matter how good you were yesterday: Now, that’s not to say the Caps shouldn’t be proud of their accomplishments during the regular season, but it’s obvious they were not able to take the momentum and success they had accomplished previously and build on it to become a better team.  This is not to take anything away from Jaroslav Halak (who has actually been a HockeyShare.com customer!), he played amazing and should be credited.  Halak took the opportunity he was given and performed.  Life lesson…never stop growing.
2. Just because you have every advantage, doesn’t mean it will be easy: Finishing first in the regular season affords you some luxuries.  The Caps not only had home ice advantage, but also got to play the lowest seeded team (Montreal).  Don’t underestimate teams – even if you’ve had success against them in the past.  The beautiful thing about hockey is every game starts tied!
3. Play like you have nothing to lose:  Montreal played like a team with nothing to lose when they went down three games to one. You could see players making an extra effort, sacrificing their body to make a play…generally going the extra mile.  As they saying goes, “nothing is more dangerous than a cornered animal.”  Montreal was cornered and had no choice but to fight for their survival.
4. Don’t stop believing: I’m sure more than one Hab’s fan figured it wasn’t worth watching the 5th game, thinking their season would be over shortly.  I’d venture to guess the same may even be said for the 6th game.  The important thing however is that the players and coaching staff never stopped believing in themselves.  It could have been easy to give up and “throw in the towel” – especially when you’re up against some of the best players in the NHL.  Kudos to Montreal for sticking with it and overcoming a huge obstacle.

I think series like these are what makes hockey such an amazing sport.  There is so much parity in the league now, teams can’t afford to take even a single day off this time of year, or they may be packing their gear the next.  Regardless if you share my views on Hodge’s question, one thing is for sure…playoff hockey is fun to watch!

1) What lesson is being taught to these kids? One of the only things continually crossing my mind was: “I really wouldn’t want to play his team – if that’s the way he acts and ‘controls’ himself during tense situations, I can only imagine how the children he is coaching will maintain their control.”  Kids are like sponges, they pick up on the smallest things leaders they respect do.  While I can’t say for certain whether or not the players in those locker rooms respected the coaches, I can almost guarantee they are absorbing poor behavioral habits in times of difficulty/stress.  If a coach completely loses his cool when something doesn’t go right, how can he/she expect a player to maintain composure when something happens to them during a game?

2) Why do parents put up with this?  In our area, the cost to play midget hockey is substantial – usually falling in the $2,500 range for non-Tier I (AAA) programs.  With that much money on the line, I don’t see how parents could be willing to put up with actions like these and continue to allow their children to be exposed to this sort of behavior coming from an ‘adult.’

3) What are the long-term effects of this learned behavior?  It is easy to see the short-term effects coaches who are out of control can have on a team, but the long-term effects are much harder to quantify.  Habits, no matter how small, play an enormous role in the long-term development of people. One of the best simple habit examples is the age-old saying: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”  Imagine the long-term impact and difference between consistently practicing that habit versus: “A candy bar a day keeps the doctor away!”

Now, don’t get me wrong.  There is a time and place to raise your voice to make a point, but I don’t think there’s a place in our game to degrade and personally attack youth.  I definitely have things I struggle with handling, as I’m sure every coach does.  This is OK – nobody is perfect.  I’m sure there have been instances where I was out of line with my actions.  My simple hope is that you and I, as a coaches, take the time to evaluate our interactions with our teams.  Make sure they’re appropriate.  The kids are watching you.  Coaching is a position of leadership.  Let’s make sure we’re leading them in the right directions – not only in hockey….but in life.