You might think if I mentioned the phrase “snapshots that count” within the context of hockey that I would be talking about some great goals quickly struck from inside the slot area that won a particular team a championship. However, what I am referring to is something completely different.
Last season I had the pleasure of accompanying the Minor Peewee AAA Tigers on a day trip to the Grey-Bruce area that concluded their regular season . Yesterday, I had the chance to travel with them again on the bus, now that they are a year older and competing as Major Peewee AAAs to check in how the players and team have changed in the eight months since, as they made their first of two trips to that area this season. There are several new faces on the team this year, both in terms of players and members of the coaching staff, but one thing remains the same…FUN is stressed above all.
As a result of all the hours of hard work put into on-ice and off-ice training, skill development of the players both individually and collectively has greatly increased. I believe the reason some teams fail to achieve as much success as they could is that they forget to make things fun and therefore some kids don’t buy fully into the program. Great teams expect 100% effort 100% of the time when your on the ice, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t times when you can let your guard down off the ice and just enjoy each other’s company. Bus trips and tournaments are perfect opportunities during the season to reinforce this concept, although many parents often choose to not accompany the kids and miss out on this benefit for themselves.
Last season I had the chance to announce several of this team’s games, and while my schedule and responsibilities have changed this season where I cannot do that as regularly, I still wanted to demonstrate to these players that watching their development and keeping abreast of their progress is no less important to me now. Making a point of spending time with them yesterday, despite my cahotic schedule, hopefully shows them just how much I care to see them become the best that they can be.
I don’t judge a team’s success by their overall record or stats. With my many years of experience watching the sport I know that there are games we should win and there will be others that we should by all rights lose, and many in between that could go either way. By instilling confidence in these kids, and taking the pressure off them by stressing the importance of fun above all, I believe all kids can always have winning seasons year after year regardless of how their team does in the standings. Instead of counting wins, I look at the attitudes of the players as a barometer of their success. If they are a confident and happy group they will play far better than if they are stressed out and under the gun to meet a higher set of expectations in terms of tournament victories or end-of-the-season championships (whether from themselves, their parents or the coaches). They face enough pressures at school and at home that we do not need to add to that at the rink. The best coaches realize this and find ways to motivate that go beyond looking at individual or team stats. The idea seems to fly against reason, but when you de-emphasize stats (but not effort!) you often find that the team surprises you and performs even better than anyone thought they could.
Yesterday, the team recorded their first win in Grey-Bruce in several seasons, which is already an accomplishment of which they should be proud, no matter how the rest of their year goes. That being said, I will do everything I can to make sure that I’m available should they need me to announce a lengthy playoff run in the spring and I will try to be available for the second trip up to Grey-Bruce later in the season as well. Continue making your city proud of you boys…good luck the rest of the way.
Finally, speaking of snapshots that count… as my eyes have deteriorated lately I have focused less on writing about the games and more on taking photos during them. Here are some pictures from yesterday’s games in Chesley that show the kids doing what they do best…having fun and playing hockey (Note: This year’s Minor Peewee AAA team played in a game right before the Major Peewee AAA game and we arrived in time for me to catch a period of play and take some pictures from that game as well, which ended in a 3-3 tie):
Snapshots That Count: Another Bus Trip To Grey-Bruce
Go Tigers Go!
November 3, 2008...12:28 pm
The Snapshots That Count
You might think if I mentioned the phrase “snapshots that count” within the context of hockey that I would be talking about some great goals quickly struck from inside the slot area that won a particular team a championship. However, what I am referring to is something completely different.
Last season I had the pleasure of accompanying the Minor Peewee AAA Tigers on a day trip to the Grey-Bruce area that concluded their regular season . Yesterday, I had the chance to travel with them again on the bus, now that they are a year older and competing as Major Peewee AAAs to check in how the players and team have changed in the eight months since, as they made their first of two trips to that area this season. There are several new faces on the team this year, both in terms of players and members of the coaching staff, but one thing remains the same…FUN is stressed above all.
As a result of all the hours of hard work put into on-ice and off-ice training, skill development of the players both individually and collectively has greatly increased. I believe the reason some teams fail to achieve as much success as they could is that they forget to make things fun and therefore some kids don’t buy fully into the program. Great teams expect 100% effort 100% of the time when your on the ice, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t times when you can let your guard down off the ice and just enjoy each other’s company. Bus trips and tournaments are perfect opportunities during the season to reinforce this concept, although many parents often choose to not accompany the kids and miss out on this benefit for themselves.
Last season I had the chance to announce several of this team’s games, and while my schedule and responsibilities have changed this season where I cannot do that as regularly, I still wanted to demonstrate to these players that watching their development and keeping abreast of their progress is no less important to me now. Making a point of spending time with them yesterday, despite my cahotic schedule, hopefully shows them just how much I care to see them become the best that they can be.
I don’t judge a team’s success by their overall record or stats. With my many years of experience watching the sport I know that there are games we should win and there will be others that we should by all rights lose, and many in between that could go either way. By instilling confidence in these kids, and taking the pressure off them by stressing the importance of fun above all, I believe all kids can always have winning seasons year after year regardless of how their team does in the standings. Instead of counting wins, I look at the attitudes of the players as a barometer of their success. If they are a confident and happy group they will play far better than if they are stressed out and under the gun to meet a higher set of expectations in terms of tournament victories or end-of-the-season championships (whether from themselves, their parents or the coaches). They face enough pressures at school and at home that we do not need to add to that at the rink. The best coaches realize this and find ways to motivate that go beyond looking at individual or team stats. The idea seems to fly against reason, but when you de-emphasize stats (but not effort!) you often find that the team surprises you and performs even better than anyone thought they could.
Yesterday, the team recorded their first win in Grey-Bruce in several seasons, which is already an accomplishment of which they should be proud, no matter how the rest of their year goes. That being said, I will do everything I can to make sure that I’m available should they need me to announce a lengthy playoff run in the spring and I will try to be available for the second trip up to Grey-Bruce later in the season as well. Continue making your city proud of you boys…good luck the rest of the way.
Finally, speaking of snapshots that count… as my eyes have deteriorated lately I have focused less on writing about the games and more on taking photos during them. Here are some pictures from yesterday’s games in Chesley that show the kids doing what they do best…having fun and playing hockey (Note: This year’s Minor Peewee AAA team played in a game right before the Major Peewee AAA game and we arrived in time for me to catch a period of play and take some pictures from that game as well, which ended in a 3-3 tie):
Snapshots That Count: Another Bus Trip To Grey-Bruce
Go Tigers Go!
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Tags: 2008-09 Mountainview Homes Minor Peewee AAA Tigers, 2008-09 Welland Major Peewee AAA Tigers, Sports Writing/Commentary