RK,

Some points to consider:

1) Do the coaches the mentor works with actually WANT the mentoring or is it 'forced' (suggested) onto them by a higher power / association? Do the coaches have an opportunity to meet with the mentor first to see if there is a connection or not? Does the coach respect the mentor - their experience, education, etc.?

2) Are the coaches open-minded to mentoring? Do they really want it? Can they define what they want out of a mentorship - out of themselves and from the mentor?

3) What approach does the mentor take? A 'know-it-all' or someone who can park their ego? Does the mentor listen to the needs of the coach and provide an action plan? Does the mentor 'tell' the coach what to do or ask the coach what he thinks he should do? Is there a one-fit solution or does it need to be individualized?

4) How often does the mentorship occur / what is the availability of the mentor? (Often times, $ becomes the key limiting factor as the coach or association doesn't understand the need or enduring value for ongoing mentorship - to the coach, staff and players; instead looking to a band-aid solution consisting of 1 or 2 meetings.)

5) PATIENCE! I believe mentorship should occur throughout the entire season; including an intro meeting and and exit meeting... what did the coach learn? What action steps need to be in place for the off-season / next year so they can achieve these goals? It might mean... additional mentoring!

6) How does the association / coach / players / parents evaluate the effectiveness of the mentor? Is there a process in place... and what is it? Not only do all the stakeholders (association too!) need to see what value a mentor brings, but the mentor also needs feedback. Can the process be improved for next year; and how?



I often see a shotgun approach occur due to time and money constraints. The coaches 'get a taste' then are left to their own devices. If they are lucky, they might get a followup session later in the year. People seem to be unwilling to pay for a professional service... after all, everyone (in Canada) is an expert in hockey ... by birth! (Yeah, right...!)


I prefer to establish on ongoing relationship with a few clients but the nature of the beast (associations) often dictate the shotgun approach first and from that, I pick up some keen individuals. When I mentor, I set out a schedule of 'time blocks' that the coach must agree to and pay in advance as I think there must be several ongoing meetings in order for the coach to see and feel the benefits... a rapport and relationship develops over time. Included in that is a charge for my time before, during and after the game or practice, phone and email time, and it could also include travel time and expenses. First-hand experience tells me that mentorship has the most impact when it is done over time.

The clinics I just did for Hockey Alberta were using the 'shotgun approach'. We might do some followup as a collective group but that is TBD by the association. I did make some contacts of individuals there that might want to pursue something above and beyond what the association will pay for... coming out of the individual team budgets' or the coaches pockets.

If all the parents of the kids on a particular team paid more money for registration, with that money ear-marked for mentoring, it would help offset the cost. The coach should also pay into it; as should the coaching staff if they are to be included. If you don't attach money to anything, the 'anything' becomes devalued.

Personally, I would pay for mentoring myself if it was someone I respected in a field I wanted to learn more about. I believe in the incredible value it can bring back to me!

RK,

We live in a fast-food mentality mindset. There are no quick fixes... and as you said, even volunteer coaches, who are supposed to be in development mode, have to win or they won't get asked back the following year. Interesting how hypocritical the associations and coaches are... they repeat the goals out load, but both parties know it is about winning... or lose your position!

I don't have any real certifications to be a mentor. Not sure any exist. I just have experience and think, "how would I like to be treated"; ask the coach some questions and try to design my approach accordingly.

It is rewarding to see development. That's why I do this too! Like you, I don't coach a team either. I miss aspects of it, but other aspects... NOT!

While out Hallowe'ening with my kids, I had a neighbour ask me if I would help him with his Bantam 3 community team (they play in Division 5, of about 10 levels). I teach his kid at one of my skill academies. See his email to me below:

Dean,

Here is my practice schedule for November. They are all half ice except for the one noted as full. We have a fairly talented team mainly comprised of first years and are playing Div 5 so we are sort of in the middle.

Where I am looking for is some help in demonstrating / teaching:

· Effective breakout to stretch the opposition forecheck and avoid unnecessary neutral zone turnovers: I have a hard time getting my wingers to use the open ice and create passing opportunities when skating out

· Effective F1 F2 F3 attack triangle that creates scoring opportunities by getting the puck to the net: a lot of time my wingers lag behind the play or don’t go the net instinctively

· Defensive drills for good one on one play- gap control, angling, etc: Some of my D continually get beat 1-1 as they worry about the puck instead of playing the man and keeping the forward to the outside

· Simple Forecheck; either a 1-2-2 or 2-1-2 that is effective and creates turnovers for scoring opportunities : my team is fairly small but they can be effective if they can apply pressure and make contact when forechecking

Let me know if you are available to chat and if you can help me out at all....

We are going to meet next week and I will ask him what specifically he (as a coach) wants or is it strictly for the team development. As you can gather from here, this sounds like a lot of systems / strategy stuff... especially for a Bantam 3 team playing in Div 5. I need to see where his team is at (on the ice re: skills, tactics, thinking) and then go from there. I hope I can bring some fun and games to the forefront while I let the game teach the game!

Quote by: hockeygod

I have been experiencing lots of error messages on this site the past week... anybody else?

Not sure why, but my earlier post got double posted.

Tom / Dwight - can you guys please delete this one?

Thanks!

My server is being hit hard by the "script kiddies" and it consumes a lot of resources at times and the system errors out. When I think it has calmed down, it starts all up the next day.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

dwight