3 coaching habits that good coaches don’t have…

1. Coaches that focus on results (only) instead of the process:
Hockey is a competitive sport and results mattered, they matter a lot. However some coaches don’t focus on the importance of the process and how to get to positive results and just judge everything by whether the team wins or losses. They don’t focus on how the game went, how the team performed or if there was any improvement at all.

Those coaches generally only put focus on the players’ effort and attitude, and they find the perfect excuse on pointing those things as the reasons for a defeat. In addition, these type of coaches generally blame the umpire for defeats instead of making a self-evaluation.

2. Coaches that only set a serious environment with no fun:
Players and coaches that enjoy what they do, perform better. Players and coaches that are forced to do something tend to generate resistance: they do it but they are not convinced. A training session, a season a practice session, has to be taken seriously but has to be enjoyable.  Enjoyment is one of the three critical ingredients of athlete development so coaches should put energy into creating a positive environment.

3. Coaches who take all the credit for the victories and put the blame on players when the team suffers a defeat:
Blaming the players is an easy way for bad coaches to wash their hands when there is a negative result. Praising him or herself when there is a victory is the counter-part of this type of bad coaching. Good coaches give credit to players when they win, they congratulate players for their efforts and are good at giving negative and constructive feedback. Good coaches also expose their own mistakes when they suffer a defeat instead of pointing fingers.

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