By Aaron Wilbur

If you’ve coached long enough, chances are you’ve thought about it.

In some cases, perhaps the only thing that made you think twice about it was the resulting suspension you would be handed.

I’m talking about the abuse and heckling that coaches sometimes have to endure from opposing fans or in some cases parents. In the heat of the moment, anyone one with a competitive pulse would be tempted to lash back verbally OR in the case of Andrei Nazarov, beat them back with a stick.

Nazarov is the coach of the KHL’s Vityaz Checkhov hockey club. The team is off to slow start and as you can see in the video below, when fans of Dynamo Minsk turned up the heat, Nazarov took matters into his own hands.

Now, Nazarov isn’t a stranger to pugilistic behaviour in hockey. As you can see by the former 1st round pick’s bio, he earned his living as player in the NHL by intimidating opponents.

Shortly after the game, back at the team’s hotel, Nazarov issued a video apology which the Belorussian police put online. Here is a transcript of his message to the fans of Dynamo Minsk. Is it just me or does this only border as an sincere apology?

Apparently Brendan Shanahan isn’t influencing disciplinary action in the KHL. The league elected to ban (=suspension in Russian?) Nazarov for a mere 2 games. I can’t imagine what those actions would land an NHL coach.

Oh…and as for the 4 sticks he broke over the glass, I imagine he’s on the hook for those too. So let’s see, in total his actions cost him 2 games and 4 sticks. Based on that math, Nazarov could probably argue it was worth it.

Yet another reason why the KHL will never be a threat to the best league in the world!

By Aaron Wilbur

Rick Nattress won a Stanley Cup as a member of the 1989 Calgary Flames

Beyond the wins and losses, coaching amateur sports provides us an opportunity to get involved in the community on a more personal level. Helping young people discover their character and the fulfillment that comes with working together within a team ultimately makes both the players and coaches better citizens. Most coaches can lean on past life experiences to pass on lessons that extend far beyond the rink.

In the case of Rick Nattress, it would be easy to assume that he would draw on the experience of playing 536 games in the National Hockey League when relating to his players on the Jr. B Stoney Creek Warriors. The Stanley Cup champion and former American League assistant coach obviously has a wealth of hockey knowledge to lend his players. However it was an incident that occurred off the ice early in his career that has proved to be the biggest influence on his coaching career. Scott Radley from the Hamilton Spectator has more here..

Here’s more coaching headlines.

- Philadelphia Flyers assistant coach joe Mullen enjoyed a distinguished playing career, which included 3 Stanley Cups. The Hockey News profiles the member of the 500 goal club here..

- One storyline emerging early on this season in the NHL is the amount of teams dealing with an apparent goalie controversy.  If you’re not aware, Vezina trophy winner and Olympian Ryan Miller is facing some crease competition in Buffalo. In St Louis, Jaroslav Halak is struggling to regain the playoff heroics he demonstrated in Montreal and is being pushed by backup Brian Elliot. Despite being paid an average salary of 6.7 million, Nicklas Backstrom has been earning his paycheck opening the gate for the Minnesota Wild. Chris Stevenson of the Toronto Sun discovers that many coaches share a similar philosophy when selecting their starting goaltender..

By. Aaron Wilbur

By Aaron Wilbur

Cleveland Astle is the head coach of the Burnaby Minor Midget A1 Eagles.  He is also the director of player personal for the Abbotsford Pilots of the PIJHL and a scout for the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs.

He is the father of three boys who participated in minor hockey as players and are now getting involved as coaches themselves. His son Kurt Astle led the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in scoring during the 2006-2007 season and would go on to win a NCAA DIII National Championship with St. Norbert College.

Cleveland is a passionate coach who goes above and beyond to prepare his players for the next stage in their careers.

Q. How long have you been coaching minor hockey?

A. Since 1992

Q. How did you get started?

A. I got involved with coaching my 3 boys

Q. Favorite Coach?

A. Scotty Bowman

Q. Have you had a coaching mentor?

A. Howie Meeker

Q. Coaching goals for this season?

By Aaron Wilbur

Current Arizona Diamondbacks manager caught the coaching bug while instructing youth hockey players in Detroit. I imagine his players new how to celebrate a big win!

Don’t get excited, we haven’t gotten so wrapped up in the dramatic finish to the Major League Baseball season that we forgot about all the coaching news surrounding the start of the hockey season. Although while we’re on the subject, the final day of this MLB season has to go down as one of the most exciting conclusions to a pro sports season…period!

While sifting through hockey headlines I came across this odd one titled “Arizona Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson learned from youth hockey coaching stint.” Gibson of course is best known for the home run, particularly the celebration after the home, that he hit in game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Turns out he’s a pretty good manager too. He led the Diamondbacks to a division championship this year, his first complete season as the team’s skipper. They’ll open their NL Divisional series tomorrow, in Milwaukee against the Brewers. [AZ Central]

Here’s the rest of the headlines from the past few days. Enjoy!

-More and more former players have turned to coaching as means sot satisfy their competitive spirit and stay close to the game in retirement. Most find jobs in the professional ranks or in junior hockey. Oilers legend and Hall of Fame goaltender Grant Fuhr has gone straight to the grassroots of hockey as an assistant coach without the Knights of Columbus Bantam Squires. The team is based in Edmonton and coached by Fuhr’s long time friend, Barry Rimmer. [Herald-Tribune]

-The NHL announced plans for this years Winter Classic earlier this week. The annual New Years affair will feature the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers squaring off at Citizens Bank Park. The teams have a heated rivalry and presumably could both be battling for a division crown come January. The game will also feature two head coaches in John Tortorella(NYR) and Peter Laviolette(Phi) with similar backgrounds. Both grew up in Massachusetts and have taken similar paths to their respective NHL benches. [NHL.com]

-This September marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of former University of Maine head coach Shawn Walsh. Walsh guided the Black Bears program for 15 years beginning in the 1984-85 season. He inherited a program that had gone 27-65 in the previous three seasons. In his tenure, he would go on to lead them to 2 National Championships, 7 appearances in the Frozen Four, 11 births in the NCAA tournament and the status of one of the countries elite hockey programs. Current New York Islanders coach, Jack Capuano is one of many former Black Bears to credit Walsh for the impact he had on their lives and future in the game. [Bangor Daily News]

- New Regina Pat’s head coach Pat Conacher may be sticking with the same old cliche, but something about the delivery of his message is unique. That the former Stanley Cup champion has preached a team first attitude since his arrival in Regina is not surprising. He’s not exactly re-inventing the wheel with that mantra. However his handling of the young Pats has them off to a 3-0, despite sitting star forward Jordan Weal for one game for missing a team meeting. Message received! [Leader Post]

- This is today’s MUST read article of day. Most of the coaches we cover on the Coaches Site make a living coaching. In a lot of cases they make a very good living. But as we know, amateur sports and young athletes are successful because of the coaches who passionately volunteer their time to the community. This is a great story about Terry Monture, A coach from Terrace, BC who has been a mentor to hundreds of kids over the past thirty years. Hockey is just one of the sports he has participated in. It’s clear in this article that his impact has been felt throughout the small northern community. [Terrace Standard]

- This piece is courtesy of Adam Gopnik from MacLeans magazine. So what is the “smartest” game in the world? In terms of the stress put on it’s athletes to think inside the lines, or in the case of hockey, boards. If you are a coach, member of the media, casual fan or player; I’m confident you will find this article fascinating. [Macleans]

By Aaron Wilbur

The Seattle Times recently held a live online chat with first year WHL head coaches Steve Konowalchuk of the Seattle Thunderbirds and Mark Ferner of the Everett Silvertips. It great to see both men take time out from their busy schedules in season to engage with fans and offer some insight into the junior game from a coaches persecutive.

Both coaches are in similar situations in that they have been handed young teams and the task of leading them back to contender status. They’re paths to their respective positions however have been a contrast.

Konowalchuk was most recently an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche, the organization he retired from in 2006. The former Portland Winterhawk sniper is relatively inexperienced when it comes to head coaching experience and inherits a Seattle team that is desperate for direction. He’ll be afforded the opportunity to learn the ropes and grow with a nucleus hungry to return to the post season. He has one of Canada’s potential goaltenders for the upcoming World Junior Championship as the backbone of his team in Calvin Pickard, so there is reason for optimism. If Konowalchuk can have the Thunderbirds playing come playoff time it will be a huge accomplishment.

Mark Ferner returns to the WHL after four years at the helm of the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers. Under Ferner’s guidance the Vipers dominated the Jr A landscape for the past three seasons. They advanced to three consecutive Royal Bank Cup National Championships, winning the tournament in 2009, 2010 and finishing runner up in 2011. He has previous experience coaching in the WHL with the Kamloops Blazers from 2002-2006 including 1 1/2 years as their head coach. The Silvertips boast legitimate NHL prospects in goaltender Kent Simpson and defensemen Ryan Murray but overall this is still a young team with a roster that is bound to encounter some growing pains this season. The former defensemen and veteran on 16 professional seasons comes with a reputation of coaching teams who play a stingy defensive system, so look for the “Tips” to be in a lot of hockey games this season. If they can stay in the playoff picture until Christmas, this is a team that should be much improved down the stretch and could be in the postseason conversation come spring.

You can check out the complete live chat here…

By Aaron Wilbur

New Vancouver Giants assistant coach used to be the backbone of the Canucks in his playing days

With NHL training camps now in full swing, there have been no shortage of coaching headlines. The arrival of NHL hockey seems to officially signal the beginning of another winter spent in cold rinks and in front of t.v’s cheering on your favourite team.

Training camp for coaches is all about setting the tone for the season and ensuring players understand the process required to reach the team’s goals. As you’ll read, wether your defending a championship or trying earn an invite to the dance, getting off to a good start in training camp is critical.

We hope all of you are off to great starts with your respective teams. Be sure to check back in on Wednesday for more headlines.

Enjoy!

- New Senators coach Paul MacLean seems eager to clean up the mess that is the Ottawa Senators, in his first NHL training as a head coach. He clearly has a vision of how he believes the team needs to play to contend year in and year out(and that’s FAST, in case you miss it!). More importantly he seems to bring the calming influence of a veteran coach in the sense that he understands it’s going to take small steps and be a process to get the Senators back on top. [London Free Press]

- Piece of advice for anyone hanging around Oilers coach Tom Renney; don’t mention the word “rebuild”. Last season, “rebuild” became entrenched in the Oilers players/coaches/executives/fans vocabulary, just as “eh” is present in everyday Canadian speech. This season, “rebuild” is being replaced by “playoffs”. A signal that expectations are rising in Oil country. [Edmonton Sun]

- How does Bruins coach Claude Julien expect his team to respond to being the defending Stanley Champions? By improving! [HockeyJournal.com]

- Rangers coach John Tortorella wasted little time in separating the men from the boys at training camp. Players where sent a clear message, regarding the work ethic expected by the coach, via the old fashioned “bag” skate. Tortorella also acknowledges it’s important for his team to get back to business and focus on each new day, after a summer spent grieving the loss of teammate Derek Boogaard. [Washington Post]

- If you consider Ron Wilson to be arrogant and stubborn, you are probably not alone in that assessment. At times he can be as abrasive as corse sandpaper. However, there is one subject circulating in the hockey community that Wilson is very sensitive too. Depression. He understands that it out of the control of the people it affects. And that dealing with it affectively starts with creating an open environment void of the stigmas associated with mental illness. [Toronto Sun]

- The Detroit Red Wings welcomed two new additions to their coaching staff this off-season. New assistant coaches, Bill Peters and Jeff Blashill are settling into their first NHL assignments and are quick to point out the organization’s winning culture is helping with the transition. [The Detroit News]

By Aaron Wilbur

This morning the NHL announced that it would again be holding its now annual Winter Classic on January 2nd at Philadelphia’s Citizen Bank Park. This years edition will feature the Flyers and New York Rangers in yet another Eastern Conference showdown.

P.S-Is it just me or this event getting really close to be renamed the Pennsylvania Cup?

Better yet, the league also announced that it will allow the Emmy Award-winning HBO series 24/7 full access to the Flyers and Rangers as they prepare to kick off the new year outdoors. HBO will air four episodes of “24/7: Flyers/Ranger: Road to the Winter Clasic”, beginning on Dec 14th.

Last year’s series was hugely entertaining and showcased some of great characters in the game today. It also gave fans a glimpse into the locker room and the interaction between the coaches and players. Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau became an overnight celebrity and showed you don’t need a huge vocabulary to get your point across in the NHL.

Apparently!

Now the NHL is about to unleash one of the most intense, razor sharp and quit witted coaches onto uncensored television. Lady’s and gentleman, are you ready for John Tortorella?

I know I can’t wait.

Tortorella has demonstrated in the past that he has the passion and a short enough fuse to make Boudreau’s locker room rant look like my grandmother getting worked up over a bridge game. Whether he’s behind a bench, in a broadcast studio or in front of a throng of reporters, Tortorella never shies away from his opinion and wears his heart proudly on his sleeve.

If you’re not familiar with his work, then you need to check out this highlight real.

By Aaron Wilbur

Walk past a group of kids playing street hockey and the chatter amongst the players is infectious. Every player calls for the ball and is sure to let his teammates know when he’s open. If you live on a block where games are frequent, chances are you can hear the play by play in you’re living room.

On the other hand, go to your local rink and watch a group of youth players in a game or practice and it’s tough hear anything beyond a stick taping the ice. For whatever reason, as soon as young players don a helmet they clam up. Encouraging kids to speak up and often is probably the last issue most parents need to address, but ask any minor hockey coach and he’ll tell you that getting young players to communicate on the ice is a challenge.

This is a great clip to show your players if you’re trying to emphasize on ice communication. It should get your point across. Hope it helps!

Recently, I came across an idea that I think could help kids communicate on the ice while adding a little jump to practice at the same time.

I found this article on Gregg Drinnan’s blog, Taking Note. Gregg is the Sports Editor of the Kamloops Daily News and does an unbelievable job of covering junior hockey in western Canada and keeping a pulse on the hockey world in general.

On Saturday he posted a link to this article by Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune. In the story, Portland Winterhawks head coach Mike Johnston discusses having the opportunity to spend a day at training camp with the Oregon Ducks football team. He was invited by Ducks head coach Chip Kelly after the two met at the Oregon Sports Awards earlier in the year. Johnston came away very impressed by the practice and has tried implementing some of the ideas he picked up into the Hawks practices.

By Aaron Wilbur

At one time or another every coach has referenced the old cliche, “practice makes perfect.”

It makes sense.

The logic in practicing individual skills to improve ones overall game is not lost on players.

However getting players to put in the time and make the commitment to work on the finer details in their game can sometimes be a challenge.

Whether players feel they are above simplistic drills or would just rather take part in flow drills which may require little execution, finding the right motivation to get players focused on the fundamentals can be challenging.

It’s easy for kids to witness a highlight real goal made by a world class player on t.v and overlook the amount of time that was put into achieving a skill level which enabled them to make such a play look so easy. Young players especially are more focused on the finished product rather then on the process and patience required to become an elite player.

So if you find yourself looking for way to motivate your players to get back to basics and work on the fundamentals, the following videos may help get their attention.

This first video features Sidney Crosby at a Penguins practice working on a very basic stick handling drill involving the use of his edges and body to protect the puck. The drill only requires an extra stick, a puck and NO additional players. It looks simple enough but even accomplished players will find it challenging.

This second video shows Crosby protecting the puck down low in the offensive zone. Using the same skills required to protect the puck in the previous drill. He fights off Ottawa’s Jason Spezza, cutting back several times before finding defenseman Kris Letang open at the point. The result is a 2-1 lead for the Penguins  in a Stanley Cup playoff game.

So next time you have a player who seems uninterested in working on the finer  details of their game, remind them that even the best in world continue to get back to basics.