By this point in the hockey season, you know the identity of your team. Some teams are built on speed and transition, while others may be more defensive minded and patient. In either case, it would be rare for a team to not want to be considered a “competitive team” — a team that outworks the opposition and wins their 1v1’s and small battles all over the ice.
Once a clear vision of your team’s identity is established, you must now take the necessary steps to embrace and live that identity on a daily basis. Your identity isn’t really your identity if your actions and behaviours do not match that every day. If part of your identity is to be an ultra competitive team then your actions have to match this consistently.
One of the easiest and most influential ways to promote competition is through your practices.
Here are five methods that will drive compete in your practices and help establish your team’s identity:
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Kyle MacLennan
Kyle MacLennan is the Head Coach and General Manager of the Weeks U18 Majors in the Nova Scotia Eastlink Major Midget Hockey League, a U14 Head Coach with Hockey Nova Scotia and Assistant Coach/Video Development with the Brock Badgers OUA. Kyle holds a High Performance Level 1 Coaching Certification through Hockey Canada, and is an active member of Hockey Nova Scotia's High Performance Program.
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