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Team Dynamics

The following excerpt is from “Team Dynamics Determine Success & Failure” by Barry Smith, Associate Coach, Phoenix Coyotes from USA Hockey Magazine

Games are often won and lost before a team steps on the ice. That’s why player interaction, both on the ice and in the locker room, is vital to a team’s success. As we like to say in Phoenix, “Get the right people on the bus and that bus will go in the right direction.” If everybody has the same philosophy and there is a mutual level of trust among all parties involved, the better off you will be. That way, when you hit a bump in the road nobody jumps off and the bus keeps moving forward toward your ultimate destination.

There are three key elements to building a successful team:

Working Synergy – The same goal and the same philosophy for everybody.
Coaching Philosophy – Create a positive and fun environment where players can improve individually and collectively.
Team Guidelines (rules & boundaries) – Define guidelines for the team, and ensure everyone, especially players and parents, understands these guidelines and the consequences of breaking them.

Good coaches don’t have a lot of rules. Just figure out what your core values are, make sure your players and parents understand them, and go from there. Playing for Wayne Gretzky (who is the head coach in Phoenix) is actually pretty simple. He doesn’t have a lot of rules, but the rules he has, he expects his players and coaches to follow.
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