No Whistle, No Whiteboard, No Problem
No Whistle, No Whiteboard, No Problem
Eliminating coaching crutches
Coaches: I have a challenge for you. Next time you’re headed to the rink for practice, leave your whistle and whiteboard at home.
No Whistle
Do you use a whistle in practice? If so, why?
Do you really need that whistle? Half of the time, players can make eye contact and read off each other to start the activity. The other half of the time, the players sliding in/out can keep the activity going.
Players need to get used to listening to voices and reading off of their environment. The practice whistle often is used in situations where they’re not needed and can be easily eliminated.
Coaches may feel justified to use a whistle in practice in certain situations, namely to stop a drill or direct attention to something as seen in a game. Now players are getting repetitions playing until the whistle.
A whistle is a powerful tool, but coaches should really question if they are using it too much. Think about the benefits of phasing out the practice whistle.
No Whiteboard
While an argument can be made to keep a whistle on hand, we honestly find no compelling reason to need a whiteboard.
Without a whiteboard, coaches are forced to give clearer instructions that can be easily converted into proper action. Plus players must listen closely to instructions.
When using a whiteboard, coaches are often giving solutions to players. Getting rid of your whiteboard leaves room for players to interpret the activity. Players explore the edges of the activity and are more creative about finding solutions.
Players are then thinking about solving the problem rather than just worrying about remembering the route they have to follow in the prescribed drill. They can instead focus on being creative instead of following a formula.
Verbal instruction is great, but we can also demonstrate (personally or have a player do it). Being involved and doing an activity slowly is a great way to imprint what they need to do during an activity.
Plus, ice time is incredibly valuable. Why willingly forfeit important minutes to drag everyone over to a board, where players often lose focus and the practice loses momentum?
If you love using video and want to give some ideas to players, just send out video clips beforehand of the concept being executed.
Mentality & Coachless Activities
Our goal as coaches should be to get to a point where all our activities are “coachless,” where we are not needed to run the activity. Then we can truly focus on actually teaching.
Hopefully, this got you thinking about what you do in practice with your whistle and whiteboard. Think about why and how you can use them less or ditch them altogether.
Further Reading
Linking practice to games via practice to practice to game transfer
How USA Hockey is enhancing and improving their coach’s education