Category: Sports Psychology

12/15/14

Youth Coaches Must Not “Lose the Room”

With over fifty games remaining and a .500 record through the first thirty contests, the Ottawa Senators elected to fire Head Coach Paul MacLean on the first day of December.  MacLean is the first and only NHL coach to be relieved of their duties this season. The media suggests he lost the ear of the locker room.

Blame it on the Canadian hockey market or MacLean’s farewell address, but this coaching change speaks volumes about the psychology of a dressing room and as to why we can’t stop talking about it.  MacLean’s fallout in Ottawa sheds light upon the dynamic of the working relationships between a coach, its players, and the team collectively.

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12/2/14

USA Hockey Wants Well Rounded Athletes

Courtesy of USA Hockey , this video aims to raise awareness about modern sports psychology developments. Explained by the likes of Nashville Predators head coach Peter Laviolette, Vancouver Canucks Assistant coach Mike Sullivan, and USA Hockey, American Development Model Technical Director Ken Martel; the NHL’s next lot of prospects are not your typical 12-month round hockey players.

“The model that has been proven to have success is early-generalization, where athleticism is developed in multiple sports, and then as you get older you start to specialize in a specific sport” – Mike Sullivan, Vancouver Canucks Assistant Coach

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