Coaches & Managers
One of the essential functions of coaches and team managers is to manage team communications with players and their families. If you are a coach or team manager, SportsEngine has created a Team Management Guide for Coaches and Team Managers to help you use our website and mobile app to efficiently and effectively communicate and manage your teams.
What Makes a Great Coach?
The differences between a good coach and a great one may be subtle, but they can make a world of difference to players. While knowledge of the game, ability to demonstrate drills and organizational skills are important, here are five traits that separate the best from the rest.
Humility – Every coach wants to win games, but not at the expense of skill development. Great coaches realize it’s about the team, not the man behind the bench. The best coaches don’t measure their success by their trophy case, but by the smiles on their players’ faces, their improvement on the ice and their passion for the game.
Compassion – Great coaches take the time to get to know their players, on and off the ice. If the coach makes the effort to listen, understand and treat players with respect, they will return the favor. Great coaches know that their team is only as strong as its weakest player and works hard to give every player the chance to improve his or her skills.
Communication – A coach can have all the technical knowledge in the world but if he can’t communicate and teach effecitively, the knowledge is useless. Clear communication stems from realizing how each player learns and tailoring the information to reach its intended target. The best coaches are able to deliver criticism and praise in a way that players will take to heart.
Passion – When a coach has a passion for the game and the team, it makes the experience a positive one for everyone involved. Excitement for the game and improvement is contagious, and if the coach has it the whole team will catch it. However, the same goes for negativity. If a coach acts up on the bench, there’s a good chance his players will do likewise on the ice. The apple, as they say, never falls far from the tree.
Leadership – Great coaches give their team’s direction and motivation to help them to reach their goals. They have a plan, are organized and find a way to encourage their teams to believe and work together. The best coaches are those that will lead an enthusiastic, excelling, growing team by personal example.
HOCKEY TOUGH
What is hockey tough? More than any sport I’ve experienced, hockey places extreme demands on the mental capacities of the athlete. To be hockey tough is to have the ability to overcome these challenges. There are five keys to becoming hockey tough.
- Hockey tough means having the desire and drive to be the best player you can be and the dedication to work hard to develop the physical and mental skills to be your best.
- Being hockey tough means being hockey smart. It’s having a positive, productive on-ice focus. It’s knowing your job and being alert and turned into executing effectively.
- Hockey tough means being in control of your emotions. It’s knowing how to energize and power up as well how to maintain composure. It’s working hard; staying focused; and not being distracted by pressure, fear, anger, and negativity.
- Hockey touch means being determined and committed to what’s necessary to improve your game and playing the team game to the best of your ability.
- Hockey tough means having the strength and resilience to weather the bumps, bruises, frustrations, fatigue, highs and lows of a long season. All of these hockey tough qualities and be enhanced with training.
Goalie Eric Ignatowski plays with a prosthetic leg
Newspaper article from 2001 from the Hudson Valley Hockey Association, New York
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STAY CONNECTED TO YOUR TEAM
Keep connected to your team. Quickly check schedules and team updates, plus message other members on your team and receive heads-up from athletes about practice. Enjoy unlimited access to scores & stats, photo/video sharing, and more.
ESSENTIAL COACH HOW-TO'S
Easily add and edit athlete info, manage schedules, and message team members
Messaging Your Team in TeamCenter
Send a message to an individual member, selected members, or the entire team directly from TeamCenter or from the SportsEngine mobile app
Basic Team Management
Perform basic tasks using the Team Page Team Management functionality
Add Contacts to Receive Team Messages
Add additional email addresses to a non-member's profile in order to be able to include all athletes in team communications
Manage RSVPs for each athlete within your team’s TeamCenter or within the SportsEngine mobile app
Sending RSVPs for Existing Games or Events
Do you import your game schedules from a third-party scheduler or create them manually on your team page? This article explains how to add RSVPs to those games and events after they are imported.
Review help articles about how coaches interact with TeamCenter and the SportsEngine mobile app
Bookmark your Website to the Home Screen of your Mobile Device
Access your website with a single tap from your mobile device's home screen.
