Hello, The league, (which I will not name), that is in the city where I live, only allows fathers as coaches. I am single with a USA Hockey Level 5 Certification with 18 years coaching experience. I wanted to get some info to see if other leagues have this policy. I called USA Hockey and was told they want the best coach if it is a father or not, but they allow the member organizations make their own decisions on selecting coaches.

That would be a pretty odd situation not to take the best person available, but it happens in every organization. Maybe you could assistant coach with someone and help those kids.

Not a coach or a hockey player, but I have to say that having someone with that amount of experience who wants to coach would be a great addition to any organization.

Also, not to take anything away from all the Dad's that do coach, I think having someone on the coaching staff that does not have a child playing can add a great perspective. I know the Coach on our team is always worried about people thinking he is favoring his son that he probably does just the opposite. I also hear of situations that it is happening, who knows?

That is sad if that is so. I find that although my son's coaches who have mostly been fathers of other kids on the team are fine it would be nice to have someone that wanted to be there without a child on the team.

My son has been fortunate to have decent coaches over the last 4 yrs. By decent I do mean that they are encouraging and make the game fun to play. Not all teams were lucky enough to have the fun my son had. Some of the coaches just wanted to win (At any cost) and kids did not get equal ice time/goalie time etc. This is a house team of 9 yr olds. I would think that having the credentials would make you a shoe in! As a hockey parent I would rather assist a coach like you than coach myself.

The problem with such parameters is that not everything is so absolute. Not every former player is a good coach; not every father/parent is a bad coach.
Coaching is a skill, and sad to say, I see very little of real good coaching out there -- in many sports. A good coach, and one is needed in hockey where ice time is a premium, will allow his assistants to contribute in on-ice drills and in forming and shaping the confident player. A good coach is the leader of a coaching staff, whether made up of parents or parent volunteers. A good coach is only the beginning of the makeup of a good team.
Look at three of our four major sports -- basketball, baseball and hockey. Over the last 10-20 years, pro teams have been looking at and drafting more Europeans (in baseball it's Latin Americans). One reason is bad coaching in the USA; we do a bad job of developing players. Look at the NBA, where skilled players like Nash and Nowitzki shine. In the NHL, the most skilled players continue to be Europeans and Canadians. The best American offensive player this past year was Chris Drury, and he was no better than 50th in scoring. Sad state, when you consider our numbers in youth hockey. At the youth levels, we need to develop more players and de-emphasize "winning" games.

Hi Coach,

I am the Coaching Director for my association and I salivate when I run into experienced coaches who do not have their kids playing. You can tell them that they are making a big mistake. Move up to NH and I'll get you a team!
Good luck.

Coach, Thanks for this post. I wish I could move up to a hockey hotbed. Maybe one day the league here will see the error they are making.
I even coach at the Can/Am hockey camp in the summer.

quote:

Originally posted by BB:
Hi Coach,

I am the Coaching Director for my association and I salivate when I run into experienced coaches who do not have their kids playing. You can tell them that they are making a big mistake. Move up to NH and I'll get you a team!
Good luck.

Hey coach
My sons mites coach is awesome and he is great with the kids but for some bad luck and just life he does not have any of his own. I am sure you would be a welcome addition to Columbus Georgia youth hockey but I do not speak for the association just as a parent, I know we could always use more help and it looks like you could provide it.