Write It Down, Right Now!

Early in my coaching journey I learned the importance of organization and attention to detail. Holding players accountable to to a written down plan allowed me to successfully lead those under my guidance in practice, games, and off-ice activities. #DailyMight

If the three most important words in the English language are “Write it down,” I’d like to propose that four and five be “right now!” Very early on in my coaching journey I learned the importance of being organized and paying attention to every single detail. And to make sure that I had it written down – both for the benefit of me and my coaching staff – and for the players and their parents.

Those first couple months, even years in some areas, was chaos on confusion and the the complete opposite of how I wanted it to look. Partly because of the newness of my expertise, but mostly because I didn’t have a written plan. It was a chance encounter at the rink one night that altered forever how I approached teaching athletes (and how I mentor other coaches). The encounter itself wasn’t memorable, but what came out of it sure was. I learned that it wasn’t that I didn’t know, but that I didn’t have it written down. So I began to. It lead to the Playbook.

Don’t reinvent the wheel.

If you’re anything like me, you consume a tremendous amount of data in search of becoming a better coach. Use that info to create the base – or improve areas – of a document that you can refer to. It’s ok to emulate other successful coaches here, (but be careful not to lose your own identity in doing it). There are lots of resources out on the internet for example, to get the basics covered. Start there, it will save you some time – and might just grow you in areas.

Eliminate the confusion.

By having things like playing time, player expectation, communication rules, among others – you’ll give your coaches, players, and parents the game plan on how to respond to certain situations (especially delicate conversations like playing time). Your goal is to treat all players fairly. By having some written rules of engagement, and holding team members to them, you can eliminate the confusion of when and how to start the conversations needed for improvement.

Everything matters.

Don’t be scared to have a robust written philosophy. There are thousands of situations that can occur during a season. All of it is important, even if you don’t think it is now. That’s where the internet resources can help. Sometimes, what you don’t know, you don’t know. Big or small, it all matters, however. The more you have written down, the easier the expectation is to communicate and meet. That’s a big deal when you want to effectively communicate to your team.

Developing and sharing my philosophy document has aided me in countless conversations during my time coaching. Having it written down has allowed me to demand excellence in execution of those under my guidance in practices, games, and off-ice activities. None of it was unimportant. Everything matters. Write it down, right now. You’ll thank me later.

Give everything your everything. And then some.

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