WELCOME POTENTIAL CHA COACHES
CHA's Coaches Information
Coaches interested in applying for a CHA Head or Assistant coaching position for a Fall 08-09 team should register here at our online coaching application.
Welcome to the upcoming 2008-2009 hockey season at CHA. We are off to a great start and extremely pleased with the Central States coaching staff that has been assembled. All of our Central States coaches have very good hockey backgrounds and will be excellent resources for us to use for coaching ideas, drills, and advice throughout the season.
In the upcoming year our goal is to build on the CHA coaching and player enhanced development program that was put in place a few years ago at all age groups and skill levels. CHA’s "Continuing Education" development program builds upon USA Hockey’s mandatory coursework, requiring each coach to complete a minimum number of education credits. Each coach must satisfy coursework requirements in order to coach a team. Information is available on Missouri Hockey’s website. Also, please refer to the "Minimum Requirements" page to determine what coaching level certification will be required depending on the age group you would like to coach.
Mohockey has announced that Sean Ferrell has accepted the CEP position replacing Kevin Truman. Sean has been working with Kevin for several years, assisting him in many areas. He has been training in the process of educating coaches, certifying coaches, administering the MO Hockey Select tryouts (paperwork, securing evaluators, etc.), Central District tryouts, and National Camp Coaching. 2008 Coaching Clinic Detail (locations TBD): 8/23 Level 2 8/24 Level 3 9/6 Level 1 9/7 Level 2 9/27 Level 3 9/28 Level 1 10/25 Level 1 10/26 Level 2 11/8 Level 3CHA again will have teams in the Missouri Hockey league, Gateway Recreational Hockey League and will continue with our Initiation Program. In preparation for the selection of coaching positions for these teams and programs, we would invite you to send in your application. If you haven’t done so already this summer, please click the "register here" link above to complete your application.
In addition to the application, we will be having a CHA coaches meeting for all interested applicants during mid to late August to review our coaching program and philosophy. Please watch the CHA website for final dates and location.
A key factor in the success of CHA has been the time and effort parent and non-parent coaches have contributed to player and team development within the CHA program. We want to continue and build on that in the upcoming season. I look forward to a successful 2008-2009 season.
If you have any questions please email me.
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CHA Coaching Director
CHA PLAYER DEVELOPMENT PHILOSOPHY
BACKGROUND: In any youth sports program, it can be a challenge to find the proper balance between a natural desire to win and the concept of individual player development. In the short run, most team's performance can be temporarily improved if the coach "shortens the bench" and only skates certain players. Experience teaches us that in the long run, this type of coaching crutch creates a counterproductive class system amongst players that ultimately hurts team camaraderie, reduces player confidence, and ruins the experience for kids and parents. CHA PHILOSOPHY: The CHA policy is that emphasis is placed on the individual development of every player on the team. This is a higher priority than winning and one of the distinguishing factors between Tier I and Tier II programs. During the course of the season, coaches have an obligation to help each player on their team gain the most development possible. Each player should be taught, practice, and get game-experience during close games, power plays, penalty kills, and other special situations. A successful CHA coach is measured not by how many times he shortened his bench to win games, but rather by how few times he needed to shorten his bench because he did an effective job of teaching, practicing and preparing all his players to contribute to the success of his team.
ICE TIME ALLOCATION: Absent a situation involving behavioral issues, CHA has a club policy of "even ice time over the course of a season." This isn't the same as even ice time in every game but means when a coach shortens the bench during a game, the players who were shorted should eventually be given extra make-up time during a game in the near future. While this isn't a precise process, it's important that all players should be afforded the opportunity to gain practice and game experience playing every type of situation during a hockey game, so they'll be prepared for such roles on future teams.
RESOURCES FOR COACHES: