Is there such thing as too many coaches?

You've seen it. That mite bench with 7 (or more) grown men behind it posturing like the Stanley Cup is in the building.

I've even seen it at the peewee level.

My opinion, U10 squirts should be jumping the boards at 9 years old and, at that point, there should only be one coach on the bench for games. Door openers are no longer needed.

But back to the question -- can there be too many coaches?

Yes...and no.

At any level of hockey, there's nothing worse than conflicting messages coming from the bench.

My kids have been on teams where the coach at the offense door wanted everyone to pinch all the time and the coach on the defensive door didn't want anyone pinching ever.

Watched so many kids get benched for doing exactly what one of the coaches instructed them to do.

So, in that case, yes, there is such thing as too many coaches.

The exception is if the coaches are in total alignment with their game play philosophies.

We've experienced that too -- so, in that instance, multiple coaches are a good thing.

A consistent message conveyed from two voices has double the impact.

But then you see those squirt games where there are like 5 dads, three who you've never seen on skates, flat brimmed hats, arms folded, standing on the bench, all pretending to be coaches.

That...never works.

Ever.

The flip side is that variety is the spice of life...and hockey.

Doing the same routine of drills over and over for months at a time doesn't usually lead to high end development.

I would NEVER recommend staying with a single program and the same coach(es) all the way up through youth hockey.

Variety is a must. Change it up.

Like, for my kids, in nearly all cases where we've done spring hockey or added tournament teams during the off-season, we do it OUTSIDE the program we play for.

Different style, different approach, and an opportunity to "practice" auditioning or carving out where your player fits in a different playing style and with a new set of players.

When it comes to private lessons, it's usually not with one of their regular season coaches either.

Conflict of interest aside, where it can absolutely increase ice time when you're paying your coach on the side, it just isn't as beneficial for the player's development.

It backfires.

Everytime.

Brings me so much joy.

Skating all over the place eliminates the big fish in a small pond uncertainties hockey parents should always have.

Yeah, I said it. All of us should have those insecurities.

Well, except that one kid on your roster with more points than Gretzky that actually believes he's awesome, has parents pumping this tires, and the ready excuse that any player better than him is cheating. Obviously, duh?

But, yeah, skating with different coaches and players clears all of that -- you'll know EXACTLY where your kid falls.

And your kid will get better too.

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Agree? Disagree? Let me know -- I love the feedback from all angles!

Chris Rutsch

Hockey Dad

Year round, I spend a significant amount of time and money transporting my three boys to and from freezing cold ice rinks. Not because I expect them to make it to the NHL but because I know the rigorous youth hockey experience will serve them well in the future.