The intangibles of sports are always the toughest to
determine success in. There are so many factors that go into creating great
hockey players but there is no magic formula that exists for someone to copy.
Joe Birch, the Senior Director for Hockey Development with
the Ontario Hockey League, believes that off-ice character matters just as much
as how a player performs with skates on.
“There’s no perfect player as we ever know,” said Birch.
“When you think what goes in to making a Steven Stamkos or a Drew Doughty, you
got think about the head, think about the skill and the physical ability, you
got to think about the heart. And then there’s all the other intangibles.”
A player’s age, skill level, maturity, skating and hockey IQ
are all some of the determining factors when it comes to measuring player
success. It’s rare, however, to be able to properly judge each intangible
asset.
Looking at the game from the outside in provides a whole
different perspective than what is actually developing on the ice.
“When you sit in the stands, the game is a lot slower. You
have the opportunity to break it down and to be able to evaluate. When a player
can do that on the ice, generally he’s showing that he has some good hockey
sense and IQ. They’re not thinking too much, which then can slow down their
reaction and skill, but they’re thinking enough and letting their instincts
take over.”
Building life skills off of the ice is something that Birch
is a proponent of. At practice, learning doesn’t necessarily need to be about
hockey. He wants his players to be better people.
“We know that when Matt Duchene stayed at home and played
for the Central Ontario Wolves, he made his teammates and his community better.
That’s good in the big picture.”
“I think every day you should have the ability to teach.
Whether it’s being on time, whether it’s being a good person, whether it’s
doing something that makes you learn about lifestyle, nutrition, commitment in
balancing school and hockey and social and friends. I think every day they are
at the rink, coaches have the responsibility to teach a life skill.”
Birch says that coaches have the responsibility to mentor
younger players. Along with parents, he wants them to remember that it’s okay
for players to make mistakes because sometimes it’s the only way they can learn
from them. It can be important to take a step back and let them enjoy the game
simply for being able to play with their friends and having fun.
In Birch’s mind, there is one skill that he notices above
all of the rest in today’s game.
“Without a doubt, it’s skating. You watch a game and how
fast it is now and it’s talked about all the time. If you can’t skate, it’s
difficult to play at the next level… A close one after that when talking about
technical skill would then become your puck skills – the ability to pass and
shoot.”