“Creating excellence” was the opening day theme of the College Hockey Inc. Virtual Coaching Clinic which got underway on Monday.
The first three presentations featured Seattle Kraken and former North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol, Rensselaer men’s head coach Dave Smith, and Princeton women’s head coach Cara Morey.
Access to the remaining live sessions – which includes replays of Monday’s presentations – is still available at The Coaches Site.
Building a tradition
When the Seattle Kraken drop the puck for their first ever regular-season game on October 12, the team’s quest for a Stanley Cup officially begins.
But that quest to put the Kraken together began much earlier, and Hakstol has played a major role in that.
Hakstol sat down with Aaron Wilbur, founder of The Coaches Site, to discuss the process of laying a foundation of an expansion franchise and where building a winning tradition begins. Below is an excerpt from that discussion.
Neutral Zone Offense
Turnovers happen all over the ice and being able to successfully transition from offense to defense, or vice versa, is vital to overall team success.
Smith focused specifically on transitioning to offense in his presentation as he walked through the keys to developing a quick transition game and generating offense from the neutral zone. Below is a sample from that presentation.
Dancing on the bench: Tips on creating a culture of excellence
Following six years as an assistant at Princeton, Morey is in her fifth year as head coach, during which time the Tigers won their first ECAC tournament title, an Ivy League championship, qualified for two NCAA quarterfinals, and set the program wins record.
Morey’s presentation focused on how she created a championship culture and the secrets for developing an environment that inspires excellence.
Virtual Coaching Clinic schedule of events
Here is the complete schedule of Virtual Coaching Clinic events.
