I have over 20 years of coaching experience at the competitive rep and Junior C level (AA and PJHL) Additionally, with 10 years of experience working in special education at the high school level, I understand the importance of tailoring my teaching style to accommodate each team members individual learning needs.
I am also the Founder and Coaching Partner of Elevate Sports Collective; an organization that supports high performing athletes in Character Development and Personal Growth. I am very excited to implement these philosophy’s and support this team in who they are becoming as they chase their goals. Character development is an essential part of an athlete’s journey. We need to focus on character development with the same consistency that we focus on building our physical strength and skill within hockey. Statistics and psychological studies have shown that when an athlete focuses on character development, they become better performers in their sport and more unified teams are built. This shows that who you are becoming as you chase your goals is as important as reaching the goals itself. As your athlete develops in hockey, they will also:
- Build a healthy relationship with pressure, failure, and society’s scorecard
- Learn to focus on the elements of the game that they can control
- Build a healthy relationship with confidence and competition
- Develop their intrinsic motivation and empower their inner voice
It is my belief that unified teams are built when they embrace vulnerability and engage in honest conversations. When vulnerability occurs team members learn not only about each other's strengths, challenges, and perspectives, but also gain a greater insight of themselves. The self awareness and mutual bond that occurs builds both stronger unified teams, and enhances the overall performance of the individual athletes. Prior to, and during the season, players will participate in personal growth exercises that go far beyond the X’s and O’s. These athletes will have an opportunity to get to know themselves and each other better.
My coaching philosophy is a firm but fair approach. I believe in creating practices where players are actively struggling. They may even fail. The key is to create an environment where they can fail safely. I understand that people are 400% more likely to do something when it’s a want to versus a have to. So rather than talking at players and telling them what to do, I foster an environment where I ask questions, and promote self discovery in helping players and the team get where they need to be. 1st hand experience is ALWAYS better than 2nd hand knowledge. I also believe that as a coach, I need to be the physical manifestation of my expectations. My approach is, “Define, Manage and Model”.
I believe in structured systems in all 3 zones without compromising these players creativity. I believe that it’s my responsibility to help these players think and navigate the game with confidence and with a plethora of options.
I’d like to close out this profile with a story of an NCAA coach Amos Alonzo Stagg. After winning a championship, a reporter asked him,
“Coach what do you think about your team?”
Coach Stagg responded and said,
“I’ll tell you in 20 years”
Bryan Joly
U16 B