Colin Doyle Toronto Rock

1. Coaching Colin Doyle Toronto Rock

2. Introduction • Drawn on my personal experiences, as a player, coach, camp director and instructor • Coaching is single handedly the most important factor to the successful growth of lacrosse, yet it continues to be its greatest deterrent • Lets work together to amend this and do our part to grow this great game

3. My Philosophy • In brief: • I am proof of what the value in sport can be • I believe in team sports • I believe in the power of volunteers and the influence they have on kids • I believe in the power of coaches and teachers • I am also a realist

4. Why Do We Coach? Let’s be sure to understand this before we move any further! Open forum

5. Real Life Coaching Tip #1 • Ed Comeau once told me that every practice Les Bartley had each coach on his staff ask three different players non lacrosse related questions. This was in an effort to get to know his players on different levels. Think about how far this would go in learning your about your players as people.

6. Colin Doyle’s 5 Core Principles • Coaching can be rewarding, but don’t do it for the rewards • Be prepared and organized • Keep things consistent; rules and discipline • Have fun and change things up • Remember the little things

7. Rewards • Growing the player, in one way or another, is the ultimate goal • Building relationships should be as rewarding as winning championships • Gaining the respect of a player is not always easy, but rewarding in the long run • “The process of coaching will forever be more rewarding then winning” (cd7)

8. Preparation & Organization • These two things will save you! • A good manager always goes a long way • Have season long plans, but be ready for when they change • Have practice plans • Have goals and dates that mean something to you and your staff • Being organized and prepared allow fun and change to take course much easier

9. Consistency • Keep things consistent…very hard to do • Understand different situations, but don’t change rules and discipline. This makes thing confusing for kids and parents • Trust your set of rules and discipline • As players get older, the more difficult this will get because winning slowly becomes more important. Don’t let desire to win out duel your values. This will always make a player stronger in the long run. • Allow parents and/or players to have say in your rules….or don’t! • What about treating every kid differently? – great question………let’s discuss

10. Have Fun…But Mind Change • Being a kid is fun • Fun makes kids happy • Happy kids means more kids • Simple philosophy • Don’t ever get away from it! • Be sure not to get repetitive • Allow yourself to grow and change as the season moves on • This keeps kids intrigued and interested • It also seems to be more FUN!!

11. Little Things • Don’t get caught up in how fast a season can go • Be sure to stop and enjoy the little things in coaching • Building confidence, getting to know your players on different levels, instilling values, sharing stories and celebrating “little” victories • These are the rewards that are not defined by winning, yet will stick with kids for their lifetime

12. Open Question Period Understanding my 5 core values in coaching.

13. Real Life Coaching Tip #2 “Thunder Dan Fotopolous” was my best friend’s dad and my minor coach pretty much my entire minor life. He was that guy that new lacrosse in my area. What he told me was gold, simple as that. He went out of his way to make sure I could fulfill my desire to get better by taking me to games and by explaining the finer points of lacrosse. I learned a lot from him and to this day mention him when I talk about major influences. Each community has “that guy”. If you become “that guy”, don’t underestimate what impression you can make.

14. Colin Doyle’s Winning Philosophy • My winning philosophy has very little to do with winning at all • Strange isn’t it? • My winning philosophy has as much to do with losing as it does with winning • This winning philosophy has everything to do with what it takes to win and very little with actually winning. Winning is just the icing on the cake! • Making winners in life, not just sport

15. Winning Philosophy: Rule #1 Coach for understanding not for doing

16. Understanding vs. Doing • Teach/coach to allow the kids to understand the why’s, how’s and what if’s • Understanding will introduce the kids to processes and actions/reactions. It will also allow them to begin asking questions. • Don’t just tell them how to do it, have them understand why and when to do it • This allows for understanding of the game and game sense. Something that lacks in most parts of the country. • It also allows the player to begin the process of thinking for himself, and decreases dependency on coach • It is most important that you begin understanding the game yourself first. Ask lots of questions, watch lots of games. Words to live by!

17. Winning Philosophy: Rule #2 Respect the game

18. Respecting the Game • This is values driven… simple as that • Each coach can really drive home their own values and beliefs. These are mine: • Teaching kids to understand the history of our great game. If you understand the history you will begin to understand why values are so important to it • Respecting officials, coaches, teammates, opponents and culture itself • Instilling these go a long way to ensure lineage in minor systems and avoiding a lot of issues • These kinds of things can be instilled without really being talked about. Do as I say or do as I do? • Something that I have to remember every day • Something that is very hard to stay true to, in the hardest of circumstances

19. Winning Philosophy: Rule #3 Teaching the process of winning is more important than winning itself -2 parts-

20. The Old Adage • Do I coach to win, or do I teach to win? • This lesson is one of the most valuable I will talk about today • I simply don’t believe in winning at all costs • I believe there is a process to achieving success. Sometimes winning occurs with this, sometimes it doesn’t. That’s life and that is a reality. • Either way, I believe the kids will benefit greatly from this process. • Allow me to do my best to explain the nuts and bolts of this belief, as I believe it has served me well.

21. Part One: Skill Development • Understanding the process of skill development • The better the skill, the better the chance for success. Simple as that • Teaching kids the connection between basic skills and success and the importance of basic skill • What is the most important part of lacrosse?

22. What Is the Most Important Part? • Passing and catching. • Start from there. Passing and catching are the frame in which success is built on • Wherever your organization goes from there be sure to always connect better skill to better success • Working hard on skill development will lead to success of one kind or another

23. Part Two: Mind Set • Understanding the connection between mindset and success is one thing, coaching or teaching it is another altogether • In my opinion, this is the portion that lacks in so many areas of sport • The opportunities to teach these are so many during a season • It is simple. Don’t pass up an opportunity to teach this connection and how it correlates to success

24. Physical Mindset Hard work Preparation Practicing hard Practicing with purpose Working on their own Logical Mindset Riding highs and lows Learning from losses Learning from successes Learning from mistakes Learning from actions Learning from non actions Mind Set (cont’d)

25. Open Forum Understanding My Winning Philosophy

26. Real Life Coaching Tip #3 • Terry Sanderson continues to be one of people I respect most in the game of lacrosse. He has the uncanny knack of getting players to be their best. His ability to get you to want to play hard for him is unlike anybody I’ve ever played for. This is 100% driven from his passion for the game, and its relevance on success. Getting the most of your players in all situations is the becoming of a great coach. Respect makes a player want to play hard for a coach. Don’t forget that.

27. Framing a System Components of a Minor Association: • Introductory component • Camps/clinics and learning tools • House league • Travel/All-Star teams • Jr. A/B teams

28. Choosing Your Framework • Organize and implement one that works for your philosophy • Have a committee develop this framework, not an individual • Be sure you are willing to implement and manage your program • Hold everyone accountable within the system to ensure its lineage and success • Start small, and listen to others

29. Section 1. • Introductory component • Camps/clinics and learning tools • House league Keep this section as fun based as possible. Allow for competition within a very fun driven atmosphere.

30. Skills Approach to Section 1. Teach the basics of the game • Loose balls • Passing/catching • Proper movement • Cradling and stick protection • Proper defensive style (heavy emphasis on body position and stick position) • Simple team concepts • Proper changes • Shift lengths, etc. • Proper side of floor

31. Practice Approach to Section 1. • Keep things faced paced and fun • Change drills quickly (I recommend changing every 5-7minutes) • Have fun driven competition wherever possible • Be prepared and have plans ahead of time • Be prepared to change on the fly, but have long term, season ending goals that are in line with the associations plans • With young kids, have some consistency with practice flow so they can become somewhat adapted • Pound home and be repetitive with key terms • Foot positioning, Stick placement, Stepping into pass, Getting low for loose balls, Getting head up • End each practices with a varied form of a lacrosse game

32. Coaching Approach to Section 1. • Coaching at this level is teaching – not competing • You are trying to keep players involved in the game, while recruiting others by word of mouth • Every game, practice, get together is an opportunity to teach something • Kids at this level want fun. • At this level you will be presented with 2 types of players: • Player 1 is trying to get to the next level, but was cut • Player 2 is just finding a sport to have some fun with • Be cognizant to connect to both types of players – this is very difficult to do

33. Coaching Player #1 • Pushing the next level player a little harder and giving them some leadership responsibility usually goes a long way -they need or want it! • Remind them constantly of what their goal is…getting to the next level • Remind them of their superior skill level, and teach them to help others rather than dominating all aspects of practices and games • At the same time, be sure to let their natural talent shine. Without taking away from the team concept – very fine line and hard to do. • Avoid too much praise for these players, but be sure to praise their efforts • Leading, working hard, etc. • Avoid using the term MVP

34. Coaching Player #2 • Making sure to remember the needs of player #2 is sometimes hard to do when competitive juices get flowing • In practice make sure these players are paired up with each other, not the dominating players • Pound home the basics…over…and over…and over…. • Don’t ever neglect the “newer” less connected player in pursuit of winning. They need to have a great lacrosse experience too. • Giving these players weekly leadership responsibilities or celebrating their achievements can really improve their confidence • Practice player of the week • Hardest worker etc… • Most improved

35. Summary Section 1. • This section needs to be driven by fun • Basic skills cannot be neglected in this section • Keep practices fast paced • Even your focus and praise for each type of player • Do not neglect either in the process

36. Summary (cont’d) • In the end, this is where you build your numbers and your reputation • This is the frame in which the rest of the house is built • Make this the strongest part of your association and everything else will grow accordingly • It is important that whatever philosophy your association decides to go with, it begins here…no questions asked • Integrity, values and skill association must begin at the bottom

37. House League Open Forum Lets discuss this portion of the framework

38. Section 2. Travel/All-Star Teams This is where your association gains notoriety on the Provincial scale. It becomes very important here to keep things inline with the rest of the association while trying to compete at the highest level. As a coach, you are building a player to successfully pass him or her to the next level. Accountability is huge here in having end level success. If failure occurs at some point in this process, it will affect the rest of the chain. You are still building here. Winning cannot become everything!

39. Skills Approach to Section 2. Skills at the All-Star level always begin with the master of the basics and the process of exploring the next level. The next level is mastering the skill, then beginning to implement it in more difficult situations, creating a superior lacrosse player who can succeed at the All-Star level for your year and years to come.

40. Skills Approach (cont’d) • Master passing and catching stationary, then begin to add basic motion, then more motion etc… • Master picking up the ball, then master getting it in traffic and finding the player ahead of you • Master picking, then master picking and rolling, slip picking and fake picking • THE KEY IS NONE OF THIS WORKS WITHOUT MASTERING THE BASIC SKILL!

41. Practice Approach to Section 2. • Routines are very important at this level • Practice plans are vital as players begin to comprehend association terms • Routines do not mean repetitive practices. Framework can stay the same, but be very sure you are mixing things up • Try to follow a similar approach to teaching new skills and practicing old ones • My approach will follow

42. Colin Doyle’s Approach to Coaching a Skill • Teach by showing • Practice basics of skill with no resistance • Re-teach skill by showing game like application • Practice skill in controlled game like environment • Put players in live action situations where they need to perform skill

43. Practice Approach (cont’d) • Keep players moving and keep drills switching (5-7 minutes can work here) • Make the learning process happen on its own in well designed drills • We are what we repeatedly do. Have them perform the skill the same way in as many different settings as possible. • Be sure to involve competitive games into practices • Remember you are teaching them the ability to make decisions on their own. Don’t overbear them with talking. Get them into drills to see for themselves what works and what doesn’t. • When it doesn’t be ready to teach and coach and keep the drill moving along • Always be willing to learn and change your approach • Bring something new to the table any chance you get

44. Coaching Approach to Section 2. In the framework of an association, you are left trying to achieve success while preparing a player for individual success at the next level. You cannot make the mistake of choosing winning over the growth of the player and the individual.

45. Coaching Approach (cont’d) • When dealing with players and circumstances, don’t make decisions based on winning and losing • Base them on your values and your association’s philosophy • Do not become a team that leans so heavily on one player, that the rest get left behind • Remember that this is only one year in the process of each budding player. You get your chance to help make them better in the greater process, then they move on.

46. Summary Section 2. • Spend the year teaching how to become winners, not focusing on winning only • There is nothing wrong with achieving success, but don’t base decisions on it • Be prepared and organized, and make sure you disguise the learning process and keep things fun • Do your part to keep the players you graduate in line with the framework of the association • In other words, turnover players that are ready for the next step • THE STEP LADDER APPROACH

47. Open Forum: All-Star Teams Let’s discuss my view of All-Star teams.

48. Step Ladder Approach The step ladder approach is simple. Coaches at each level do their part to ensure the players they turn over are prepared for the next level. The ladder falls, or fails if processes are lost or corners are cut. Lets discuss

49. Real Life Coaching Tip #4 • Do not become a coach that yells nonsense the entire game. I once coached with someone who felt like they had to yell instruction to teenage kids the entire game. It was this experience that led me to believe in the experimental and trust philosophy where kids learn from experiences and you practice well enough that you trust them to make winning decisions. When they don’t, you learn from it. Therein lies the process again…

50. Skills, Drills and Thrills Making drills game like can be the most challenging part of coaching lacrosse. Running a good practice continues to be one of the greatest challenges to coaches across the country. Let’s take this part to answer any questions you may have on how to make practices better and more relevant.