NS Coach Newsletter Vol 3(2) February, 2014

“Help them become the people they want to be
through exceptional life experiences like lacrosse”
 
News: “Workbook Club”
 
Coaches, whether you need to complete a box/field Comm Dev/Comp Intro workbook, an evening can be coordinated to get everyone through their online workbooks (including setting up CLA coaching accounts and pre-clinic online work). Get in touch with your club president and lets get this done! You will need your manual and a laptop computer with wifi ability in order to take advantage of this session.
 
 
News: “Coach Training”
 
Coaches, LNSS is always looking for more individuals to become Learning Facilitators (LFs), especially outside the HRM. LFs lead NCCP coaching clinics, but as of January 1^st, 2015, they must have completed the general NCCP LF module clinic. The only one scheduled at this time on The Locker is for March 28^th and 29^th. You will also need to go through LF training specific for lacrosse at some point, but without the NCCP modules, you can’t run a coaching clinic after 2014. To register for the clinic, log into your coaching account on The Locker (coach.ca “My Locker”) and go to the Calendar tab. If you don’t have an NCCP number, go through the registration process. The LF module is also a great resource for those who deliver business clinic or courses.
 
 
News: “Great Coaching Opportunity”
 
You could find yourself next to a Canada Games coach, even an Olympic coach, which is why every coach should take advantage of the NCCP’s Competition Development series. On March 21^st and 23^rd, “Prevention and Recovery” and Developing Athletic Abilities” will be offered at Daltech. Coaches will “identify common injuries in their sport and develop appropriate prevention and recovery strategies so that their athletes can continue to train and compete injury-free” in the first course. The second course will give coaches the working background on how to “build an athletes’ fitness in endurance, strength and speed as a well sport specific conditioning”.
 
To register for either or both clinics, log into your coaching account on The Locker (coach.ca “My Locker”) and go to the Calendar tab. If you don’t have an NCCP number, go through the registration process.
 
 
News: “Sackville Wolves Call-out”
 
If you live in the Sackville area, think about coaching a minor team this year. It’ll not only be a great life experience for yourself, but also for your players. Those interested should get in touch with Steve Brown: coachbrown@eastlink.ca or give him a call at 830-2710.
 
 
Technical Director’s “My 2 Cents”
 
You can only imagine the long-term commitment by Slovenia’s and Austria’s men’s national hockey teams at the Sochi Olympics, who stacked up well below the giants in relation to registered hockey players: Slovenia 900+ (Seven available rinks), Austria 11,000+, Russia 66,000+, USA 500,000+ and Canada 600,000+. Despite their small bases, 17^th ranked Slovenia and 15^th ranked Austria beat 10^th ranked Germany and 14^th ranked Belarus in Olympic qualifiers: And how about Latvia’s semi-final versus Canada?
 
What a great time then to reflect on the four common characteristics of successful coaches, as listed in the US Level 1 Men’s Field Lacrosse coaching manual. Quoting from the manual, research has found that:
 
1. “Coaches have defined purpose and motivation: The coach communicates clear purposes and objectives to his/her players”;
 
2. “Coaches have skill competence: The coach has a competent knowledge of the game and is able to translate those skills appropriately to players”;
 
3. “Coaches are relational: All players matter. And coaches demonstrate that all players matter through emphasizing respect for self, teammates, opponents, officials and others by Honoring the Game”; and,
 
4. “Coaches possess good character: The coach is a powerful role model and therefore models high standard of conduct and values in his or her own life.”
 
To become a giant slayer, we need to ask ourselves then what the profiles are of the best players on the best teams, which is exactly what Les Gilson’s IPP form addressed at the most recent provincial coach meeting. Les is Rugby Canada’s High Performance Atlantic Manager and a tool he uses to create a Gold Medal player is their Individual Performance Plan (IPP). The IPP spreadsheet (Email lacrossetechdirector@sportnovascotia.ca for excel file) has six key criteria: technical, tactical, physical, nutrition, mental and holistic/leadership. Within each criteria there are 5-6 elements that coaches or players rank using a colour code key system; red (weakness), yellow (competent) and green (strength).
 
An interesting conversation can develop between coach and player when the player fills out the form. Les is charged with selecting NS players to participate on Canada Games or National teams. When a player fills out the IPP form and uses the context of his club or provincial team, the form can have a lot of green. It’s Les’ job then to sit with each player and get them to reflect on their abilities in relation to international standards.
 
You could imagine that the above coach/player conversation could be a bit discouraging, but the purpose of the IPP form is to identify strengths and set a pathway to develop weaknesses within a reasonable timetable. And have you ever had this conversation with a parent or player, “why didn’t my son, or I, get more playing time?” This then is a great tool for coaches, players and parents to establish a baseline and work to improve performance and ultimately equal playing opportunities.
 
 
Column: “Tips from the Crease”
 
“Slam Dunk”
Need something new for the one-on-one drill book, then try, “Slam Dunk”. Set a bucket, pail, milk crate or whatever about 10m from the first offensive/defensive pair. The challenge for the ball carrier is to aggressively cradle and dodge their way to the bucket and put the ball into the container without it popping back out. If players don’t have full gear, then run the “light” version where the defender uses hands only (and no grabbing). For the high intensity version, go full gear, but again, start the defender without a stick to work on defensive body positioning. This can be quite a competitive drill and expect your players to have fun with it.
 
“Whitby Tips”
Nice group of seven video clips on YouTube from Whitby Warriors. Go to YouTube put and type “WMLAcoaching” into the search window. Great tips for those coaches just getting into lacrosse or wanting to review some basics.
 
News: “Next Month”
 
Keep track of up-coming events on LNSS’s website newslider.

• Provincial Head Coach Meeting, February 5^th
• Comp Dev Leading Prevention & Recovery, The Locker, March 21^st
• Comp Dev Developing Athletic Abilities, The Locker, March 23^rd

 
“Players should expect the best - We can deliver”