This Sound Byte emphasizes the coach’s role as the emotional thermostat for their team, particularly on game days. Coach Weiss outlines the necessity for coaches to assess and manage the emotional state of their players, adjusting the energy levels to maintain an optimal atmosphere during pregame meetings and throughout the match.
Key Points
The Role of the Coach
- 00:00 Jeremy Weiss introduces the topic, focusing on the coach’s responsibility as an emotional thermostat for the team, particularly on game day.
- 00:20 The coach must gauge the emotional state of the players in the locker room before the game.
Assessing Emotional Energy
- 00:47 If the team’s energy is flat, the coach needs to energize them; conversely, if they’re overly hyped or nervous, the coach must calm them down to achieve balance.
- 01:11 This assessment is not limited to pregame; it also applies during the game, especially when the team faces challenges like penalty troubles.
Maintaining Optimal Emotional Levels
- 01:25 The objective is to keep the team at a stable emotional level that is suitably amped but not excessively so, enhancing performance without leading to frustration or anxiety.
- 01:45 Weiss encourages coaches to actively consider their role as emotional regulators, which is just one of their many responsibilities in leading the team.
Jeremy Weiss (with his translator) presenting at a hockey coaching symposium for the Russian Federation in Moscow—2018.
Who is Jeremy Weiss?
Hockey coach and international consultant, Jeremy Weiss, has worked with thousands of coaches worldwide since 2008 to help produce championship teams at every age and skill level.
He is known internationally through the work he has done online. In 2008 he invented “digital chalktalks” which combined screen sharing with drill diagramming software, to produce a training experience nobody had ever seen before. His YouTube following quickly grew to over 19,000 subscribers, and he has produced over 130 training videos.
Jeremy runs a development blog for coaches, which has over 280 posts. He is the author of 10 hockey books for coaches, and is the editor of Hockey Development Magazine.
He was trained in the Eastern European style as a pre-teen, by his Czechoslovakian skills coach, and competed internationally as a “Wexford Raider” among the top youth hockey programs in the world including Russia, Czechoslovakia, Finland, and top teams in his home province Ontario, Canada.
He majored in Exercise Sciences at Brigham Young University, and subsequently worked as a Personal Trainer, where he continued to study and develop ideal training methods for hockey.
He has incorporated the very best pieces from the various training styles he has been involved in, and has built a world-class off-ice strength and conditioning program that fits the specific needs of hockey players.
