Day 1 - Have FUN!

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Each day for the next month, there will be a new topic posted here. Players, parents and coaches should review these materials every day. They will become the foundation for everything we do this season. Some days there will also be a short assignment. These assignments are mandatory for all players.

Our #1 Guiding Principle - Have FUN!

Hockey is a game and it is meant to be fun!

The new guys are pretty good…

Players, parents and coaches involved in youth sports will tell you that “Having fun” is the primary reason they participate in your sports. The absence of fun is usually given as they number one reason when they quit.

I’m sure that every coach you’ve ever had has talked about “Having fun”. But what does this really mean?

Research from Dr. Amanda Visek at George Washington University does a really good job of answering this question. Dr. Visek studied an entire youth soccer organization (142 players, 37 coaches and 57 parents). They were asked to brainstorm to identify all of the things that make playing sports fun for them. She then compiled all the answers and asked the entire group to rate the importance of each idea. This research allowed her to create the FUN Map and the Not-FUN Map.

The FUN Map lists and ranks 81 things that make sports fun. The Not-FUN Map lists and ranks 91 impediments to having fun in sports. In my experience, all of these apply to hockey

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Fun-NotFun_Maps.pdf2.1 MiB

The Top Things That Make Hockey Fun

Surprisingly to some, “Winning” is nowhere near the top of the list.

Being a good sport

Playing well together as a team
Supporting teammates
When players show good sportsmanship

Trying hard

Trying your best
Exercising and being active
Working hard
Being strong and confident

Positive coaching

When a coach treats players with respect
When a coach encourages the team
Getting clear, consistent communication from coaches
A coach who allows mistakes, while staying positive
A coach who listens to players and values their opinions
A friendly coach who you can talk to easily

Learning and improving

Being challenged to improve and get better at your sport
Learning new skills
Learning from mistakes

Team Friendships

Sharing our passions with our friends

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Data based on Visek, A.J., et.al. (2015). The fun integration theory: Towards sustaining children and adolescents sport participation. The full study can be found here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201634/

Today’s Assignment:

Make sure that you are able to get into the team WhatsApp group. I’ll be posting information into this group daily for the entire season.
Complete today’s workout on the TeamBuildr app. Be sure to mark each exercise complete as you finish it. Depending on your schedule (other sports, work, etc.) it is okay to complete the exercises on another day or even substitute an alternate workout provided that the difficultly level is similar. Please make note of any substitutions or switches as part of the daily check in item in the TeamBuildr app.
Take a look at the full FUN and Not-FUN Maps (see link above)
Write down your top three (3) things that make hockey fun for you AND your top three (3) things that you wish never happened in hockey. Save your answers for later.
Post a FUN emoji into the team WhatsApp group when you’re finished.
BONUS: Read the full study by Dr. Visek.

I hope you’re having fun with today’s task.