Suburban University - Instruction for Instructors

“Playing the game and teaching the game are two totally different animals,” says SHS Director Lyle Phair. “There are plenty of hockey players playing at the junior, college or professional levels, who are very good players and can provide outstanding demonstrations of what to do, but often they are not capable of breaking those skills down and communicating them in a ‘how-to’ progressive format to their students. It’s not enough to say “Do this.’ Teaching is much more than that.”

Teaching experience, or coaching experience, is invaluable and many SHS instructors bring that to the ice with them from day one. In addition to having over 20 years of hockey school instructional experience, SHS Directors Phair and Tom Anastos have both coached at the college level. Phair was an assistant coach at the University of Illinois-Chicago and Anastos as an assistant at his alma mater, Michigan State, and as head coach at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Program Managers Cal McGowan and Ryan Pardoski have also served as assistant coaches at the collegiate level.

“From a preparation and organization standpoint, there is no better training than coaching or teaching,” says Anastos. “You know what you want to accomplish and how much time you have to do it, so you need to formulate the best possible plan to get it done in the most efficient and effective manner.”

With over 30 years of experience in power skating and hockey instruction, that plan is very firmly in place and communicated to all instructional staff members.

“It is very important that we are all on the same page when we are on the ice to ensure that the class runs smoothly and there is no wasted time,” said McGowan. “From that respect, it is a little like being on a hockey team. There is a structure, or system, in place that serves as the guideline for how the class will run. From there, the instructors need to work together and play off each other, just like hockey players do in a game, so that we are providing a positive educational environment that is both challenging and fun for every player.”

Not every player has what it takes to be an instructor.

“The most important thing we look for in an instructor is the desire to teach,” says Phair. “You have to really enjoy working with young hockey players and that takes a certain temperament and plenty of understanding. If an instructor is just there to pick up a paycheck, we don’t want them. It really is a high-energy role. You have to be very active, very attentive, very vocal and literally be a leader on the ice to get the most out of the players. We take great pride in what we do and how we do it.”

So exactly what elements are taught in an instructor-training program?

“Really, it is not any different than any other training program in a typical business,” says Anastos. “We make sure they understand our organizational philosophy, what makes us tick, what is important to us, and why. Then we spend time on the technical stuff, the nuts and bolts, what to teach and how to teach it. Teaching requires the ability to engage your students, to understand them. To entertain them, to challenge them, to prod them. Each instructor has a little different style, a different personality, and that is a good thing. Although we strive for consistency in terms of curriculum in all of our classes, we don’t want our instructors to be robots. We want them to really get into it, get involved on a personal level and use their strengths, their people skills, to inspire the players to learn and improve.”

At hockey school, improvement really is the name of the game. At the weeklong SHS summer classes, instructors use the “ACE” system to get the most out of and provide the most feedback to their students. In each class, players are grouped by skill and experience. Then within those groups each day the instructor assesses where those players stand in terms of the skills and concepts being taught that day to determine what is the next step for them in their development. The next step is to “challenge” the players, to get them out of their comfort zone of what they can currently do to give them the knowledge, understanding and confidence to achieve that next level. The third step is to “evaluate”, which involves providing feedback for the student through a comprehensive written evaluation detailing the players strength and weaknesses and what they should work on most to improve their game.

“At the end of the day, and at the end of the week, the most important aspect is how much the player enjoyed being there,” says Phair. “If it is fun for them, their ability to learn and improve increases greatly.”

Maybe that’s the reason the first lesson taught in the instructor training program is to smile.

2003 by Suburban Hockey, LLC, All Rights Reserved.