Thank you @spudsusa27 for taking the time to come out and skate with and talk to the @U18AAASTLBLUES yesterday ! #thejourney #hardwork #everyrepcounts @AAABlues pic.twitter.com/WJbM4MxQi8
— Michael Berra (@MichaelBerra) October 23, 2018
One of the most fun parts about being a National Team player is being able to share stories and lessons with youth hockey players. Monday October 22nd, thanks to Mike Berra, I was invited to help coach at the AAA Blues U18 practice and speak to them after.
Sharing experiences like the challenge of making my first Paralympic team, the camaraderie of a championship locker room, and what it meant to captain the latest US Paralympic Sled Hockey Team to a gold medal. In just my short interactions with them at practice and immediately after, i realized that room is filled with great hockey players but more importantly great people.
Having played on six (3 World and 3 Paralympic) championship teams, a few common themes emerge. However, the one highlighted the most by my visit the the U18 AAA Blues is that a great culture breeds success. Culture can be a very ambiguous word that gets thrown around in sport and business talk alike, but I’d like to share three points and examples of what culture is to me, as someone trying to ensure it is upheld on a national level team.
Comfort with conflict – This is the pinnacle of what great culture is about and is probably my biggest flaw as a leader which is why I’m working so diligently to improve with it. Simply put, throwing 15-20 people together is not easy. On a team, everybody doesn’t have to like everybody. However, they do need to respect them and be willing to play for their teammates.
Teammates and coaches also need to be able to confront and conflict with other members. Opinions differ and not everyone behaves, lives, or acts the same. That’s what separates us from the robots, but its also what can cause strife within a team. Conflict is not always a bad thing if handled the right way. Talking with a someone that has shown poor conduct (on and off the field of play) or lack of adherence to team rules can be a method to bring them back to pulling in the same direction as their teammates. However, done in a confrontational manner or without tact can cause loss of a player’s buy in. Being able to use conflict as a tool to bring a player back on board can be supplemented by having…
Guiding Principles – Having a player chosen set of team rules or guiding principles helps twofold. First, it allows everyone to have a clear definition of what is expected from them. Secondly, it takes away excuses like, ” I didn’t know that was a rule,” or, “I didn’t agree to that”. We did something very similar for our Pyeongchang year where we developed 10 rules for the team ranging from dress code for games to conduct off the ice without the coaches. They were available to hold players accountable but ultimately we decided what core values we wanted as a team. It’s a great team building activity and a culture building one as well.
Horizontal Structure – Fresh out of my MBA Management class, we covered organizational charts and it got me wondering what our as a team looks like. There are a few examples of vertical flow such as: taking any injury issues to the athletic trainer so he can triage before bringing it to the team doctor and players bringing concerns to a captain to tell the coach rather than going directly to him. These tasks simply organize information channels. The real horizontal structure is between players and is what has contributed to our team’s success. Let me illustrate.
Player A: 26 games played – 18 points
Player B: 134 GP – 95 points
In practice, Player A comes up to Player B to talk to him about something that Player B should be doing differently. With such a disparity in experience and point scoring, should Player B listen? The answer is a conditional yes with the condition being only if Player B wants to improve. Noah Grove, the youngest member of the current US Sled Hockey Team is Player A, and I am player B. Even with the fantastic coaches we’ve had over the years learning from teammates that play the same games, face the same situations, and have to overcome the same obstacles has always been beneficial especially in the finer points of the game.
Having a horizontal hierarchy factors into all players feeling comfortable which helps them contribute more meaningfully and interact with all of their teammates in a positive, growth-mindset way. It also allows teammates to band together in order to bring a teammate that has deviated from the culture or rules back into the fold. Hearing the message from multiple teammates can be more impactful than from a coach.
Hope you all enjoyed this bit on culture! Looking forward to the next one.
-Josh