I had a coach in junior hockey that used to coach in the NHL. Everyone on the team thought he was going to be so good for us and have such a bright and innovative coaching mind but boy were we wrong. This coach came to the team and thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. He did and said a lot of stupid things but one for me that stood out the most was when a young player on our team (18 years old) was having a tough game so during the second period intermission our coach berated him in front of everyone. He shouted at the player “What the hell is wrong with you?? How can you make such a stupid play?” the player, replied sheepishly “sorry coach, i just have no confidence right now” to which our former NHL coach shouted “confidence?? confidence is just an excuse! Hockey players don’t need confidence!”

That response from our coach to our struggling teammate just proved to me that sometimes coaches, even in the NHL, have terrible hockey minds and development skills. Confidence is the difference between taking risks to make a great play and becoming a super star and not taking any risks at all and making bad plays due to insecurities and nervousness and getting yourself glued to the bench.

If there happens to be any young hockey player reading this, just know that some coaches, even with NHL experience, have no idea what they are talking about. Don’t let them dictate how you play and try your best to maintain your confidence and don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t need it. To me, confidence is one of the most important attributes of a successful pro athlete. I wish I was able to maintain my confidence throughout all the high levels of my career and maybe I’d be in the NHL instead of grinding through the minor league struggle.