PODCAST Season 3 Episode 15 Shaping Moments
Darryl Belfry2024-04-11
44 views|4 months ago
💫 Short Summary
Daryl Belfrey reflects on key coaching moments in player development and the importance of seizing growth opportunities. He discusses strategic approaches with players like Patrick Keane and Kyle to enhance skill development through mental preparation and precise movement execution. The focus on mental visualization, physical feel, adaptability, and skill acquisition is highlighted through players like Nathan Horton and Larell. The speaker emphasizes the value of patience, observation, correcting weaknesses first, and building trust with players to improve performance. The intensity and dedication of players like Nathan and Nate push coaches to operate at their best, ultimately leading to improved player development and performance in sports.
✨ Highlights
📊 Transcript
✦
Daryl Belfrey reflects on impactful moments in his coaching career.
01:19Belfrey emphasizes recognizing and seizing key opportunities for growth and improvement.
He discusses working with player Patrick Keane and the strategic approach taken during development sessions.
Keane initially faced confusion and unconventional methods but eventually displayed dedication to mastering new skills.
The story highlights the value of adaptability and open-mindedness in achieving personal and professional growth.
✦
Importance of mentally preparing for movements by visualizing them as a game.
06:53Working with athlete Kyle highlighted the significance of precise movement execution before starting repetitions.
Kyle's method of incorporating corrections during walkthroughs rather than during reps was influential.
Adopted a similar approach called 'pre-re movement' for personalized skill acquisition.
Focused on building up movements with attention to detail and variability in execution for enhanced skill development.
✦
Importance of mental visualization and physical feel in player development.
10:49Speaker contrasts mental rehearsal with physical practice in player approaches.
Emphasis on players slowing down, feeling differences, and being aware of movements.
Challenge of players preferring unconscious actions over conscious adjustment.
Essence of player development in sport as manipulating subconscious behaviors for effective performance.
✦
Importance of movement and skill acquisition in sports development.
12:39Nathan Horton showcased exceptional learning abilities and quick mastery of skills.
Speaker constantly provided new challenges and ideas to keep Nathan engaged.
Specific drills, such as over speed work and figure eights, were used to enhance Nathan's skills.
Nathan's eagerness to learn and tackle challenges made him a standout player in his age group.
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Nathan's exceptional skills and adaptability in hockey stood out at a young age.
16:07Nathan displayed unique maneuvers with the puck, like picking it up with his skate and scoring unconventionally.
His abilities surpassed those of older players, leading his coach to constantly challenge and engage him.
Nathan's confidence, curiosity, and willingness to experiment set him apart from his peers.
His natural talent for the sport was evident in his performance on the ice.
✦
The speaker's realization of the value of his mentor's teachings.
21:55The mentor's awe-inspiring teaching style led to significant growth for the speaker.
The mentor's approach to training involved observing others first before excelling.
Practice and improvement through repetition and observation were key lessons learned from the mentor.
The importance of patience and learning from different perspectives was emphasized by the mentor.
✦
Building a Professional Relationship with John Tavaris in the NHL.
23:40John Tavaris emphasized detail and asked smart questions, challenging the speaker to admit when he didn't have answers.
Unlike a previous player, Patrick, John's relationship was more professional than brotherly.
John's curiosity and willingness to collaborate broke down barriers and improved their dynamic with the speaker.
✦
Coaching strategy for player improvement.
27:28Larell struggled with a weak side in his play, causing frustration due to lack of symmetry in abilities.
The coach addressed Larell's weaknesses first before working on his strengths to improve overall performance.
Starting with the weak side and transitioning to the strong side proved effective and is a strategy the coach still implements with other players.
Correcting weaknesses first to build a solid foundation for improvement is a key takeaway from the coaching experience with Larell.
✦
Nathan's intense drive for improvement and dedication to being the best player in the NHL is highlighted.
32:42Nathan is described as extremely intense and demanding of himself, pushing those around him to be better.
His intensity and drive for improvement are compared to being on a level of 11, similar to working with Mike Tyson.
The narrator feels a sense of obligation to match Nathan's intensity with better information and performance.
Nathan's work ethic and high expectations set him apart from others in the NHL.
✦
Reflection on training with skilled athlete Nate and meeting Sydney Crosby.
35:10Intensity and perfectionism required when training with Nate, feeling pressure to match his energy.
Realization that he should bring the same level of focus and energy on his own.
Acknowledgment of Nate's impact in pushing him to operate at his best.
Initial excitement and self-doubt upon meeting Sydney Crosby, learning the importance of self-motivation and bringing out the best in oneself.
✦
Overcoming fear and impostor syndrome in meeting new people.
40:30Speaker shares nerve-wracking experience of meeting someone new on the ice.
Lesson learned is to step out of comfort zone and be authentic.
Importance of building relationships and finding one's place in a tight circle like Sydney's.
Emphasizes the value of being oneself and earning your way in.
✦
Importance of Building Trust with Players
42:21Building trust with players involves being authentic, respectful, and matching their intensity.
Effective communication with a player using video can help earn their trust.
Working with Austin Matthews to improve takeaways showcased the evolution of their training process.
The impact of the training process on Matthews' performance as one of the best offensive players was significant.
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Importance of stacking skills for player development.
46:32The coach emphasizes the player's progress in takeaways and scoring chances.
Season 3 was significant for discussing player development and teaching methods.
The coach expresses gratitude for viewer support and looks forward to season 4.
Excitement builds for the upcoming season in the summer.
00:01welcome to the belfrey hockey podcast my
00:03name is Daryl belfrey and this is season
00:06three of the belfrey hockey podcast and
00:09this is going to be episode 15 shaping
00:12moments so what I wanted to do is have
00:16my last episode of this of this series
00:20be something more of an introspective
00:23and be able to share some of these like
00:27what I would call
00:28like left to right turns in the road of
00:32my career that were really impactful
00:35like I they were like moments that
00:37changed everything like I thought about
00:39things different from that moment
00:42forward and I think everybody in every
00:44Walk of Life has those moments where
00:47like once you once you've had that
00:50happen nothing's the same ever since
00:53like you it takes you in a whole
00:55different direction and I don't think
00:57those things happen by coincidence I
00:59think As you move your along you end up
01:02with these and then it's just up to you
01:04to figure out how impactful that those
01:06are going to be in your life and I was
01:07always very mindful that I knew that
01:10there was going to be these moments that
01:11were going to happen so I was always on
01:12the lookout for them and these are I
01:16guess 10 or 11 moments that I had with
01:19players that really dramatically shaped
01:22uh the way that I thought from that
01:24moment forward so without any further
01:26Ado let's get started so the first
01:28player I want to talk about is is
01:30Patrick Keane obviously he a long the
01:32longest um the longest client I've ever
01:36had he started with him when he was very
01:39young and um there were millions of
01:42moments with him um and so to pick one
01:46has been a bit of a challenge but I
01:48think this one was one of the more
01:51impactful ones so I'm going to start
01:54with this one
01:55so basically when he had turned this is
01:59a moment where he had turned Pro and he
02:01was playing in the
02:02NHL and uh during the course of that off
02:07that those off Seasons there was a lot
02:10of like building of something new like
02:13creating new aspects to to his game and
02:16so you know we to research what we
02:18wanted to do we got out there I had a
02:20good game plan of how I wanted to attack
02:23it and we would get into it and a lot of
02:25the movements particularly early on in
02:28the development sessions were highly
02:30specific movements we're really trying
02:33to move trying to change a movement
02:35pattern so we get started and as we
02:40would get into it you know he would be
02:42going through uh the movements and he he
02:46would just be standing there and you
02:48know he would he had this thing where he
02:50would be like recant re re retelling
02:54what it was that I want okay so you want
02:55me to go here you want me to do this you
02:57want me to do that and he would have his
02:58hand you could see he he was almost like
03:01acting it out but he was just standing
03:03still and then to get started he would
03:07then go the opposite direction and then
03:10he would do like two or three like
03:12skills like when I say skills I mean
03:14like maybe a fake maybe a pass off a
03:16self pass off the boards um maybe he
03:19would go down the wall and then like do
03:22like a turn like all these like random
03:25movements that had nothing to do with
03:27what we were doing like normally
03:30anybody else you say go and they go they
03:34just start going towards what what
03:36you're prescribing them to do this guy's
03:39going in the complete opposite direction
03:41and he's doing all these like these like
03:44couple of skills and then he would go
03:47and he would and he would do it and he
03:49did it you know for quite a while and
03:51then finally I said to him I'm like okay
03:54so like what are we doing here and he's
03:57like well I'm trying to connect it so
03:59that just doesn't feel like a drill like
04:02it it I want it to feel like a game like
04:06I'm I'm trying to you know imagine
04:08myself in it and I was like oh like I'm
04:13thinking we're just repping this out but
04:15in his mind it's going to go faster if
04:18he can feel it like way it's going to
04:20feel in a game so in a game you don't
04:23just do the movement you have things
04:25that are going to happen before and
04:27things that are going to happen after so
04:29that that's what when when he said that
04:32and he started doing it and then I
04:34started playing with it and then you
04:37know we started adding all kinds of
04:39different things that's what started me
04:42on the path of snacking stacking things
04:46together having uh one skill then blend
04:51into another skill and shouldering
04:53skills and so I started to run with it
04:56and uh he constantly would do it and
04:59every every time I have a nice time with
05:01him he's always like adding something
05:04different and personalizing it in some
05:07way and that was a major major turning
05:10point for me because I started to view
05:13skills more from that like two or three
05:17parts like how do you lead yourself in
05:19to the skill and then how do you lead
05:21yourself out and you know then creating
05:24isolation in certain pieces building it
05:27up and then sticking it back in and then
05:30you know creating a lot of variability
05:33in the entrance and the exit all that
05:36came from that moment and that's what
05:38started me along that path I called it
05:41pre-re movement and uh he he was the
05:44author of
05:45that which kind of brings me to the next
05:48one which was uh a moment I had with
05:51Kyle
05:52ooso and Kyle aroso uh for those of you
05:56who don't know is a absolute freak of an
06:00athlete like he he could play when they
06:04say guys could play any sport that's
06:07kylock poo he his level of
06:11athleticism is is one of the highest of
06:14of anybody I've ever worked with uh he
06:17has an insane ability to acquire skills
06:20um his power and ability to produce
06:23power is through the roof and uh a nicer
06:27person you will never meet but that's
06:30that's a whole other
06:32discussion so Kyle very similar uh I
06:36would have him you know working on
06:38something and uh I was talking to him
06:42okay so I want you to do this when you
06:44get here this is the skill don't forget
06:46this remember that you know and
06:49describing the movements and uh and like
06:53I would finish talking to him and then
06:57he would do like a dve run like just
07:00walk through he would just go he would
07:03just start moving and then he would you
07:05know he would have the move okay so be
07:07like this and he'd be asking me while
07:10while he's doing his walkth through like
07:12is this what you want and if I say well
07:14yeah that or no then he would go back
07:17and back it up just like a step and go
07:20well is it like this yeah no like that
07:22okay move your elbow here y do that okay
07:24great and he would get every
07:28correction out of the way in that
07:31walkthr before he did a single
07:33rep and I'd never seen that before I was
07:36like what is this and he he would do it
07:41over everything that was like a new
07:44pattern New Movement where we were
07:45trying to change something he would do
07:48the same thing every time and it was he
07:52he would get all the corrections done
07:54through this what I had termed a feel
07:56through and I players that I saw
08:00afterwards I saw that happen more and
08:04more cuz once you see it then you start
08:05to notice it right it's like driving
08:08down a highway and you say hey there's a
08:11red car and then next thing you know all
08:13you see is that same red car over and
08:16over again right that's that's what
08:18happens once you're drawn to that thing
08:20that that it comes up so now you
08:23remember Pat Kee story right he would be
08:26standing in one place and he'd kind of
08:27be like moving his arms or just like
08:29slightly moving or whatever he's doing a
08:31feel through but it was a mental feel
08:33through he was mentally going through
08:36what he was doing and he could imagine
08:39himself which was it's a major part of
08:42of his learning was the imagination part
08:45he it was there was a visualization and
08:48he had to be able to visualize it and
08:50then see himself doing it that was a big
08:53part of how he would learn Kyle his
08:57approach was through the actual ual feel
09:00of the movement like he was actually
09:02going through it at a very slow pace
09:04getting all the corrections out of the
09:06way and then that's how he would start
09:09and um it was it was fascinating and
09:11then once I saw that I started to notice
09:14it with more people and I started to
09:17provide more space for them to do it and
09:22I would start asking questions and I
09:24would create dialogue during this
09:25because I wanted to see kind of more and
09:27more about how they would how they were
09:29thinking I wanted I remembered the cane
09:32stuff that I had learned a few years
09:34earlier and then I was trying to tie
09:37this whole thing together there's mental
09:39re rehearsals and then there's these
09:42physical rehearsals and some players
09:45might want to do both and some players
09:47are not familiar with
09:49Fields so it was a couple of years after
09:52that I had a junior player he and one of
09:56his his agent had called me and said hey
09:59I'd like you to work with this player
10:01player was a junior player playing in
10:02the OHL so he comes out to train with me
10:06and he was so I don't know if it was
10:09like he was nervous or whatever but he
10:10was so eager like I would say go like I
10:14would tell him what I wanted to do I say
10:16go he's gone he would just try to do it
10:18as fast as he could and I was like okay
10:20you're not going to learn anything like
10:22that like you have to actually we're
10:23trying to change you need to be able to
10:26feel like and you're going so fast
10:28you're never going to be able to feel
10:29feel that so I was like I'm like
10:32teaching him and I didn't know like is
10:34he like more like Kan or he he would
10:37need to visualize it or is he more like
10:39Kyle where he would really need to feel
10:42it but I want to create like these
10:43awarenesses physical and mental
10:46awarenesses of the types of things that
10:49we were trying to change and so I'm like
10:52during the sessions I'm like getting
10:54them to slow down let's you know go
10:57through it let's get a feel for
10:59differences and change let's Rec oh and
11:02he was one that was like oh that feels
11:04terrible yeah that's what we want at
11:07least you're feeling things different
11:08like because it took a while to actually
11:10like be cognizant of his actual feel so
11:14I really learned then that like there
11:16are a lot of players that don't like
11:18they don't feel or they don't like that
11:21feeling they just want to do things so
11:24much more unconsciously but you can't
11:26change anything like that you have to
11:28Bubble it up to the surface Sur you can
11:30manipulate it then and then stick it
11:32back into the self-conscious that's the
11:34essence of Player Development in in
11:38sport so that was huge but if I hadn't
11:41understood those other things it would
11:43be harder for me to really make an
11:45impact with that particular player and
11:48and so I I and then that became
11:51something else I was on the lookout for
11:53was just because the only thing I knew
11:55to that point was learning styles the
11:57way it's like but it's explained is like
12:00well some people are visual and some
12:02people you know they need to hear it and
12:04then other people they just need to do
12:06it and yes but no like it's all of that
12:10right but at the same time it's this
12:13it's the rehearsals and the ability to
12:15to to associate feel and know feel
12:20yourself in movement that's a major part
12:22of changing any type of of move we we
12:25are in the movement business and so
12:28changing movement is a major part of it
12:30you're not going to get anywhere unless
12:31the player can feel where they are in
12:32space and in movement so fascinating
12:36which brings me to my next one which was
12:39Nathan Horton Nathan Horton was like my
12:43first guy he was the first one he's uh
12:45three years older than Patrick Kane and
12:49uh I had worked with him and he was like
12:51my first big guy and we kind of knew
12:54like early on like this guy's going to
12:56play like he was when I say he could
12:59play any other sport like with with when
13:02I talk about Kyle looso the way I talk
13:04about him Nathan was very similar he he
13:07if not even more like he he was an
13:10absolute freak athlete um and he could
13:14acquire skills so fast and I was in the
13:16infancy part of my own personal
13:19development so I wasn't all that
13:22sophisticated so like I would try to
13:24give him a skill and he would learn it
13:26like that like literally instantly I I
13:28I'm like like I I remember having to
13:31come to the rank with like 25 to 30
13:34ideas because I was worried like that he
13:37was going to run through him I remember
13:38coming to the rank and I'm like okay we
13:40have 50 minutes um I'm going to bring 10
13:44things that's five minutes a thing I had
13:47it figured out how many reps it would be
13:50and I'm like okay go and we were done
13:52all those 10 things in like the first 15
13:5520 minutes it was done he was was
13:57already like he could already
13:59do it all like it was nowhere near at
14:02the edge of his ability and I'm like
14:05okay like clearly I'm either
14:07underprepared which at first I'm like
14:09okay I need more volume of stuff and I'm
14:11throwing different stuff okay you got
14:13that okay grab this okay grab that which
14:15he loved because he was that kind of kid
14:17like he he loved learning something new
14:20and different ideas and he loved like he
14:22was at very much like a challenge guy
14:24like you could the idea was to appeal to
14:28his is um like you can't do that or I
14:31got something for you and then he'd be
14:33like oh yeah and then he would be laser
14:36focused and pick it up and I remember
14:39this one skill that we would do we I
14:41used to do a lot of over speed work I
14:43had read the book from Jack blatherwick
14:46right near this time that I I was
14:48working with Nathan and Nathan was
14:49probably like I don't know like 10 or 11
14:51years old and uh we would do these over
14:54speed drills so we have the whole group
14:57out there there like 20 players divide
15:00them up into four corners just five kids
15:03in a five kids in a line and we would do
15:06I would send the whole line at the same
15:08time and you would do one Circle as fast
15:11as you could humanly do it and then
15:12you'd be over to the other Circle was
15:15basically like a ton of figure eights
15:17and you would add different types of
15:18skills at different times right so um
15:23one day Nathan he had to he couldn't
15:27come to the his regularly scheduled time
15:30with his peers and so he asked can I
15:33come like earlier to the earlier session
15:37and I'm like yeah but there those kids
15:38are like a couple years younger like
15:40you're he was like to to know Nathan at
15:43that time like Nathan at like 11 years
15:48old there were like 15y olds that
15:51couldn't play with him like at at 12
15:52years old at 12 years old he was playing
15:56like Junior B Hockey which I thought
15:59what that's when Junior B was actually
16:00like really good there were players
16:02going to the ol from there he's like
16:03there at like 12 at 13 years old he's in
16:07that League he's 5'11 6' 170 PBS and
16:13he's like a star in the league at 13
16:16years old like this is the type of
16:18player that he was just to give context
16:20like he was he was not at 11 years old
16:24he was better than most every 15year old
16:27you could put on the ice in our area
16:28area pretty much like it was crazy how
16:31good he was so one of the things that he
16:34would do um there was one day we were
16:37doing that over speed stuff and he's
16:41flying around and um all of a sudden
16:45like the puck kind of flips up on his
16:47Edge
16:49and Nathan like while he's Crossing his
16:53feet he picks it up like not like today
16:56you know like today they put pressure on
16:58it
16:59and then you know they they can they can
17:01pick it up or like scoop it like it's
17:04not like it was today like it was just
17:06like this accidental thing that like as
17:08it was as he was handling the puck it
17:10had flipped up on its Edge and obviously
17:13like his stick kind of flipped over and
17:16then the puck was sitting flat on his
17:18stick and he could feel that and all of
17:20a sudden he just picks it up and he
17:22skates the rest of the
17:25pattern with the stick with the puck on
17:27a stick like in the air and then like
17:30throws it in the net like it's lacrosse
17:32 and I'm like okay what the hell was
17:35that like he never did it again like
17:37we'd never seen that before but that was
17:39like he had these like abilities where
17:42all of a sudden like he would just go
17:44with whatever was going on and he could
17:46just adapt and adjust and he just had
17:50that ability to acquire skills and so
17:52for me at that stage in my development
17:55it was phenomenal because I had a player
17:58who was
17:59insatiable I he was so much more better
18:02he was so much better than me like his
18:05level at 11 years old far exceeded my
18:10understanding of skill and so I was
18:12forced to like learn more and more and
18:14more because I wanted to keep them um
18:17and keep them I had to keep them engaged
18:19and keep them interested and so I would
18:20just keep adding these things I mean
18:23there were times like again like the
18:25puck is bouncing right the puck is
18:28bouncing and he would like use his foot
18:32like like kick it over to his stick on
18:36the other side like as he's moving so as
18:38he's moving the puck kind of flips or
18:40bounces he kicks it over to his to his
18:43stick on this side like crazy stuff like
18:46you you've never like You' never seen
18:48but a lot of like they were they were
18:51reactions a lot of it was just like
18:54there was environmental reactions that
18:57he would just go with
19:00and most of the kids there like if
19:02anything if anything like anything like
19:05that happened they would like stop they
19:08would they would stop them not
19:10necessarily come to a complete stop but
19:12they would stop their movement to settle
19:14the puck and then they would continue on
19:16he would go with it he would just go
19:18with stuff and see kind of where it took
19:21him and that level of confidence and
19:24just a level of like curiosity he had um
19:28like I said I was I was so in on it I
19:31was trying all kinds of different things
19:33and I thought years later like I would
19:36wished I would have had him like so much
19:39earlier in my career or like so much had
19:42him later in my career I I would have
19:45loved to have had that one as a doover I
19:48wish he wasn't like that part of that
19:50first group because I would have no more
19:53but it doesn't work like that like there
19:55was a reason why I had him first because
19:57he just taught me so much like it was
20:00like a fast forwarding process of
20:02learning how to acquire skill and a lot
20:04of it I couldn't even label I didn't
20:06really know what was going on but I just
20:08like implicitly just watch what was
20:10happening and was videotaping stuff and
20:12I could kind of see where he was like
20:15where he was and what he was doing and I
20:16had my mentor bud and we would be
20:18talking about him all the time but it
20:20was literally like so much of it what he
20:22was doing was you were in awe of all all
20:24the time like and everybody all the
20:26players anybody was on the ice was
20:29yeah it it was quite something like he
20:31was impressive to to spend any time with
20:35it it was it was a true gift to spend
20:37time with him and he taught me so much
20:41and most of it I I had no idea like it
20:43was years later I could kind of think
20:45about some of this stuff but what I also
20:47remember about him was he was also a
20:51feel based kid like he he did not like
20:54going first he liked to watch it and
20:58then he wanted to do some like
20:59rehearsals and so one of the things that
21:01he would do which is a great story was
21:04when he was young we would do all these
21:06like over speed stuff and I wanted him
21:09to go first and he hated going first and
21:13I would like make him go first and then
21:15he would be like no I don't want to go
21:16first we' have this like battle right
21:20and one day he goes to the back of the
21:23line and all so we go like you know you
21:27do one Circle the other Circle and then
21:30now you're you know you come back to
21:31your line he starts at the back line
21:33these are all kids his age and he starts
21:36last so let's say he's in the sixth
21:39position so last is sixth he goes around
21:41the first round and then he's third now
21:44he's passed two guys and then the next
21:48time he goes he passes like two three
21:50more now he's like first or second once
21:52he gets to first he would go back to the
21:55to the back of the line and do it again
21:58and I had no idea like I'm watching this
22:00whole thing and I'm like what is going
22:03on here and then I start watching him in
22:07the movements so most of it it's a
22:10Sprint so you can Envision there's six
22:12kids in the line we go okay go around
22:14this circle then go around the other
22:16Circle figure eight all of you go at the
22:17same time well they're all at different
22:19abilities you know some of kids are like
22:21losing their Puck some kids like
22:23crossing over is a bit of a challenge
22:26that's not really their strengths you
22:28know some pucks like they got to stop
22:30all of a sudden they got to move this
22:32way he was there and he's Crossing his
22:36feet but all of a sudden he's got to
22:37react to like the kid in front of him
22:39and he's like moving over this way or
22:40he's like deaking him out there was one
22:42time like I remember him putting the
22:44puck like through the guys like through
22:46the guy's triangle from behind like the
22:48guys in front of him he's putting the
22:50puck through his triangle and ending up
22:52on the other side I'm like okay what is
22:55going on this is crazy like how many and
22:58I remember saying how many skills is
23:01this guy going to use and he's doing it
23:03so fast he's passing all these people it
23:06was insane it was insane to see and he's
23:09doing that on his own because he's
23:10looking for more Challenge and like I
23:12said he's he he he was just that guy
23:16that he could do everything everything
23:18came pretty easy to him and he was
23:22always just looking for that different
23:24type of Challenge and to see him do that
23:27stuff like to this day
23:29I talk about it it's like all inspiring
23:31like it was I've never seen it since so
23:34that's how good that guy was um which
23:38kind of brings me to my next guy so next
23:40guy is uh John Tavaris so I spoke about
23:43John Taris the last segment then and we
23:46talked about that story now I want to
23:48talk about emphasis on detail so when I
23:53first started with John he was in his
23:55first year in the NHL playing for the
23:57Islanders and and when I saw him that
24:00summer um and I started working with him
24:04he he was so detailed in how the process
24:11like uh trying to understand the process
24:14and be a participant in the process and
24:16the level of detail and the questions
24:19and there were just many times I had to
24:22just say like I don't know he would ask
24:24me a question that I just didn't have
24:26the answer for so I learned with him
24:29cuz up until that point like I I was
24:32trying so hard to be like an expert like
24:36become that guy and I and I
24:39remember just not a lot of players would
24:42ever ask me a lot of questions and I
24:46when I started working with him he had a
24:48lot of questions you know Patrick was
24:50different cuz it was kind of like
24:53brother I was like a big brother to him
24:55more so than student teacher
24:58because I known him since he was really
25:00young 8 years old so and I was a kid
25:03working with a kid so it was that's that
25:06kind of how the relationship was with
25:08with um with John it was different I
25:11he's I'm I'm not this is not a brother
25:14relationship like it's client clearly
25:17client and um and student teacher
25:20relationship and so all of a sudden
25:22there's dialogue and he's asking me
25:23questions and like really smart
25:25questions that I'm like okay like
25:27genuinely I don't I do not have the
25:29answer for and I remember being so
25:32scared to say that like I remember being
25:36there and I'm like there's no way
25:37there's nothing I can say to this
25:38question he's going to know that I don't
25:41know so I I just may as well say because
25:43if I try to say something and he's going
25:46to just look at me and I'm just going to
25:48lose all credibility so I'm going to
25:49lose all credibility anyways I may as
25:51well do it with the Integrity of just
25:54saying like I don't know and but I'm
25:56going to try to find out and and uh I
25:59remember the impact I feel like that had
26:02on our relationship with him it just it
26:05felt like there was a real genuiness and
26:09it kind of broke down quite a few
26:10barriers with the vulnerability of just
26:13saying hey I don't know and it just
26:15became a lot more like lock and step and
26:19I always appreciated that about him not
26:21like holding that against me like hey
26:23I'm coming to you I'm paying you to work
26:26with me and you're supposed to have all
26:27these ANS answers but you don't have
26:29this answer like he could have very
26:31easily been like you know he was like
26:34what 19 years old 18 years old he would
26:38have very easily been like what are we
26:39doing with this guy but it wasn't like
26:41that at all and it just became a lot
26:43more collaborative in our in our
26:45relationship ever since and I was much
26:47more comfortable not only with him but
26:50with every player thereafter by be
26:52having that if I didn't know which
26:54there's lots that I don't know I was
26:57very I'm very upfront about it say like
27:00I don't I don't pretend to know I don't
27:02have that answer um these are some of my
27:05thoughts I might have on it but I don't
27:07know for sure like a lot of sometimes I
27:09would say like I don't know that answer
27:11specifically but here's if you were
27:13going to if you were pulled my feet to
27:14the fire this is the answer I would give
27:17these are some of the ideas and then it
27:18would spark a good discussion so that
27:20was a big one with John
27:23tars uh next guy is larell so larell is
27:28a was a really interesting player for me
27:31and I learned a ton working with lar
27:33Zeller he is a fascinating person um to
27:37talk to and extremely thoughtful like he
27:40can he he he really is analytical and he
27:45he he has a high level of intelligence
27:48when he's like he's processing
27:51everything and one of the things that
27:52really irritated him when he was on the
27:54ice was a lack of symmetry he did not
27:58like it that he had a strong side and a
28:01weak side so like one of the first
28:03things that we were working on was his
28:05turning and trying to become more
28:08efficient in the turn and come faster
28:10and carry more speed into the turn carry
28:13speed out of it maybe build speed in
28:16turns all of that and of course one side
28:20was significantly better than the other
28:23of course as it naturally would it's
28:26there's always that that you know that
28:29way it's always like that that you're
28:31going to have that and he just did not
28:33like it he would always be like upset
28:36that this one side just wasn't he wasn't
28:40picking it up as fast and I remember in
28:44working with him he would he' be like
28:47well that's my that's my weak side so
28:49what I started doing was using doing
28:51that side first I would do a lot of work
28:55on his off like the side that he wasn't
28:58I as comfortable with I would do a lot
28:59of that work first and then he we would
29:03work out a lot of The Kinks in a at a
29:05where he was uncomfortable so he was
29:08uncomfortable he had already expected
29:10that this was going to be harder on that
29:12side so I would start on that side and
29:15then when we went to his good side of
29:18course pick it up right away but we I
29:20felt like we were making a lot of the
29:22corrections on one side because he was
29:24so like adamant that he wanted to be
29:28have this sense and feel of symmetry and
29:32so I started to carry that forward and I
29:35use that even to this day I do a
29:37whenever I'm in a situation I try to
29:40work on a player's uh weak side first
29:44build out all the corrections because
29:45there's an
29:46expectation that it's going to be
29:49difficult and then when we go to the
29:50good side we hit it right away we don't
29:52need quite as many reps and that SC but
29:55if you do it the opposite way you start
29:57off on the the good side you do it they
29:59do it really easy now you go to the off
30:01side it can get really frustrating for
30:03them and I learned that from LS because
30:06he was so you could tell it just
30:08bothered him that you know he uh he just
30:11did not like having a weak side hey he
30:14would say all the time I'm going to have
30:15to turn this way I want to do it well I
30:18want to do it right and I always had to
30:19keep that mind with him was really
30:22really quite something
30:24um so the next one I have is is um
30:29Nathan McKinnon so I have kind of two
30:33two stories with him um the one part
30:36about Nathan is he is extremely intense
30:39like before you go on the ice with him
30:42he is very calm hey how's it going just
30:45very normal there's something about the
30:48second he puts that helmet on it's
30:50totally different like he's he's he's
30:53working and he has a high level of
30:55expectation not only for himself but for
30:58you and I'd never been on the ice with a
31:02guy who was that demanding of himself
31:06and of me the only other guy I'd ever
31:09spent time with that was like that was
31:11Paul goad but Paul goad was much more he
31:15was so hard on himself I'd never seen
31:17anybody that hard on himself ever before
31:20I met Paul goad and thank God I met Paul
31:22goad before I worked with Nathan
31:24McKinnon because I wouldn't have never
31:26been able been I wouldn't have been
31:28anywhere near prepared to work with any
31:30anyone like Nathan had I not worked with
31:33Paul Paul was so at like he was so
31:38intense and had a high expectation of
31:41himself and wanted to get things right
31:42away and when it didn't happen like he
31:46would lose it on himself angry snapping
31:49sticks helicoptering him like just
31:51pissed off and I was like oh my God like
31:54it was like I'd never seen that before
31:56usually my sessions are very like calm
31:59subdued this guy comes out and it's
32:01right up to like level 11 and I'm like I
32:04just wasn't used to that and I but I but
32:08he was not ever demanding of me it he
32:11was it was always on himself he wasn't
32:13like yelling at me or he wasn't he
32:16wasn't uh you know any he he he placed
32:20no blame onto me it was always on
32:23himself now Nathan was not placing it
32:26would never place any blame on me wasn't
32:28would never yell at me or anything like
32:30that it wasn't like that it was just the
32:33intensity you could cut it with a knife
32:35and I I you felt a responsibility to be
32:39better like he he just has that effect
32:42where when you're on the ice because he
32:44is so intense in his uh process and
32:50demanding of himself to get better and
32:52try different things and learn skills
32:55quickly and then he has like it wherever
32:58you think the skill is going to go he's
33:00trying to go 10 times past that all the
33:03time so you got to be prepared like he
33:05is driven and really working towards it
33:08not to say other players aren't but
33:10there's just this intensity this is you
33:12can feel it and a lot of times you can
33:15literally cut it with a knife and so for
33:18me I felt you feel this like obligation
33:22to kind of meet him not with that
33:24intensity but with better information
33:28like you got to be on you got to be on
33:31fire so I'm like going on an ice session
33:34with Nathan was like going on an ice set
33:36like being on an ice like 10 times you
33:39felt like you'd done 10 Rounds with Mike
33:41Tyson when you got off because it was
33:43just so intense and it took a lot out
33:45because the level of focus because if
33:48he's going to be this intense and this
33:49demanding of himself I better bring it
33:52my best like I gotta be my best when I'm
33:54out here I got to have the right answer
33:57I got to be on it I can't miss a detail
34:00that's what I mean and I started to
34:03think about it afterwards after working
34:05with him I I remember coming home my
34:06wife's like what is wrong with you I'm
34:09like I am exhausted I'm exhausted and I
34:13remember my daughter coming out with me
34:15and Ella is like oh my god dad like that
34:17is I've never seen anything like that
34:19and I was like yeah that's like another
34:23level and like you see how he drives
34:25himself to be the best like in and now
34:28he is like he's for my money this year
34:30he's the best player in the NHL and
34:34that's just that's what that's way
34:36everything just has to be on on on all
34:40the time he's Relentless Relentless and
34:43like I said like that forces you to
34:46match and i' never had that before but I
34:48thought about it afterwards and I was
34:51like this feeling you have of being like
34:54on it and being perfect and really being
34:57dial in and watching every single rep
34:59and being critical like doesn't every
35:01player deserve that level of intensity
35:04from you like shouldn't you have that
35:07have that you know bring that level of
35:10of of energy to every session like you
35:14need to be on it like you need to be
35:16dialed and I remember thinking like yeah
35:20maybe it won't be like I'm not going to
35:22get this matched energy and it's not
35:24going to be like he's forcing me like
35:27Nate there was no there's no way to be
35:29on the ice with him and not Elevate to
35:32the your you have to he's going to force
35:34you he's going to force you and I
35:37remember thinking like why do I need to
35:39be forced like why do why do I need to
35:41be forced why don't I this guy is
35:45showing me something here like I need to
35:48be on it and I need to bring better
35:51energy to each of my sessions and when I
35:54mean energy like it's not like I'm
35:56mailing it in it's that that like
35:59putting pressure on myself to
36:02be perfectly dialed and making sure that
36:07I'm on it and I'm H bringing like my
36:10best and I'm operating at my best he was
36:14bringing that out of me why do I need
36:16someone to bring that out of me I should
36:17be bringing that on my own and Nathan
36:19taught me that and I'll never I I'll be
36:23forever indebted to him for for doing
36:26that for me um the next guy is uh is
36:31Sydney Crosby now the first time I met
36:34Sydney
36:35Crosby I flew to New York to skate with
36:38him and I remember being so excited in
36:42the days leading up to when I was going
36:44to fly out I'm like yes I'm you know I'm
36:47G to going to go like he's the best
36:49player in the world uh and I'm going to
36:51have this opportunity to skate with him
36:53and this is this is a privilege and I'm
36:56so excited and and to some to some
36:58degree I thought that this like I had
37:01earned the right to to get to this to
37:03get to this level like hey you're this
37:05is your shot you're going to have a
37:06chance to work with the best player in
37:08the world like this is what a privilege
37:10and this is validates all the work and
37:13frankly the you had to put up with
37:15to get to this spot and all the things
37:17you had to overcome like this is how I
37:19was justifying it when I get there so I
37:21get to the airport and I go on the
37:24plane and I remember thinking on the
37:26plane the complete opposite you don't
37:29deserve to be here what the hell are you
37:31even doing like you don't belong on the
37:33ice with this guy this guy's the best
37:35player in the world what are you doing
37:37like this is crazy like you this guy is
37:40he is so far ahead of anything you've
37:43ever known like I was totally talking
37:46myself out of the whole thing like I
37:48remember landing and being like this is
37:51a big mistake like I don't know if I can
37:54do it so next so I go there I get there
37:58the next day I'm
38:00skating so the first time I'm going to
38:03meet him we're on the
38:06ice so I get on the ice and I'm thinking
38:09to myself okay like how am I going to
38:11how am I going to do this like what what
38:13what am I going to do here I'm going to
38:15pass the puck you know there's kind of
38:17like sometimes with players like it's
38:20like a a universal like Hi how are you
38:23when you just get on the ice and you
38:25pass them the puck like it can be like a
38:28bit of an ice breaker right and I knew
38:30that cuz I had done that a few times
38:32with other players and so I thought okay
38:35that's what I'm going to do I I don't
38:36know what to say to him like I'm
38:38petrified what to say I'm I don't I'm so
38:43nervous and I'm having so much impostor
38:47syndrome right now like I don't even
38:48know if I'm going to make it so I get I
38:50get dressed early and I get on the ice
38:53and I'm just skating around waiting for
38:55him to come out which was like the worst
38:56thing I could have done cuz I'm like
38:59dying so I get out there and uh finally
39:02he comes on and and when I say finally I
39:05mean he comes on at the appropriate time
39:07like I'm out there early and if I was
39:09out there 10 minutes early it felt like
39:112 hours like I was dying he finally
39:15comes out there um where I see him and
39:18uh I'm like okay so he goes and you know
39:20they all bring out multiple sticks and
39:22they go over and they have all their
39:24like routines and then they get out and
39:26they get started he grabs a puck or
39:28whatever and goes down shoots the puck
39:30and I'm ready with my Puck I'm like I'm
39:32standing there I'm like okay I got it so
39:34now he comes and he kind of like gives
39:36me like a glance like gives me a glance
39:38and kind of like it wasn't really like a
39:40hello but it was like a glance like I
39:42got to remember I've never met him never
39:44worked with him never ever so I'm the
39:46first time I'm meeting him is on the ice
39:49so I passed the
39:51puck and it hits him in the skates like
39:54I mean like nowhere near him hits him in
39:57the SK skates I'm like seriously the
40:00first Puck you're going to hit him in
40:01the skates now it's a 100 times worse
40:05like now I'm like totally dying so it
40:08was in that moment where you're like
40:11it's literally fight ORF flight like I'm
40:14like okay you got to stop trying to like
40:19you got to stop thinking you don't
40:20belong you're here now so whether you
40:23belong or you don't belong you're here
40:26make the best of it that's I can
40:27remember making that mental shift so
40:30instead of pass him another Puck I just
40:33skated over and I introduced myself and
40:36then I'm like uh let's go are you ready
40:38to go he's like yeah give me a second
40:40and he did his finished off his routine
40:43and then we got started and the lesson
40:46there for me which has happened many
40:48times after
40:50was you don't need to step out of your
40:54comfort zone and do things like I'm not
40:57an NHL player I have no business passing
41:00pucks to guys like yeah in once the
41:02relationship is built and we start
41:04passing around they realize I always
41:06make the joke hey like you're not going
41:08to get a perfect pass in the NHL it's so
41:10fast and so good thing you're skating
41:13with me because I'll never give you a
41:15perfect pass so it's perfect right and
41:17so that's my joke like that's how I
41:19explain away how bad my passes are and
41:22you know I think what I had to do is in
41:26the lesson that I learned learned at
41:27that time and I remember it being very
41:29powerful for me was don't try to be
41:32anybody you're not you're here whether
41:36you're whether you deserve to be here or
41:38whether you should be here or not you
41:40are so let's go and I remember that
41:44shift and you know with with Sydney he
41:48obviously he has a very tight Circle and
41:52um once you find your way in the circle
41:55um you you got to earn your way he's not
41:56going to give it to you for not thenon
41:58he's not unlike many other players that
42:00I've met and they have to have that for
42:02a reason and so it just became like in
42:06order to earn a player's trust I got to
42:08know what I'm doing I have to be
42:10authentic no straight to the
42:13point and really honor and be respectful
42:17of who they are and what they do and
42:21match that match that intensity by
42:23bringing your best that's really what I
42:26what I what I did so I just remember
42:28going right into the
42:31conversation asking him questions
42:34getting into the movements and then off
42:36we go and I had video back then which we
42:40um which was incredibly valuable to be
42:42able to share back and forth my
42:44perspective it gave me opportunity to
42:46talk to him and share what I was
42:48thinking and then it gave him an idea to
42:50see like is this guy full of or is
42:54he like is he is he legit and and I just
42:57remember when I got off the ice thinking
43:00if this is the only time I'm going to
43:01skate with him like that's the only
43:03session I'm ever going to have I I feel
43:06like I did my best and I remember the
43:09next day and then we went to breakfast
43:11the next day and I remember talking to
43:13him and he was like furthering the
43:15discussion and that became my
43:18confirmation that just be prepared be
43:22ready to go put your best foot forward
43:24be honest and direct and uh uh let the
43:27chips fall and it worked with him but oh
43:30my God I remember I remember just
43:33thinking like you do not belong here and
43:37I'd never really felt like that before
43:39and but that you know you never you're
43:41only going to get that one time that's
43:43one first impression and mine was a
43:46burger right into the skates so if you
43:49can overcome that I guess you can
43:50overcome anything so thankfully that
43:52worked out um the last one that I wanted
43:57well I got two more we can do
44:01um Austin Matthews obviously I've had a
44:04long long relationship with him and
44:07there's been millions of moments in his
44:09shooting that we could talk about for
44:12days the one thing that really stands
44:15out though is the work we did with his
44:19takeaways and it kind of was like
44:22initially I was using the takeaways as
44:26like when we talk about the cane and
44:29those pre pre movements I was at a level
44:32then when I was using a lot of that
44:34stuff like you
44:36know I was hiding the most important
44:39skill in the middle and I'd have a way
44:41to get into it and a way to get out and
44:43I remember we did a whole section on
44:46takeaways all all different types of
44:48ways of taking the
44:50puck and all of a sudden that became a
44:52discussion and it became an
44:54obsession and I began and using it more
44:58and more and more uh once I saw how Keen
45:00he was on it he knew that that was an
45:02area that he wanted to get better at so
45:04we were talking about it and I was like
45:06you know what I'm just going to bake it
45:08into what we're doing and I'm going to
45:10have it at the beginning I'm going to
45:11have it at the end I'm going to have it
45:13at different spots in the in the
45:15development process and it became like
45:18this theme where we were we would have
45:20practices where there was a takeaway
45:22some way somehow which would get us uh
45:25that would happen during this during
45:27during the Reps and it was like
45:28literally every rep so it's like two 300
45:30reps he's doing one of these all the
45:33time and you know the result of it is
45:37that he has become one of the best
45:40offense one of the best uh takeaway
45:42players in the National Hockey League
45:44he's unbelievable at takeaways and I
45:48think that what it was was it was one
45:51discussion that he wanted to work on it
45:54and then it became like this thing that
45:57we would do and all of a sudden the Reps
46:01started to P pile up and he was using it
46:03more and more and more and I remember
46:04him going through that summer with him
46:07and then the next year him going back to
46:10Toronto and it was like every game
46:14takeway takeway couple more in the
46:16offensive zone scoring chances created
46:19and it was an affirmation for me that
46:22this stacking was so critical but it was
46:25Austin's ability during that time to
46:29really put that put that together and I
46:32just remember that being such a major
46:34aspect of his
46:36development um and so yeah that's I
46:39think that's a good place to start uh a
46:42good place to finish for this season is
46:45uh it was a great season to talk about
46:47different aspects of Player Development
46:49and uh the real teaching aspects of it
46:52so I was really uh really happy that you
46:54came along with me for as long as you
46:56did and we're excited to get season 4
46:59going uh sometime in the
47:02summer
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