An Introduction to A Coach’s Notebook

The red arrow in the photo to the left points to my sticky-style sheet for gathering notes during game action.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m an incessant note-taker.  First, I don’t trust anything to memory.  Secondly, the times I’m jotting notes to myself are hardly ever the right times to address whatever I’ve recorded.  So, I need those little memos — for a lot of reasons…

As a coach, the game-bench is not the greatest place to really discuss something important.  Oh, sure, I can briefly talk to a player if he was involved in a noteworthy play, and I might even be able to spread the word to a few guys within ear-shot.  But again, it’s not the place to have a meaningful conversation.

I’m no different as a hockey parent…  For example, as I’ve watched my grandson, Anthony, play through recent years, I’ve also kept a pencil and small notepad available in my pocket.  I take notes a little more subtly as a parent (my aim isn’t to appear obnoxious in front of other parents or his coaches).  And, since Anthony reached high school level, I’ve hardly ever discussed my notes with him during the season.  Naw, he belongs to another coach in-season.  At the same time though, those notes have always come in handy once that schedule is over, giving us plenty of fodder for the off-season months.

So, whether you’re a coach or a parent, I highly recommend jotting notes when you see something worthy.  Hey, don’t trust those things to memory.  And, consider using them as ideas for a time when they can be addressed accordingly. If you’re an adult player, you might want to record a few notes immediately after playing a game, or while watching a televised game.  For sure, we all need ideas for when we have the time to work on our game.