Eliot: “Play the game”

By Darren Eliot –

The Detroit Red Wings, in the midst of a 0-5-2 winless stretch, talked about working harder, not “gripping the sticks too tightly” and generating chances heading into their game against Carolina. Those are common platitudes players default to when things aren’t going well. We have all heard them before. Coach Mike Babcock acknowledged that his team “has to win a game, no matter where it is”, but he took a slightly different tack in delving into the mindset required , using the term “play the game” versus “work the game”.

I found this fascinating and refreshing all at the same time. Here you have one of the game’s most successful coaches presenting the importance of playing hockey, instead of beating up the notion of working at hockey. It is a belief I share, especially when coaching or instructing youth players. I always say “great effort” instead of “good work.” I make a point to phrase my exhortations as, “C’mon guys, let’s make some plays, or who’s gonna make that next play for us”, instead of, “Pick it up – we need to work harder out there.”

I know it is merely a matter of simple semantics. Still, I don’t want to have young players equate hockey as work because of my coaching directives. Instead, I emphasize effort – almost replacing the word ‘work’ with ‘effort’ when coaching youth players. So, to hear Mike Babcock talk about playing instead of working as the key for his charges to find and reestablish their collective game, I’m enthused. Ultimately, wins and losses define their success, yet central to breaking out of the funk isn’t to work harder, or work smarter. It is to relax and just go out and play.

In the end, Babcock needs his guys to infuse some emotion into their game, but emotions run the gamut. What is the right emotion? Certainly not fear. Anger can work for a short time, but isn’t sustainable. Hope doesn’t cut it. But the joy of playing is exhilarating. It perpetuates passion and creativity in the moment and then game to game. As youth coaches, that is what we are nurturing and facilitating. The fun is in getting out on the ice and playing.

Mike Babcock wants his Red Wings to remember that, which is a good reminder to coaches at all levels.