Intangibles

There are a lot of intangibles in hockey players that play a huge factor in their success as well as the success of their team. I often wonder how to measure heart, grit, determination, sacrifice and the will to win. Many times these factors play a huge role in the outcome of a game when things such as skating ability are equal. It's why Coaches use the phrase "win the battle" a lot. Winning the battle isn't always about stickhandling or taking the proper angle, sometimes it's about the fact that one player is more determined to leave the corner with the puck than another player.

So how do you measure the intangibles? Can you instill heart, grit and determination? What do you do as a Coach if your players don't have these intangibles, or don't have enough of them? Can great leadership help these intangibles evolve in a player or an entire team? If leadership can help these things develop does it have to be a leader within a team leading by example or can a Coach accomplish this?

Another intangible I often consider is teamwork. How do you best blend the talent on your team if you are a Coach? As a player or Coach, what do you do if a particular player doesn't seem to subscribe to the theory of teamwork? How much better is a team that is all on the same page than when they're not working in unison?

I don't necessarily have the answers to all of these questions, but they are questions I think about quite a bit, especially in the offseason. I have some thoughts and opinions that have been formulated over the years, but every team's makeup is so unique it is hard to pin down any kind of axiom, ratio or formula that you could take from one team to another to instill intangibles and breed success.

I would be very interested to hear your thoughts and opinions on these questions. This blog entry will help me so that when I get some time in the future, I can try to list some of my thoughts on these subjects as well.