I have a New Year's resolution for coaching this year; it's to more effectively communicate with the parents of the youth hockey teams I coach. I can be an exceptionally frustrating coach for many parents because my approach to coaching youth hockey (and most sports) almost pursues being different.

My sense in sports, as it is in life), is that innovation is not making just making what we've always done better. It must be combined with a healthy dose of changing the rules of the game (not literally).

For example, it is my belief that in order to achieve consistent scoreboard success, coaches should spend less time worrying about winning and more time worrying about player development. I'm perfectly fine with sacrificing a win no matter what the situation if it will impart an important lesson. My sense is that if we don't take the time during real game situations to help work on their fundamentals because it might cause us to not "score the goal", we will achieve short term success at the cost of long term development.

Where I really get into hot water is not preparing the parents of the team prior to taking this approach. I always include a short speech prior to the season that includes this philosophy but often fail to reinforce it as we move through the season.

On a personal level, I intend this year to share my thoughts more fully with the parents so they understand at each step of the way what we're trying to accomplish and why we're working on it.