Pre-Novice coaching
My name is Tori Barstow. I am a 15 years old girl, in my fourth year of girls’ hockey. This year I thought it would be nice to give back to the community and help with kids’ hockey. I am assisting the Pre-Novice, who are five- and six-year-old boys and girls. I join their practice twice a week, Tuesday night and Saturday morning. I sometimes miss Saturdays due to my own hockey when we travel out of town.
I love working with kids and helping them learn new hockey skills. We practice hockey drills, skating techniques, shooting, puck handling and that “ I can do it” is a lot better than” I can’t do it.” Positive reinforcement is a must. I enjoy watching them improve as the year goes on and the progress that they have made from the beginning to now has been a very inspirational. I hope to continue coaching and become a certified coach in the future.
I also enjoy the friendships with the children that we develop and the smiles that they give me when I come to practice. I like it when I see them around the community and I know their names and they know mine. There is nothing better than having a little kid run up to you and giving you a big hug because they are happy to see you. They teach me a lot too, not give up when I am starting something new and it’s hard and I’m not good at it right away. They have also taught me how not to hit my snooze button too many times on a Saturday morning. I am a teenager you know!
Hockey is more than a sport to me. It teaches you sportsmanship, how to be a leader, how to work together, how motivate each other and that working hard pays off. I enjoy coaching and playing hockey!
“It’s not necessarily the amount of time you spend at practice that counts; it’s what you put into the practice that counts.” – Eric Lindros
– Submitted by Tori Barstow
