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  J U N I O R S U R V E I L L A N C E - November 30, 2006 Two years later, we are barely able to put together two scoring lines for the World Junior Tournament, while others are dripping in offensive flair and skill. Oh, I know we have won the last two World Junior titles. But two years ago the 1985 age group was an exception to the rule. That age group was an incredibly deep one, the likes that haven’t been seen for many years, and won’t be seen again anytime soon. Last year we were right back to winning it on the smaller ice surface thanks to grit and competitive fire. But why does our skill level drop off during the late teen years? You need look no further than the coaches that are hired to run our major junior teams across Canada. These guys are a bunch of robots and clones. They spend years studying Hockey Canada manuals and pursuing their coaching levels and coaching certificates. They all learn the trap. They all learn how to cycle. They all learn how to dump and chase. But very few of them have a clue on how to teach skills. Junior practices consist of flow drills, system rehearsals and the odd punishing skate-a-thon. Very few junior coaches are capable of showing a kid how to improve his puck handling skills, his shooting skills, his mobility etc. They think coaching is all about matching lines, or playing 8 players to death while the rest of the team sits and watches. Why? Because winning is what gets coaches promoted. Losing is what gets them fired? So why would they care about developing the skills of the bottom half of their team? It’s much easier to keep sending out the top players, who for the most part are naturally gifted and self taught. But even they don’t reach maximum potential in the skill area. Everytime I hear some analyst credit a junior coach with developing a player for the NHL I have to laugh. That player would have reached his current level with or without that coach’s input. Maybe the coach taught him some systems. Maybe the coach taught him some off-ice life lessons. Maybe the coach helped him understand the value of school. But very coaches in major junior hockey have done anything to advance their skills. That’s not the case when it comes to goalies. Canadian goalie coaches are doing a fantastic job teaching the “how to” part of the game. These hemp hut guru’s spend countless hours schooling our goalies on how to maximize their skills. Canadian goalies today are technically sound and more skilled than ever. Too bad the same can’t be said for the rest of the team. Send your story to hockspy@hotmail.com and we will pass them on to our readers in a future installment of Junior Hockey Surveillance. 
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