Thinking Outside the Capture Box is written & maintained by Chris Baird. Current Director of Hockey Operations for the Spokane Chiefs with the Western Hockey League.
I’ve always felt like my biggest asset that I bring as a video coach is that I am an IT guy first, and a hockey guy second. I’ve been blessed to be around coaching minds of all kinds for nearly 20 years to help grow my knowledge of the game and what they are expecting out of me. It changes from coach to coach so being able to adapt and being welcome to those changes is a necessary skill to have in any business. My tech know how is what sets me apart.
Being in Junior Hockey there are limits to what you can do in every situation, whether its budgetary, location wise, or equipment wise. Every road game brings a different setup that is never identical to the last. There will be requests made by staff that seem outside of your capabilities, BUT an important part of this job is not answering quickly with a “no” response, and to actually take the time and look into it. I will always struggle with this side of the job, but more often than not there are ways to MacGyver some things together. You do have to be ready more often than not for things to turn out more like a MacGruber broken-ass invention instead of a working solution.
Putting yourself in situations like above, whether it it results in the problem being solved or not are the best ways to learn. More often than not there is a skill or a piece of knowledge you will gain.
I want to share things that I’ve learned and some of the things I’ve found handy over the years with the hockey video coach community. Hopefully I am able to communicate it in a clear concise way that anyone is able to follow along to and have succeed in their own way.
