USA Hockey Magazine

ILLUSTRATION BY Darren Gygi BEH I N D T HE G L A SS DAN DALEY Age: 59 Lyndonville, Vt. If you're able to track down Dan Daley, there's a good chance he's in the middle of a teaching moment. From his job as a math professor at a state college to coaching teams and working in USA Hockey's Coaching Education Program, Daley enjoys fostering a learning environment. It's something he picked up when he first started playing. "I really fell in love with hockey and kind of became a student of the game," the Level 5 coach said. "Maybe it was just my math nature, but I started to ask ques- tions about why we do the things that we do. That's when I got the coaching bug." Daley began coaching in 1979, at the age of 20, and has been developing his craft ever since. He has coached at the high school level for more than 15 years and is now primarily focused on his work with USA Hockey. He plans to continue to give back to the game. Still, as Daley keeps going in the game, his energy hasn't wavered. "I'm comfortable on the ice," he said. "It's home for me." COACH OF THE MONTH 20 // JUNE/JULY 2019 D I G I T A L E X C L U S I V E USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM EVERYONE THIS SIDE OF A BLUE LINE knows about the prodigious upbringing of Wayne Gretzky. At age 6, the Soon-to-Be- Great One was playing and dominating against 10-year-olds. By the time he was a teenager, he had already scored 1,000 goals. Most of us can only dream of our little one being in that sporting stratosphere, but when we do see our 10-year-old is just a tad bigger, faster, and stronger than the competition, one can't help but wonder what if ? But before you jump at the chance to have your child "play up," there are sev- eral important emotional and physical factors you should think about. "Parents should always consider the maturity of their son or daughter when c o n s i d e r i n g p l a y i n g u p," sa i d C h r i s Donovan, who is entering his 19th sea- son at the helm as the head coach of St. Michael's College women's team. "Sometimes parents, in their zeal to have their son or daughter on a specific team, overlook the child's personality. Are they mature enough, competitive enough, do they adjust well?" Donovan says while playing up—if you are talented— does bring notoriety, it also brings pressure. How a play- er adjusts to this pressure is an important consideration in the continued value and assessment of playing up. Some parents, like Bethany Shields, have seen the benefits when their kids have moved up a level. The Hershey, Pa., mom said while her son struggled mentally and physically to keep up at first, but "afterwards he said it really helped him to push himself harder and he enjoyed his team, even though he may not have had the ice time the others did. No regrets." North Syracuse, N.Y., hockey mom Julie Kreb had a different experience this past season when she watched her daughter play up, and sit on the bench. "She was on another team where she was the queen of face-offs and a very necessary part of the team," Kreb said. "I'm not saying she learned more or less from either team, but I'll tell you which one she liked more. Which one she felt more a part of." Johnny Sheppard, from Scarborough, Maine, is not entering the race to nowhere. "Play with your friends," he said. "That time is short. If you and your child feel the need to be pushed, do private lessons. Good players are just that. They're good. Great players make everyone around them great as well." Donovan said the key is to talk to your athlete no mat- ter what age and ask them how they perceive themselves and what they want. " We're all in a hurry and sometimes lose sight of what's best for our children," he said. Just remember—what works for one, doesn't nec- essarily work for all. For every Gretzky who shines as a prodigy, there are plenty of kids who don't have to rush. P Sometimes parents in their zeal to have their son or daughter on a specific team, overlook the child's personality. THE HOCKEY MOM By Christie Casciano Burns What's The Rush: Should Your Child Play Up?

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