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34 // AUGUST 2020 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM O A C H E S S P E N D A G O O D P O RT I O N o f their practices teach- i n g t h e i r p l a y e r s t o read and react to dif- ferent situations that may arise on the ice. During these uncer- t a i n t i m e s, c o a c h e s, a n d m o r e s p e c i f i - c a l l y U S A H o c k e y 's Coaching Education P r o g r a m , h a v e b e e n practicing what they preach as they prepare for the upcoming hockey season. Long before the coronavirus pandemic hit, the CEP was in the process of overhauling its curriculum and how best to present that information to its 60,000 coaches. But with the season shuttered and people forced to shelter in place and practice social distanc- ing, USA Hockey didn't want to risk the health of coaches by staging in-person clinics. After a series of successful webinars for women's intern coaches, the idea came about to hold coaching clinics online as well. With the speed of a Brett Hull slapshot, a team of USA Hockey staff members, ADM regional managers and District coaches-in-chief creat- ed a blueprint for coaches to earn their certifi- cation from the comfort of their own homes. "You look at the response of this group of people and how they were quickly able to develop online learning, it's actually a pretty amazing story about the resilience of USA Hockey," said Flint Doungchak, the coach- in-chief for the Pacific District and one of several driving forces behind the adoption of virtual clinics. Almost immediately the program took off as coaches were eager to get back to talking hockey and preparing for the season, no mat- ter what it looks like. " I t 's f u n ny, y o u g et t h i s c u r v e b a l l t h r o w n a t y o u while we're in the middle of changing our curriculum and how we deliver the clinics and thinking they 're going to be in-person," said Paul Moore, the Massachusetts District coach-in-chief who has done a number of virtual clinics so far this season. "Then these unprecedent- ed times get in the way, and on the fly we switched gears and said, 'OK, we're g oing to go virtual,' and it's been incredible." And rather than trying to cram so much information into one long day, the clinics are broken up into a series of shorter sessions spread out over the course of several days, which has been another popular change. Last season Katherine Walsh joined her father at a Level 1 clinic in North Salem, N.Y. "The clinic last year lasted from 9 in the morning until about 3 in the afternoon," she said. "While I enjoyed the experience, it made for a pretty long day." This season the full- time college student at Pace University is hop- ing to coach a team in the New York Rangers g i r l s p r o g r a m s o s h e signed up for a Level 2 virtual clinic in May. " I f o u n d t h e o n l i n e clinic to be more ben- e f i c i a l f o r l e a r n i n g ," she said. "I thought it created more engage- ment and it was easier to focus because it was broken up into three- hour segments, which are as long as some of my college courses." Coaches also love the i d e a o f b e i n g a r o u n d coaches from across the country as opposed to attending a local clinic with coaches they may already know. This gives them a chance to Shifting Clinics From The Classroom To The Computer Puts Coaches Ahead Of The Curve /// By Harry Thompson C It was really nice to be with different people and people I didn't know and conversing with them and learning how they do things." CHANGING ON THE FLY