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said. "The focus now is put on principles in play to help with player development. What becomes of that down the road are positive outcomes. When you have more players doing the right thing for their own develop- ment, it leads to stronger team outcomes." Long-time Middlebury College head coach Bill Beaney said the style of coaching evolves over time and he's taken notice of that. One of the winningest coaches in NCAA history, Beaney tries to put his players in game-like situations as often as possible, in part because it aids the learning process greatly. "I create game situations in practice, which allows the players to learn within the context of the game," B e a n e y s a i d . " Yo u w a n t players to think in terms of concepts and in doing that, they go back and put more time into their individual skills on their own, which leads to success." Beaney also points out that it's important to put p l a y e r s i n a s i t u a t i o n where they can learn from t h e i r m i st a k e s a n d s u c - cesses during both prac- tices and games. " You let g o of some of the control as a c o a c h a n d l et t h e p l ay e r s d e c i d e w h o i s going to lead and you get to see who is going to take advantage of opportunities," said Beaney, who coached the M i d d l e b u r y Pa n t h e r s t o e i g h t N CA A D i v i s i o n I I I C h a m p i o n s h i p t i t l e s , including five in a row from 1995-1999. " B y g i v i n g u p c o n t r o l , you are really gaining it as a coach. Your players gain confidence and grow from the experience." Vairo echoes that thought. " T h e r e a l g r e a t n e s s shows when players have coaches but actually coach themselves," Vairo said. "There was a time when I wasn't sure what that meant. But I know now." Vairo adds that treating players as if they are your own children can be a dif- ference maker as well. " I 'v e m a d e p l e n t y o f mistakes and have gone through a lot of trial and error," he said. "But after I had kids of my own, I d e c i d e d t o t r e a t e v e r y player as if they were my ow n . I d o n 't t h i n k y o u make too many mistakes when you do that." Paluch said it can be difficult for coaches to get away from what they learned during their playing days. He said keeping players engaged regardless of their age and coaching them in a way that fits today's game is key. "It's critical to do that," Paluch said. "You have to coach for today's game and do what is best for the age group you are coaching. We don't have a crystal ball of where the game is going, but we have a pretty good idea that it isn't getting any slower. It's important to put a lot of emphasis on that." Paluch said it's a great thing when the ideas being put out there to help grow the game resonate with not just the athletes but with other coaches as well. "There is no question when you see the players get it, it's a great thing," Paluch said. "It's just as rewarding to see a coach make decisions that help young athletes succeed. When you see everyone buy into individual athletic development, it's pretty cool." P Brian Lester is a freelance writer based out of Pensacola, Fla. OCTOBER 2020 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 39 "By giving up control, you are really gaining it as a coach. Your players gain confidence and grow from the experience." —Bill Beaney, long- time Head Coach at Middlebury College ALLOWING ATHLETES TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES IS A BIG PART OF THE LEARNING PROCESS EMPLOYED BY TOP-LEVEL COACHES LIKE SCOTT PALUCH, TOP, AND BILL BEANEY, ABOVE.