Natalie Knows Development

Trusting the process with Natalie Darwitz

By: Todd Smith

GOPHERS ASSISTANT COACH AND HOCKEY MOM NATALIE DARWITZ shares her development insight for players, parents and coaches.

INSTANT GRATIFICATION

“We all want to go on Twitter and instantly share that our son or daughter won the game 3-1 tonight,” Darwitz said. “But at the end of the day, to really gauge success, parents and coaches have to ask different questions: Is a player improving from the first time they hopped onto the ice to the second time? Are they making strides the second time or the third time? Is there a difference in the team play from October to December?”

TRUST THE PROCESS

“Parents could be so pumped and thrilled that their son or daughter are on a 10U or 12U A team, but they might be losing every game by multiple goals. The more important question is are they improving every game? Do they enjoy it?

“When I think about trusting the process I think about former Gopher hockey player Mike Crowley. He didn’t always make all the top teams as a kid. But then he ended up being a top player on the Gophers and went to the NHL. That’s trusting the process. He decided that nothing’s going to happen from 8U to Bantams unless he improves every time he’s on the ice. It doesn’t matter if a player is on an A Team or the B Team. Players need time to work on things and work through the process.”

HOCKEY IQ

“I don’t think we talk enough about hockey IQ. A player can skate as fast and as pretty as they want to. But if they don’t understand the game of hockey and where to be and when and how to read and react, essentially they’re wasting that skill.

“Players have to be three seconds ahead. It is like driving down the road and just looking right in front of you. Having a good hockey IQ is looking five cars ahead. That’s how you have to play hockey. The foundational skill of turning and crossing over is going to get a player to a spot on the ice. But a hockey IQ will put a player in the right spot on the ice where the magic and the chaos are going to happen. So, quite honestly, every exercise we do, there’s a purpose to it so that it is not robotic and the players aren’t simply going around a cone and shooting.”

HOMEWORK ANALOGY

“If there’s a ‘why’ behind the lesson, I think kids are going to understand it more. When parents and coaches are just saying, ‘Do this’ and then there’s not a reason behind it the lesson can get lost. I think players always have to know why. I think kids have to understand their parents and coaches are trying to help and be supportive. But if it’s not done in the right way or if it’s done fear based or yelling or there’s no reason why behind it they won’t necessarily learn.”

THE SMALL AREAS

“Most of our practices are game decisions, battle-type exercises, small area games, tight area stuff where you have to earn the puck and then come out of the corner with it. I mean, 90% of the game is played on the walls so that’s what we work on.

“How does a player win that battle along the wall? How do they put themselves in the right spot? If a player is not in the battle along the wall then where should they be? Are they hanging out in front of the net where an opportunity to get a pass is like 5%? Or are they three to five feet away ready to jump on a loose puck? We tell the players to play three seconds ahead. Where can the puck go in three seconds?”

POND HOCKEY MENTALITY

“I think we can get so bogged down on systems. For kids playing now and to go into the next level it’s a pond hockey mentality.

“Kids want to be out there playing, and I think they get confused when they have to think too much. I can see kids visibly thinking on the ice. And what happens when they are thinking? Their feet stop moving. They just stand there. It’s amazing that the higher levels you get in hockey the play should be very unpredictable. I think it’s true from college to the U.S. National Team to the NHL that you’re not just seeing boring hockey. You’re seeing creative plays being made that come from a pond hockey mentality.”

POSITIVE PARENTS

“Look at it from a young player’s perspective. If a kid looks in the stands and sees his mom and dad clapping or has good body language that’s only going to encourage the kid and make the kid excited about doing something they love that their parents are also involved in. If they see their mom and dad pacing, if they see their bad body language, yelling out instructions, yelling at the referees, in the kid’s mind, that probably doesn’t translate to a positive experience. They’re sitting there going, ‘Geez, are my parents not happy with me? Are they not having fun like I am?’

“My number one question is: Does your child enjoy going to the rink? At every level of hockey, it doesn’t matter if it’s 8U or the NHL, the number one thing is you’re going to play better when you’re having fun.”