Author Archives: tjmanastersky

In 2015, I went into the season with a goal to be great at connecting with the players and I came up with a communication plan. Halfway through the season, I sent out a survey to the team asking, “what is one thing the coaching staff is doing well that you would like to seeContinue reading “Communication Gaps”

I was recently asked by a subscriber of the Breakthrough Knowledge newsletter if I use a playbook: “Do you have a play book? I’m looking into the benefits of having a playbook for the players. We have a handbook in our program but I was wondering if having a playbook would help our team, playersContinue reading “Should You Have a Playbook?”

Register: To register for this free event, sign up below. Subscribers to the Coaching Project newsletter will automatically receive an invite and do not need to register. Invitations will be sent out on Tuesday, May 18 with the link to the Zoom meeting. There is a limit of 100 participants. Details Join us on Tuesday,Continue reading “Join the Conversation about the ‘Tough Stuff’ of Being a Head Coach”

The rules of a game dictate constraints and affordances. In women’s ice-hockey, body checking is a minor penalty and therefore the players are constrained to defend without it. However, they are afforded the opportunity to develop critical defending skills such as using the stick effectively, taking away space with angling, and getting above the puckContinue reading “Learning from Women’s Ice-Hockey”

“I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” – Abraham Maslow In the book, Range, by David Epstein the concept of having “range” is provided as a predictor of success over the long-term. It explains why “generalists triumph in aContinue reading “How Range of Knowledge Impacts Coaching”

Breakthrough knowledge creates insight. It can create exciting connections between ideas or it can contradict your current opinion. Often uncomfortable, breakthroughs force an acceptance that your thinking has been incomplete. It can also be energizing because you have found something brand new to explore; something you have never considered. With curiosity and an open mind, breakthroughContinue reading “What is Breakthrough Knowledge?”

Joining the Coaching Project as a guest coach is Nick Carpenito, Associate Head Coach at Northeastern University Women’s Hockey. Northeastern is a top program in the NCAA; this year falling just short of the National Championship in overtime vs. the University of Wisconsin. Prior to coaching at Northeastern, Nick was an Assistant Coach at UnionContinue reading “Creating Offense – Attacking the Soft Areas”

The word, “coach” comes from the Hungarian word, “kocsi” Kocs is a small Hungarian village that is known for building horse drawn carts, called “kosci”. These carts transported people between Budapest and Vienna in the 15th century. Kosci were designed to transport people from where they are to where they want to go. A simplyContinue reading “First Principle of Coaching”