Player Evaluations

[Teamcoach229]

Do written evaluations really help a youth player progress?

[black sheep]

they do if they evaluator and the evaluatee and the parent(s) of the evalutee are honest with themselves

[JSR]

Do written evaluations really help a youth player progress?

Depends on three 3 things:
- the player
- what is written
- the parents

If the player loves the sport and is driven to get better, if the evaluation is well done and insightfully written, and if the parents aren't too egotatistcal and are open and ivniting to analysis that will help their child then it absolutely helps. But if you do not have all three then it's a waste of time

[JSR]

they do if they evaluator and the evaluatee and the parent(s) of the evalutee are honest with themselves

I was writing mine while you were posting yours... LOL.... great minds think alike!

[Docs_88]

IMO they would be very helpful if done how JSR suggests. Problem is, at least in our association, it seems that they are rarely done and if they are we don't see them anyway. My son will be going into his 6th year and I have yet to see an evaluation.

[hockeygoof1]

IMO they would be very helpful if done how JSR suggests. Problem is, at least in our association, it seems that they are rarely done and if they are we don't see them anyway. My son will be going into his 6th year and I have yet to see an evaluation.

Great point. Our association doesn't hand over evaluations either.

[slow feet no hands guy]

I think too much is made of this at the youth level. There may not be a "written" evaluation presented, but coaches are constantly enforcing skill development and providing challenging situations that allow each individual player the opportunity to improve.
The bottom line is they need to get better. Does a baseball coach write an evaluation to tell your player to throw harder? Field cleaner? Run faster? Does a Basketball coach write an evaluation to tell your player to Dribble left handed? Shoot more accurately? Practice more free throws?

What your player is doing when no one is looking or telling them what to do, will make them a better player. Stickhandling 5 extra minutes, shooting one extra bucket of pucks, run an extra sprint, etc.

Constant feedback and reinforcement of skill development throughout the entire season will help foster that desire to improve much more than a 3" x 5" notecard simply stating "work hard = get better".

[Shinbone_News]

I think too much is made of this at the youth level. There may not be a "written" evaluation presented, but coaches are constantly enforcing skill development and providing challenging situations that allow each individual player the opportunity to improve.
The bottom line is they need to get better. Does a baseball coach write an evaluation to tell your player to throw harder? Field cleaner? Run faster? Does a Basketball coach write an evaluation to tell your player to Dribble left handed? Shoot more accurately? Practice more free throws?

What your player is doing when no one is looking or telling them what to do, will make them a better player. Stickhandling 5 extra minutes, shooting one extra bucket of pucks, run an extra sprint, etc.

Constant feedback and reinforcement of skill development throughout the entire season will help foster that desire to improve much more than a 3" x 5" notecard simply stating "work hard = get better".

I think the real point is whether kids get individualized critiques or not, whether on paper is beside the point. Some kids skate well, others don't. Some have great hands, others not. Running the whole team through the same set of drills and just hollering corrections at the group is not enough, IMO. There should be enough coaches on the ice not to just correct the kids doing the drill wrong, but offer them individual feedback to actually improve a skill set.

Plus, comparing hockey to baseball or basketball coaching is just wrong. Those sports don't involve nearly the same level of technique, if for no other reason than they don't involve skating which is a complex science in itself. You're not going to hear a baseball coach talking through the finer points of how to sprint, but you better hear the hockey coach talking about proper skating stride, edgework, etc. And these skillsets vary widely in any given group from mites to elite high school players.

I think most youth hockey coaches could do a lot better in offering individual critiques and instruction. Watch an NHL practice sometime and see how often individual players are pulled aside for special attention and drills on some specific skill or situation. And those are players that are supposedly already developed!

[Teamcoach229]

Just gave my players there first evaluation and it was a success. It helped the morale of the team and parents loved them.