What do I look for in a hockey player?

I have had many coaches at workshops I have run, and in conversations with me around the place, ask me this question-

What do I look for in a hockey player when I am selecting teams I coach?

Well this is an interesting question, and the answer is not perhaps as complex as people might think. For many years in hockey, and still amongst certain coaches, and selectors today the prevailing theory has been to look at the skills of the player. This is part of it yes, but it is no longer the first thing I look at when I select players for my teams anymore.

The first area I look at now is how they think, how the react to what is happening around them on the field, do the have a what I like to call a 3 Dimensional Hockey mind, or are they simple one of these players who passes the ball then thinks thats my job done and doesn't react any further. Thats it I strongly believe you can teach a players the basic skills of the game so that they are able to get by, but you can teach them to have that 3 Dimensional hockey mind, they have to all ready have this in place.

Once I have looked at how they think on the field, then I look at how they engage with there team-mates, the opposition, coaching staff and in young players even there siblings and parents. This tells me allot about a players character and whether they will fit into the team we are looking to build and the culture we are trying to create. If they are a good person first and foremost then as a Coach I am not sure if this is someone we should have in and around the team.

Then we move onto whether the player has any special skills like do they drag flick, and are they versatile can they play more than one position. There is a trap out there with some people out there who become volunteer selectors for representative teams to fail to look pass the flash at the real substance. I remember I was accused once around a selection table of being a fool, and that if I didn't select this one player because she had a good tomma, that we would fail and be crap at the tournament.

My answer to this was ok so she has a good tomma shot at goal, but its no good to me if she cant do the basics well to get in a position to use that skill, and she is unable to engage with her team-mates in a way that is good. In the end we went on to finish 3rd in that tournament and miss the final by 1/2 a point, she ended up playing for another team in that same tournament and they ran last. So this shows you as a Coach remember to look at substance first before looking at the flash.

In the end its your call as a coach, on what you look at, but have a 3 dimensional hockey brain and good character I believe are a must when selecting players for teams.