Last weekend, the two-day IIHF Coaching Symposium took place in Cologne parallel to the games of the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Under the direction and organization of the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB) and the IIHF, 280 participants from 39 countries, as well as the speakers, met at the Marriott Hotel.
After the official opening DEB-President Franz Reindl as well as IIHF sports manager Aku Nieminen and DEB–Sports Director Stefan Schaidnagel, the main focus of the event was the concept and approach of “Long Term Player Development”. In the presentations by Dr. Stephen Norris (sports scientist, Hockey Canada), Don Granato (University of Wisconsin), Paul Carson (Vice President Hockey Canada) and John Whitesides (Strength and Conditioning Coach Boston Bruins), the importance of the multi-sport approach to ice hockey for children was particularly highlighted. The importance of leadership qualities of ice hockey coaches was then presented from various perspectives. The main message of the presentations by the internationally highly respected speakers Tommy Boustedt (General Manager Swedish Ice Hockey Association), Alpo Suhonen (first European NHL coach) as well as Melody Davidson (Director Women`s Hockey, Hockey Canada) and Uwe Krupp (member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, head coach Eisbären Berlin) was to make it clear that it was essential to separate the person and the athlete through high leadership skills; the focus was on the person themselves, not the athlete. In addition, it is often difficult and tiring to take on a leadership role, but in appropriate situations it is essential and immensely important in order to form an intact team structure. Another topic discussed was the so-called off-ice training. The athletic area is becoming increasingly important in ice hockey, as in many other game sports, and plays an important role in training management.
After a final open round of talks and discussions, all participants had the opportunity to watch the USA's game against Slovakia in the LANXESS Arena as guests of the World Cup Organizing Committee.
Stefan Schaidnagel, DEB-Sports Director: “The IIHF Coaching Symposium is for the world association and the DEB a very good opportunity to promote the sports-related exchange on the part of the associations. The implementation of discipline-specific and interdisciplinary findings is one of our strategic goals in relation to the performance of our sport. It is also important to pass on these findings to the entire ice hockey society. This year’s symposium was of high professional quality and was characterized by interdisciplinary exchange.”