By Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS

Every year, I take my players from the PEAC School For Elite Athletes in Toronto on a road trip to the States to visit NCAA schools. We do this so that they can see firsthand what college hockey is all about. This fall, we went to Boston and visited Boston University, Northeastern and Harvard. We saw the teams practice, watched a game and got tours from the coaches themselves.

These tours are always an amazing part of the trip as they allow our kids to ask the coaches anything and everything about the college hockey experience. One question that the girls always ask is, “What do you look for most in players you are recruiting?”

And every single coach says, “CHARACTER.”

It’s definitely not the only thing they look for, and the player under consideration must have the skills necessary to play at that level, but your character can make the difference between getting an opportunity to play on the team of your dreams or getting passed over. It’s something I always look for when choosing players for my teams, as it is very hard to have success if you don’t have it. So what exactly is character and how can we teach it and improve it?

There are many different aspects to having good character, but I’m going to highlight the three areas that I think are most critical to a team and a player’s success.

Trustworthiness: Do what you say you’ll do. Admit to your mistakes openly. Be honest and demand honesty in return. This is true not only for players and coaches, but for parents too.

Respect: Treat others as you would like to be treated. That includes your teammates, coaching staff, parents, your opponents and the referees. This includes when you’re on the ice, in the dressing room, around the rink and any time you are representing yourself as a member of your team.

Responsibility: Realize that you have control over your thoughts, feelings and actions, and that you are accountable for the consequences of your actions. Responsible people don’t make excuses for their mistakes – they own up to them. You must learn to win with dignity and lose with dignity.

One of the most famous quotes about character in sports comes from NCAA basketball coaching legend John Wooden: “Sports do not build character, they reveal it.” And while I think the second part of the quote is true, I do believe that we as coaches have a responsibility to help build character in our young players.

Coaches are, first and foremost, teachers. They are among the most influential people in a player’s life. Because coaches are such powerful role models, players often learn more from them about CHARACTER than about athletic performance. And remember – they learn both the good and the bad aspects of character.

Having great character can be taught through understanding of how trust, respect and responsibility contribute to a team’s and a player’s success. And it must be modeled by coaches and parents both inside and outside the rink.

Coach Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS, works exclusively with aspiring female hockey players. She is the Girls Hockey Director at the PEAC School for Elite Athletes in Toronto and the Director and Founder of Total Female Hockey. You can get complete access to Kim’s articles, videos, interviews and advice on how to take your game to the next level at www.totalfemalehockeyclub.com.

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