Over 900 amateur hockey coaches, managers, trainers and parents attended the Toronto Maple Leafs annual Coaches Helping Coaches clinics at the Air Canada Centre recently.
Leafs head coach Ron Wilson, assistants Rob Zettler and Tim Hunter, Paul Dennis plus E.J. McGuire, head of NHL Scouting, and Darryl Boynton of Hockey Canada were the instructors.
"They all emphasized the basics and told them to teach the fundamentals of hockey so that all children leave the arena wanting to come back," Dennis said, adding that the concept around the day was about children learning to play hockey in a "friendly, safe environment."
"Ron (Wilson) dealt with goal setting and maintaining discipline," he said, while Zettler and Hunter were teaching the coaches how to use strategies to put the fun back into the game.
It was an all out effort of the Toronto Maple Leafs to help coaches and ultimately the players to learn and appreciate the game of hockey.
Lois Kalchman
