The Toronto Maple Leafs Coach's Open House Experience

Today I was lucky to attend the Toronto Maple Leafs Coach’s Open House at Scotiabank Arena. I woke up at 5:30 AM to commute to get there for 7:30… which was not ideal but we do what we gotta do. When I arrived there was a huge line, if I was walking past I would have thought there was a Leaf’s game at 7 in the morning. Once inside, I got a seat in the front row which was great because I got to be closest to all the action.


We got to hear from incredible speakers including Greg Schell, Jason Colero, President - Brendan Shanahan, General Manager - Brad Trelving, and Head Coach - Craig Berube. I also got to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Washington Capitals morning skates and the different drills they run. Jason Colero is the Community Programs and Education Specialist with MLSE, and I got to hear him speak at a previous event I was able to attend through MLSE. If you have the chance to chat with him, he really does some incredible work in the community and I aspire to do the work that he does.


As a big hockey fan (Oilers though, not Leafs) this was a cool experience to see players like Austin Matthews and Alex Ovechkin take part in the morning skates and run through various drills at the NHL level. So from a hockey fan perspective, being able to watch the players and coaching staff hold a practice up close was a really neat experience.


I got to see a variety of drills, some that I can even incorporate into my softball coaching. Some worked in groups, some one on one with coaches on the side, working on faceoffs, puck handling, slapshots, passing, etc. There was so much they were able to fit into just a handful of drills. I also got to watch them as teammates, for example watching them cheer each other on and get excited for one another when they scored during practice.


Some things I learned was the importance of structure throughout practices and games, consistency, and repetition. Combined, you can see how this can really improve a team and allow them to work better on their own. You don’t need fancy drills with a van full of equipment to teach strong fundamentals. I also learned the importance of an “open door policy”. We as coaches like to think that the kids we coach will come to us about anything they need, but we don’t always think about how we create the environment to encourage them to come to us. Building a positive culture is something I strive to do in my coaching and this clinic only gave me new ideas for how to foster that.


I am very interested in a career in event management and operations. So a fun part for me was being able to watch the AV team come in, merchandising stands get set up, and other game day operations come into place throughout the event. Which I guess is the magic of being there at 7-11am on a game day in the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Even though I’m not a hockey coach, there were a lot of transferable coaching skills, life lessons, and takeaways from today’s event that I can definitely see myself transferring to how I coach girls softball.

 Thank you MLSE (Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Partnership) for having me, it was a lot of fun!