Amateur ice hockey coaching and the role of video feedback

Amateur minor hockey coaches have recently begun to capture and play back video recordings to provide their teams with visual feedback of their play as a learning tool. Yet what is not clear is whether such video feedback is useful and how video feedback systems could be designed to better match the needs of amateur hockey coaches and players. As such, we wanted to understand coaches’ current practices for communicating and teaching and their current use of video feedback (if at all). We observed games and practices and conducted in situ interviews with amateur coaches. Our results show that teaching and learning at highly competitive levels of minor hockey focuses on decision-making and comprehension of the game rather than individual physical movement. One-on-one teaching happens opportunistically and in very short time periods throughout games and practices. However, video feedback is currently used in a much different context, often away from the ice because of technological limitations. Based on these findings, we suggest video feedback systems be designed for use within the context of games and practices while balancing the individual needs of players with coaching goals.