Today's blog interview is with a great guy. Dennis Chighisola, AKA Coach Chic. You can follow him on twitter at http://twitter.com/CoachChic. He is a great person and a great coach.

I really wanted to do this interview, simply because I wanted people to realize what really makes a coach and what motivates a good coach. As always, I will add my additions to the answers.

1) What is the best quality that you have within yourself as a coach?

I would say patience is number one, or the ability to look for long-term gains in my students or players. I also have (probably a God-given) ability to see logical steps -- or progressions -- that help players move from one level of execution to another, or to help them overcome given challenges.

The key point in success is working on no time schedule. You can never rush person progress. Everyone grows at a different rate. A great quality to have in any coach.


2) I know you have many years successful as a coach how have you motivated yourself to be better?

Motivation has never been a problem; I'll often joke to hockey friends that what I do is a whole lot better than working for a living! And, loving the work as much as I do, I can sometimes put-in 60- or 70-hour weeks and not tire. If there are frustrations in my work, they might be a) I sometimes wear too many hats, and b) that I sometimes run into players (or parents of players) who want great end results but aren't willing to pay the necessary dues to achieve them.

There is the key, Coach. Success is loving the work. Learn to love the work and enjoy your job. The life of a coach has a lot responsibility. Part time friend, part time teacher, and part time peace maker.


3) I firmly believe that if you feel good about yourself, you can teach the real values of hockey. How do coaches teach values to make their kids better?

This is a tough one to answer -- not because I don't know exactly what it is, but because it's sometimes a hard thing to convey -- or have believed. Truthfully, though, I think it boils down to something very simple, as in "caring". Trying to clarify that a bit, I've seen guys with tons of playing experience prove to be terrible teachers (coaches). They think just showing-up is doing the job. On the other hand, a guy or gal who really cares about doing the job right can study enough to make himself or herself a huge help to developing young players.

I learned from my father at a early age (I am a old age now) what you put into it you get back tenfold. If you want to be successful, you have to put in a successful effort. What I mean by that is work like you want it. You will learn to love it.


I wanted to thank Denis for his time. He is a great teacher and coach and friend. He was a joy to work with.

Until next time, take care .

Randy