No longer will hockey coaches need to print out drills and fill binders with them.
Recently retired Montreal Canadien defenseman Mike Weaver and current Florida Panthers goaltending coach, Robb Tallas have launched CoachThem, a web app for hockey coaches.
CoachThem, which can be accessed on any browser, can be a resource for coaches and associations to create and store practices and drills, as well as access those created by the community, including current NHL coaches.
The idea of CoachThem comes from both Weaver and Tallas’ love for coaching the game. On top of their careers, both men have spent over a decade running elite training camps. When Weaver played for the Panthers, he spoke with Tallas about the lack of an up-to-date system for maintaining drills and practices even in the NHL.
With Weaver’s background from Michigan State University, where he received a Telecommunications degree with a minor in virtual reality, software development, and web design, the two decided to take their experience and create a resource for coaches all around the world.
“CoachThem will change the way coaches plan and discover drills for practices,” said Weaver, CoachThem’s CEO (Tallas is the company’s president) over the phone with Tech in Sports. “Preparation is the key to creating a challenging, skill development practice. Coming up with a practice plan is very difficult. You want to go ahead and teach, but the plans you use at the beginning of the year have to evolve throughout the year.”
Weaver spoke about his experience with coaches who had messy practice schedules that would come together five minutes before practice because they didn’t have a better resource. Whether it be youth, high school, college, or pro coaches – this resource is designed for all levels of the game.
“We wanted our platform to allow the beginners and advanced users an opportunity to go ahead and thrive as coaches. It levels the playing field. Preparation has to be there. Organization has to be there. That’s what CoachThem brings,” said Weaver.
A subscription to CoachThem includes access to its marketplace, which will be filled with information, drills, and customized practices created by former NHL players, and current NHL coaches.
CoachThem dials in on six features:
- Create – draw digital drills with a mouse, finger, or pencil.
- Organize – create practices before arrival to the rink, and stay informed.
- Discover – the marketplace features offers new and unique drills to use and growth with.
- Share – share drills with your coaching staff, association, or friends.
- Customize – create personal groups to share information.
- Education – learn more about the game through video tutorials
CoachThem is now available on for $5 per month on an annual subscription basis – a total of $60 a year. Associations of a minimum 10 teams can get access for $100 per year, which gives access to three coaches per team.
You can read more at www.coachthem.com and follow Weaver at @coachthem on Twitter and Instagram.