By Tim Morris
Stuart Battrick has found an outlet for his passion. A self-proclaimed ice hockey lifer, he has discovered that coaching was just what he needed to keep his passion alive. He is the video coach for the Ottawa Junior Senators of the Central Canadian Hockey League (CCHL).
“I wanted to stay involved in hockey and coaching does that,” Battrick pointed out. “It allows me to pass on what knowledge I have of the game.”
As the Jr. Senators video coach, Battrick spends game upstairs in the coach’s booth following the games live via video.
“I look for plays we want to breakdown,” he explained.
Battrick will highlight plays that lead to goals or how the Jr. Senators are defending or playing the power play. He will put those plays on his laptop and between periods show them to the coaches.
“It’s one of the tools that helps us with our special teams,” he noted.
His video highlights also help the coaches “make modifications” between periods. Battrick will also re-watch the game afterward looking to capture other plays that might help the coaching staff.
Battrick’s ultimate goal is to use the video film to help the team’s players individually. He wants to make up a video file of all the players and use it as a teaching tool. He’d like the individual videos to show the players the things they need to improve on and what that they are doing correctly.
There’s something else about coaching that Battrick enjoys.
“There’s nothing like being part of a team and the competitive atmosphere,” he said.
Battrick spent five years playing hockey for his local junior team in Midland, Ontario starting at age 15. He started out as a shut down defender for the Centennials and became a more offensive defender moving the puck up ice over time.
After junior hockey Battrick went to Seneca College studying accounting and playing hockey for the school. But, it was non-contact hockey, not the real thing.
Battrick thought his hockey days were behind him when an opportunity to go back home and help out the Midland Centennials as an assistant coach came up. He was apprehensive about it as first. But, he soon found that someone like him, who was a student of the game in his playing days, had a lot to contribute from the behind the bench. And, it was fun.
“After one year I found that I loved it,” he said.
Following two seasons as the Centennials assistant coach, he became the team’s head coach. He did that before becoming affiliated with the Jr. Senators through the Canadian Developmental Hockey League (CDHL) in May of 2016.
While coaching his home town team Battrick took the Hockey Canada HP I (Hockey Preparation) course. He’s passed it and that means he can coach any team in Canada but the Canadian Olympic Team or its U-21 national team. He’s working towards passing the HP-II course which would make him eligible to coach those teams.
Battrick is pleased to be a part of the Jr. Senators, who have a reputation for being one of the best teams in the CCHL.
“I was told that this was the place to go,” he said. “It’s one of the most respected organizations in the league. The people are amazing. They’re all there for the right reasons, developing players.”
