For any sport, after a good team comes a good strategy — the blueprint of every game. For men’s hockey, every movement seen on the ice is designed under the guidance of head coach Peter Belisle.
Belisle focuses on establishing a sense of trust between him and his players, offering them a bit of creative freedom on the ice. “I let them go a little bit freer, because they know. I love their attitude. I give them a bit more say. They come to me with suggestions,” he said.
“I know these guys now. As a coach, you are always coaching the habits. You need the hard work, the details. It is a lot of reiterating all the good habits of the game and its hard work and the team gets it now,” Belisle said. “We have a group of 16 guys who have been through the trenches for UMass Boston with me.”
Players know what is expected of them, and Belisle trusts them to make the right decision for the team. This level of trust and faith is unique and never comes easy. “When the guys come in as freshmen, there is always a learning curve. And we need to lift the way they play. Hockey is a game of inches. We have the horses this season. You are only as good as your best players,” Belisle said.
Hockey is not just a physical sport but a mental one as well. Belisle strives to find a balance, from strong body language and physical contact to split-second decision-making that could make or break the game.
He takes it one game at a time and is always striving to do better at the next. From working out previous issues to focusing on skills that will be needed against the next opponent.
“We do scout films, there are so many statistics that we can pull off. Me and my assistant will be watching Plymouth State’s game tonight. We may need to make some tweaks. You have to be aware,” Belisle said. “And that’s typically how we prepare. Friday night, we flush in and then Saturday, new opponent, new strategy, new scouts to watch.”
People see what happens on the ice, but the behind-the-scenes is much more taxing. For the coach, it is going through hours of game footage and making changes that may help in the next game. Every game and every opponent are different. One must constantly prepare for the next game with a new strategy.
Belisle said he is looking forward to a lot of improvement this season. “With the games I think we just have to be quicker, it’s not just necessarily skating speed, its cerebral moving speed. Decision-making quickly — Hockey sense,” he said.
“That’s something my assistant Ty Monte does a superb job of by going over a lot of film with the guys to develop that area. We need to find guys when recruiting that will get it. They have to play fast they cannot be slow. And we have guys who come from some of the best leagues,” Belisle said.
