David Watson
[email protected]
(905) 580-1818
My name is David Watson, I'm 29 years old, and my players like to call me Coach David, Coach Watson, or Coach Watty. I have been coaching hockey formally since I was 17 years old, informally coaching since my days at Pine Grove Elementary organizing games of mini-stick hockey on the playground. I played hockey with the Rangers from age 11 at A/E (B) up to age 14 at A. From there I played High School hockey for the Abbey Park Eagles, and have been playing either intramural hockey or men's league ever since. I started coaching with the Rangers at age 18, as the head coach of a developmental House League Team, went to University and College, then started coaching again at age 27 Coaching House League Red for two seasons, then one of the U11 Advanced League teams last season.
Our approach to coaching is fun-first, trying to disguise as much challenging development as games or creative drills as possible. While there is plenty of hard work planned in physically and strategically demanding drills, we have found, season after season, that our players develop and perform more quickly honing their skills in games. For example, tag for skating development, keep-away for passing practice, and knockout for stick-handling work. This approach also helps keep players engaged and find as many similarities to in-game scenarios as possible. It is extremely important to us that players are just as excited to come to practice, as they are to play in their games.
Another key component of our approach to coaching is to have as many players in the drill getting as many repetitions as possible. Ice is too valuable and too expensive to have skaters standing around waiting. Our coaching staff will subdivide the team as often as we can to create stations where each players gets as many reps through the drill as they can. This not only helps develop the player's skills quicker, but keeps the pace of practice quick, and allows for more individual feedback and coaching from our staff. We do this in two main kinds of practices; Skills Practices, and Positions Practices. Skills Practices include stations working on skills vital for all positions like shooting, skating and passing, and Positions Practices focus on skills/strategies specific to a player's position, like 1 on 1s for Defencemen, and puck cycling for forwards.
What We Are Looking For
We are proud to have fostered a culture on our teams of no-quit attitude. Our past few teams have been come-back teams, always responding to being down on the scoreboard, and making the third period their best hockey. Our forwards back-check, and our defence is always ready to hop up on the rush and get back. The players we select for this team will have to demonstrate the effort to do this, as we can teach speed, strategy and skill, but it is much more challenging to teach the desire to work hard. What we can promise is that a player who commits to pushing themselves in games and practices, for their team and for themselves, will come out of this season twice as skilled and with a way higher hockey IQ.
Pre-Season Programming
Following conclusion of our tryouts, we will hold our first team meeting, and we will start looking ahead to the month of June as the start of our pre-season. We will be offering Dryland and team building sessions every other week for the months of June, July and August. We are planning to have our first team social gathering in July to further help the players and parents gel.
Please Note: all activities being offered between July 1st and August 22nd are OPTIONAL and are not affiliated with the Oakville Rangers
Starting in September, Dryland Sessions will be held every week, and our on-ice practices will begin. We intend to pack the month of September with practices and exhibition games, being on the ice 4-5 times per week. In the month of October, we will shift to two practices per week and two games as we start our regular season play.
Regular Season Programming
- During the regular season we plan to be on the ice 4-5 times per week, including one or two games per week and two or three practices per week depending on scheduling in rest days and the availability of ice.
- We plan to participate in three or four tournaments; one early bird tournament and the other two or three to follow during the regular season. We intend for one tournament to be a hotel-stay, which will likely be a Silver Stick Tournament. Given the complicated nature of the economy and our relationship with the United States, we intend to participate in all Canadian-hosted tournaments.
- We aim to have at least one exhibition game per month, including a rivalry series which will culminate in a winner-take all exhibition final against our rival at 16 Mile Rink 1 at the end of the season, which will include a skills competition and other programming.
- We intend to build upon the successes of last year's B team and push our boys to have a deep run into the playoffs.
Assistant Coach: Chris Ricci
My name is Chris Ricci, I'm 28 years old, and this is my third year coaching with the Rangers. In my early years I played house league hockey for a couple of seasons in Oakville, then at age 10 I started playing goalie and took my skills to the GTHL, playing A through AAA predominately for the North York Knights/Rangers as well as the North Toronto Hockey organization. Throughout my time with these teams, I was fortunate to compete in and win multiple GTHL Finals, as well as the Ontario Hockey Finals, that was hosted in Hearst, ON creating memories that will certainly last a life time.
I finished my hockey tenure during my first year of college where I played the first half of the season in Juvenile B for the Waterloo Siskins before ultimately making the decision to step down and transition my focus to schooling and furthering my education. I first started coaching when I was 16, working with my former goalie coach, Ron Mays, assisting in private sessions also while obtaining an assistant coaching role for a developmental house league team in Oakville.