By Owen Brine
“You will never discover new oceans unless you have the courage to hoist your sails and set course into the unknown.”
As a naval officer, nautical metaphors come naturally to me. And yet, they’ve taken on new meaning during my time as a volunteer hockey coach. Coaching, like commanding a ship, is both an adventure and a discipline. It requires focus but also a willingness to look up from the deck — to appreciate the stars and the bigger picture. My journey as a volunteer hockey coach has been just that, a journey.
The 1st PERIOD: Setting Sail
It all started about a decade ago when I volunteered to help coach my child’s minor hockey team. At the time, my rationale was simple: “The rink is cold, but at least if I’m coaching, I’ll be moving.” That was it. Soon, I found myself tying skates for tiny Timbits players, teaching hockey stances, pushing pucks around, and drawing circles on the ice with a bingo marker. There was joy in the simplicity, watching little ones develop skills while shuffling off to the boards to wave at Nana and Papa. It was a far cry from the structured world of military operations in the Mediterranean and Middle East.
The 2nd PERIOD: Answering the Call:
Fast forward a few years, and I was asked to take on the role of head coach for a U18A team. My first thought? “You’ve got the wrong guy.” I never played beyond house league, myself. I was a classic beer league duster. But something deeper pushed me to say yes. I realized that if I didn’t step up now, the opportunity to contribute would pass me by.
So I hoisted my sails.
The 3rd PERIOD: Charting the Course
Instinctively, my naval mindset took over. I needed a fix on the chart—where we were and where we were headed. I reached out to a friend and mentor, Marty, a former pro player and outstanding coach. I also met with our association’s Technical Director and laid out a game plan. I knew my strengths: leadership, discipline, physical training, and strategic thinking. But I also knew my gaps, and I made sure to surround myself with assistant coaches who could bring those missing pieces to the bench.
With help from friends, Google, and great resources like True Sport and Sport Nova Scotia, I began shaping my coaching philosophy – drawing from my military background, experience in command, and new frameworks like Hockey Canada’s Long-Term Player Development model. But the biggest challenge was translating all I had learned about leadership to the locker room.
Just as I was solidifying my approach, a friend introduced me to Captains & Poets, and it was like someone had handed me a new chart. Through their framework, I came to understand that every athlete, like every leader, has both a Captain and a Poet within them.
The Captain leads with discipline, strength, and action. The Poet brings purpose, empathy, and vision. The challenge – and opportunity- is to balance both.
It was then that I solidified my coaching philosophy, balancing head and heart, strength and humility as I continued to develop as a coach in a game that my family and community loved.
Here’s how my philosophy came together:
The Captain represents leadership, action, and discipline, while the Poet represents emotional insight, reflection, and authenticity, together, shaping well-rounded athletes.
Here is my Coaching Philosophy in those terms:
- Mental and Physical Fortitude
We coach athletes to develop the Captain’s grit and the Poet’s passion and inner strength – meeting challenges with determination and tuning into their inner voice when navigating pressure or adversity. Building strength means training both body and mind. - Ethical Play
We lead by example, aligning the Captain’s sense of responsibility with the Poet’s value-driven and empathetic nature. Our athletes learn that true sportsmanship is grounded in fairness, compassion, and accountability. - Preparation and Resilience
Success lies in controlling the controllables. We emphasized mental strength just as much as physical power. We taught our players to stay present – “Be where your skates are.”We trained our athletes to channel the Captain’s focus and the Poet’s reflective mindset, preparing with purpose and bouncing back from setbacks with insight and resolve. - Continuous Improvement
Growth happens in the stretch zone. We encouraged athletes to set goals and push limits like a Captain while also drawing on the Poet’s desire to show up as their best and to support others to do the same. We celebrate small milestones and learning from each experience. - Player Empowerment
We acknowledged that each athlete holds a unique inner compass. We foster environments where the Captain leads with confidence in who they are as people first, and the Poet’s inner guidance of what is needed and where to go combine to empower players to own their journey, trust their instincts, and support one another as teammates and leaders.
OVERTIME: My Guiding Compass
In order to ask our players to show up as their best selves, we had to do the same. Through this lens of authenticity, the guiding principles of our coaching approach became clear:
- Positive Reinforcement – Celebrate effort and progress and learning.
- Constructive Feedback – Direct (Captain) and kind (Poet) correction.
- Player Autonomy – Let players lead themselves as much as possible.
- Team Cohesion – Build connection, trust amongst our Poets and shared goals of our Captains.
We trained hard, physically and mentally. We used pre-game routines, post-game reflections, and team-building activities—dojo days, CrossFit WODs, you name it. We set goals not just from a coach’s clipboard but from the players’ hearts. We visualized success, embraced setbacks, and kept asking one essential question:
“How are you going to show up?”
POST-SEASON Reflections: The Constellation of Coaching
As the season came to an end, I found myself reflecting not on wins or losses, but on growth. Coaching isn’t just about drawing plays or barking encouragement from the bench. It’s about meeting players where they are, helping them discover who they are, and guiding them toward who they can become.
In the end, coaching teenagers may be one of the hardest jobs—but it’s also one of the most rewarding. Because when you show up with both your Captain and Poet, you inspire others to do the same.
And just like that, a naval officer found his second sea—on the ice.