Its not about movie style speeches but it is about knowing what makes your team tick and how to get the best out of each individual. Its about understanding the right balance between incentive and punishment to optimize performance. Its about creating team cohesion, and managing emotions. This is literally the same thing for any team based environment, whether its on the ice or in the board room. Just because these guys are professionals doesn't mean they are always 100% on, just like any human being. That's why you have people appointed to positions of leadership, to manage that. No team in any industry is just 100% self directed. To say the coach has no impact on motivation is just false. The coach is the de-facto leader of the team.
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A few weeks after crashing head-first into the boards (denting his helmet and being unable to move for a little while) following a hit from behind by Bob Errey, the Calgary Flames player explains:
"I was like Christ, lying on my back, with my arms outstretched, crucified"
-- Frank Musil - Early January 1994
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