I think this is a bad look from Lindy complaining about technology

[SDS]

From the Buffalo News:

Lessons from Lindy

Devils coach Lindy Ruff was asked a routine question after Thursday's morning skate about how technology mushroomed around the game in recent years and had an interesting take on the proliferation of it on benches during games. 

"I think the iPads sometimes are a distraction. Players are grabbing for iPads constantly," Ruff said. "There's times I'd just like to take the iPads and throw them away. I sense that almost everybody's looking at them.

"Sometimes when there's a mistake, they're looking at justification, that it might not be me.  If you're barking out something we weren't good enough at, automatically somebody's reaching back and grabbing it and they want to go,  'Come on, that wasn't me.'"

[Marvin]

16 minutes ago, SDS said:

From the Buffalo News:

Lessons from Lindy

Devils coach Lindy Ruff was asked a routine question after Thursday's morning skate about how technology mushroomed around the game in recent years and had an interesting take on the proliferation of it on benches during games. 

"I think the iPads sometimes are a distraction. Players are grabbing for iPads constantly," Ruff said. "There's times I'd just like to take the iPads and throw them away. I sense that almost everybody's looking at them.

"Sometimes when there's a mistake, they're looking at justification, that it might not be me.  If you're barking out something we weren't good enough at, automatically somebody's reaching back and grabbing it and they want to go,  'Come on, that wasn't me.'"

Although you are correct overall, there is some nuance here.

My reading is that players are not staying focused on the game.  If I were a coach, I would want my players to stay engaged and help their teammates.  Moreover, his anecdote implies that some players use the iPads to look for reasons to evade responsibility rather than diagnosing issues.

It still come off as an older coach not understanding part of the mentality of his youngest players.  He needs to adapt, but his players should also understand that his has a point too.

Addendum: not to get too political, but this is one problem I have with politics: in most debates, once you peel away the demagoguery and the social media worship, the other side has at least a valid point that should be accounted for.  Just as Lindy must adapt to the new realities, the players need to see that he is has good reasons for his opinion.

Edited April 23, 2022 by Marvin, Sabres Fan

[Doohickie]

4 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

Although you are correct overall, there is some nuance here.

My reading is that players are not staying focused on the game.  If I were a coach, I would want my players to stay engaged and help their teammates.  Moreover, his anecdote implies that some players use the iPads to look for reasons to evade responsibility rather than diagnosing issues.

It still come off as an older coach not understanding part of the mentality of his youngest players.  He needs to adapt, but his players should also understand that his has a point too.

Hire him for POHO now!

[Cascade Youth]

As a parent, I understand what he means.

[SDS]

10 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

Although you are correct overall, there is some nuance here.

My reading is that players are not staying focused on the game.  If I were a coach, I would want my players to stay engaged and help their teammates.  Moreover, his anecdote implies that some players use the iPads to look for reasons to evade responsibility rather than diagnosing issues.

It still come off as an older coach not understanding part of the mentality of his youngest players.  He needs to adapt, but his players should also understand that his has a point too.

Addendum: not to get too political, but this is one problem I have with politics: in most debates, once you peel away the demagoguery and the social media worship, the other side has at least a valid point that should be accounted for.  Just as Lindy must adapt to the new realities, the players need to see that he is has good reasons for his opinion.

Orrrrrrr…. Maybe he’s ranting and placing blame on people when it’s actually not their fault and they’re pretty pissed off about it and he doesn’t like the fact that he can be challenged.

[Marvin]

13 minutes ago, SDS said:

Orrrrrrr…. Maybe he’s ranting and placing blame on people when it’s actually not their fault and they’re pretty pissed off about it and he doesn’t like the fact that he can be challenged.

It could be that too.  It cuts both ways.  You portrayed the quote as if Lindy is totally out to lunch.  I am pointing out that his argument is not without merit.

[jsb]

There comes a time in almost every coach, GM or whatever where you've lost touch with the modern game and player. Lindy's time has come and gone. He was a good coach, not anymore.

[Pimlach]

The last thing you need on the bench is players questioning the coaches.   The iPads are great but must be used for the  right reasons.  

[SDS]

8 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

It could be that too.  It cuts both ways.  You portrayed the quote as if Lindy is totally out to lunch.  I am pointing out that his argument is not without merit.

62 year coach with +2 readers and about to be fired, complains that his team uses technology too much. Are these not professional hockey players? Do they not know if it’s a useful tool or not?

[carpandean]

7 minutes ago, SDS said:

62 year coach with +2 readers and about to be fired, complains that his team uses technology too much. Are these not professional hockey players? Do they not know if it’s a useful tool or not?

Aren't many of them just very talented kids who've just recently moved out of their (host) parents' homes and are now suddenly very rich?  Picture fraternity brothers at many universities.  Sure, if they choose to, they would likely know how useful the iPads could be.  However, many of them probably treat them like their home devices, using them as distractions/toys and, if their personality are arrogant/defensive, as excuse machines.

[SDS]

1 hour ago, carpandean said:

Aren't many of them just very talented kids who've just recently moved out of their (host) parents' homes and are now suddenly very rich?  Picture fraternity brothers at many universities.  Sure, if they choose to, they would likely know how useful the iPads could be.  However, many of them probably treat them like their home devices, using them as distractions/toys and, if their personality are arrogant/defensive, as excuse machines.

Aren’t they used by every team in every professional sport across the country/world? All these young players are walking all over their coaches? The team captains are getting walked all over? The experience veterans are all getting walked all over? The kids are running wild unsupervised and the only thing that Lindy can do is complain about them checking up on his words on the bench?

Yeah. I’m not buying this line of reasoning.

[Malazan]

The devils fans think the game has passed Lindy by and he's basically a 'Hockey Neanderthal'

[PerreaultForever]

Sounds like Lindy's lost his team. 

10-1 they turf him after the season ends. 

[LGR4GM]

12 hours ago, SDS said:

Aren’t they used by every team in every professional sport across the country/world? All these young players are walking all over their coaches? The team captains are getting walked all over? The experience veterans are all getting walked all over? The kids are running wild unsupervised and the only thing that Lindy can do is complain about them checking up on his words on the bench?

Yeah. I’m not buying this line of reasoning.

I'm not either. If a "kid" looks at the iPad and says hey it wasn't me, the coach needs to show them how they contributed to whatever happened and how they can improve because that's what most of these "kids" are looking for. 

Any of them that are truly using the replay to divert blame, you talk to them after the game. If they still won't see their role in it, you talk to the gm. 

Technology is a tool and Ruff doesn't sound like he understands how the players want to use it. The days of a coach being the team tyrant with unquestionable power are over. You better be able to explain on the iPad why that player made a mistake.

[LGR4GM]

13 hours ago, Pimlach said:

The last thing you need on the bench is players questioning the coaches.   The iPads are great but must be used for the  right reasons.  

This line of thinking is so common and then I hear from ppl, "why don't these kids have critical thinking skills!?" 

Well they can't develop those if you don't let them question stuff and learn where they are right or wrong. 

[PromoTheRobot]

15 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Hire him for POHO now!

No more composite sticks. Back to wood!

[Southtown Tommy]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

This line of thinking is so common and then I hear from ppl, "why don't these kids have critical thinking skills!?" 

Well they can't develop those if you don't let them question stuff and learn where they are right or wrong. 

A much better place to develop critical thinking skills is when you have time to think, opposed to just reacting.   That is outside of the game during film study, but not during the game. I get what Lindy is saying.

[SDS]

2 minutes ago, Southtown Tommy said:

A much better place to develop critical thinking skills is when you have time to think, opposed to just reacting.   That is outside of the game during film study, but not during the game. I get what Lindy is saying.

Is Lindy Ruff powerless to take away iPads? His big comment is to grumble that his coaching points are questioned? What is it that you get that he saying? 

Again, if it nearly every player in every sport in every league is doing this, maybe there’s something more to this than 18-year-old playing Angry Birds? 

[Southtown Tommy]

No, he isn't powerless to take them away. He likely sees some value in using them. He probably sees they can be a distraction to a player's focus to his message. That is what I get from what he is saying.

Just because nearly every other player is using them doesn't mean the use of them is ideal. 

[Buffalonill]

I hate those iPads  Every time the grand kids come over they just want to be on that thing all day

I understand his frustration

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

This line of thinking is so common and then I hear from ppl, "why don't these kids have critical thinking skills!?" 

Well they can't develop those if you don't let them question stuff and learn where they are right or wrong. 

In my experience as a father of three, a former youth hockey coach, a board member of various organizations, and a recently retired engineering executive now consultant, young  people today do not lack critical thinking skills compared to other times.  
 

In professional hockey you need a clear bench leader and game time is not the place for democracy and debate.  Things happen fast.  The HC sets the tone and runs the bench.  He has RAA - responsibility, accountability and authority.  Good coaches flow assignments down to every player and make them accountable for themselves. (I.e., McDermott - “ do your 1/11th”) 
 

I don’t know if Lindy is using iPads or technology properly.  I don’t know if his players are using them properly either.  There is a place for this technology and the coaches are responsible for how it’s used. 
 

 

[PromoTheRobot]

The suggestion here is players are looking to shift blame by looking at the iPads. But if Lindy is blaming players for something without checking to see if he's right then maybe the players have a point?

[JoeSchmoe]

His comments don't seem out of line. I think the tablets could be used for good in som3 circumstances, but I 100% agree the young players aren't always looking at them for the right reasons, and would easily get distracted by them.

A grizzled pro like Crosby would definitely know when to use them and when not. A new kid coming in the league who'd otherwise be in his parents' basement playing video games could easily be using them negatively.

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

In my experience as a father of three, a former youth hockey coach, a board member of various organizations, and a recently retired engineering executive now consultant, young  people today do not lack critical thinking skills compared to other times.  
 

In professional hockey you need a clear bench leader and game time is not the place for democracy and debate.  Things happen fast.  The HC sets the tone and runs the bench.  He has RAA - responsibility, accountability and authority.  Good coaches flow assignments down to every player and make them accountable for themselves. (I.e., McDermott - “ do your 1/11th”) 
 

I don’t know if Lindy is using iPads or technology properly.  I don’t know if his players are using them properly either.  There is a place for this technology and the coaches are responsible for how it’s used. 

Days of coaches being kings running their team are gone. 

Didn't say kids have less critical thinking. I said you have to develop it and tech can help. You let them question things and you teach them why that question was right or wrong. Maybe Ruff should keep the ipads with assistants and have players request to review plays on the bench if it bothers him. That way the player isn't just watching a replay but watching it with a coach looking at something specific. 

2 hours ago, Southtown Tommy said:

A much better place to develop critical thinking skills is when you have time to think, opposed to just reacting.   That is outside of the game during film study, but not during the game. I get what Lindy is saying.

Depends on the mistake and the player. Some will learn in real time and they can still reflect later on in film study. 

[Taro T]

Interesting discussion.

Seems to this kid that there's a lot of reading into a single 8 second snippet.  A more than fair amount of which seems astute.

An interesting thing about this IMHO is that in-game for hockey, as opposed to other sports where players that are out of the game are typically out significantly longer than they are in hockey, while the players have time to see the "what" of a particular situation before they have to get back on the ice, they don't necessarily have time to see the "why."  That's for intermission possibly and the plane ride or next morning definitely.

Seems Ruff is lashing out about one item he sees as an annoyance in a miserable season, that in a season gone awry the players are preferring their own observations & interpretations than his in the heat of the moment.  It also seems, that he &/or his coaches are trying to communicate w/ the players after the play, & again, the players may be focusing on figuring out what happened on their own rather than w/ the help of the coaches.  Which would imply Ruff has lost the team, though the record itself implies that.

Back when the league was coming out of THE lockout, the Sabres put on a brief coaching clinic w/ Ruff, several of the assistants, & some local college coaches.  They not only covered some drills & why they'd run them and explanations of some of the things the Sabres did on the ice, Ruff and the assistant that actually tracked in game data and events talked about what data they collected and how they used it.   It was surprisingly extensive what they collected and shared w/ the players.  Ruff definitely didn't come across as anti-technology, but that clinic was held over 15 years ago.

Not really much to add, just find the discussion interesting.  🍺

 

Edited April 24, 2022 by Taro T