New Interview With U-Maine Associate Coach Bob Corkum

Coach Corkum,

Thanks for taking the time to help educate our readers on how to reach the next level playing and coaching hockey.

What are the 3 biggest things you look for in a player (on ice) when recruiting for your team?

Speed and agility ( skating), stick skills and hockey sense

What are the 3 biggest things you look for in a player off of the ice?

Academics, character, discipline

Can you give us some insight into the recruiting process?

The quick response is we look all over the US/Canada and sometimes Europe trying to find players that we think can continue to move our program forward, our budget is limited as well as the number of times we can legally see a player per NCAA
rules. Once we have identified the player we talk with them, there parents and coaches present and past and just try and get as much info as we can on a particular player. After all that we try and bring him in and show him why he should choose the
University of Maine over other colleges and Universities to further his academic and athletic career. The process can last from weeks to years....

What should high school/junior players do to help get noticed by college coaches/scouts?

They can play in select high profile invitation tournaments, send us emails with Bios and academic info

Do you try to coach the mental aspect of hockey? If so, what are some tips in doing so?

We do try and coach the mental aspects of the game, we do alot of visualization exercises and are actually working with some video software for that very purpose, positive self talk, not worrying about results but the small things that lead to
wins

What did you do during your playing days to set you apart from the competition?

Focus in practice and training very hard in the off season

What made you want to be a coach?

I began as a volunteer to see if I would enjoy it at the high school level and had fun, but wanted a more dedicated athlete with interests more about hockey than the three sport athlete who may just be playing hockey for something to do in the
winter, I then moved to Junior hockey and reall enjoyed working with those players who were very excited to try and make it to the Div 1 level, from there a spot opened up at maine and I was thrilled to go back to Maine after having played there for
4 years.

How does a coach improve their skills?

We improve our skills just the same way everyone else does by trial and error and learning from past experiences, along with listening to other coaches and reading new philosophies.

Who was your most influential coach? Why?

Shawn Walsh and Jim Shoenfield, both because they were tireless workers and really displayed the love for the game in the way they handled on and off ice situations. They both could be described as players coaches and I could sit an talk with
them about anything, just not hockey.

What are 3 things you look for when hiring an asst coach?

I have never had to hire anyone , but would look for someone that could challenge me and not just yes me to death all the time, someone that was good at some of my shortcomings.

What are the 3 most important things to do to ensure you're running effective practices?

Plan ahead, review tape so I know what we need improving on and probably most importantly get insight from the players, you must make practices challenging but fun and be sensitive to the health of the team.

What are some major mistakes you see coaches making?

At the Youth level,it most surely would be using the whole ice surface for games and scrimmages, the kids simply do not touch the puck enough to get better at it, at the college level I would say poor bench management, and overworking a tired
team.

What is the best part about working in hockey to make a living? Worst?

The best thing would be able to get paid playing and now coaching the greatest game on earth and seeing your players move on in hockey and life and thinking you helped them a little along the way. the worst thing would be the late hours and
roller coaster of emotions with wins and loss, as soon as you think you know your team they will do something to send you back to the drawing board.

Thanks for your time. I look forward to following Maine's play during the season.