Edina Lakers

             Joe Long- Head Coach

Joe grew up in Dayton, Minnesota where he played three years of varsity hockey for

Elk River High School. His senior season he played in the Chicago Showcase for

Team Minnesota. After high school he moved on to play in the USHL for the

Green Bay Gamblers for a season. From there, Long attended Hamline University

where he was a four year captain. He was named MIAC Player of the year and a

first team All-American in his junior season, a season where the Pipers won their

first league championship in 60 years. Last season, Joe was the head coach of

Elk River’s B1 Peewee team and recruited/ scouted for Hamline University.

Coaching Philosophy

As far as our style of play, we are looking for strong skating players who have the

ability to think the game as fast as it is being played. We encourage creativity from

our forwards and like the kind of player who can play at both ends of the ice. In our

defensemen, we look for the ability to make the first pass out of the zone and the ability

to jump into the play at the right times. With our goalies we look for someone who is

willing to be a leader on the ice and is willing to put in the time in to be a top flight

goaltender. We want guys on our team that love the game.

We believe that off the ice training is just as important as on. Players will have an

individual workout plan to follow throughout the season, with everything being

completed at our great facility at Minnesota Made. Our goal in developing and

advancing players in hockey includes in-season training.

We would like to have a team full of players who all are eager to achieve their

personal goals without having to sacrifice the team goals.

Joe is a 2004 graduate of Hastings High School and team captain of the hockey team.  After finishing his high school career he moved on and played for the Phoenix Polar Bears.  That season the Polar Bears went 36-0  (league Record) and were the Thorne Cup Champions. During the 2005 season Joe was named to the WSHL All-Star Team.   In 2006 and 2007 he was member of the Hamline University team and was recognized in 2007 as the Team’s Most Determined Player Award.  He graduated from Hamline with a Bachelors Degree in Business Management. During the 2010-2011 season Joe was the coach of the Hastings Bantam B1 team.

The Role of a Coach

The position of assistant coach has many roles but the first and most important role is to support the decisions of the head coach.  The assistant coach must understand that he is there to teach the players the systems and the style of play that the head coach wants his team to play.

Second, the assistant coach must understand all areas of the game because he will be responsible for some major parts of the game due to the fact that the head coach cannot do everything himself.  This could be offensive lines, defensive pairings, penalty kill, power play, offensive, defensive, or neutral zone play.  It is imperative that an assistant coach has played in many of these roles.  He has to have experienced different styles so he has the knowledge to create systems that support the overall team philosophy and give the players on the ice a chance to succeed.

Third, the assistant coach must be someone that the players feel comfortable coming to with different issues, whether these would be personal or issues concerning the team.  The assistant coach should be the person that understands the feeling of the team so he can report this back to the head coach.  If the players are not buying in the team’s philosophy then the team will not be successful.

Fourth, the assistant coach is here to teach the players little tricks of the game that he has learned from his past hockey experiences.  A valuable assistant coach has played for multiple coaches at many levels; the biggest advantage this gives an assistant coach is a stronger ability to communicate.  Each coach explains similar concepts in different ways, and having heard multiple explanations for the same concept makes it easier to find a way for a coach to communicate that concept to his players. 

Fifth, the assistant coach must have a love and passion for the game that every player can see every time he walks into the rink.  This helps create a positive environment that the players will enjoy.  When the players enjoy coming to the rink they will be easier to coach and therefore will learn more and play better.