In episode #175 of the Glass and Out podcast, we speak with Tomas Pacina, who up until the day before we recorded this conversation, had been the Head Coach of the Czechia National Women’s program for two seasons.
Pacina has had an incredibly unique and diverse career that has touched just about every level of hockey.
He moved to Calgary, Alberta, in the mid 90s and began coaching midget hockey, while working at a local hockey academy. This led to the opportunity become a Skills Coach for Canada’s National Men's Team, which at the time was under the guidance of current Hockey Canada CEO Tom Renney.
From there, he joined the New York Rangers as a Skills Coach, becoming one of the first of his position to be hired by an NHL team. He remained with the Rangers until 2004, and later worked with the Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens in a similar capacity.
From 2011 until 2020, Pacina was a skills coach for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, working under the leadership of Mike Johnston for majority of his tenure.
In addition to his work in the men's game, Pacina has also making significant inroads in women’s hockey. From 2002-2007, he was the Head Coach of the Calgary Oval X-Treme of the NWHL, and led the club to two league Championships. Pacina returned behind the bench of Calgary’s professional women’s team in 2017, however this time it was for the Calgary Inferno of the CWHL. He was named the league's Coach of the Year.
In 2020, he was named Head Coach of the Czech National Women’s team and put in charge of developing a competitive program. He helped the program qualify for its first Olympic games and jump up to seventh in world rankings.
Hear his process for assisting players in building confidence, the benefits of playing a position-less system, and how to connect with an athlete’s human spirit through inspiration.
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San Jose Sharks Assistant Coach Ryan Warsofsky: Managing stress, process for avoiding negativity and practice habits becoming game reality
Princeton University Head Coach Ben Syer: Positive peer pressure, finding a player's "wow" factor and not jumping ship
Omaha Lancers Head Coach Lennie Childs: Bringing the juice, standing with your players and coaching the generation of "me"
The Coaches Site's Kelvin Cech: Having a growth mindset, lessons from Barry Trotz and rejoining TCS
PWHL Ottawa Head Coach Carla MacLeod: The privilege of coaching, 4 ingredients for success and strategies for building relationships
Nashville Predators Skills Coach Sébastien Bordeleau: Developing instinct, utilizing small area games and growth of hockey in Nashville
Seven-Time Stanley Cup Champion Barry Smith: Developing hockey sense, learning from Scotty Bowman and creating player identities
Saskatoon Blades Head Coach Brennan Sonne: Stopping Connor Bedard, making the right decision and defence through compete
Austrian National Team U20 Head Coach Philipp Pinter: Setting yourself on fire, being your authentic self and being an active listener
USHL Vice-President of Hockey Operations Ian Gentile: Mental wellness of players, encouraging multi-sport athletes and USHL growth
Boston University Head Coach Tara Watchorn: Efficient line changes, players leading their own careers and impact of the PWHL
The Global Skills Showcase is LIVE!
Coach of Head Coaches Cody Royle: The craft of coaching, teams become their leaders and overcoming fear
Hockey Developpement Founder Alexandre Chénier: Connecting skills, person before the player and optimizing pass receptions
WCHA Director of Player Development Tyler Dittmer: 8 ways to develop skills, fuelling players at practice and creating a lethal shot
Czech Knights GM Adam Jonak: Building creative confidence, encouraging decision making and finding the purpose of every drill
Total Package Hockey London Director Kevin Galerno: Improving decision making, variable training and getting through scoring draughts
Power Skating Coach Jill Plandowski: Skating misconceptions, the prime age for improving skating and playing with freedom of thought
University of Michigan Head Coach Brandon Naurato: Good dudes only, growth through failure and showing players the real you
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