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The Inferno
Inferno Interview- Devils 18's coach Jamie Elson
25th Sep 2012 | Posted by Geraint Walters
After an undefeated season and winning promotion to Division 1, the Cardiff Devils U18's are on a role and we caught up with team coach Jamie Elson. There has been some rave reviews about this team with some huge talent coming through the ranks which is a huge boost to the Devils future. We spoke to Jamie to look back at last season and a quick look at the new challenge ahead and how he thinks the junior development will do in the next few seasons.
When did you get involved with Ice Hockey?
I’ve now been involved in hockey for 24 years now. My family decided to come down to watch a Devils game in 1988 against the Swindon Wildcats after seeing it advertised in the Echo. This was the year the Devils won Division one and promotion to the Premier Division. Devils won the game 7-3 and we loved it straight away and never looked back, and have been following the club ever since. As soon as we had been watching a few months I started to learn to skate and play some street hockey, and then joined the Junior Devils set up in the summer of 1990, and I’m still involved 22 years on!
When did you make the switch from playing to coaching, and what made you get into coaching?
I stopped playing for a spell in my early 20’s when I went to University. I was a little disillusioned with a few things and the coach I had at the time and gave up playing. After about a year, a couple of the boys I grew up playing junior hockey with started training with one of the Rec teams (Cardiff Titans), just to get them back on the ice. I ended up playing for 10 years with the Titans and loved every minute of it. It was great to play with many of the boys I grew up with again. Looking back, I do wish I had carried on playing structured hockey for longer though. I did however play a few games with the ENL2 boys last season.
I had always wanted to get into coaching with the junior club after some mixed experiences with coaches when I was growing up. Over the years I had one or two great coaches who I really looked up to and who inspired me when I was younger, like Paul Heavey and Peter Ekroth, but also had some coaches who really struggled, and didn’t make it enjoyable. It was always in my head that I wanted to come back and make a positive difference to the junior set up. About seven years back I finally got around to doing my Level 1 coaching course and started helping out on the ice a few nights a week with the really young kids. From there I have gone on to complete my Level 2 license and have coached at all junior levels at the club. I’ve been very lucky, that I have worked with the same group of boys for 5 years now. I started with them when they were 11 and 12, and now have them as 16 and 17 year olds, as this seasons U18s squad. In that time we have really made some great progress with this group, and have several stand out prospects.
What Coaching Experience/background do you have?
At University I completed a Sports Science and Coaching degree and also held a few different sports coaching qualifications. And I currently work for Sport Cardiff as a Sport Development officer in the West of the City. On the ice I have been very lucky and privileged to get experience and opportunities on several programmes in recent years. Thanks to Brent I had the opportunity to work on the EIHA’s England School of Excellence a few years ago, and from that assisted with the England U14s squad that season. I’m currently starting my third season coaching with the South East Conference teams also (which is a regional squad). And last year I was also lucky to be invited onto the Great Britain U16s prospects camps to assist with coaching also, which I’m hoping to have the opportunity to continue this year. I’ve also just started with the EIHA’s coaching programme, which I’ve enjoyed so far. They gave me the opportunity to go to Finland for 9 days last summer and attend an International Coaching Course which was a fantastic experience and one I learned so much from. I’m currently looking at options for going back next summer to develop further.
Were you involved with the U18's last year when they won the championship and got promoted?
Last years U18s team was a bit of a group effort really. I was coaching the U16s and doing the U18s on days I didn’t already have games. Brent, Ben Smith and I all took games over the course of the year. I had the players for on ice training every Monday night though, which meant regular contact with them and continuity in training. It was a great effort by all the squad getting promoted last year.
Expectations for the U18's this season? Challenge or secure a place for next season in the top league?
The expectations for this year are high. And to be fair, that’s come from the team themselves. We have a really strong group of players with a great attitude and focus, who have all worked tremendously hard for a number of years now. Their goal is quite clear, and that is to finally win some silverware this season, the same as the Elite team. We are really aiming at trying to challenging for the top spot in the A League, and also the Play-offs at the end of the year. The players are really focused and driven this year to sign off their junior hockey on a big final high! And I really hope they get what they deserve finally.
How do you see the future of Cardiff Devils Juniors continuing to progress?
I think the next couple of years promises to be really exciting. Cardiff Devils have always had a great reputation of bring through British players: Jonathon Phillips, Stevie Lyle, Matt Myers, Phil Hill and then more recently Ben Davies, Luke Piggott, Adam Harding. The fans in Cardiff have always loved seeing Welsh players making the grade with the senior squad and have supported them fanatically. The next couple of years will be really exciting as there is a wave of excellent young talent pushing hard through the U18s, NIHL2 and NIHL1 squads right now. I really think in the next 2-3 years we have the potential to see the biggest group of players knocking on the door to the Senior team that we have had since maybe the 90’s, when we had the famous “Welsh Line” with the likes of Neil Francis, Richard Townsend, Simon Keating, James Manson and Lee Carson on it. If we can make that happen, it will certainly support G and the senior Devils squad, as we have seen the benefit of the added local depth to the Elite League team over the past two seasons. Having the NIHL 1&2 set-up in Cardiff is a great tool and should certainly help to develop this talent, providing them with extra game time at a senior level.
With the arrival of the new rink, and a twin pad set-up we have exciting times ahead for the entire junior club. The opportunity for further Ice time as a club should certainly help us develop players further, and give us the chance to increase the number of players we have registered with the club. It would be great to get Cardiff pushing to be the strongest junior club in the Country in terms of numbers and performance. We will certainly have the Infrastructure in place to hopefully pursue this ambition.
With the age groups, how many players were lost to NIHL1/2 through the summer and have these been replaced by younger players who are now able to play?
All the U18s players are in a position where they can play U18 hockey and then also play up to NIHL1&2 if selected. We have already had 8 players from the U18s squad play up this year, and there are a few more that I believe will get the chance to play up over the next year. We also have a number of talented U16s who we are playing up with the U18s this season which will be great for their development.
How are you preparing the players ready for the next step up to senior hockey and possibly play for the Devils?
The players know the coaches and managers well from our time together and know what is expected from them. With the help of the managers that have been involved in the group, we have installed a very strong work ethic with this group, and feel that we have managed to keep pushing the boundaries further each season. We have really taught a great deal of systems and tactics over the years, trying to produce well rounded, intelligent hockey players. For sure the biggest positive about this group though, is their work ethic and focus on and off the ice. Two years ago we started running team off ice conditioning twice a week, which was mainly cardio based workouts, liking running and Spin classes. We also started some circuits on training nights. This developed a really good core fitness for the squad which has really shown on the ice. This year we have really started pushing things to a whole new level. We have been very lucky that the club has arranged for us to work with Cardiff Met University and the head of Strength and Conditioning Dai Watts. Based at NIAC in Cyncoed the squad has been training twice a week off ice, as well as their two on ice sessions. These sessions started in the summer and have really pushed the boys to new levels. But they have responded tremendously well, and have put in a huge effort to date.
We are seeing great results in many of them already, and can’t speak highly enough about their attitude and work rate at these sessions. Ben Davies and Phil Hill joined us for the summer sessions and both were impressed with how the guys were dealing with the intensity of the sessions and their professionalism to training. We really couldn’t have asked for any more in the quality of sessions Dai and Cardiff Met have provided and feel very privileged to have this level of strength and conditioning expertise available to the players who we are working with. They are certainly helping these boys increase their size and power which is often the biggest challenge for young players looking to step up to senior hockey. We really hope it will help some of them make the transition to senior hockey.
What's your main aim for the U18's not in the short term but the long term?
Our aim is get every player from the U18s squad to a position where they are strong enough to play NIHL hockey on a regular basis once they leave the junior set up. We will certainly see some great local depth across the NIHL teams over the next few years I feel.
Personally I want to see as many of this group as possible achieve their personal goals and aspirations, and break into the Elite League set-up over the next few years. As I said above, there are a large number of players with great potential within the U18s currently, and this will be a huge positive for the NIHL set up over the next few years. Hopefully if the boys continue to work as hard as they are currently, we can see a big crop of home grown players pushing for Elite League opportunities over the next few years. It would be great to see another five or six players like Adam Harding and Luke Piggott break through and really give us great depth options as a club.
Please come down and see the U18 Devils in action over the season, and see the future of the club in action! Entrance to games is free of charge!
If you've got no plans Sunday 30th September then head down to the rink for a 4:30PM Face off as the U18's play Basingstoke Bison.
Also the NIHL 2 Devils will be playing Basingstoke Buffalo 7:00PM Face off
When did you get involved with Ice Hockey?
I’ve now been involved in hockey for 24 years now. My family decided to come down to watch a Devils game in 1988 against the Swindon Wildcats after seeing it advertised in the Echo. This was the year the Devils won Division one and promotion to the Premier Division. Devils won the game 7-3 and we loved it straight away and never looked back, and have been following the club ever since. As soon as we had been watching a few months I started to learn to skate and play some street hockey, and then joined the Junior Devils set up in the summer of 1990, and I’m still involved 22 years on!
When did you make the switch from playing to coaching, and what made you get into coaching?
I stopped playing for a spell in my early 20’s when I went to University. I was a little disillusioned with a few things and the coach I had at the time and gave up playing. After about a year, a couple of the boys I grew up playing junior hockey with started training with one of the Rec teams (Cardiff Titans), just to get them back on the ice. I ended up playing for 10 years with the Titans and loved every minute of it. It was great to play with many of the boys I grew up with again. Looking back, I do wish I had carried on playing structured hockey for longer though. I did however play a few games with the ENL2 boys last season.
I had always wanted to get into coaching with the junior club after some mixed experiences with coaches when I was growing up. Over the years I had one or two great coaches who I really looked up to and who inspired me when I was younger, like Paul Heavey and Peter Ekroth, but also had some coaches who really struggled, and didn’t make it enjoyable. It was always in my head that I wanted to come back and make a positive difference to the junior set up. About seven years back I finally got around to doing my Level 1 coaching course and started helping out on the ice a few nights a week with the really young kids. From there I have gone on to complete my Level 2 license and have coached at all junior levels at the club. I’ve been very lucky, that I have worked with the same group of boys for 5 years now. I started with them when they were 11 and 12, and now have them as 16 and 17 year olds, as this seasons U18s squad. In that time we have really made some great progress with this group, and have several stand out prospects.
What Coaching Experience/background do you have?
At University I completed a Sports Science and Coaching degree and also held a few different sports coaching qualifications. And I currently work for Sport Cardiff as a Sport Development officer in the West of the City. On the ice I have been very lucky and privileged to get experience and opportunities on several programmes in recent years. Thanks to Brent I had the opportunity to work on the EIHA’s England School of Excellence a few years ago, and from that assisted with the England U14s squad that season. I’m currently starting my third season coaching with the South East Conference teams also (which is a regional squad). And last year I was also lucky to be invited onto the Great Britain U16s prospects camps to assist with coaching also, which I’m hoping to have the opportunity to continue this year. I’ve also just started with the EIHA’s coaching programme, which I’ve enjoyed so far. They gave me the opportunity to go to Finland for 9 days last summer and attend an International Coaching Course which was a fantastic experience and one I learned so much from. I’m currently looking at options for going back next summer to develop further.
Were you involved with the U18's last year when they won the championship and got promoted?
Last years U18s team was a bit of a group effort really. I was coaching the U16s and doing the U18s on days I didn’t already have games. Brent, Ben Smith and I all took games over the course of the year. I had the players for on ice training every Monday night though, which meant regular contact with them and continuity in training. It was a great effort by all the squad getting promoted last year.
Expectations for the U18's this season? Challenge or secure a place for next season in the top league?
The expectations for this year are high. And to be fair, that’s come from the team themselves. We have a really strong group of players with a great attitude and focus, who have all worked tremendously hard for a number of years now. Their goal is quite clear, and that is to finally win some silverware this season, the same as the Elite team. We are really aiming at trying to challenging for the top spot in the A League, and also the Play-offs at the end of the year. The players are really focused and driven this year to sign off their junior hockey on a big final high! And I really hope they get what they deserve finally.
How do you see the future of Cardiff Devils Juniors continuing to progress?
I think the next couple of years promises to be really exciting. Cardiff Devils have always had a great reputation of bring through British players: Jonathon Phillips, Stevie Lyle, Matt Myers, Phil Hill and then more recently Ben Davies, Luke Piggott, Adam Harding. The fans in Cardiff have always loved seeing Welsh players making the grade with the senior squad and have supported them fanatically. The next couple of years will be really exciting as there is a wave of excellent young talent pushing hard through the U18s, NIHL2 and NIHL1 squads right now. I really think in the next 2-3 years we have the potential to see the biggest group of players knocking on the door to the Senior team that we have had since maybe the 90’s, when we had the famous “Welsh Line” with the likes of Neil Francis, Richard Townsend, Simon Keating, James Manson and Lee Carson on it. If we can make that happen, it will certainly support G and the senior Devils squad, as we have seen the benefit of the added local depth to the Elite League team over the past two seasons. Having the NIHL 1&2 set-up in Cardiff is a great tool and should certainly help to develop this talent, providing them with extra game time at a senior level.
With the arrival of the new rink, and a twin pad set-up we have exciting times ahead for the entire junior club. The opportunity for further Ice time as a club should certainly help us develop players further, and give us the chance to increase the number of players we have registered with the club. It would be great to get Cardiff pushing to be the strongest junior club in the Country in terms of numbers and performance. We will certainly have the Infrastructure in place to hopefully pursue this ambition.
With the age groups, how many players were lost to NIHL1/2 through the summer and have these been replaced by younger players who are now able to play?
All the U18s players are in a position where they can play U18 hockey and then also play up to NIHL1&2 if selected. We have already had 8 players from the U18s squad play up this year, and there are a few more that I believe will get the chance to play up over the next year. We also have a number of talented U16s who we are playing up with the U18s this season which will be great for their development.
How are you preparing the players ready for the next step up to senior hockey and possibly play for the Devils?
The players know the coaches and managers well from our time together and know what is expected from them. With the help of the managers that have been involved in the group, we have installed a very strong work ethic with this group, and feel that we have managed to keep pushing the boundaries further each season. We have really taught a great deal of systems and tactics over the years, trying to produce well rounded, intelligent hockey players. For sure the biggest positive about this group though, is their work ethic and focus on and off the ice. Two years ago we started running team off ice conditioning twice a week, which was mainly cardio based workouts, liking running and Spin classes. We also started some circuits on training nights. This developed a really good core fitness for the squad which has really shown on the ice. This year we have really started pushing things to a whole new level. We have been very lucky that the club has arranged for us to work with Cardiff Met University and the head of Strength and Conditioning Dai Watts. Based at NIAC in Cyncoed the squad has been training twice a week off ice, as well as their two on ice sessions. These sessions started in the summer and have really pushed the boys to new levels. But they have responded tremendously well, and have put in a huge effort to date.
We are seeing great results in many of them already, and can’t speak highly enough about their attitude and work rate at these sessions. Ben Davies and Phil Hill joined us for the summer sessions and both were impressed with how the guys were dealing with the intensity of the sessions and their professionalism to training. We really couldn’t have asked for any more in the quality of sessions Dai and Cardiff Met have provided and feel very privileged to have this level of strength and conditioning expertise available to the players who we are working with. They are certainly helping these boys increase their size and power which is often the biggest challenge for young players looking to step up to senior hockey. We really hope it will help some of them make the transition to senior hockey.
What's your main aim for the U18's not in the short term but the long term?
Our aim is get every player from the U18s squad to a position where they are strong enough to play NIHL hockey on a regular basis once they leave the junior set up. We will certainly see some great local depth across the NIHL teams over the next few years I feel.
Personally I want to see as many of this group as possible achieve their personal goals and aspirations, and break into the Elite League set-up over the next few years. As I said above, there are a large number of players with great potential within the U18s currently, and this will be a huge positive for the NIHL set up over the next few years. Hopefully if the boys continue to work as hard as they are currently, we can see a big crop of home grown players pushing for Elite League opportunities over the next few years. It would be great to see another five or six players like Adam Harding and Luke Piggott break through and really give us great depth options as a club.
Please come down and see the U18 Devils in action over the season, and see the future of the club in action! Entrance to games is free of charge!
If you've got no plans Sunday 30th September then head down to the rink for a 4:30PM Face off as the U18's play Basingstoke Bison.
Also the NIHL 2 Devils will be playing Basingstoke Buffalo 7:00PM Face off
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