How does Joe Campisano obtain the information he needs to find the next recruitable player?
Coach Campisano looks at the recruitment process and make the best possible assessment of the player he chooses to recruit for the organization at all levels.
“I ask: What methods can I use to get the information I need about the players? How can I enhance my existing recruitment process?” said Joe Campisano, Head Coach of Campisano Hockey the organization’s director of player development.
The recruitment of players is becoming increasingly important for any organization, even though Campisano Hockey continue to produce it's own product.
“First, I find other people to use as references, such as scouts, coaches and former players. Secondly, I have interviews with players, both alone and with their parents,” Campisano added.
“Often, when looking at players, you have to recruit a player with a great emphasis on the player’s hockey skills, which is of course, incredibly important,” he said. “To get a better picture of the player that the organization wants to recruit, I gather as much information as possible about the player that is available, mainly in terms of the player’s character, academics, social skills and how aware the player is on the ice.”
Coach Campisano especially takes into account four different attributes. Hockey knowledge/skills assessment, which is met mainly through scouting of games and training sessions. It is then mostly about “hockey sense,” skating, shooting, etc.
Character, the second attribute, is assessed through interviews with family, friends, past coaches and the player himself to find out how he performs in training, competition and in groups.
Sociality, another attribute, is assessed through study of a player’s social environment with friends and his family dynamics. How will a player manage a possible relocation or adapt to a different way of doing schoolwork?
Possibly the most important attribute is awareness and specialization. “It is about trying to find out how aware the player is and what it means to actually specialize and invest wholeheartedly in ice hockey,” said Campisano.
After determining the best way to obtain reliable information on players, Coach Campisano begins the process of reviewing the status among existing players within the organization. From there, Coach Campisano follows players that match the attributes listed above through off-season tournaments and USA Hockey regional development camps.