Kevin Constantine is not an old dog.
The Everett Silvertips head coach may have some years on him, but he’s more than willing to learn a few new tricks.
Especially when those tricks are taught by Pete Carroll.
Constantine has been in the coaching game for three decades. The 56-year-old has coached at the highest level of hockey in the NHL, and he’s coached in three different countries. His expertise in the sport makes him a regular speaker at USA Hockey events. He even has his own hockey instructional DVD series.
Given his experience and credentials, one would think Constantine feels pretty comfortable with the way he goes about his coaching business. Thirty years is a long time to come up with a formula and get set in one’s ways.
Yet there was Constantine on Monday morning, soaking up everything he could observe from the Seattle Seahawks’ practice at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton, then peppering Carroll, the Seahawks’ hugely-successful head coach, with questions after it was done.
It doesn’t matter how long he’s been at it, Constantine is still looking to learn.
“If you think about life, Facebook was a pretty big deal 10 years ago and it’s almost antiquated now,” Constantine said Friday during Everett’s training camp at Xfinity Arena. “It’s the same with sports. There’s always something new. There’s a new trend, a new wrinkle, a new idea. So a chance to learn from anybody who’s been successful in any sport in coaching is priceless. It allows you to continue to grow and learn as a coach and a person.”
The meeting of the minds came about on a whim. One month ago Constantine, pondering ways to improve as a coach, decided one way to accomplish that would be to absorb some wisdom from Carroll, who guided the Seahawks to the past two Super Bowls. Constantine had no contacts in the Seahawks organization. Instead, he scribbled a couple lines on a piece of paper, stuffed it in an envelope and mailed it to Carroll, care of the Seahawks — he found the Seahawks’ address online. He figured the note would never even make it to Carroll’s desk, but thought the shot in the dark was worth the cost of a stamp.
Imagine his surprise when about a week later he received a phone call from Carroll’s personal assistant, Ben Malcolmson, inviting him to observe a practice.
“I first thought someone was pulling a practical joke,” Constantine said.
Malcolmson gave Constantine a list of possible dates, and so Constantine and his staff found themselves on the sidelines during a sunny Monday morning, watching Carroll put his team through the paces.
Constantine and his staff were able to gleam several things from watching the Seahawks practice. He noted the flow of the practice with how quickly people moved from location to location, as well as how everyone on Seattle’s 27-man coaching staff had a specific role and remained engaged throughout. He watched as the Hawks scrimmaged under near-game conditions, complete with a full set of officials and a 40-second play clock. And he observed the leadership of players like quarterback Russell Wilson and cornerback Richard Sherman, who did as much coaching of teammates as they did participating themselves.
That leadership was a primary topic during the 20 minutes Constantine and his staff spent with Carroll following practice, as he asked how Carroll went about creating a winning culture and developing leaders. Constantine even showed he isn’t completely immune from being starstruck, asking Carroll about his time on the staff of his beloved Minnesota Vikings during the 1980s.
But most importantly, Constantine learned some things he intends to take back to the Silvertips.
“On our ride home we got on our phones and started typing in everything we heard and saw,” Constantine said. “There was probably a list of 15 things — some new, some that reinforced the way you do things — and of those 15 there’s probably one or two we can instantly incorporate.”
Constantine understands the main role of any coach is to provide guidance for his or her team. But Constantine has always been a big believer that coaches can use guidance, too.
“There’s a website called The Coaches Site,” Constantine said. “It’s for hockey coaches. They put on a coaching clinic attended by about 200 people in Vancouver every year. I’ve been a speaker a couple times and I’ve been just an attendee a couple times. This year the coaches there from our league were Don Nachbaur, Don Hay, myself and Lorne Molleken. I don’t know why those guys were there or other people weren’t. All I know is those other guys have a lot of wins in this league (1,872 combined as they rank second, third and fourth in career WHL coaching victories), and there they are. They’re at a coaching clinic as attendees, listening to speakers and trying to learn when you would imagine after being in this league as long as they have there’s nothing left for them to learn.
“I just think that you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse,” Constantine added. “I’d like to stay on the side of continuing education because I want to keep getting better.”
Meaning the Silvertips, despite the hints of grey peeking through Constantine’s red hair, will continue to have a spry young dog at the helm.
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