University of Vermont Head Coach Todd Woodcroft: Staying positive, putting your players first and post-season preparation

Glass and Out

We welcome a familiar face for episode #176 of the Glass and Out podcast. University of Vermont Head Coach Todd Woodcroft is a good friend of The Coaches Site and has presented at numerous events.

He'll also be joining us at TCS Live at the University of Michigan this coming June. If you haven't already bought tickets, now is the time.

Woodcroft just wrapped his second season as coach of the Catamounts, a position he was hired for at the on-set of the pandemic. Despite some obvious challenges, he has begun to put his mark on the program by adding several NHL prospects and looking outside of North America for talent, as there are players from nine different countries on the roster.

Prior to his arrival in Vermont, Woodcroft spent four seasons as an Assistant Coach on the Winnipeg Jets coaching staff, one of several roles and stops in the NHL during the course of his career.

His first stint was as video coach with the Minnesota Wild during their inaugural season and he went on to work as a scout for the Wild, Washington Capitals, and Los Angeles Kings. From 2013 to 2016, he was the Director of Scouting for the Calgary Flames.

Woodcroft also has significant international experience, having been a part of the coaching staffs for Canada, Belarus, Switzerland, and Sweden.

On the podcast we discuss how he's handled the challenges of rebuilding a program during a pandemic, how he structures his practices, and why he feels positivity is a coach's most powerful tool.