More than 600,000 Canadian children play organized hockey – and one of the sport’s best-known personalities has a message for their parents.

“Don’t criticize,” Don Cherry said Wednesday on CTV’s Your Morning.

The former coach NHL and longtime broadcaster told a story about seeing a child score three goals during a minor hockey game, then hearing the boy’s father chew him out for not scoring four.

“The worst thing you can do is criticize a kid,” Cherry said. “You’ve got to build up their confidence, because hockey, as you know, it’s a tough sport.”

Cherry said hockey parents should remember a simple mantra: “Encouragement, encouragement, encouragement.”

The 84-year-old has recently released a new book, “Don Cherry’s Hockey Greats and More,” which includes stories about some of Cherry’s favourite people from the hockey world and beyond.