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player tips

04

January

The Most Frequently Asked Questions At Our Hockey School

Posted by Greg Carter

Each summer we work with hockey players from across Massachusetts as well as the entire country. Our staff is asked many questions about hockey development by both players and parents, and here are the most frequently asked questions.

What does my child need to do to get better?
Every parents wants the best for their child, especially hockey parents for their hockey players! The first thing to recognize is that development is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. For players to get better they need to commit to a long term development strategy geared towards working on specialized skill sets at each level from Mites on up. If a player masters each of these age-specific skills, they will have a great foundation to build on throughout their career.

Should my child play a variety of positions or just forward or just defense?
This is an interesting question because of how often it gets brought up. At young ages kids need to develop a full understanding of the game of hockey including skills, strategies and tactics at both forward and defense. Many great defensemen playing at the collegiate and professional levels attribute their ability to ‘see the ice’, step up into the play and contribute offensively to having played forward as a youth or even a prep player.

How can I score more goals?
Every player wants to score goals, and there is one surefire way to find the back of the net more often: shoot pucks. A great coach once told me that you can never shoot enough pucks, and he was right. Another way to score more goals is to become a great stickhandler. Spend time at practice, home and hockey camp working on stickhandling and it will pay off on the score sheet!

What can I do to improve my skating, speed and quickness?
We love this question at our hockey school because skating and stride is too often overlooked by hockey players. Even the smoothest, fastest and quickest skaters are continually working to improve in this area because they understand the importance of speed, quickness and stride in the game of hockey. To improve your skating focus on things like edge work and technique. We like to really focus on these two areas at our hockey camps and the results can be extremely positive.

What do I need to do to make the team next year?
This is always the biggest question as we work with players prior to tryouts. Regardless of what level you are playing at or team you want to make, there is no substitute for commitment and hard work. Create a list of skills that you need to work on and spend time on and off the ice mastering these skills. Shoot pucks and stickhandle rather than watching TV or sitting on your phone. Hockey is becoming more competitive every day and the players who make the team are the ones who put in the time and dedicate themselves to learning new skills and getting better everyday!

Do you have a question about your hockey development or summer hockey camp? Email us and we would be happy to answer your questions!

We have hockey camps in ten states this summer including Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Virginia. We hope to see you on the ice soon!

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