player tips

Coaches like the players who show up early to games. However, coaches love players that show up early to practice. Like in life, the early bird gets the worm, and in hockey, they also get the win!

We’ve all seen the stories of how the best players are typically the first to the arena, the first on the ice and also the last to leave. Why is this the case? Because preparation is a huge part of success.

Preparation can be defined as the action or process of making ready or being made ready for use or consideration. In sports this is huge. On the flip side of this, we also know the players that are seemingly always in a rush on their way into the rink, frantically putting on their gear, hastily tying their skates only to make it onto the ice just as the practice or game is starting.

Performance is directly correlated to preparation. It’s no secret that the player with the most accurate shot also owns the shooting tarp with most puck marks.  The player with the best stride is also the one who has worked hardest on power skating.

As the 2021 season starts to play out, are you prepared for the season ahead? Are you evaluating your performance and ready to improve for next season? If you are, then we’ve got a great opportunity!

Our summer of 2021 hockey camp Early Bird Special is designed for those players who want to get a jump start on their development over the summer! 

Through the end of January our camps have special pricing for all dates and locations. We want to reward those who are ‘up and at it’ and want to take their game to the next level.  The Early Birds! Check out our Summer 2021 Hockey School page for all of the details! 

Thanks for reading and best wishes for a successful season! 

Each year the top talent in the world comes together for the World Junior Championship. This year’s tournament was inspiring to watch as we restart our own seasons! Hopefully youth hockey players tuned in for these 5 important lessons! 

You Gotta Want It

In the Gold Medal game the favored team from Canada came out fast. It would have been easy for the US to be intimidated (more on that in a minute). However, the US survived the first ten minutes and then things changed.  The US started to dominante the zone, managing the puck and got a goal. No intimidation whatsoever. They continued to grind it out in a tight first period and put Canada behind for the first time in the entire tournament. In fact the goal was the first five-on-five goal Canada had given up in the entire tournament, against the top talent in the world nonetheless! Plain and simple, the US wanted this game! 

Get To The Net 

With less than a minute gone in the second period the US got a huge goal. It’s always big to get a goal in the first or final two minutes of a period, and this goal was all tenacity. Alex Turcotte got to the front of the net and tipped in a great shot from the point. Too often players get ‘around’ the net but they aren’t ‘at’ the net. In this case the player was perfectly positioned to tip a shot from the point because he was at the net. 

Confidence

Canada was the favored team heading into the game and with the two goal ‘toughest lead in hockey’ it would have been easy for the US team to question it against such a formidable opponent. The US didn’t waver and played with confidence from the forward to the defence and especially between the pipes. They were confident in their play and it showed!

Carry the Momentum

Much like confidence, momentum is huge in hockey, and once you have it, it’s important to ride the wave. Canada had many good spurts of play but when the pendulum swung back to the US they rode the momentum and looked like the better team for much of the game. When you have the momentum, work even harder and keep it! 

Play All 60 Minutes

I like to tell the story about a round of golf. A friend started out really well, was up by several strokes and clearly started to take things for granted, lost focus and over the last few holes coughed it up and ultimately lost the match by several strokes. There are 18 holes in golf and they all count the same. There are 60 minutes in hockey and they all count the same. The US played the third period with the poise and confidence that this game was theirs and when the final buzzer sounded it was!

Play each second of each shift, each minute of every period and all 60 minutes. If you do, good things will happen, as it did for the US celebrating their 2-0 shutout victory over Canada on their home soil!

Thanks for reading at good luck resuming play and your season. We are excited for our summer hockey schools and invite you to train with us this summer. Our early bird special runs in January! For dates, times and locations click here!