player tips

You made it through tryouts. You made it through the first few practices of the season. You’ve pulled the game jersey over your head. Now what?

We all know the saying that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. The question for youth hockey players is, how tough are you?

Toughness In Youth Hockey Players

We are not talking about physical toughness here, but instead mental toughness and the ability to fight through adversity. This season a friend’s daughter started her freshman year at a top Division I school. She came out of high school as a highly regarding player. Being handed a redshirt for her freshman year – and being told she would not see any game action – was not something she expected or was used to.

At this point, there are a few paths that this player could go down:

1. Frustration at the coach, program and fellow players that there would be zero game action for an entire year, again not something she was accustomed to since she started playing hockey in pre-school. It’s a long year when all you do is practice and frustration can set in!

2. Go with the flow, knowing she wasn’t going to be playing, hang in the shadow of the team for the season, and do just enough to get by until she had a chance to see some game action after her redshirt season.

3. Maintain her character, rely on what got her to that and even ratchet it up another notch, continuing to work as hard to harder than anyone on the team.

When the going gets tough, what would you do in this situation?

This player chose to shift into the next gear. Super positive attitude on and off the ice. First on and off the ice and practice. Always in the weight room. Always shooting pucks. Then more pucks. And when it was time to go, shooting a few more pucks.

Youth Hockey Lesson: Hard Work Always Pays Off

When the time came to fill an unexpected opening on the roster, guess who got the call into the coaches office. This player traded the redshirt for a game jersey, and the rest is history!

This season you are sure to experience disappointment and adversity, youth hockey is full of it. The important question is, how will you respond to it? Like this college hockey player, we hope that when the going gets tough, you too, will get going!

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful Thanksgiving next week. All of our 2022 Summer Hockey Camps are listed on our website and we once again invite you to train with us!