player tips

We hope you are having a great youth hockey season and that you are finding the back of the net, winning more than losing and most of all, having fun!

The next month of the youth hockey season, or any hockey season, can be a grind. Depending on which part of the country you are in, teams have most often been together for several months, experienced the highs and lows of a hockey season, maybe had a few bumps and bruises along the way, and are looking forward to playoffs.

It’s always at this time of year that an old coach used to ask an important question: How bad do you want it?

Whether it was at another tough late season practice, an off-ice dry land training session or between periods of a big game, ‘how bad do you want it’ was a rallying cry of sorts and gut check for the team.

Asking the team ‘how bad do you want it’ was a challenge to every player to rise to the occasion and give their best, regardless of bumps and bruises or the fact it was the 53rd practice of the season.

As you approach the end of your season and we approach our 29th year of summer hockey school, the question of how bad do you want it rings more true than it did all those years ago.

Why? Because when we see all of the talent possessed by youth hockey players today we know that there are plenty of kids who ‘want it’ and are willing to work harder and harder to get it.

We know that the youth hockey players who end up in the playoffs and ultimately playing for a trophy are the players that work the hardest. These are the players that possess some of the top skills and put the team above self. These are the players that want it and are willing to work for it!

As you approach the end of your season we challenge you to ask yourself how bad do you want it? We challenge you to give it everything that you have in each and every practice and game. We challenge you to be the best teammate and the best line mate. We challenge you to never quit until the final buzzer sounds!

Thanks for reading and we would once again invite you to train with us this summer at one of our summer hockey camps located across the U.S. For dates, details and availability, check out our Summer Hockey Schools page!

We hope your season is off to a great start and before you get too far into it, we have a big score to help you reach your goal!

The season is off to a buzzing start from the peewees to the pros. The Bruins are the hottest team in the NHL, Ovi gets closer and closer to breaking a once-thought untouchable record and there are no shortages of highlight reel goals.

As you enter into the busy part of your schedule we’d like to offer you a breakaway, of sorts. We are excited for our 28th season of summer hockey school and invite you to take advantage of the best scoring opportunity that we offer!

For the remaining days of January we are offering our Early Bird Special on all registrations for each of our camps across the country. Summer hockey schools for 2023 include:
• Alaska
• Connecticut
• Illinois
• Massachussetts
• Michigan
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Virginia

To take advantage of this special opportunity simply log on to our website by clicking here.

Thanks for reading and we hope to see you at the rink soon!

When it comes to taking your game to the next level, here are 3 great ways this year to become a better player!

Do The Little Things. All great goal scorers have shot the puck in the driveway thousands of times and scored the winning goal in their head over and over. And over. All great skaters have focused to exhaustion on the fundamentals of power skating. All great passers have developed exceptional hand eye coordination after practicing tens of thousands of hours. It’s always doing the little things that add up to the big things.

Listen To Your Coaches. Some of the best tips and tricks players will receive are from the people standing behind the bench. Experience and expertise are two things that young hockey players don’t have and when a coach – many who have ‘been there’ and ‘done that’ – is willing to help accelerate your development by not making the same mistakes that they did, or by passing on knowledge that a coach gave them to be successful, soak it up!

Have Fun & Be Creative. While it’s hard to watch a youth hockey player make a mistake, development includes making, and learning from mistakes, particularly when they are born out of creativeness. Be willing to try to make that extra deke or dangle. Be willing to have fun while winning. Be willing to take a chance at being great!

From our team to yours, Happy New Year and we wish you the very best this season! Our Summer 2023 Hockey Schools are filling faster than ever, and for a limited time you can take advantage of our Early Bird Discount. For details and dates, click here.

Thanks for reading and we look forward to seeing you at the rink!