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11

September

Your Success This Season Starts In September

Posted by Greg Carter
Summer Hockey Camp in Summer Hockey Camp in Massachusetts

Greg Carter Hockey School just wrapped up our 25th year of hockey schools and what a fun and exciting summer we had training great hockey players from across the United States. Throughout our more than two decades of running hockey camps we have always maintained that what you learn at camp is important, but how you retain and continue to work on the skills you learn is even more beneficial to your long term skill development.

September is a busy month with the transition from summer to fall, the start of school, the first kickoff for your favorite football team and ultimately, the start of the hockey season! It is also the transition month when players are either going to continue working on the skills they developed during the season and retain that knowledge, or lose focus and let some of it slip away.

“Skills in September” is an easy reminder that development is a marathon, not a race and that to master any skill it requires repetition and practicing ‘the right way’. For example, if you were struggling to take a slap shot and learned the proper technique this summer and finally developed that “A Team” power and accuracy, it’s important that you continue shooting pucks in September, and not just shooting pucks, but shooting them with the proper mechanics that you learned at summer hockey school.

The staff at Greg Carter Hockey Camps was super impressed this summer with the level of talent hockey players have and especially how young players start to acquire awesome skills at such a young age. The youth hockey game is more competitive than ever and to get to the next level, players need to have all of the tools in their toolbox.

Hopefully you went to hockey camp this summer with skill development goals in mind and you are entering the season with more confidence in your game, more desire to get better and a positive work ethic. September is the month to continue bringing that energy and excitement to your training so that you can continue the momentum and hit the ice when the season starts turning heads and impressing coaches.

Thanks again to everyone who attended our camps this summer and to all of the hockey players out there, good luck with the start of your season and remember, your success this season starts NOW, in September!

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09

July

An Inspiring Summer of Hockey

Posted by Greg Carter
Greg Carter Hockey Camp

The summer of 2019 is very special for Greg Carter Hockey Camp as we celebrate our 25th year of training hockey players. In the quarter century that we have been working on improving the skills of hockey players we have seen some very inspiring moments at our camps where as we like to say, players have that ‘lightbulb moment’, things click and they shift into the next gear.

Here are a few great quotes related to some player highlights that we have experienced during this inspiring summer of hockey:

“I’m [recruiting] gym rats who want to get better because so many kids are peaking and think they’ve already arrived.”

This quote from a coach perfectly articulates why we see so many motivated hockey players at our camp each summer. As players mature, they start to recognize which players are motivated and also those players who are not. We’ve written articles in the past about ‘going from the third line to the first line’ and when it comes to getting better and improving skills, sometimes it simply comes down to who wants it more! We are seeing a lot of players at our camp this summer who are really working hard and definitely ‘want it’!

“Good things take time, as they should. We shouldn’t expect good things to happen overnight.”

Player development is not a sprint, it is a marathon. Mastering the skills necessary to become a great hockey players takes dedication, which means time, commitment and self-discipline. Hockey players will not see results overnight, but instead over a period of time as success in practice translates to incremental improvements in performance.

“Little things make the big things happen.”

This is another player characteristic that we love to talk about at our summer hockey school and mastering fundamental hockey skills allows players to do the little things that make the big things happen! Watching the women’s soccer team advance through the preliminary rounds and ultimately win the World Cup was phenomenal and full of these little moments that led to the big moments. So many goals were scored because of a crafty little deke, a sprint beating the opponent to the ball or an incredible ball skill that allowed the player to control the ball and make a play. Like these awesome soccer players, great hockey players have mastered all of the ‘little’ skills.

We hope that you are enjoying your summer with family and friends and that you have been inspired to carve out some time to improve your game! Good luck with your training and we hope to see you at the rink soon!

Click here for a list of our July and August camps!

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07

May

The Secret To Summer Hockey Success!

Posted by Greg Carter
Summer Hockey Camp in Summer Hockey Camp in Massachusetts

Every hockey player strives to get better over the summer and the big question for each player is, how will you become a better player? While there is no simple, single answer to that question that would apply to every player, what we know is that a secret to success is SKILLS.

While this might seem super obvious, it is also something that can get lost in the many considerations players face each summer about how to become a better hockey player. Skill development should define your goals for your summer hockey training. Just as a professional in any trade or business needs to continually hone their specific skills in order to master their craft, hockey players need to continually work on very specific skill sets.

If you haven’t already done so, it’s a great idea to make a list of areas of your game that need improvement. Skating is something that every player should spend time working on. Shooting, passing and stickhandling are critical skills. Improving speed and quickness gets more important with each passing season.

Look no further than the players who advance on and play at the highest levels of the game from the junior, collegiate and professional levels. The separation between good and great players is often times the smallest of margins and skill is a huge factor in that equation.  In past blogs we have talked about the rule of 10,000 and other attributes that define high skill players, and it all starts with not just a general plan to play some hockey this summer, but instead a very specific plan to improve individual skills!

If you haven’t already made plans to attend one of our camps located in 11 states this summer please check out our dates and locations. We are excited to celebrate our 25th summer of hockey school and invite you to join us!

Thanks for reading and good luck with your summer hockey skill development!

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29

March

The Final Countdown

Posted by Greg Carter
GC Summer Hockey Camp

The basketball Final Four and hockey Frozen Four are an awesome time of year to watch as teams and players  are hopefully peaking at the right time and bringing their “A game” to the ‘win or go home’ contest. Whether it’s basketball or hockey, there is a competitive spirit in the spring air and there is no better time to be inspired by all of the championship caliber play!

In past articles we have talked about the importance of watching great players and great teams, and learning from their preparation and performance. For players with aspirations of playing at the highest level possible, any opportunity to learn a new deke, dangle or defensive move should be taken advantage of.

At our summer hockey schools we often ask players who their favorite pro and college team is and of course, about their favorite player. It’s amazing how often the response includes the same teams that recently won a championship, or a player who lit up the stat sheet this season. The takeaway is that what is happening now, over the next couple of weeks is an important ingredient in player aspirations and inspirations!

It’s a great time of year to use these moments to motivate players to do all they can this summer and to help take the next step in their development so that one day, it might be them competing in the March Madness!

If you have set goals for yourself and want to work hard towards accomplishing them, we invite you to train at one of our hockey schools this summer.

We know what it takes to get to the next level and have a competent, knowledgeable and highly skilled staff that are as enthusiastic about helping you advance your skills as  you are about achieving them!

So as you watch the final countdown play out on the basketball court and ice rink over the next few weeks, we hope that your own final countdown for summer hockey training decisions includes our hockey camp. It was 25 years ago that we started Greg Carter’s European Hockey Schools and we are looking forward to celebrating our anniversary with you this summer at one of our hockey camps located in 11 states!

Spots are filling up fast, for more information on dates and locations, click here!

 

 

20

February

You Have To Believe To Achieve

Posted by Greg Carter
Greg Carter Hockey School

When I evaluate hockey talent there are many skill-based considerations including the obvious stickhandling, shooting and skating.  There are also the intangibles including work ethic, coachability, hockey smarts and confidence.

Oftentimes the fine line in separating talent comes down to confidence, not only individually, but also as a team. With confidence comes poise and composure, and the ability to perform on the biggest stage under the most pressure. You have heard players and teams described as having ‘ice in their veins’. This characterization is earned, through experience and perseverance.

At a recent game a team was down 3-2 and with their goalie pulled and their ‘go-to’ players on the ice, they tactically moved the puck around the offensive zone with precision. They didn’t force anything, but instead waited for just the right opportunity to put the puck on net in the hopes of tying the game.

With the clock running down the final few seconds, the top scorer wound up with the puck and just like that, the game was tied. Less than 30 seconds into overtime that same team scored the game winner. Sure, this included a little puck luck, but it was clear to everyone in the building, including the opposition, that this team believed without a doubt that they would tie the game. The players on the ice believed wholeheartedly that they were destined to tie, and ultimately win the game.

Not only did the team have the confidence, but individually, the players knew that they had the skill and the will to win. The players knew that all of the hard work and practice time spent shooting extra pucks, working on powerskating, stickhandling and shooting was going to pay off. They absolutely believed that they could achieve.

As the playoffs approach do you believe that you will achieve? Both individually and as a team? And once that final buzzer sounds signaling the end of the season, do you believe that you can set goals, work hard this summer and hit the ice next season as a bigger, stronger, more skilled hockey player?

We invite you to take your game to the next level at one of our hockey schools located in 12 states this summer.  We know that with some great instruction, hard work and dedication, we can help make you a believer, and an achiever!

Thanks for reading and good luck the rest of your season!

 

 

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Greg Carter's European Hockey School

PO Box 1534 / Concord, MA 01742

PHONE: 978-371-3355

FAX: 978-371-3356

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