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05

January

5 New Year’s Resolutions To Increase Your Skills

Posted by Greg Carter

Rails

Here are 5 great skill-based resolutions for youth hockey players!

1. Finish every drill. As a coach, one of the great joys of running practices is in creating great drills that teach players to learn and improve. One of the great disappointments however is when players don’t skate hard through the entire drill. Finishing every drill is important for players as they develop. Whether you are skating lines, shooting pucks or working on edges, give 100% until the drill is complete and you will find yourself developing a new work ethic.

2. Dream. Players of all ages need to dream. Dream of making the team. Dream of scoring the big goal. Dream of winning the big game. Dream of moving on to the next level. Dream of playing in front of a big crowd. Dream of achieving your goals.
“If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney 

3. Be a great teammate. The great players that I skated with in college and beyond were also really good teammates. They not only had talent, but they knew how to inspire those around them to work as hard as they did. Everyone wants to be around great teammates as they encourage, promote unity and lead by example.

4. Evaluate & Practice. This one is very important, and it starts with an honest evaluation of your game. If you favor stopping one way over the other, start practicing stopping on your weak edge every time. If you are having a hard time keeping up with teammates, enroll in a summer power skating program and work specifically on skating. If your game needs an overall tune up, enroll in a skills camp where you can work on all aspects of your game. Identify your weaknesses and commit to practicing them.

5. Attitude. Everyone wants to get to the next level and succeed, and we all know that attitude determines altitude. This seems simple, but I guarantee it works! Bring a great attitude to the rink every day, appreciate the opportunity to play the greatest game on Earth and watch your game take off this year!

From our hockey family to yours, Happy New Year and best wishes for a successful 2016!

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11

December

Holiday Hockey Gifts To Improve Your Game

Posted by Greg Carter

Rails

The holidays are a great time of year both on the ice with tournaments and games in full swing, as well as off the ice celebrating the season with friends and family. I have actually found the the month of December to be a really interesting stretch of the hockey season because players are settling in and finding their place on the team.

How is your season starting out? Are you playing on the first line? How about the power play or penalty kill? Are you skating in your preferred position or do your coaches have you elsewhere? Are you scoring as much as you would like?

If you are having the success you anticipated, do you have a plan to continue playing at that level? Or, if you haven’t yet found your stride, are you prepared to work even harder? Youth hockey players at this time of year too often allow their current situation to dictate their work ethic. If they are not skating on the first line they resort to thinking they are a second or third line player. If they are not on the power play or penalty kill, they think they must not be good enough for special teams play. Conversely, some first line players get complacent and stop working hard, thinking that every time there is a power play they are going to be put on the ice.

The holidays are a great time to reevaluate your game and think about all of the hard work you invested over the summer to prepare for the season. It’s an excellent opportunity to rededicate yourself to being not just a good forward or defensemen, but a good, well-rounded hockey player who understands the game and can play in many different situations and positions.

Often times at summer hockey school we train forwards who say they don’t need to work on their backwards skating because they are a forward. Or we see defensemen who don’t work on their offensive moves and scoring because they feel their role is to prevent goals from being scored rather than scoring goals. The best hockey players are those who understand that it takes hard work and consistent effort in all areas to get to making the most out of the season.

As we enter the winter break, here are 3 holiday hockey gifts to help you get the most out of your season!

1. Attitude and work ethic. Playing hockey is one of the great joys of childhood. Make sure you remember this and bring a great attitude and awesome work ethic to every practice and game. A coach once told me that anything worth doing, is worth doing well. I have never forgotten this and it is especially true in youth hockey!
2. Coachability.  Coaches love players that show up ready to go and ready to learn. Make sure that you pay attention and digest what your coach is telling you. Many coaches have years of experience and played the game themselves. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn from those who have already been there and done it. Learn from them and do it better!
3. Pucks & Practice. This is simple. You can never practice enough, and you can never shoot enough pucks.

From our hockey home to yours, enjoy the holidays and we look forward to seeing you at the rink soon!

Greg Carter

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27

August

Hockey Thoughts About An Awesome Summer

Posted by Greg Carter

Rails

August is the perfect summer month.

Running a hockey camp in August means that things are winding down after few great months instructing aspiring athletes who have been working hard to take their game to the next level.

Of course it never gets old walking out of the cool rink into the hot and humid summer air.

And in August, the excitement of the summer months is turning to thoughts of Labor Day, school, football and of course the start of another hockey season.

Yes, these are the dog days of summer and they are great times for hockey players.

All of the instruction received over the summer can be put to use during your personal training in preparation for the season.

Shooing pucks with proper form and increased velocity.
Stickhandling with your head up and practicing your new dekes and moves.

We really enjoy watching players in August as they have grown over the past few months, both as hockey players and also in height!

As you finish out your summer vacation we encourage you to continue working hard on everything that you learned at hockey camp this summer.

Players leave camp with the tools they need to become a better hockey player, and we sincerely hope that you use those tools each and every day in practice.

Repetition is a key ingredient to mastering skills so take the time and bring the energy to your training and preseason preparations.

Work the same skills over and over again until you are comfortable executing at full speed.

Enjoy the final weeks of summer and we look forward to keeping up with you this season!

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08

April

The Season of Champions

Posted by Greg Carter

Rails

April is one of the great hockey months. In the NHL we have the push to the playoffs, which means a few things: the intensity ratchets up several notches, the speed of the game shifts up a gear or two and of course the facial hair is grown out. During April we also have college hockey’s Frozen Four. This is another great tournament as unpaid players are putting it all on the line not for a huge paycheck, but rather for the simple right to win a championship.

You can’t help but watch the incredible hockey this time of year and wonder, ‘what does it really take to get to that level of play’ . . . not just playing at the highest level, but to advance through the regular season and the playoffs and ultimately hit the ice and play on the biggest stage, under the brightest lights for the right to hoist the biggest trophy.

For most of players, and you’ll hear this in post-game interviews, the ‘what it really takes’ is determination. Not just team determination, but individual determination.  And that determination didn’t just start at the end of the regular season or the weeks leading into the playoffs as the team fought to make the post season. For the most successful players, that determination started a long time ago in a basement, garage, backyard rink or local park.

Determination goes hand and hand with hard work. The great Vince Lombardi once said “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”

Every hockey player wants to win, wants to make the playoffs, wants to play for the championship and wants to hoist the trophy. The reality is that the players who do end up in these games are the ones who have realized at a young age what it really takes to get there. First and foremost it requires a love of the game. After that, it takes commitment, determination and hard work.

The best players that I’ve played with have all possessed these traits. They were the guys at the rink first and off the ice last. They loved shooting pucks. They loved practicing and trying to get better every day. And I mean every day. They loved being at the rink, and when they weren’t they were making mom and dad upset by staying at the local rink two hours too long. They were quintessential rink rats, who also had skill, determination and weren’t afraid of hard work.

So when you see players on TV hoisting a trophy, some doing so in tears, it’s important to understand that the journey for these players didn’t start at the beginning of the season. It started at the beginning of their recognition that with determination and hard work, there can be no limits to your success.

When does your journey begin?

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22

January

Tips for scoring goals

Posted by Greg Carter

Rails

What is more fun than scoring a goal in hockey? Well, maybe assisting on a goal! But there is no arguing that putting the puck by the goaltender is what every player strives for to help their team win, and here are 5 tips to help you score more goals this season.

1. Shoot like you mean it. Too many players shoot like they are trying to just get the puck across the goal line. We often see this when players come to our hockey camp. Shoot like you mean it, and not only want to put the puck in the net, but right through the back of the net!

2. Crash the net. When you know a teammate has a shot on goal, crash the net. This means getting yourself to just outside the crease, not the hash marks or 10 feet out. Getting the rebound just after the goalie gives it up catches him/her out of position, and gives you the greatest opportunity to score.

3. Keep moving. Great players anticipate the play and where the puck is going. Wherever you are on the ice, move your feet and get to the open area or get to the puck first. Using your hockey sense and knowing where to go, and actually getting there, will put you in prime position to score goals.

4. Be confident and patient. These two goal-scoring attributes often go together. Some of the prettiest deke goals result from being confident in a move, and patient enough to wait for the play to evolve to the point you have a clear lane to the net, shot on goal or opportunity to put your move on the goalie.

5. Good old fashioned practice. There are no shortcuts to scoring success, and for every player that scores with a rocket ‘snipe’ and makes it looks easy, they have shot hundreds, if not thousands of pucks on and off the ice. Something we preach at our hockey school is that in practice, finish every drill with a shot on goal like it’s a game situation, not just a shot to finish the drill.

At our summer hockey school and hockey clinics we take great pride in teaching players the fundamentals, as well as advanced skill sets needed to score goals. Check out our summer hockey camps for more information about how we can help you become a better hockey player.

Have you found success scoring goals? We’d love to hear your story, share it

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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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