For a little perspective on “the Moose,” he played 1,752 NHL games. If you do anything close to 2,000 times it can be repetitive and boring. Plus the travel, little nagging injuries, up and downs of a marathon season and non-hockey life can make for big distractions. For the most part, elite players have a passion for the game. If not, they would have been weeded out a long time ago. But the greatest players take that passion and have a laser-like focus that allows them to play great consistently. Good players, meanwhile, play great every three games or so—a big difference over a season and career. Here are two simplistic ways to approach the game: Average vs. Greatness.

Average Approach

If you go into a game thinking “it’s just another game” or “we beat this team 8–0 last time” or look past this game to a “bigger” game coming up, then you’re not giving your best. There was a game yesterday and there will be a game tomorrow. So you take the present game and basically go through the motions. The problem with this, as Seth Godin points out in a recent blog post on business, is that there is competition. As you take the skills you have worked so hard to achieve and average them out to just get through the game, the competition is giving it their all with a take-no-prisoners attitude. At least the good teams are. Who’s going to win?

Greatness Approach

If you think this might be the last time you enjoy the great privilege of strapping on skates as Messier did, then most likely it won’t be. Plus you get the added benefit of playing great hockey. Get hungry out there on the ice. It’s the difference today of two points in the standings. It’s a difference tomorrow of making the most out of the skills you have and achieving consistent greatness.

Good luck this weekend.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Brett Henning of Score100Goals.com for this story. Henning is the author of 7 Pre-Game Habits of Pro Hockey Players, and was a member of the Inaugural National Team Development Program and 2000 World Junior Team with USA Hockey. He played Junior Hockey in Canada and at the collegiate level for the University of Notre Dame. He was drafted by the New York Islanders before a back injury ended his on-ice career.

Think your kids are too busy with hockey and homework to help out around the house? Plenty of time for that later in life? A former NHL player shares how helping out around the house helped him succeed.

Discipline and a sense of responsibility are vital to anything you do in life. Kids need responsibilities outside of hockey that will help them throughout their lives. There was not a day growing up that I didn’t have at least a half-hour of chores to do around my house. It wasn’t an option—whether it was stacking a cord of wood, cooking dinner, washing the dishes, cleaning my room or sweeping out the garage. My parents both worked. If I wanted to play the game I loved, I had to carry my share of the family load. I also worked full time in the summers from age 14. My dad always taught me to look in the mirror at the end of the day, knowing I did everything I could do to improve, both as a person, and as an athlete.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Jeff Serowik of Pro Ambitons Hockey for this story.

My career was ended by a concussion during a home game in January. I never played professional hockey again. It took me a long time to recover from the post-concussive syndrome. As a result, I have an up-close and personal understanding of the importance of paying attention to concussions. I have three children who play sports and hundreds of thousands of campers have gone through my Pro Ambitions Hockey camps over the past 20 years. The Battle Camp curriculum I developed is notable for its emphasis on safely winning battles all over the ice.

Some fast facts on concussions:

• A concussion is a brain injury and all are serious.
• Most concussions occur without loss of consciousness.
• Recognition and proper response to concussions when they first occur can help prevent further injury.

During the last decade, Emergency Room visits for sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, among children and adolescents has increased by 60 percent. A traumatic brain injury caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head changes the way your brain normally works. Concussions can also occur from a blow to the body that causes the head to move rapidly back and forth. Even a “ding,” “getting your bell rung” or what seems to be a mild bump or blow to the head can be serious.

Concussions can occur in any sport or recreation activity. All coaches, parents and athletes need to learn the signs and symptoms of concussion and what to do if a concussion occurs. Young players’ brains can be more susceptible to injuries, which become more serious as players suffer repeated incidents. Typical symptoms include nausea, vomiting, loss of memory, sensitivity to sound and light, headaches and changes in personality for days or weeks. The injuries cannot be diagnosed by X-ray or MRI, but doctors can diagnose the problem by its symptoms.

Baseline concussion testing is mandatory in many hockey, football and other sports programs, for elementary-school age players to the pros. Such testing provides a baseline score of an athlete’s attention span, working memory, reaction time, etc. If the athlete suffers a concussion, he or she retakes the test. If there is a large decrease in the post-concussion score, the athlete typically is benched until the score increases, the symptoms are gone and he or she is cleared by a doctor.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Jeff Serowik of Pro Ambitons Hockey for this story.

1. Off-ice shooting: Last summer, I improved my slapshot by 20 mph by simply shooting 100 pucks every day (with some days off, of course) with a radar gun and making note of what improved my power and what didn’t.
2. Off-ice stickhandling: Stickhandling is easy to practice at home as long as you have something smooth to stickhandle on, and some ideas what to do.
3. Leg training: It’s not easy to improve your skating technique during the summer without ice time, but it is easy to improve your leg power and acceleration.
4. Get some ice time: One of the most important skills in hockey is skating, so take a few seconds to check times at a rink near you.
5. Play other sports: Playing sports that keep your muscles working will help you maintain fast reflexes and good overall strength and speed.
6. Attend a hockey camp: Hockey camp is a great way for kids and adults to learn a few new skills and work on sharpening the skills they already have. My hockey adventure camp in Ontario features NHL legend Dennis Maruk, plenty of on- and off-ice training, and water sports, hiking, rock climbing and much more.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Jeremy Rupke with HowToHockey.com for this story.

May 11-13, 2012
The Edge Ice Arena
Littleton, Colorado

The UAHS is for 1992–1997 Birth Year AA, AAA and Junior players and features two assigned NCAA D1 and Junior A Head Coach for each team, four professionally refereed games, NHL style testing combine, Junior and college hockey seminars and one-on-one exit interviews.

The 2012 Under Armour Hockey Showcase is brought to you by The U.S. Junior Development Program in conjunction with the Colorado Thunderbirds and Rocky Mountain Roughriders and is presented by ArmourBite and Under Armour Performance Mouthwear.

Space is limited. Register Now to hold your spot.

Learn more at www.underarmourhockeyshowcase.com or call 303-964-0929.

Changing Your Mind Set

To work your muscles “smarter” rather than “harder,” you must:

1. Switch the focus from your quadriceps to the “back of the leg” muscles. These muscles include your gluteals, hamstrings and calves.
2.  Shift from two-leg training to single leg training. By doing this you are able to recruit more stabilizer muscles.
3. Train with little or no weight and focus more on speed than strength.

I’m happy to say that my new techniques paid off. The very next season, I was noticeably faster and did get my shot in the NHL with the very same coach that gave me the great advice.

Back of the Legs

Focus your mind on working the gluteals and hamstrings during all of your hockey exercises, especially sprinting and jumping.

• One way to practice flexing the right muscles is by doing a wall set (sit in a chair-like squat with your back against the wall and hold). Most likely your quadriceps muscles will begin to burn. Without changing position, you can relieve the strain on the quads by tightening up your gluteals and hamstrings.
• Think about sitting in that squat position with someone in front of you trying to pull your feet out from underneath you. You would automatically flex your hamstring and glute muscles in order to keep your feet beneath you. This is what you want to flex during the exercise.
• Make sure your weight is not on your toes but rather on your heels. Try to lift your toes off the ground. You might feel your lower back begin to pull away from the wall. Counter this tendency by flexing your core and keep your back flat against the wall.
• Your hamstrings and glutes should be tight during the entire motion of a squat. Try tapping your fingers against your hamstrings. This will help tell your brain to work those muscles.
• When you are doing it right, your hamstrings will be hard. Believe me, this is as much of a mental work out as a physical one. It takes practice to get it right.

Wall Sit Video

Having troubles? Try standing tall. Now drop into a squat position as fast as you can and hold. Your body weight should drop faster than gravity can pull you down because your hamstrings flex to pull your body downward. Continue to flex the hamstrings and fire the glutes on your way up finishing with a slight forward hip thrust—thus forcing the glutes to flex as much as possible. Getting the right muscles to fire during the squat motion took me several workouts. Don’t get discouraged if it takes you some time. Unless you are an Olympic sprinter, you are quad dominant.  You have to retrain your muscles to become “back of the leg dominant” and this takes practice.

 Stablizers

Every time you take a stride you balance on one blade until your other foot recovers. Thus, single leg balance is key to becoming more stable on skates. Stand with one foot on the ground and do a four to five inch squat.

• Your free leg should be bent with your foot slightly behind you. Remember the “back of leg” principals learned above.
• Your body weight should be over your heel. To maintain balance, tighten up your core, keep your chest and head up with your arms loose.
• Try to breath in on your way down and out on your way up. Now try to do the same squat with no shoes on.
• Progress in difficulty by squatting deeper each time.
• Don’t worry about going fast. Focus on controlling your balance with core body strength. Use your arms as little as possible.

Want More?  Try kneeling on an exercise ball.  The pros can stand on the ball and do squats.

 Speed and Quickness

When attempting to develop strength, movements should be slow and controlled. When trying to develop speed, all movements should be done with speed and grace. Do every exercise as fast as you can while maintaining control. When you do a squat, try to go down quickly. When you reach 90 degrees (more or less) change direction as fast as you can. Doing squats in this motion works both deceleration and acceleration strength. The muscle fibers work one way to stop your body from moving and another way to get it moving again. You need power through both movements in order to be able to change direction quickly on the ice. When doing jumps or lunges focus on landing soft, using your hamstrings to pull your body down quickly with your hamstrings and exploding upward with your glutes. Again, this is very challenging and takes time to get right.

Changing the way I worked my muscles was not easy. My body wanted to revert back to over using the quadriceps. My workouts were as challenging mentally as they were physically. What kept me going were the results. My hamstrings and glutes grew in size and strength. I began to spring off the ground rather than push. I felt lighter and more stable on the ice, which is exactly what I wanted. Without a doubt, training this way improved my speed and stability on the ice.

I hope this information helps you as much as it helped me. Good luck!

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Jarod Palmer, Minnesota Wild Player, for writing this article for How To Hockey. This article is a detailed account of how he got his speed up to NHL standards.

The Cunninghams are a lot like most families today with their children well into their third and fourth years of playing hockey for two different leagues (including practices and tournaments), parents who work busy jobs, kids with growing homework demands and activities, and a burning desire for family down time.

Al Cunningham also coaches his son’s teams, which you would think adds another level of angst to the mix, but not for this positive dad. “Hey, I figure I’m going to be there anyway, I might as well help any way I can.” Growing up in Canada, Cunningham played hockey from the age 4, so he knows the sport well.

Like many other hockey playing kids, they pick up another sport off season, so there is little down time in sports. “My boys play lacrosse and it really is a sport that crosses over well with hockey,” Cunningham explains. When I asked him where the balance is in his family life, he replied with a smirk, “I talked to my wife about this and she sort of laughed because we are all very busy, but somehow, it works.”

In the beginning of the season Cunningham talks to the hockey families on his team, and always stresses that school comes first. “I tell the kids and parents that we all have to respect school.” He continues, “This is a competitive sport and it is great for the kids, but they have to learn to be organized and get their homework done on time. They have to get skilled at time management.”

The Cunninghams truly found balance with their hockey families. He explains, “Hockey families are a tight-knit group. Honestly, my boys’ hockey friends are some of their best friends because they have so much in common. And, it is the same with the parents. Some of our closest friends are other hockey team parents.”

Hockey families help each other out, too. “We all understand what each other is going through and we know the challenges of having to get our kids to different places at the same time. Most of our vacations (tournaments) are with the hockey families as well, and we really enjoy our time together,” he shares.

While tournaments do present traveling vacation time for the hockey families, or at least portions of them, they do spend time in the summer with their immediate families back in Canada. “We also love to go camping in the spring and summer, so that is how we escape on weekends, or even take day trips to Water World,” says Cunningham.

Some of the families even help the parents get some quality time together. “Our good friends offer to taker our boys on sleepovers so my wife and I can have a night alone. And we do the same for them. This is how close our families are thanks to hockey,” describes Cunningham.

Hockey team benefits:

• The kids learn how to be team players
• They learn how to be supportive teammates
• Parents share the same values and become integrally supportive of each other’s families
• The kids develop deep friendships through camaraderie
• The kids learn the importance of commitment and the responsibility that comes with it
• They learn in an environment that fosters integrity, respect and fairness
• They learn about the rewards that can come from hard work as well as the disappointments that can be encountered along the way, both valuable life lessons

Cunningham sincerely says, “Hockey is the ultimate team sport. Players learn how to fight for their teammates—not literally, but for a common goal.”

“I mean, we are always on a team in life, and if we can help our kids see this and learn from it, then we all benefit.”

Cunningham tells the story of one hockey mom who married into the sport on her second marriage. “She thought it was ridiculous how much money and time was spent on hockey. After many years of following the team, families and kids, she said it was all money well spent and her kids were running with the right crowd. It’s like the motto of the Colorado Youth Hockey Foundation, ‘A kid on ice is not in hot water.’”

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Kathy Smith for this story and recipes. Kathy is a chef and freelance writer who specializes in writing about food and fitness.

1. Avoid Turnovers by Chipping the Puck

As you grow in the game, you will realize that the opportunities for stickhandling up and down the ice are few and far between. This is a great concept to start talking to younger players about at an earlier age. When a player is heading into traffic on the offensive end and not sure what to do, instead of trying to stickhandle through traffic or going offsides, chip the puck a few feet ahead and skate ferociously with your linemates so you team regains possession. This is not necessarily a dump in—rather, it’s a little forward chip or side chip to an open space that you or your linemate can go after. The same holds true for defensemen on the defensive blue line. If you’re not sure what to do, chip the puck lightly off the boards and go after it. Overhandling the puck—especially during big games or tryouts—is usually the kiss of death (not to mention committing turnovers). Less stickhandling and more skating will lead to a win.

2. Forwards, Always Move Your Feet

When the defensive opponents have the puck, many times I see three forwards gliding in for the forecheck. Don’t glide. Try to form a triangle of forwards. When the first forward is skating in hard (F1), the second forward (F2) should be following his lead and supporting his effort while being ready. The third forward (F3) can stay high in the slot and be ready for both an offensive shot and a backcheck. Create pressure with your fellow forwards to gain possession of the puck while moving your feet—not while waiting for the puck to come to you. If you are not moving your feet and skating, you are doing something wrong. You need to spread out and create nice shapes in the offensive zone.

3. Traffic in Front of the Net Throws Off the Goalie

Screen the goalie and make it hard for him to see the puck. Typically, a few highly skilled players on a team can weave in and out to get to the net. If you are a winger, do not stand still and watch this going on. I tell campers to go to the net with him or her like a pack of hungry wolves zeroing in for the kill. There will be fresh meat to be eaten in the form of rebounds. Creating a busy, chaotic traffic jam in front of the net is unnerving for a goalie—he or she will have a hard time seeing everything that is going on and from where a bomb is being fired.

4. Think About Your Next Move

Take note of where your teammates are and think about what you will do if you get possession of the puck. This is a hard thing to teach—it is a form of hockey IQ. Learn to be a smart player at as young of an age as possible.

When my partner was preparing to go D to D (pass) with me in a game, I already looked up ice and saw where my forwards were so when I got the puck I knew exactly where to go with it. The same holds true for forwards—you need to have great ice awareness and know where your teammates are before you get puck. It’s almost like thinking a step ahead of your opponent. Communication is paramount to attain this skill.

5. Go Back to Basics When Choosing Your Stick

From Mite to AAA prep school to Division-I college hockey to the pros, a lot of players are not using the right stick and curve lie for them. You need to get the right fit for your style of play. Not too much lie, too much curve, too much flex. I use the Marc Savard stick with a 4 lie because I like to be able to use both my forehand and backhand, and I prefer a fairly low lie that sits right on the ice. If the curve is too big, the puck boomerangs out. Analyze your child’s stick, but don’t be caught in the trap of buying the most expensive stick—it’s not necessarily the right stick for your player. If your child can’t handle the puck or catch a pass, stick lie and curve are usually the culprit. Go to your local hockey store expert and have a discussion about which stick is best for your child.

6. Goalies

You need to be more vocal in the defensive zone and also more aggressive. Come out of your crease, cut down angles and challenge shooters. You need to read the situation properly. If the puck has been in your end for a while, get a whistle. Learn to make the first save and be steady. The spectacular save is nice, but I like a consistent goalie who makes the first save and controls rebounds.

Have a great playoff season and off season—and best of luck in tryouts!

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Jeff Serowik, a former NHL player and founder/president of Pro Ambitions Hockey, for this story.

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The 2012 coaching staff will be announced soon. Please click here to view teams that have attended the Prep Camp in the past. For more information, visit www.usjdp.com or call 303-964-0929.

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• Skill set: Your player is quite simply not ready for the specific level he or she is trying out for. Can your player skate at this level? Can your player pass, handle and shoot the puck at this level?
• Maturity: The maturity of players can sometimes factor into the selection process. Is this player a first or second year?
• Fit: Some coaches look for a specific type of player, role or skill set when determining their roster. How will that player fit with the chemistry of the team?
• Hockey sense: A big concern for many coaches is “hockey sense” or “hockey smarts.” Does your player understand, think and read the game? This aspect of his or her game can be a major factor in determining if player child makes the team.
• Development: A coach can sometimes weigh the option if a player might be better off playing on the team at the lower level then what they are trying out for. This will sometimes allow the player to be a top-line player instead of the ninth forward or sixth defenseman for the higher-level team. This will allow that player to develop and see more ice time in critical situations of the game.
• Parents: This does not happen too often, but I have seen it with a few coaches and parents over the years. What are the player’s parents like? Will they be an issue all season? Are they high maintenance? Do they get in the ear of other parents and try to get on their side if they don’t like the way their child is being coached or handled? I can tell you a bad parent or parent group can ruin the season for the players and staff. No matter if your team is in first place or last place, the season will be a success if your player develops, has fun and the parents get along—rather than form cliques and small groups of “negativity.” It’s a game…enjoy it!

These are some of the reasons on why your player did not make the team. I do believe it is imperative that a coach has great communication skills; it is the key ingredient for a coach when tough decisions are made. I believe each coach should have an exit interview or at least provide some feedback on why your player did not make the team.

To be totally honest, yes, coaches make mistakes. There is no exact science. It is not because the evaluators (coaches) did not give each player a good, honest look. Players do develop differently and at different points during the season.

This is a great, fun game. So please allow situations like this to be a life lesson for your player. We all get cut, we all get fired. We are all told at some point in our lives that our services are no longer needed. Sports are a microcosm of life—life will go on if your player did not make the team. Let your player enjoy the game and play at a level that will allow him or her to flourish and want to play again next season.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Angelo Ricci for sharing his 15 years of expertise as a hockey director in this article. Ricci is founder, head instructor and consultant for Ricci Hockey Consulting. With 20+ years experience as a skills and stickhandling coach, he conducts/oversees more than 40 programs year-round that develop over 1,000 players each year.