What these friends have in common is age. Lifelong athletes nearing 60 and sports parents, they’d seen it all. I was gratified to see that Dr. Fred Neff, a sports psychologist, agrees with them in terms of hockey: “Hockey is not a sprint, it is a marathon. One season is a blip in the existence of your hockey career” (www.proambitions.com).

As the season ends, how can your player get the most out of this blip in his or her career? You can learn a lot from a winning team with supportive players, well-informed and encouraging coaches, and great parents. But you can also learn a lot from a losing team with infighting and screaming coaches. And you can learn from the most likely scenario, a combination of good and bad experiences with games, coaches, kids, and parents. The important thing now is to take a look back and focus on the positive before moving on.

Ask these questions:

1. What did you learn from the coaches?
2. What turned out to be the best way to communicate with the coaches?
3. What did you do well this year?
4. What did your team do well?
5. Did you get to try anything new? (Play a different position, learn a new shot?)
6. Was there one memorable play, game or tournament you’ll never forget?
7. Did you make any new friends?
8. Did you learn any strategies for getting along with everyone?
9. What is your goal for next year?
10. Overall, did you have fun?

Once you identify and verbalize all the positives, you’re more likely to remember those aspects of the season. If the negatives still stand out, just tell yourself: It’s over and next season you get another chance.

–Thank you to Kelly Kordes Anton with advice from Steve Rarey and John Cruise.

Bill asks: How do you keep your players motivated when the team they play against is at a lower skill level?

John answers: This is a good question and something that I have seen happen many, many times in my hockey career. In fact it just happened twice in the league in which I am President. The last place team with a record of 0 wins and 15 straight losses beat the second placed team, twice in two weeks.

Sometimes playing a lower seeded team is more difficult than playing the top team. For some reason, players can’t seem to get motivated to play a specific team or game. I believe this happens because  players of the higher seeded team come to the game mentally overconfident.

Secondly, they play down to the level of the lower team instead of playing up to their full skill potential. This is because players physically and mentally take the night off  and do not give 100% on every shift. They believe a 50% effort is all that is required to beat the lower seeded team. They take too many offensive and defensive chances, stay out for long shifts, try to do too much stickhandling, or make too many passes trying to score a cute goal instead of burying the puck into the net.

Some players try to pad their scoring statistics against the weaker team and play undisciplined hockey. They hang out by the red line looking for a breakaway pass and won’t backcheck. This type of play backfires on many teams causing them to fall behind early in the game and play catch up hockey – something they may not be used to doing.

Here is the big challenge for coaches. They must convince their players there is no such thing as an easy hockey game. They must prepare a sound game plan for their team no matter where the opposition is in the standings.

The key is to get players back to the basics – the systems, strategy and shifts that got them into the higher seeded position in the first place. This is not easy for the coaches because changing the established thinking of their players requires special coaching skills.

Many players do not believe they are playing a good hockey team. Coaches need to tell players they will fall behind if they do not stick to the game plan. Sometimes this can be accomplished by challenging them to give a 100% effort and follow the game plan or ride the pine for a few shifts.

Coaches should instruct their teams to go back to short shifts – get the puck in deep, forecheck, recover the puck, cycle it if required, pass or carry it into a high percentage scoring location, take the shot on goal and then get off the ice. This should all be done within a 50 second shift.

Make no mistake, playing a lower seeded team is a challenge, and coaches must find the right buttons to push to get each player to play up to his or her potential. However, remember, the goal of youth hockey is having fun, not winning a game 15 to 1.  It is important not to embarrass any team by blowing them out of the water.

If a coach finds their team in a blow out position, they should challenge their players to try other positions. Let defensive players try forward and forwards try defense. This will make players realize the different skills required to play other positions and in the end it will make them better hockey players. It will also cut down on the goals scored and keep the game reasonable and fun for both teams.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to John Shorey for this answer.

The face-off can be intimidating for beginning players. However, learning to properly execute this move is crucial to obtaining control of the puck in a game situation. Helping beginning players gain confidence when they are face-to-face with an opponent is critical in mastering the face-off skill.

Video: Here is a helpful video form Sportskool.com that will help your player learn the finer points of the face-off and ultimately excel in mastering it.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Sportskool.com for this informative face-off tip.

While checking is not typically part of the game at the younger levels of competitive hockey, as players move along in both skill development and higher levels of competition, it is a technique that needs to be mastered. Learning to correctly implement this move into the game can mean the difference between a safe defensive move and one that can land a player in the penalty box or worse yet, cause injury to the opposing player.

Video: The following video, courtesy of Sportskool.com, provides instruction on how to correctly execute the defensive move of checking.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Sportskool.com for this instructional video.

Wrist Shot Technique – Use the proper stick grip and hockey stance. Move your lower hand halfway down the shaft to add power to the shot. Position your body at a 45-degree angle to the net. Bring the puck behind or even with your back leg, lowering your shoulder as you reach back and down with your stick to position the puck. Keep the puck in the middle of the blade with the blade tilted over the puck (rotate your wrists). In this position, your weight should be on your back leg.

Sweep the puck forward while transferring your weight toward your front foot and rotating your body forward. As the stick blade crosses your body, transfer your weight onto the stick while pushing forward with your lower hand and pulling backward with your top hand. The puck is released when it reaches your front foot and your shoulders are square to the net. At the point of release, both wrists turn causing the stick blade to turn out and lift the puck. After the puck is released, follow through pointing the toe of your stick toward the target. The height of the shot depends on the amount of rotation in the wrists and the height of the follow-through.

Video: Here is a great video detailing how to execute this important shot:

Variations:
Short Wind Up Shot – This is similar to the description above except the puck is positioned between your back leg and front leg. Starting with your weight on the back leg, step directly into the shot, transferring body weight on the stick while pushing forward with the lower hand and pulling backward with the top hand. The short wind up has a quicker release and should be used when there is little time to prepare and power is not necessarily required.

Advanced Shooters - Position the puck on the back third of the blade. When the shot is released, the puck rolls toward the toe of the blade causing it to spin, which provides a faster and more accurate shot.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to SportsKool.com for this great training tool!

1. Focus on their own contribution to the effort and the things they can improve.
2. Don’t blame teammates. Blaming teammates is a sure way to create team dissension, which can poison the remainder of a season.
3. Learn from the other team. Steal their best ideas and approaches.
4. Lose with class. Sportsmanship is easy after a win, but more accurately reflects the person after a loss.
5. Don’t blame coaches or officials. Blaming those in authority implies a lack of power on the part of the players. It is important to remember that  the coaches and officials weren’t the ones playing the game.
6. Ask what they can do to support the team. The more players focus on themselves and the less they focus on the team, the more likely problems will get worse and not better.
7. Ask what they can do to support lesser skilled players. By definition, half the players on every team are less talented than the other half. Those players with better skills have a great incentive to see those with lesser skills improve.
8. Rally teammates who take the loss harder. On certain teams, positions such as goalie or defensemen may feel they have more responsibility for a loss. Yet every game is a combination of preventing points and getting points.

Losing a game is a chance for players to work on the things they can control while also trying to positively influence the things they do not control. A positive attitude directed toward each gives a player the best chance of turning a loss into a future win.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Sports Esteem for this great article.

For players, it is important to understand how very basic things contribute to their performance in a game. From this understanding, players can start working backwards to identify and correct the details that lead to overall improvement. Coaches often ask players to do drills or exercises that may seem irrelevant but may be one of the many details players need for improvement.

John Wooden, a former NCAA college coach who won 10 championships in 12 years, put it best in his book “When you see a successful individual, a champion, a ‘winner,’ you can be sure that you are looking at an individual who pays great attention to the perfection of minor details.”

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Sports Esteem for this article.

1. Focus on their own contribution to the effort and the things they can improve.
2. Don’t blame teammates. Blaming teammates is a sure way to create team dissension, which can poison the remainder of a season.
3. Learn from the other team. Steal their best ideas and approaches.
4. Lose with class. Sportsmanship is easy after a win, but more accurately reflects the person after a loss.
5. Don’t blame coaches or officials. Blaming those in authority implies a lack of power on the part of the players. It is important to remember that  the coaches and officials weren’t the ones playing the game.
6. Ask what they can do to support the team. The more players focus on themselves and the less they focus on the team, the more likely problems will get worse and not better.
7. Ask what they can do to support lesser skilled players. By definition, half the players on every team are less talented than the other half. Those players with better skills have a great incentive to see those with lesser skills improve.
8. Rally teammates who take the loss harder. On certain teams, positions such as goalie or defensemen may feel they have more responsibility for a loss. Yet every game is a combination of preventing points and getting points.

Losing a game is a chance for players to work on the things they can control while also trying to positively influence the things they do not control. A positive attitude directed toward each gives a player the best chance of turning a loss into a future win.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Sports Esteem for this great article.

The sad fact of the matter is parents aren’t quitting youth sports in record numbers, kids are. Shame and humiliation may have their place in a corporate financial scandal but they have no place in youth sports. Kids are not always going to play a good game and parents may want to talk with them about their “hustle”. But, before getting into that discussion, parents need to remember there might be other reasons behind a lack of hustle. For example:

• Were there external distractions such as problems at school or with friends or siblings?
• Were there physical influences such as an illness, lack of proper nutrition or insufficient rest?
• Is there a diminished lack of interest in the sport caused by burnout or a lack of time for other activities?
• Is physical conditioning in areas such as stamina or strength adequate for playing an entire game?
• Does a lack of fundamental skills hinder more advanced play?
• Is there a good understanding of strategy and positioning so that a young player knows how to react in specific situations?
• Is the child playing at the right level of competition? Playing with kids who are much more or much less talented can be demoralizing and slow improvement.

These issues are also why it can be so harmful to yell “hustle” from the sidelines. Children can instantly understand if their parents are upset, but may not think through whether they were adequately prepared with things like rest, proper nutrition and instruction. A child may even come to believe they are not “hustlers” and may slow down in other areas of their life due to lowered self-esteem.

Yelling “hustle” is a simple response to something that has many causes. If it is not clear what the problem is, parents should have a positive conversation with their child or with the coach to better identify the problem and the corrective actions necessary. Most of all, parents must be patient. Sports are learned activities and require time to master. The age of the player and the length of time between events give parents plenty of opportunity to get to the heart of a hustle problem.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Sports Esteem for this article.

Tracking wins and losses is easy when there are countable things like game outcomes. It becomes much harder when it comes to things such as fun, passion and skills progression. This sometimes leads parents and coaches to believe that winning in youth sports concerns game outcomes rather than life experiences.

The old adage that losing only teaches someone how to lose doesn’t apply only to games, it applies to all areas of life such as learning, sportsmanship, friendship, teamwork and self-discipline, to name a few. If kids lose in these areas but win in games, then they won’t have much to show for their youth sports experience. However, if they win in these areas but lose games, then their experiences will last a lifetime.

Professional sports, used as a role model for youth sports, can often produce disastrous results for a player’s long-term success. Youth sports are not a farm system for high school, college or professional sports. Youth sports are a farm team for business, politics, education, communities and families. Viewed in this manner, success and winning are all about building the best kids possible.

The chances of a child playing college or professional sports are extremely slim. So, if winning is determined by this standard, most kids will end up as losers. If winning is determined by positive life lessons, then there is an opportunity for every kid to be a winner. And, there is an opportunity for every coach and parent to make a difference.

The popular saying that “Losing makes you a loser” may be true. But, its misuse in youth sports threatens to leave parents with kids who value the appearance of winning over true personal success. Parents have a huge role to play in helping their kids learn the right lessons from youth sports and use their youth experiences to become better business, community and family leaders. Winning is an important part of youth sports. But, parents must always keep focused on what their kids are trying to win. Keeping this perspective makes it much easier to see game outcomes as interesting but irrelevant.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Sports Esteem for this article.