Top 10 Hockey Player New Year’s Resolutions

Find out how to “kick some ice” this year and win your battles—lots of small victories add up to winning the big ones! Adapt whichever resolutions apply to you:

1. Finish my checks—stay low and stay safe.
2. Block a shot in every game.
3. Work on positioning my shot 12 inches above the ice; it will go right over the goalie’s pad.
4. Skate hard the entire game—not just when I have the puck. This will change my game.
5. Recite in my head, “Move a Mountain,” to build mental toughness.
6. Don’t let anyone break my spirit and hang tough when I’m not playing as much as I want to; I’ll get my chance.
7. Make safe plays to gain more playing time; know that my coach wants reliability first and foremost.
8. Improve my practice habits—because you play in games the way you play at practice.
9. Fake a shot before letting a bomb go in the other direction. It works every time.
10. Work on your backwards skating, defensemen. This is the key to D—make it your mission to beat everyone going backwards.

Bonus Resolution: Have fun playing the greatest game on earth!

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