How I Got Better
I want to start this with a quick check in on perspective. I am writing this today as a 28 year old who retired from competitive hockey in 2015 but also someone who has been coaching since 2017.
There will probably be times where I am speaking on behalf of my fourteen year old self but also speaking from the perspective of who I am today and what I’ve been through on and off the ice. I think this blend of previous experience and present day point of view will create an interesting dynamic in how we talk about the game.
Growing up my Dad always talked about doing the extras. This instilled a constant awareness that, as a competitor, if you aren’t getting better, somebody else is.
Looking back on what I did growing up and what I have our guys doing today as we get ready for the upcoming season, I try to replicate a lot of lessons learned from my playing days.
I was fortunate enough to grow up in passionate hockey community. I was lucky to have such dedicated coaches throughout my time playing youth hockey, junior hockey and at Yale University.
More importantly, I had a family that put my happiness above their own. While I’m sure travelling the country and watching all the hockey was a thrill for them, the reality of their sacrifice is something I’ll forever be grateful for.
How did I get better?
My favorite time on the ice was always a small group setting. During the course of any season, especially in youth hockey, much of your time on the ice during practice is focused on team drills - odd man rushes, breakouts, regroup, special teams, etc. All of these very necessary components of the game serve an important purpose during the season but what they don’t focus wholly on is individual player development.
I was raised to believe that you, the player, are responsible for putting in the time, the extra time, to focus on the betterment of yourself.
Let’s say you’re on the ice just three times a week, three hours in total (excluding games). For those three hours, maybe you do fifteen minutes of skill work/flow drills before focusing on game preparation/team systems. Over the course of a season those fifteen minutes per practice, if your lucky, just isn’t enough time to take your game to the next level or to separate you from your peers.
The time that separates you from the rest are the early morning skates, the extra skill skates with local coaches, shooting pucks in the garage, stickhandling a golf ball around your chocolate lab (RIP Duke), digging to the bottom of a rice bucket while watching some TV, and on and on.
I remember going skate in the summers, showing up at the rink to find Patrick Kane, along with a goaltender, doing breakaways from almost an hour. There he was, the best American hockey player ever born, putting in the work while nobody was watching.
(The first 20 feet of this breakaway is a total rip off of how Kaner picks the puck up. This is from my opening weekend in the USHL, 2011. Video courtesy of my brother Steve, who came all the way out to Sioux Falls to be there for an unforgivable weekend.)
An important aspect of The Morning Skate will be the focus on skill development and doing what it takes to differentiate yourself from the rest. Whether it be video lessons of different on-ice sessions we run, conversations with current pros about what they’re working on or even just a rambling post like this.
No matter what arena you’re playing in, find your edge.
Another way to better yourself… be PREPARED. Buy yourself or a hockey player in your life a box from Summer Stock using promo code ‘Morning’ for $10 off your first purchase!
Speaking from experience, having an equipment manager is a game changer. It is a privilege that not many experience. Summer Stock aims to be your own personal equipment manager; making sure you have the tape, laces, wax, skate guards and all the other essentials stocked!
- Dayzer