Yesterday, we talked about mapping the route you will follow to achieving your goal(s).

I’m going to pick a goal that almost every player on our team aspires to… Becoming a Varsity Student Hockey Player. If this isn’t quite your goal, I think you’ll find that the steps for your goal aren’t that much different.

Luckily, for our goal of “Becoming a Varsity Student Hockey Player“, there are lots of guides we can follow. There are thousands of young women and men who are currently varsity student hockey players and there are hundreds of coaches who have helped them get there. And there are many times more who have completed their varsity hockey careers and moved on to be successful in every field imaginable.

Identify Your Building Blocks Of Success

When we’re creating our plan we need to identify the foundational building blocks that are necessary for us to succeed. Think of these as the countries on our map, or the places we’ll need to visit along the way to success.

Foundational Building Blocks For Varsity Student Hockey Players

1. Academics
• You cannot be a varsity student athlete if you’re not a good student.
• The first question coaches will ask you when you are being recruited is, “How are your grades?”
• What courses should I take in high school?
• What are the academic skills I need to develop beyond the courses I’m taking? (Study skills, writing skills, test taking skills, scheduling, note taking, etc.)
• Volunteering your time. Are there causes you’d like to support or volunteer activities that will help achieve your goals? Perhaps helping to coach younger players and teams.
• Required level: What are the academic requirements for admission to the school and program that I want to attend?
2. Relationship Skills
• Family first!
• Find and develop relationships with friends who will support your goals
• Listening skills
• Communication skills
• Be coachable. How do I engage with my coaches, teachers and mentors?
3. On-Ice Core Individual Skills
• Each of these core skills would be broken down into dozens of sub-skills.
• Skating
• Stickhandling, puck protection and misdirection
• Passing (goalies too)
• Shooting (goalies too)
• Checking
• Hockey “engine” and drive – Can I develop tenacity and dogged determination?
• Goalie movement
• Goalie catcher
• Goalie blocker
• Required level: How strong do I need to be in each of these areas to play on a varsity team?
4. In-Game Tactical and Strategic Skills
• Scoring tactics and skills (ie. net drive, dekes, wrap-bang-bang, chili dip, etc.)
• Defending tactics and skills (ie. angling, gap control, positioning, hanging a forechecker on the net, etc.)
• Power play tactics and skills
• Penalty kill tactics and skills
• Breakouts
• Zone entries
• Neutral zone regroups
• Give and go’s
• Odd man rushes
• Line changes
• Positioning
• Required level: How effective do I need to be in each of these areas to play on a varsity team? Can I specialize in some of these areas?
5. Hockey Knowledge
• Knowledge of the rules
• Understanding the language, or “lingo” of the game
• Understanding the strategies and tactics used in the game and when they might be most effective
• Knowledge of the people and teams around the game
• Coaching skills
• Required level: Can I talk the game intelligently?
6. Strength and Conditioning
• Off-ice training to build strength, speed, power, and endurance
• Strength training
• Cardiovascular training
• Speed training
• Cross training
• Required level: Fitness testing or required standards?
7. Mental Preparation
• Building mental resilience and toughness
• Changing the channel
• Staying focused
8. Nutrition for Athletes
• You are what you eat. Nutrition is the fuel that powers your body.
• What to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks
• Should I be taking vitamins or supplements?
• Pre- and post- and in-game meals and nutrition
9. Hydration
• What to drink and what not to drink
• When to drink
10. Sleep, Rest and Recovery
• Why consistent sleep is so important
• The secrets to getting a good night’s sleep
• Rest and recovery
11. Injury prevention and recovery
• How to avoid injuries
• The difference between aches and pains and real injuries
• Modifying your training when injured
12. Finding The Right School, Program and Team For YOU
• Finding programs and schools
• Going to school in Ontario vs. the rest of Canada vs. the U.S.
• How to compare and evaluate programs
• School-first vs. Athletics-first programs
• Understanding scholarship money. How much and how long?
• Do they have openings for you?
13. How To Get Recruited
• How to contact coaches and get noticed
• What coaches are looking for
• How can I demonstrate that I can deliver on what they are looking for?
• Putting together your athletic resume
• Video for coaches
• Campus visits and hockey camps
• Interviewing tips. What questions should I be able to answer effectively?
• How do these skills apply to transitioning between my minor hockey teams (ie. U15AA to U18AA, moving to a new centre, finding a new coach, etc.)

What’s Next?

During this training camp, we’ve already talked about many of these topics. We will continue to work on them going forward for the rest of the summer and into our season.

Today’s Assignment:

1. VERY IMPORTANT: We need to start building out our Athlete Profile with information that is required for Scout Programs for our Showcase tournaments. Please add the following information to your Athlete Profile on Google Drive:
1. Your position (Centre, Forward, Wing, Defence, Goalie, Rover, etc.)
2. Which way you shoot (Left or Right)
3. Height
4. Weight
5. Date of Birth
6. Graduation Year
7. Grade% or GPA
8. 2021-22 Team, Level, Games Played, Goals, Assists, Points (If you played on my team last season, I believe our record was 50GP (18-20-12). Unfortunately, due to pandemic restrictions, we didn’t track individual stats for the season. Please estimate the number of goals and assists you had. I’m okay with it if you over-estimate it a bit.)
9. University Committed To (if any)
2. When you’re finished updating your Athlete Profile with this information, post a fun emoji into the team WhatsApp group so that I’ll know that I can grab the information and add it to our Scout Program.
3. Complete today’s workout on the TeamBuildr app. Be sure to mark each exercise complete as you finish it. Depending on your schedule (other sports, work, etc.) it is okay to complete the exercises on another day or even substitute an alternate workout provided that the difficultly level is similar. Please make note of any substitutions or switches as part of the daily check in item in the TeamBuildr app.