No Excuses, Train like a Champion
I saw a post the other day of Jack Hughes training through his youth development (whatever that is for an 18 year old!) and it was fun to watch. Stick handling in different situations like laying down, on BOSU balls, through different training tools, flipping the puck up wherever he want it to go. Truly a great 3 minutes to watch the skill and creative mind this young man has. Amazing.
At first I didn’t think much of the video outside of my above reaction. But, as I usually do, I read some of the comments. You can imagine what was in there, it ran the table. But the biggest that stood out to me was the excuse of not being able to afford 3 things:
1. Access to ice time
2. Access to top coaching
3. High level training equipment
Hockey is an expensive sport – but training for hockey doesn’t have to be.
What do you mean? There is no way you can become a great player without the latest equipment, training technology, on and on and on. Sidney Crosby worked on his accuracy by shooting into a fucking laundry machine. Every day. All day. The 2-3 hours spent on the ice with these elite teams a week and another hour with a skills/strength coach is not going to make you a good hockey player.
It is what you do outside of those hours that make the difference – and here is how you do it:
Ice is expensive – parking lots are free. Just need a pair of roller blades, stick and a ball. You can train anything that you would need ice for. And be able to challenge yourself even further by learning how to handle an object on an imperfect surface. Getting a stronger stride and better endurance by skating up hills around the neighborhood. All for free. No one is charging you for using the side of the road or the local high schools parking lot. Needing ice time is important but paying $350 an hour for 10,000 hours is a lot of fucking money. Use what is free.
I don’t have the right equipment – you don’t need it. Skills in hockey can be worked on in any situation, just need to get creative. Let’s look at shooting. Most people want a hard and accurate shot. Do push ups, core exercises and squats to get stronger = harder shot. Put a piece of paper or tape on the wall and shoot a ball at it over and over = accuracy. You do not need the latest targets or shooter tutor or gimmick out there to be better. All it takes is repetition of putting the puck or ball exactly where you want it.
But his parents are connected/paid for top coaching – I want to let you in on a secret: it doesn’t matter. You can buy the best coaching in the world, if the player doesn’t put in the time and/or flat out is not good, it doesn’t matter. My brother and I are the best example of this fact. We both had the best coaching and mirror images throughout youth, junior and college. Alexey Nikivorov who as trained an impressive list of NHL players to Jack Parker who is arguably the greatest coach in college history. Matt won the hobey baker, played 4 years in the NHL and has made millions over the past 10 years playing professional hockey. I had a college career but did not have the chance to play professionally. And it had nothing to do with talent or coaching. Matt WANTED it more. He put in the hours away from the rink and the coaching. Shot pucks all day, stick handled during commercials, ate right, never missed a workout or skate. That is why he is who he is. Coaching only works if you make it work. For every NHL player a coach has trained there are 100s of players who don’t make it. Great coaching can help marginally but what makes a player great is what they do when no one is looking.
If you are still questioning – read the first chapter of Wayne Gretzky’s autobiography. The greatest player to play the game was taught by his father in the backyard with tennis balls, empty detergent bottles and a unbelievable desire to be the best.
