1) First Impressions are EVERYTHING.
If this is your first main camp and you are NOT 100% prepared and ready to play do NOT go! This may sounds harsh, but this is a numbers game and a player typically only gets one opportunity to impress his coach to be. If you are sick, fighting an injury or just not 100% prepared to step out onto that ice, then don’t do it. Contact the coach, be honest about your injury/situation and plan for next year’s opportunity. If the coach has made up his mind about you because you were performing at a subpar level, you may not get a second chance in the future. Worse, he could give a bad report on you to any and all other teams who contact him in the future, thus sabotaging your other potential opportunities without you even knowing what happened. However, if you are a returning veteran or a bubble player then suck it up and play through the pain. You really have no choice but to go play your heart out and try to impress the heck out of the coaching staff so that they are forced to make a tough decision. You should let them know you are not 100% but that you are prepared to go through a wall to make the team. Remember character counts!
2) Have a fall back position.
I can’t stress this enough, you MUST have a second option to go to if for whatever reason you do not make the team. I’ve seen it time and again, players have blinders on and go to camp certain of the outcome only to find that the season is underway and they are back home without anywhere to play. Yes, you need to be confident, even a bit cocky, that’s a good thing, but it is prudent to plan for every eventuality. If you are going to a WHL or BCHL main camp, make certain you have a Junior B team interested if things don’t work out. If you are in your first year of junior eligibility and are set on playing in the PIHJL, KIJHL or another Jr.B league, make sure you have gone to the mandatory Midget tryouts or practices to retain your eligibility to play at your home association. Remember, in most cases, making the team has less to do with your talent and more to do with roster sizes, prior commitments (financial & personal), ego, the alignment of Jupiter and any ten other things you didn’t even know where relevant.
3) Do NOT burn any bridges.
It’s NOT Personal, it’s Just Business! It’s a small hockey world. It is tempting to blow off some steam and let the coach know that he just lost out on a golden opportunity and that he is a <Insert SWEAR Word here> who shouldn’t be coaching. Unfortunately, that so-and-so can be a deciding factor in your future whether you like it or not. Everyone does indeed know everyone, or at least through a hockey version of the “6 degrees of Kevin Bacon”, most people are connected in one way or another. You just never know when that coach’s opinion of you can sink your chances of being drafted, making the team or getting that scholarship. Thank them for the opportunity and leave them with the impression that you are a good character kid and maybe you can salvage the situation to your advantage for future opportunities.
4) Proper Nutrition & Sleep are HUGELY important.
At the event itself, make sure your player gets as much sleep as possible and proper food each day. I know this seems self evident, but typically, you are in new town living out of a hotel and it is so much easier to grab McDonalds or pizza because you are running back and forth all the weekend long. Playing at 100% isn’t easy in the best of times and playing consistently is the difference between NHL stars and fourth liners. This is exactly the same at any other level. Your player is going to be in a highly stressful situation physically and mentally and every edge you can get. One of my clients at a past BCHL camp stayed at the rink with the rest of the team in a communal ‘dorm’ getting 4-5 hours sleep a night while subsisting on pizza and chicken nuggets provided by the club. I know players need a ton of calories at that age but there is a difference between good and bad caloric intake. NOT constantly eating crap from the ice-rinks concession could be the edge that you need over the rest of the competition to ensure you make the team out of camp.
5) Communicate Clearly & Directly
Do NOT be afraid to speak with the coach about your son’s immediate and long term future at the APPROPRIATE moment. At the end or during camp he will either be cut, signed or placed in hockey limbo, I’ll look at all three in turn. First, if you are signed to a card, you need to know important information such as; Will he be staying with a billet; What school will you be enrolled at; How much does all of this cost? There are many other logistical type questions that you need to know and you should be direct about solving those issues. Second, if you are cut, you need to be clear about your existing or ongoing relationship, if any, with the team moving forward. It is typically an emotional time, but you need to know where you stand and how this situation affects your immediate and long term career. If you are a complete free agent, then you politely thank them for their time and the opportunity (See above; Do Not burn bridges) and you move on to your secondary fall back team (See above: Have a Fall Back Position). If they own your rights, you need to know exactly what their plan is and how you can help facilitate, if at all, your movement to another organization. Lastly, there is the all too common situation of hockey limbo that you have to be aware of and prepare for. Every team and league has strict rules about roster sizes and the amount of players they can sign to ‘cards’ or contracts. Where this rule ends, the grey area of the world of hockey limbo begins. I’ve seen countless examples of my clients in the WHL, BCHL or various pro leagues (AHL, ECHL, and CHL) who are officially ‘cut’ but the club keeps them around with promises of future benefits. They of course may want to keep you from going to their rivals, need insurance against early season injuries or genuinely want you around but cant make the ‘numbers’ work at the present time but have the best of intentions for the future. Now if you find yourself in this limbo world, you need to do the following: 1) Agree with the team on a realistic timeline for you to wait; 2) Establish All the costs; A) financially – same as if you make the club: [See above] and B) career wise – Assess whether the risks of the wait and see approach outweigh hurting your long term career outlook because you waste a chunk of development time on a practice roster waiting for your chance; 3) Be honest with yourself and the coach. If this is your only shot, then do what you have to do, but if it isn’t, don’t let your ego or pride stop you from returning to the minors or your old team so you can improve and prepare for the future properly. No one likes getting cut but holding out hope in a no win situation is probably a bad career move.
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