Core Hockey Gear and Summer Camps

Some new Core Hockey Gear!

Core Hockey still has spots open for our 'position specific camp' for Bantam Forwards,  Bantam Defencemen and Midget Defencemen. We also have availability for our Peewee, Bantam and Midget conditioning camps at the beginning of August!

Check out Core Hockey Camps Here!

strength and flexibility movements

The following workout will help improve your quality of life through strength and flexibility movements.

Click Here to view the workout!

Derek Boogaard’s Dad does the legwork, finds appalling amount of pills prescribed to his son

 

Posted by Justin Bourne under News, Opinion on Jun 04, 2012

I’ve written about the abuse of prescription pills in pro hockey in the past, specifically about how their distribution needs to be better monitored. Right now if players want them, they can get them, and with the pain of the game and the rigors of travel, plenty of guys do. Never have I been more sure that something has to be done then after reading what Derek Boogaard’s father discovered about what had been prescribed to his son over the years.

Before I list the numbers, a simple point: it’s not solely the doctor’s responsibility to monitor the amount of pills players are swallowing - players have to be accountable for themselves as well. Though some guys are (as Boogaard seemed to be), not everyone is a victim of the system.

There’s just no way it should be possible for one person to acquire this many drugs from this many sources:

From the New York Times excellent feature on Boogaard, and his Dad’s work:

Derek Boogaard received more than 100 prescriptions for thousands of pills from more than a dozen team doctors for the Minnesota Wild and the Rangers.

Continuing:

* In a six-month stretch from October 2008 to April 2009, while playing 51 games, Boogaard received at least 25 prescriptions for the painkillers hydrocodone or oxycodone, a total of 622 pills, from 10 doctors — eight team doctors of the Wild, an oral surgeon in Minneapolis and a doctor for another N.H.L. team.
* In the fall of 2010, an official for the Rangers, Boogaard’s new team, was notified of Boogaard’s recurring abuse of narcotic pain pills. Nonetheless, a Rangers team dentist soon wrote the first of five prescriptions for hydrocodone for Boogaard after he sustained an injury.
* Another Rangers doctor, although aware that Boogaard also had been addicted to sleeping pills in the past, wrote nearly 10 prescriptions for Ambien during Boogaard’s lone season with the team.

What blows me away more than anything about those numbers is the ”10 doctors in six months” part. I’ve played on teams with a team doctor. I’ve seen 2-3 in certain training rooms. I know there are some specialists you deal with over the course of a career. But 10 and these people don’t communicate at all about what’s being prescribed to their patient, a guy who’s supposed to be a pro athlete, a finely tuned machine? It’s an absolute sin. (None of that addresses the blatant disregard for a guy with a problem, but I’m not looking at Boogaard’s situation as a stand-alone event here.)

Shady doctors aren’t everywhere in pro hockey, but they exist. I’ve heard of guys texting their team doctor, who would in turn call in a prescription and have pills ready to go for them at CVS in an hour. “What do you need, sleeping pills, pain pills, muscle relaxers….would you like fries with that?” As in all lines of work, some folks are just ethically questionable, and they always will be – being smart enough to become a doctor has little bearing on that. That fact is precisely why there needs to be some sort of official system in place so those people don’t go messing everything up for the rest of us.
For one, necessary prescribed pills could be doled out to players out on a daily basis at the rink. The doctors write the scripts, fill them, bring them to your dressing room, and say “Here’s your three for the day.” For another, if you’re going to have 1000 doctors, each player should have medical files on hand that doctors need to update every time they prescribe anything so they could see “Hey look, Dr. Percy prescribed him 30 pills yesterday, he doesn’t need any more.”

I realize these ideas aren’t flawless (as I said, guys may get them regardless, but let’s at least make it more difficult), but they’re ideas. We need to get moving in the right direction.

Boogaard’s story is terrible and sad, but if it could be the catalyst for some positive change that exposes less players to ridiculous amounts of pills that they don’t need, then at least it could have been for something. Though that may be small consolation for the Boogaard family, maybe it could save another family from feeling the same pain.

If we do nothing, the problem isn’t going to go away on it’s own, it’s only going to get worse. R.I.P., Boogeyman.

What Makes A Nightmare Sports Parent -- And What Makes A Great One

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 8:20 pm

Written by: Steve Henson

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Hundreds of college athletes were asked to think back: "What is your worst memory from playing youth and high school sports?"

Their overwhelming response: "The ride home from games with my parents."
The informal survey lasted three decades, initiated by two former longtime coaches who over time became staunch advocates for the player, for the adolescent, for the child. Bruce E. Brown and Rob Miller of Proactive Coaching LLC are devoted to helping adults avoid becoming a nightmare sports parent, speaking at colleges, high schools and youth leagues to more than a million athletes, coaches and parents in the last 12 years.

Those same college athletes were asked what their parents said that made them feel great, that amplified their joy during and after a ballgame.

Their overwhelming response: "I love to watch you play."

There it is, from the mouths of babes who grew up to become college and professional athletes. Whether your child is just beginning T-ball or is a travel-team soccer all-star or survived the cuts for the high school varsity, parents take heed.

To Read the rest of this article, Click Here!

John Wooden on true success

With profound simplicity, Coach John Wooden redefines success and urges us all to pursue the best in ourselves. In this inspiring talk he shares the advice he gave his players at UCLA, quotes poetry and remembers his father's wisdom. 

John Wooden, affectionately known as Coach, led UCLA to record wins that are still unmatched in the world of basketball. Throughout his long life, he shared the values and life lessons he passed to his players, emphasizing success that’s about much more than winning.

Watch the video Here!

Inspiring elementary schooler with cerebral palsy runs amazing 400-meter race

Watch the Video Here! A must see!

The young man who refuses to be beaten by his own limitations in the video above is Matt W. (last name unknown), who attends Worthington (Ohio) Colonial Hills Elementary School. Like most elementary schools in America, Colonial Hills has a once-a-year track and field day, and like most kids, Matt was clearly eager to take part.

However, unlike most of his peers, Matt suffers from spastic cerebral palsy, a debilitating condition that limits his ability to undergo rigorous physical exercise of any kind. Incredibly, despite knowing those limitations, Matt decided to run the 400-meter event (roughly quarter of a mile) on the school's 200-meter track.

The result was absolutely inspiring. While all the other students in the event finished far in front of Matt, the student athlete simply refused to stop running, chugging his way around the track on his own, even as it appeared he might collapse.

Naturally, the inspirational Colonial Hills student needed plenty of encouragement, and he first got that from the school's gym teacher, John Blaine, who trotted up alongside his pupil and walked and then ran alongside him for the remainder of the race.


Then, after all the other fifth- and sixth-graders in the race had finished, they joined in, running over to follow Matt around the track and chanting, "Let's go Matt, let's go!" until he finished, spun around, hugged his gym teacher and then accepted a series of high fives from fellow students, all while his mother watched on, sobbing with emotion from the kindness shown to her son.

It's an inspiring video that shows the power of positive thinking and what children can do with a little encouragement. No matter what Matt's athletic future holds, he, his family and his classmates will always have his gritty, inspiring and joyous 400-meter jaunt during an elementary school field day to look back upon and smile.

Food Labels Decoded

More Info at Coach.ca!

Understanding nutrition information on packaged food labels can help athletes choose the best foods to meet their nutritional needs. Knowing how to make sense of the “Nutrition Facts” in particular, helps you compare products easily and select the optimal diet for your unique training regiments and sport of choice.

Knowing how to read the nutrition information on food labels will enable you to:

• Compare products more easily, and identify high quality, high energy foods that will fuel your workouts and keep you healthy
• Find the nutritional value of foods
• Better manage your sport diet
• Increase or decrease your intake of a particular nutrient of interest

Follow these 6 easy steps to read the Nutrition Facts label

1. Start with the Serving Size. At the top of the label, you will see the serving size. Serving sizes differ even on similar types of foods. More important, the Serving Size on the label may not equal the serving size you normally eat. If you eat twice the serving listed on the label, you will need to double all the numbers in the nutritional facts section. Keep this in mind when you are looking at the label, as it may not be a healthy alternative if you are going to eat more than the suggested serving.
    
2.  Percent Daily Value. Use the % daily value to see if a food has a little (less than 5%) or a lot (more than 15%) of a nutrient in the serving size. The “% Daily Values” for fat, carbohydrates and protein are based on a 2,000-calorie reference diet. However, this may be less than athletes require on a daily basis, so athletes should consider their individual nutritional needs for calories and nutrients when choosing foods.
    
3. Review the Calories. This section on the label tells you the total number of calories in each serving of the food. For example, one serving of Campbell’s® Chunky® Vegetable Beef soup provides 140 calories. Carbohydrates, protein, and fat are three nutrients that provide our bodies with energy.
    
4. Add up the “Total Fat”. Fat is an important nutrient for health and plays an essential role in the body, but it is important to remember that it is also very calorically dense. There are many different kinds of fats found in foods. The Total Fat value found on the Nutrition Facts includes monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (from plant sources, such as canola oil) as well as saturated and trans fats (from animal or vegetable sources). The type and amount of fat you eat are important. Some types of fat like saturated and trans fats, may increase your risk of developing heart disease and should be limited. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats should count for most of the total fat in your diet.
    
5. Look at the Sodium Content. Sodium is a mineral naturally found in many foods and can also be added by using table salt. Canadian adults need about 1500 mg of sodium per day and should not consume more than 2300 mg/day (or about 1 tsp). However, most Canadians are getting more than is recommended. Some athletes who typically lose large amounts of sweat and are at risk of hyponatremia should be aware of their individual needs. These athletes may need to consume sodium-rich foods before, during, and after their sustained activities.
    
6. Check out the Carbohydrates. Carbohydrates include fibre, starch and sugar. Except for fibre, they provide energy to fuel your muscles and your brain during activity. Fibre, a non-digestible carbohydrate, is found in many foods and is important for daily and long-term health. Your diet should include carbohydrates as the foundation for each meal and when possible choose whole grains more often.
    
7. Look at the Vitamins and Minerals. This section of the label helps you choose nutrient dense foods. The Nutrition Facts table is required to include information on calories and 13 ‘core’ nutrients including Vitamins A and C and minerals calcium and iron. There may be other vitamins and minerals nutrients in foods that may not be highlighted on the Nutritional Facts table.

Note: There are also Nutrition Claims that appear on some food labels, for example, ‘low sodium’, ‘low fat’, ‘source of fibre’, etc. For more information about these claims check out http://bit.ly/IaHRD2

Finally, don’t forget to look at the ingredient list on the label. 

The list of ingredients is mandatory. All of the ingredients for a food are listed in descending order by weight. The list of ingredients is also a source of information for people who want to avoid certain ingredients like allergens or verify the presence of an ingredient in a food.

NCAA - Scholorship Experiences

"I was given great advice when I went on a BU visit. I was told, 'You'll know what school's for you when you get there.' I picked Maine because it felt like home. It really did. - Jimmy Howard (Detroit Red Wings)

 

"It gives you an opportunity to develop," he said. "A lot of times even good players get lost in those big-name programs, because they have so many kids on scholarships and only so many can play. If you're serious about playing this game for a living, a smaller school gives you the chance to develop your skills. Scouts aren't always right on a player, especially at a young age." Kevin Bieksa Vancouver Canucks

Dumba primed for Draft Combine

 
I coached Matt both at the U16 Challenge Cup and Team Pacific. He is a natural leader. As the picture above states, wearing the "C" for your country is not small feat! Matt has 'Pro' written all over him. He reminds me of a Scott Stevens type of player. Good luck Matt!!

It’s one of the last events Mathew Dumba will experience in his draft year, and it could be one of the most exhausting.
Before Dumba will hear his name called on the first day of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, he’ll be poked, prodded and pinched by 30 potential suitors at the Draft Combine next week.

Though it goes without saying the Calgary, AB. product hasn’t experienced anything like what he’ll face from May 28th to June 2nd, that doesn’t mean the Red Deer Rebels defenseman hasn’t done his homework on what to expect.

“I talked to Pets (Alex Petrovic) about it,” Dumba said. “He’s a strong guy and trains hard so he gave me the low-down about it and said I’d be fine with my training and everything I do.”

But bench presses, vertical jumps, long jumps, bench presses, VO2 Max (aerobic) and Wingate (anaerobic) tests are just one component to the process. While teams are pushing prospects to their physical limit, the combine – now in its 19^th year – will leave this year’s draft class mentally exhausted as well.

Want the skinny on the 2012 NHL Entry Draft Class? Order FC’s 2012 Draft Guide – Available now!

Teams will be given the opportunity to sit down with the 17 and 18-year-olds comprising the draft class, giving them the chance to evaluate the personality of what could become the latest additions to their prospect pools.

That process, which can have players scheduled for upwards of 15 face-to-face consultations in a day, can leave a player weary. The nature of some of the questions posed by NHL clubs will keep Dumba sharp, though.

“(Petrovic) has told me some weird ones,” he said. “A couple teams threw some curveballs at him. I’m not too worried about it.”

Canada’s captain from both the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial and 2012 World Under-18 Championship is ready to tackle anything thrown at him.

For instance, would Dumba rather have a long, prosperous career as a sixth defender or instead prefer to be an elite blueliner for a quarter of that time?

“I think you ought to be the sixth defenseman,” Dumba said. “I think 10, 12 years in the show, that’s the dream – to play and have a long career in the NHL. A lot of guys, sixth defensemen, you can make a living making that first pass and staying at home, or be the guy on the power play. Guys make careers out of that. I think I’d have to take that.”

Dumba can expect even more difficult questions in what will be an exhausting experience – both mentally and physically – as he enters the final stages as a draft eligible prospect.

Come Back Story - Road to London: Brittany Rogers

Positive Mind Set, Facing Adversity, Believing, Over Coming - Great Story!

Sarah Robinson, CTVOlympics.ca Staff

Miracles in sports have become so clichéd, the word usually attracts more eye-rolls than believers.

But Canadian gymnast Brittany Rogers doesn’t shy away from the term when describing her improbable return to gymnastics.

Rogers broke her inner ankle bone at the 2010 Pacific Rim Championships in Australia on a faulty double pike dismount from the balance beam.

The 18-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C. thought her gymnastics career was over.

“Not being able to do gymnastics is something I can’t explain, it was like losing someone I love,” said Rogers. “But it was a good lesson I learned. When it was taken away from me, I realized how much I really love the sport.”

Rogers saw two different surgeons, who both advised a cast on her ankle to allow it to heal over a two-month period.

But the bone did not heal.

Rogers sought a third opinion from Dr. Dory Boyer, an orthopedic surgeon based in New Westminster, B.C., who was also the medical services manager for the Vancouver Organizing Committee during the 2010 Winter Games.

Dr. Boyer got Rogers into surgery and put a pin in her ankle bone to keep it together. He also removed bone chips that had been floating around her ankle and preventing her from moving it.

That Christmas, eight months after sustaining the injury that had threatened to end her career, Rogers started to walk again.

“It was my Christmas miracle,” she said. “[My ankle] was sore and a little weak, but I could deal with that, because I knew I was on my way back to gymnastics.”

Rogers credits Dr. Boyer for her recovery, who she says has become a good friend. The two still keep regular appointments to monitor her ankle, but Rogers says she also visits Dr. Boyer for mental support.

“He’s the only one who knows what it’s really like, because he’s actually been inside my ankle,” said Rogers. “I honestly wouldn’t be here without him and his surgery.”

Rogers returned to competition at the 2011 Canadian Gymnastics Championships in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous,” said Rogers. “I felt like I was a novice again.”

She ended up placing fourth in the all-around competition.

“I didn’t have any expectations for myself,” she added. “It was nice to just go out there and do it for myself and come back from such a big injury.”

Rogers has come a long way since making her big comeback. She helped the Canadian team to an Olympic berth at the Test Event in January, and now has her sights set on making the women’s artistic gymnastics Olympic team.

She has reached the podium in almost every event in which she has competed this year; most notably with three apparatus gold medals: two for uneven bars, one on floor. She is currently ranked eighth in the world on vault by gymnastics’ international governing body, FIG.

Most recently, Rogers added to an impressive season by taking home a silver medal on vault and finishing sixth all-around at the 2012 Canadian Gymnastics Championships in Regina last week.

The results of the competition make up 40 per cent of the Olympic selection committee’s decision when selecting members of the national team. The remaining 60 per cent is based on the Olympic selection camp in Gatineau, Que. at the end of June, with results from other meets throughout the year also taken into account.

“Even if I don’t make the team, I did help qualify the team for the Olympics. Whatever happens, I’m just happy that I’ve contributed this much, this far,” said Rogers. “I’m in love with gymnastics, and it’s kind of hard to explain love, whether it’s in relationships or sports.

“It’s been such a struggle, I think it’s kind of made me who I am today. I wouldn’t trade that for the world.”

Anyways!

Fantastic Read!!

The Paradoxical Commandments were written in 1968 by Kent Keith and are contained in a book called AnyWay
 
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

I truly believe this is what keeps me teaching/coaching. Be true to yourself and always do the right thing. Keep your integrity!

What You Should Know About Asthma

According to WebMD, nearly 6.5 million children suffer from asthma.  The incidents of the disorder, which is characterized by difficulty breathing, shortness of breath and wheezing, has nearly doubled since 1980 in individuals under the age of 18.  While scientists race to discover the reasons for the sharp increase, many child athletes suffer with the condition.  The following article offers tips for helping child athletes live and play with asthma.
 

1. Be aware of asthma
Coaches of any sport requiring substantial lung capacity should be aware of asthma as a potential problem for their athletes. In addition to watching our known asthmatic athletes closely, we need to stay alert for undiagnosed asthma. In particular, look for well-conditioned athletes who occasionally appear slower, mentally sluggish, or out of wind. They might actually be having an asthmatic episode without being aware of it. Suggest a doctor visit for these athletes.

2. Get educated – and be prepared
Asthma can be managed effectively with a team approach. Poll your athletes and/or parents to determine whether any of your athletes have asthma. Then work with the athlete and parent to create an asthma management plan. This plan should cover what medicines the athlete should take if under duress and when help should be called. In addition, coaches should be aware of conditions that can trigger asthma attacks so that steps can be taken to help the athlete avoid problems.

3. Be supportive
It is vitally important for coaches to support their asthmatic athletes. Many athletes will try to cover up their asthma for fear of losing their position or being viewed as a ‘health liability.’

If the Jackie Joyner Kersey’s of the world hide their asthma, what about the average athlete who wants to make a good impression? He or she is likely to hide or ignore symptoms to avoid looking weak or out of shape. An athlete hiding asthma can end up with a serious attack leading to hospitalization or even death. This is always tragic because it is so unnecessary.

It is imperative that coaches work with their athletes to help them manage their asthma. When we become partners with our asthmatic athletes, we not only keep them safe, we help them perform to the best of their ability. There are countless highly successful athletes playing at all levels of sport today. Most of them are achieving their best with the help of a caring and supportive coach.

Editors Note: A special thanks to Elevating Athletes for this article.

It’s a Small World

The world of hockey is a small one given that, in Squirt through Midget, you play in age groups consisting of two birth years. You are always either a first-year or second-year—kind of like always being either a freshman or a senior in high school. But you only have to endure one freshman year in high school. And you only get to be a senior in high school once (one hopes). In hockey, however, you go through this cycle four or five times. And people remember from year to year, and team to team, how you handle it. 
 
Second-year players, and even second-year parents, can be cocky. They’re sure they’re going to make the team they want, and they’re not sure those first-year players belong. Or, they’re not happy with the team they did make and don’t want to play with those lowly first years. 

Last year, at Squirt tryouts, the first-year players and parents (who had never been through tryouts) were shocked at this dynamic. The second-year players seemed to have no idea that the first-year players could make their team now—and every-other year into the future. As parents of both age groups stood by the glass, commenting on players, they, too, seemed to have no idea that the people surrounding them would be coming and going from their lives over the better part of the next decade.

The reality is, if your child continues to play hockey, you will be spending a lot of time with players and parents either one year older or one year younger. Eventually, most families look forward to rejoining certain players, coaches and parents from year to year, and the two-year age groups become one of the best things about hockey. 

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Kelly Anton, executive editor of Grow the Game, for this story.

Are Elite Athletes Ready to Fail?

What if failure and winning go hand in hand similar to peanut butter and chocolate? At first glance it appears to be an odd match. So many highly talented athletes needed to experience failure in order to become great. Whether it is in sports, business or life, failure is necessary for the really BIG goals.

Failure has a purpose:

• Deepens commitment
• Offers invaluable lessons
• Leads to course corrections
• Builds resiliency
• Learns how to cope with adversity

No one likes a sore loser. The ability for athletes to fail gracefully is admirable. It lights your fire to deeply commit to excellence.

Lance Arnstrong was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer in the prime of his career. To discover his testicular cancer had spread to his lungs and brains was shocking. This would have been the end for many of us. Then he had to battle cancer not once but twice.

Because of his experience Armstrong quickly reset his priorities. Mindset. Armstrong was forced to release old beliefs which would free him up for greater achievements. His health failure led to innovation. Suddenly his world, as he knew it, didn’t exist anymore. The old beliefs transitioned into stepping stones for a new higher level of commitment. His entire approach to cycling, racing and life transformed.

Lance Armstrong states, ”I can now say that my life is better because of my cancer experience.

Though I wouldn’t wish it for anyone, I believe I appreciate my life in a completely new and better way because I faced cancer and was lucky enough to survive.”

Athletes and coaches have it all wrong. You don’t want to view failure as the end result. A stopping point. Viewing it from a black and white perspective of good or bad is limiting.

When coaches, parents and teams judge success solely from their wins, they are missing the bigger picture. This narrow view boxes you in. When the focus is only about winning you are robbed from taking risks.

Why take risks? Because it influences change. Experimentation, along with risk-taking, lead to innovation. Combining what you know along with the unknown expands your belief of what is possible. Successful athletes refuse to settle for mediocrity. It is the excitement of pushing the envelope, exploring the limits of your capabilities, which redefine you.
Risk taking, being innovative, frees up your energy.

• Embrace change
• Act despite fear
• Trust in others, and in yourself.
• Honesty about limiting beliefs
• Shedding excuses

Take a new perspective. Become innovative. Just like a scientist search for the solution to your biggest challenge. The field. The court. The rink is your laboratory. Be receptive to testing new approaches during practice. Next develop the right combination of mindset, skill set and action to build toward breakthrough performance. How would that change things for you?

Even at NASA, after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, their researchers adopted a new mindset. They are now excited about failure. Playing it safe led to mistakes which slowed down progress. The new protocol encourages failure. While testing experimental spacecraft they actually cheer when a multi million dollar test rocket explodes. It is seen as being innovative.

Pushing the envelope to set new world records requires risk. Risk requires innovation. So I challenge you to crush your old meaning of failure. It will set you apart from the rest of the competition. Why wait for someone else to set the standard when you can claim it first?

Take a bold stance to discover your ideal approach. Be creative. Make it fun. Access your intuition and listen to your gut. Liberate yourself from the standard, the usual and customary to become a high performing athlete.

Become an innovative athlete; it’s okay to be scared. Although many athletes don’t recognize it they are highly creative. Conforming to the rules just goes against the nature of creative personalities. What is exciting is experiencing ongoing transformation, the game of innovation. When you can wrap your head around this mindset, you will blow the competition away.

Challenge: Make the decision to be innovative. What would that look like in your sport? How would that free up your creative energy to try something new? List all the fearful thoughts preventing you from taking risks, possibly failing. How does it feel to do something if you’re unsure of the outcome? Close your eyes and see yourself taking action despite the fear. How was that? Now close your eyes again and see yourself taking that same action with no fear. How was that different? My challenge for you is seeing yourself taking action with no fear over and over again in your mind’s eye until you believe it is possible.

Would you like to push the envelope and be more creative but the thought of being judged by your teammates, your coach or your friends is stopping you? Deep down you know there have been opportunities for you which you would have liked to take but didn’t because you avoid conflict. So when you see other athletes, who are not as talented as you, gaining momentum you wonder why that is occurring.

The Expert Sports Performance System is an easy step-by-step process helping you to focus your energy on high performance, building your confidence to give you a winning edge. Winners act with speed. If you are reading this and it feels true for you, then get in touch with Loren for a FREE Discovery Session at info@expertsportsperformance.com  

To watch the video click the link: http://expertsportsperformance.com/are-elite-athletes-ready-to-fail/#ixzz1viwQUM2w

Parentectomy

Recently I was fortunate enough to spend some time at the College Hockey Coaches convention in Naples, Florida. It was great to spend some time away from a rink with coaches and get an insight into some of their thinking.

While talking with one of the very well known coaches from a major division one school about a possible recruit for their program, I heard him describe the player in a very unique way.   He said to me, "yes we really like him a lot as a player but we are going to pass.....he needs a major Parentectomy....." It took me a very short time to realize that they were not going to offer him a scholarship because of the actions of his parents.....
It got me thinking quite a bit about the recruiting and scouting process of young players and how many different factors can affect the situation. I thought I would share this with everyone.

One of the most important factors that schools and junior programs do consider is what is the players' family like? Specifically what are the parents like?

I discussed it with our staff we decided to come up with five simple points of advice for parents. Specifically parents who have young players that are getting to that 14-15 year old age when the recruitment and scouting process starts to pick up and the game seems to change from just a game to a business opportunity for some. 
This is only our opinion and advice we are offering. We are parents too and have made many mistakes just like everyone else so take from it what you will. We have seen many players get recruited successfully and there are some common traits. Hopefully it helps prevent any more Parentectomies....

If you want more input please feel free to contact us anytime.

The five suggestions for Parents are:

1. Take a step back.
Be suggestive and be supportive but allow your young athlete to research things and make their own decisions concerning where to play and which route to travel. Trust their instincts. You've done an amazing job getting them to this point. Let it go a bit now, step back and watch the results of your good parenting. Enjoy the product of all the countless hours you spent driving all over the country drinking bad coffee and sitting in cold arenas spending time with your child. Let them begin to make their own decisions. It will then be their responsibility to make it work and usually they do.

2. The coach/gm is always right.
Always, always, always, always......Even when you don't agree with them and know they are wrong. I know how hard this can be for some parents to hear or agree with but trust me. A coach who has had his feathers ruffled by a parent can do more harm to a player in a thirty second conversation with a scout than any bad game or tournament can do. Scouts and recruiters are going to talk to these people and listen to what the coach has to say over anyone else 98% of the time.  They rarely will ever listen to what a parent has to say so stay away from them. The best thing you can ever do at this point is keep a great relationship with the coach.

3. Remember, there are more important things in life than hockey.
I know this is where we might lose some people, but it is very important. We try to encourage parents to remember, this is about what your student athlete is going to be like at age 19 and 20 not at 14. Their journey is not complete. It hss only just begun......help them become well rounded. Encourage other interests and challenges. Take good breaks from the game that will keep them hungry to play. Young players can burn and fizzle out from too much pressing and pushing. Also be aware that no matter how good they are, and I mean even if they are hall of fame caliber players, they will not be playing when they are forty years old. 

4. Encourage them to work as hard away from the rink as they do at it.
Too much time, money and resources are wasted on showcases, tryouts and many things that rarely pay off. Invest in a good marketing plan for the player. Build a resume and bio that stand out from the rest. Make sure you have the right schooling and class requirements.  Get powerful letters of reference from people that are not involved in hockey as well. Tell them to think of it like they are a lawyer. Tell them to build their case. They are going to trial and better be prepared. Remember these numbers. There are roughly 28,000 high school senior age boys registered to play hockey with USA Hockey. There are 59 Division I teams and 77 Division III teams. Each of those bring on average 6 new players a season to their rosters and about half of those are from the US… that means only 408 of the 28,000 registered players will get their chance to play in college. That represents roughly 1.5% of registered players. I'd say it's pretty competitive.

5. Enjoy the Process.
It should not be stressful. It goes very fast.....These are the last few seasons you will spend at the rink with your child. Be positive. It will be one of the last lessons you pass on to them. Positive, fun people get recruited way more!!!!! Think about it, who would you rather spend four years with......?