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November 15, 2021 6:47 pm
Published by Joe Young
We all know that the season can be long and tiring and that it can be easy to lose focus at certain times. But, there are plenty of ways we can keep ourselves focused on our goals whenever we start to lose focus or get tired of the same drills or routines over and over again. Here are a few tips to keep us engaged with our goals throughout the season:
- Bump Up the Competition
- Games don’t have to be the only competition we have all year; take advantage of practice! Challenge your teammates to a friendly bet, and watch how much more fun you have during practice!
- Mix up your routine
- Instead of sitting in the same spot in the locker room, sit next to someone new. Try a different routine instead of doing the same warm-up routine you’ve done for every game. If you want to make practice more fun, ask a coach to go against you during a drill! Doing different things is always entertaining.
- Create In-Season Check-In’s
- Every so often, check in with yourself and your goals! If you feel you are moving towards your goals, try establishing an even loftier goal. If you feel you are getting bored of your goal, try to revise it into something that will keep you interested! Be sure to check in with yourself.
It’s normal to lose interest in a season every once in a while, and that’s okay! As long as we have a plan and make an effort to refocus our minds, then all will be fine.
November 2, 2021 3:50 pm
Published by Joe Young
One of the most difficult aspects of sports is maintaining a positive, healthy attitude when times are tough. It is easy to let a negative thought snowball into a bad attitude and let it impact your game. Here are a few tips to keeping a healthy mindset:
- Practice a Solution-Focused Mindset
- Rather than focusing on what you did wrong, focus on what you could do, and will do right the next opportunity!
- 30 Second Rule
- Allow yourself to be angry/upset for no more than 30 seconds. Once 30 seconds is up, let the thought float away and move on. We love the phrase “short memory”.
- Positive Self Talk
- Talk to yourself in a positive tone. Whatever you would say to a teammate in your situation, say it to yourself!
Mistakes are a huge part of the game. Focus on your controllable SKILLS: Attitude, effort, mindset!
October 1, 2021 10:00 am
Published by Joe Young
Success can be one of the greatest magic tricks in the book. Sometimes nobody ever sees it coming or where it’s coming from, but it keeps on happening. When you see someone succeed their joy and happiness are contagious. What you don’t see in someone’s moment of success is everything that happens behind the scenes.
All successful people in this world have one thing in common: they prepare to succeed. There are multiple ways to help you prepare to succeed. Here are a few tips to help you to prepare to succeed:
- Visualize
- With a clear vision insight, you can stay focused on what you need to take care of while you prepare
- Positive Self Talk
- If you truly believe it, you will naturally do everything in your power to succeed. Remember, success is a mindset!
- Stay focused
- Keeping your eyes on the prize will lock you into what you are preparing for. Ask yourself the question, “how will this prepare me to succeed?” Let that be your guide.
Now, let’s go out there and prepare to succeed!
September 1, 2021 1:00 pm
Published by Joe Young
With the summer officially coming to an end, school starting back up, and a new season on the horizon we are all transitioning into something fresh. Starting something fresh can be exciting, full of possibilities, and provide endless opportunities that could lead to other new things. But starting something fresh can also bring worry, questions, and uncertainty. Here are a few tips to make the best of this fresh start:
- Set Goals
- We have mentioned this before: you can’t measure your progress without setting a goal! By setting a goal we are saying to ourselves, “I can improve upon where I am now,” and you are committing to bettering yourself. Make sure to set smart, measurable, attainable, reasonable, and timely goals!
- Create a routine
- When kicking off a new season, a new school year, or a new sport many things are new or fresh. By creating a routine and sticking with that routine your body and brain will naturally familiarize themselves with the new activity or surroundings in your life. Make sure you have a solid, and consistent routine to put your mind in a good place!
- Try new things and aim to grow
- A new beginning is an opportunity to grow. We as humans best grow when we are uncomfortable. We are often uncomfortable when we are trying new things, or putting ourselves in new situations. Go out there and be uncomfortable. If you try something you don’t like, great, you learned about something new that you don’t like! If you try something you like, great, you’ve found something new! Get out there and try new things. Remember to never stop growing!
Hopefully, we are all adjusting to a new season of life seamlessly. If you ever feel yourself struggling to get back into things, you are not alone! Just make sure you take a step back, think of a goal, establish a routine, and try new things. You’ll be ready to go in no time!
April 15, 2021 6:51 pm
Published by Joe Young
Maintaining motivation to strive towards success can be difficult. After a long, hard season full of work it can be easy to let your mind wander off the path of success. Here are a few tips to help you stay motivated:
- Write down your goals, place the list of goals somewhere you will see them every day. Every time you see your list of goals you will be reminded of what you are working towards that day. Writing your goals on a sticky note and placing them on the bathroom mirror is a great option!
- Write down motivational quotes, place them throughout your house. Similar to seeing your list of goals written down, finding quotes that keep your mind on track is a massive help when it comes to motivation. Again, I would suggest using sticky notes for these as well!
- Reassess your progress frequently. Sometimes if we have a big, overarching goal it can be difficult to lose track of the true progress we are making. If we focus on the little things as we are moving forward, suddenly the big, audacious goals become more attainable. Make sure your checking in on yourself!
There are plenty of ways to stay motivated, these are just some simple tips to make sure we are taking care of business. Remember, always strive towards moving forward!
January 1, 2021 4:52 pm
Published by Joe Young
When looking for a new stick one of the most important features of the stick to be considered is the curve of the blade. The curve of the blade is what helps a player control the puck while stickhandling, and shooting according to their playing style. There are many varieties of curves, but the three most common curve types are the heal curve, toe curve, and the mid-heal curve. Each type of curve helps a player within different aspects of puck handling and shooting. If a player’s curve does not align with their playing style, it can be more difficult for them to handle the puck where they need to and when they need to. Let’s talk through some of the most popular stick curves and understand how they work:
A blade with a heal curve is a blade in which the curve begins near the base of the blade on the heal. With the curve starting at the base of the heal of the blade, the curve will begin to flatten out towards the middle of the blade and be completely flat at the toe. This curve mainly helps out defensive players who need to have more powerful and accurate snapshots and slap shots, as well as control bouncing pucks.
A blade with a toe curve is a blade which the curve is very prominent at the toe of the blade. This type of curve is completely flat at the heal, with the curve beginning towards the middle of the blade, and being very prominent towards the toe of the blade. This curve is mainly for forwards who need to shot the puck quickly, and control the puck in very tight spaces.
A blade with a mid-heal curve is the most general and popular curve type. This curve type is the most balanced of the three main curve types, as the largest depth of the curve is right in the middle of the blade. This type of curve is used by players who tend to stickhandle and pass the puck more. This curve is also great for backhand shots as well!
Now when you go and buy a stick, make sure you check out what kind of curve the blade has and which type of curve is best for YOUR game!
December 1, 2020 4:30 pm
Published by Joe Young
We can all agree that hockey is by far the best sport in the world, there is no doubt about it. While hockey is the best sport in the world, there are plenty of other sports and activities which can help us improve at the best sport in the world! It is important to remember that while hockey is the most fun sport, it is not the only sport, and those other sports can help us be better hockey players!
Here are some other sports (but not the only sports) which can help us improve our general athleticism and refine our on-ice skills:
- Lacrosse
- Some of the best hockey players in the world also grew up playing lacrosse! Lacrosse requires great hand-eye coordination, superior conditioning, and an understanding of body positioning and ball protection. All three skills directly translate to hockey!
- Football
- Football is a great sport to learn all about grit and competition! Football is one of the most physical sports you can play. By playing football athletes learn a great deal about body positioning, taking and giving physical contact, as well as understanding the importance of teamwork. Sounds a lot like hockey, to me!
- Soccer
- Soccer is a fantastic sport to improve one’s athleticism! Constant movement is required in order to be successful. While players on offense are moving around looking for open space, players on defense are focused on closing down those open spaces. Running while dribbling the ball around defenders is also great for balance and coordination, two skills very important in hockey!
- Basketball
- Basketball and hockey are two peas in a pod! Both games are played 5 on 5; both games are very fast and are filled with transitions; both games require players to jockey for body positioning. There’s a reason many coaches use hockey and basketball as interchangeable examples of each other!
Being an athlete is one of the most important skills you can have in hockey. The only way you can be an athlete is if you try other sports while you can when you’re young! Not only will you develop other skills that you will be able to apply to hockey, but the psychological and social aspect of trying other sports is more important than you think!
November 9, 2020 3:24 pm
Published by Joe Young
As we all have said and heard many times over the past six months, these are certainly crazy times we are living in. All of the uncertainty has put many of us in a position where we are unsure when things will be back to normal, and if we get to continue to do our favorite things with our favorite people. One of the most important things we can do for ourselves is to maintain a positive perspective. It is on YOU as a human being to take all of the negativity and in turn, create a positive perspective on things going on around us!
While some of us may not be able to go into school, hang out with our friends, or even not be able to play in hockey games, it is very important that we remember to stay positive and look at the situation from a different, and positive perspective! If you are participating in online school think about all of the time you get to spend at home with your family. If you’re not able to hang out with your friends in your free time, take that time to learn about something you’re interested in or help your family around the house. If you are not able to play games with your regular-season team, think about all the practice time you will have to improve your skills.
As athletes, and as human beings, it is our job to maintain a positive perspective. While it may be easy to look at a situation that doesn’t go your way with a negative attitude, it does you no good to do so. Understand the negatives, but make everything a positive!
March 30, 2017 3:00 am
Published by Russ Sinkewich
An incredibly under-rated part of the year! Your approach to the off-season is key for your athlete’s development. Long-term strides of improvement and achieving your goals are ultimately made during the off-season! Here are a few key points of emphasis to work through as you move into your off-season:
- Establish a break
- No different than intermissions in the game. We need breaks! The worst thing you can do is let one season blend into the next. This is exactly how burnout happens. The mental break alone is HUGE. More times than not you’ll see your athlete return to the game refreshed and hungrier than ever!
- Develop your game plan
- Extremely important!!! Devise a plan of attack in exactly how you’re going to help your athlete make the necessary gains during the off time. Raw skill development & improvement, off-ice performance training, NUTRITION habits, balancing other commitments. Many of these topics should be discussed and a plan needs be established.
- Commit to the “process”
- Once you’ve built your game plan, commit to whatever it takes to achieving your goals! If it was easy, everyone would be playing in the NHL. Stay Determined. Stay Hungry. Stay Humble. Never lose sight of the fun!
“Without a plan, your dreams and goals are just wishes.” Here’s to a rewarding off-season of work and accomplishments!!!
March 13, 2017 7:41 pm
Published by Russ Sinkewich
As you’re navigating through the tryout process naturally you probably start to ask yourself; “What’s the right program for my child?” The perfect program or team is unique to each and every player. Try using some of these points as you work to find your perfect program/team.
Coaching
Is this coach honest? Does he/she make a positive impact on the athletes they work with? From a developmental perspective, what is the skill development and coaching philosophy? What are the coach’s goals and wants? Will this coach believe in my child? Their support and advocacy towards your child is everything!
Environment
What is the culture and environment of this team/program? How has the feedback been from past players, families, and trusted sources? Will my athlete be challenged to improve their play at this level?
Personal Fulfillment?
Will your child enjoy playing for this team? Remember; positive experiences and enjoyment is ultimately what will fuel your athlete to reach their greatest heights!
Best of luck to our entire OHP Family with their upcoming tryouts, showcases, and big decisions!