Tag Archive: coachability
February 14, 2022 7:06 pm
Published by Russ Sinkewich
We’re down to the wire! Whether your team is in position to take home a championship or you’re seeing the season end in sight – There’s no better time than this moment to finish the season off the right way!
Prioritize what matters most right now:
- Your contributions to your team
- Focus on your controllables and give nothing short of your best every time you have an opportunity to contribute.
- Your mindset
- Shift at a time mentality. Every rep, every shift, every practice, every game – you’re ascending to the best version of yourself!
- Your perspective
- Take a step back [metaphorically] and don’t lose sight how much fun you’re having. The laughs with teammates, pressure situations in games, depleted feeling you get when you know you gave it your 100% – These experiences are a gift, cherish them!
Block out the noise:
- Upcoming Tryouts
- They don’t matter right now. Fun fact; the better you perform today will provide more for you tomorrow!
- Spring Sports
- They’re not going anywhere.
- Lingering frustrations
- Lows and challenges are what make the successes that much sweeter. Some of the most successful athletes will tell you – “you’ve got to have short memory.” It takes a lot more energy out of your battery to hold on to something versus letting it go and moving forward!
Leave everything you have on the ice – skate with no regrets down these final few weeks!!!
October 15, 2021 2:27 pm
Published by Russ Sinkewich
The start of a new season provides athletes and their families a great opportunity to make it a year to remember! Here’s a few tips for parents to make sure they stay their athlete’s #1 Fan!
- Emphasize Learning
- Do all that you can to learn with them; reading books about hockey, watching educational videos on YouTube, watching NHL games with your athlete. If you put the effort in, your athlete will too! Remember and embrace the educational process of the sport!
- Patience + Perspective
- Be there with them, and be patient with them! Highs and lows are a necessary prerequisite for success – in anything! It’s how we grow. Remember the bigger picture. Team sports is an accelerator of a child’s life skills that help shape who they become tomorrow! Hockey is game, and we as parents can go above and beyond to make it fun and a positive life changing experience.
- Be active – Be present
- Research has proven time and time again that parents who are actively involved with their young athlete’s team and career will lead to a better relationship with their child, improved performance for their child, and overall personal fulfillment. Help score keep, organize a team dinner/party, bring some extra team spirit for the families to rally behind the team at games.
- Be a parent and not a coach
- Remember your child gets an earful every time they walk into a rink. They don’t always need an earful in the car or at the dinner table too. Sure, give them the extra kick in the butt when they need it, but more times than not, they need a break and they need your love, positivity and wonderful parental support!
Take these tips into this season and it will be the best hockey season yet!
May 10, 2019 10:18 pm
Published by Russ Sinkewich
After nearly 30 years of being involved in the sport in every capacity I’m a firm believer that reflecting in a few key areas has brought some of the greatest rewards!
Living in the moment
Ride the highs and never let the lows bring you down! Celebrate the positive, filter the negative, and grow from the mistakes. Treat every opportunity like its game 7!
Embracing the process
The “process” is an ever-evolving journey of your development as an athlete setting out to accomplish goals. Your journey is always changing as goals, passions, and expectations should shift. If you ever think you’ve arrived, you’re in the wrong place.
Perspective & Gratitude
Your perspective is what truly makes everything so fulfilling. Be honest with yourself and fully understand where you’ve come, and where you want to go! Gratitude is a special experience never lose sight of how fortunate we are for our abilities, resources, and accomplishments.
We can’t wait for huge off-season of growth and gains!
April 21, 2019 1:20 pm
Published by Russ Sinkewich
Just because you’re not on the ice as much as you would be in season doesn’t mean you can’t be putting in the work in other parts of your game! For all of our athletes not yet in a gym consistently or working with performance training specialists here’s some simple key factors to work into your home training regimen!
- SPEED
- Agility foot speed ladder
- Sprinting – focus on short bursts
- Agility cone drills – focused on aggressive, cutting patterns.
- Jump rope
- POWER
- Body weight pushups, squats
- Any type of jumping exercises
- Squat jumps, tuck jumps, single leg jumps, lateral jumping
- Single leg balance exercises
- Hill or Stair running
- Band resistance exercises.
- CONDITIONING
- Jogging for distance or time
- Rollerblading
- Burpees
- Join Mom at a spinning class!
- CORE STRENGTH
- Countless number of ab and core exercises.
Don’t worry about getting too hung up about “hockey specific” workouts. Focus on improving athleticism, with some added attention on speed and power. The main mission is to build a foundation, so when you’re throwing around weights in the years to come your body is prepared to make some serious gains!
Looking for some extra professional guidance? Let us know! We’ve got some awesome industry contacts!
April 11, 2019 12:34 am
Published by Russ Sinkewich
Often times you’ll hear the word “grit” get thrown around. It can vary in meaning based on the circumstances. But, what does it really mean? I like to think of it as:
GRIT
Made up of hustle, passion, and perseverance.
Grit encompasses a player’s ability to “find a way”. Grit can be physical, just as much as it can be mental. Some will say grit is a character trait ~ you either have it or you don’t… Sure, that can be true for some. However, I would also argue that grit is a skill, and like all skills, it can be learned, and improved upon over time. Regardless of how you choose to view someone’s grit, it’s essential. Not only in hockey, but in life!
Always be on the hustle. Never lose the passion. Persevere no matter what!
March 25, 2019 1:49 am
Published by Russ Sinkewich
There’s no better time than the present to sit down and write down your off-season goals. As we move into the spring, what a perfect time to constructively criticize your game and create plan of attack on how you’re going to improve and take your game to the next level! Visualize your goals into existence. Start with a few simple, short terms goals that will build your confidence and generate some momentum. Then target your larger, long-term objectives which are months on the horizon!
Remember, a goal without a plan is just a wish!
January 31, 2019 3:49 am
Published by Russ Sinkewich
One of the greatest tip’s I wish I could go back and tell my younger self: Enjoy the ride! Hard to believe we’re rounding out the final month of the season. Rest assured the upcoming tryouts, (all that go into those; good and bad) and future opportunities are on their way… But, before you punch the gas to the finish line, take a moment to let the gratitude of this year’s experiences soak in! All the hard work your athlete and their teammates have put in! Some of the great families you’ve shared memories with this year! The highs, the lows and everything in between…
Speaking from the heart on my experience, the ride was 10x greater than any destination I ever arrived at! Here’s to a great final month of the season! Make it count!!!
December 3, 2018 3:46 pm
Published by Russ Sinkewich
One of the many incredible “life skills” hockey teaches us, is leadership. As we know there’s many types of leadership; from the vocal captain encouraging teammates, to the silent, more reserved player just consistently going about their business in order to help team success. Leaders do not have to be Captains, or the most talented player on the team. Anyone and everyone has the opportunity to take steps to becoming a leader! Leadership ultimately comes from a few simple acts:
- Action
- Whether you’re up on the bench shouting words of encouragement, or you’re quietly putting in the work. Leadership always starts with the DOING!
- Accountability
- The absolute BEST leaders are the most accountable players on the team. You’ve got to put in the work and be a role model with your actions.
Remember leadership never ends! Take the same desire to lead from the ice and locker room and apply it everywhere; the classroom, your nutrition and off-ice preparation habits, even among other social groups or amongst siblings!
November 13, 2018 4:49 pm
Published by Russ Sinkewich
Feeling frustrated is inevitable. Throughout your hockey journey the root itself may change from season to season, however, dealing with frustrations and setbacks is one of the unique, challenging keys to team success. As hard as this concept is to fully appreciate, remember frustration means you care – which is a great thing!
With frustration always comes action! Embrace the frustration, then from that motivated state of mind, think of one immediate step you can take in a positive direction. Working harder, communicating clearer, acting more selfless, etc. We all make the choice to either let challenging times bring us down – OR – reveal what our true character holds!
We can’t wait to watch you take your challenging times and make them in to positive turning points for your future!!!
June 1, 2018 1:55 pm
Published by Russ Sinkewich
Your approach to the off-season is everything 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:
- Develop your game plan
- 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 to be established.
- Set your goals
- What specifically are you going to improve? How are you going to accomplish it? Small more easily attainable goals lead to larger more lofty accomplishments!
- Commit to the “process”
- Once you’ve built your game plan and set your goals, 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!
We can’t wait to support you in a rewarding off-season of work and accomplishments!!!