Hockey DNA

 



Quick-Shot: Parents, Coaches and Players who seek to improve Hockey Skills can look to the Pros as examples of successful players who are well-rounded, and invested in athletic development beyond singular sport focus.

Long Version: Some say hockey players are born and you can’t teach kids to become great hockey players. Truth is, Hockey players, like individuals who play any sport must develop Life and athletic skills far beyond those developed within the Sport of hockey itself.

To excel in any sport, a foundation of athleticism will almost always be more beneficial than singular sport focus; or genetics alone. This is especially true as the athlete develops and two examples of Hockey Players that demonstrate the importance of Athletic Skill, Effort, Perseverance, and Vector Focus, over naturally gifted genetics, can be found in the NHL and on Team Canada's, Sochi Olympics Roster.

It is well known, "typical" Hockey player genetics often include impressive height and physical size.  NHL Player (Buffalo Sabres), Cory Conacher was in fact born into a "hockey family" as he is distant relative to Hockey Hall of Famers Charlie, Roy and Lionel "Big Train", Conacher - the only three brothers to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

However, his perfect hockey genetics simply don't exist and instead he was born with a birth defect, and developed a serious medical condition (Diabetes), later in life.  Cory didn't grow into what many consider "ordinary" or typical NHL size and is anything but typical or ordinary.  At 5'8", 179lbs Cory Conacher possess' "extraordinary" willpower, inner fight and determination, perhaps because of the early in life fight he needed to possess, for survival.

As result of the blessings he was born into, Cory Conacher developed heart, grit, speed and creative play.   He learned how to do things his own way and he used all of the phyiscal gifts he had available to him; he didn't dwell on what he wasn't born with.  Conacher has been cut from almost every team he played for dating back to 'AAA' Bantam Hockey; was overlooked by the NHL Draft and many of the bigger Division I schools in the United States and has had to fight for every position he held. 

Conacher landed at a small D-I school (Canisius College in Buffalo, NY) where he tore up the league and set many school and league records. He went on to the AHL (Tampa Bay Lightning's Affiliate), where he earned AHL's Rookie of the Year and was awarded the Les Cunningham MVP trophy.  In his NHL Debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Conacher "bagged a goal and a helper", which served as a first signal, that he had arrived.

As I write this entry, Conacher is in the process of being dealt again from the Ottawa Senators of the NHL, where he lit up his Rookie Season with impressive play. With the power, determination and grit of 10-NHL men, Corey Conacher is sure to lift the spirits, and hope of a City and NHL Hockey Club in Buffalo, where he will play with the Sabres.

One thing is for sure: BIG things are in store for Corey Conacher and he is building a allegiance of player respect; fan support; and kids who look up to this 5'8" framed bundle of focus and grit.
 

Physical Size of an individual is determined by the genetic mix in an Individual's DNA. Hockey Numbers guy, James Mirtle concluded the average NHLer to be genetically programmed with a height of approximately 6' 1", and a weight of 204 lbs.

Hockey DNA goes way beyond the stuff an individual is born with and is developed through years of getting up when knocked down; of reaching and grinding; of muscling and hustling.  Hockey players ARE NOT born. Individuals who possess shear determination; grit; focus; the ability to step into their potential while overcoming obstacles, become hockey players at the highest levels.

Take for example another 5'8-er, who has dominated at every level of hockey in Martin St. Louis, who has played key roles on several winning Teams. He has won a Stanley Cup Championship (2004), a Gold Medal from the 2014 Olympics and a World Championship (2004) both with Team Canada; an NCAA Championship (1996) and several personal Awards including NHL MVP and he was chosen to play in 6-NHL All Star Games. In 2012-13 Season at age 39, he was the leading scorer amongst a very talented and younger pool of NHL players, from around the world. 

St. Louis entered the NHL as an UN-DRAFTED player and he has proven that determination, guts, belief in one self and drive always out perform pure statistics and size.

As cliche as it is, this quote is fitting and quite true:

"It is not the size of the dog in the fight, 

its the size of the fight in the dog"

Size is clearly not everything. Well-rounded, Purpose-based; Values-driven; and Focused Individuals do well in life and in Sport. Hockey is no exception!

In a separate Post, I discussed the probability of a player's success to increase, and the likelihood of a player to be dominant in any Sport, especially hockey, to be directly related to that Individual's level of athleticism, and not their pure skill.  Coaches from around the Game have identified gaps in some of the young players entering the NHL, which revolve around poor training habits and singular hockey focus, as opposed to well-roundedness. 

Young players, Parents and Coaches we should all pay attention to the trend in Hockey as observed by Veteran insiders.

Brent Sutter, retired NHL hockey player, Hockey Canada icon, and veteran Coach at all levels has made his position on the matter of athleticism and hockey-training clear:

“You just don’t have as many players today that are as good as athletes as they used to be; too much today, especially in young players, is focused on hockey 12-months/yr

They don’t play soccer, they don’t play baseball or tennis or the other things that people used to do. It is so noticeable on a hockey team that the kids who have played other sports and experienced different things are always the smarter players on your team, and they are able to handle adversity better."

Brent Sutter,  Retired NHLer, Coach and Builder of People

A look at NHL stars Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins, Evander Kane of the Winnipeg Jets and Brendan Gallagher of the Montreal Canadiens will reveal micro examples of players who possess Athleticism and bring this “A-Factor” into the sport of hockey.

All three NHL players share a common interest, passion for and participation in a sport other than hockey. In their Youth, Lucic was a boxer, Kane played soccer and Gallagher was a baseball player. All three consider multi-sport development to be a factor in their hockey success, and not simply possessing perfect Hockey genetics.

Evander Kane of the Winnipeg Jets was an accomplished track athlete in high school and has taken up tennis in recent years. Kane says, “I was fortunate enough to play multiple sports and it’s something I really enjoyed. You look back and those were some of my best memories growing up.”

See Blog Post, "Athleticism & The A-Factor" for more on this topic

A note to Coaches, trainers and players: adding to the bonus of “mixing it up”, is the development of Quick Starts, Acceleration and Agility through various sports, including for example, Track, Lacrosse, Baseball, and Soccer.

Scott Bonner, a GM of the Western Hockey League shared his opinion on the current training drain of hockey players, and promotes a more balanced approach to play and development. Interestingly, he points out the development of the person (not the hockey player) as important. “It’s good for guys to get away from the game,” Bonner told Hockey Now in a recent interview.

Bonner suggests parents put kids in other sports; to meet other people and where they will do work to become a well-rounded person. He adds, a child doesn’t need to play other sports at a high level and by simply playing, hockey doesn’t become mundane.

Pretty big insights from a number of successful hockey people, who have been around the Game for decades.  

Remember Players, Parents and Coaches: A player's Hockey DNA has little to do with genetic size or hockey skill-only, and a great deal to do with an Individual's personality; well-rounded training techniques; athleticism; personality; mental strength and attitude.

See ya at the rink,

Jody Anderson

#Hockey MATTERS

@DoctorJody

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Athleticism & the “A-Factor”

Quick Shot:  Drilling down on the concept of Athleticism, I take a closer look at some of the Game's Pioneers, Builders, and Hockey Greats.

Long Version: George Kingston, a Canadian Hockey icon has been a major contributor to Hockey and to development of Youth, Elite and Pro Hockey Players around the world for almost 50 years.  At age 70 he is still committed to and has learned a great deal by studying training methods used by some of the greatest producers of elite hockey players, in the world.  In advance of the now famous 1972 Summit Series for example, he traveled to Russia to study the Red Army. It was then he began to understand and appreciate the nuances of different and arguably, better athletic training and hockey development methods that threatened what Canada considered to be “its Game”. 

After 50-years of immersing himself in Sport and Hockey at all levels, Kingston favours and promotes a well-rounded approach to development of athletes, as opposed to concentrating on the singular development of specialized hockey skill.  This is an important distinction and lesson-learned, from a person who has been around the game, at the developmental and Elite level, more than anyone on the planet that I am aware of. In all of his research, coaching at every level including University, Junior, Olympic, and Professional, and inside Professional Management he promotes the development of athleticism and not simply the emphasis on development of pure hockey skill.

Wayne Gretzky, arguably one of the best hockey players to play the game of Hockey, was a gifted multi-sport Youth athlete who enjoyed baseball and lacrosse during his off season.  He was not known to be a strong skater; and he wasn’t big, strong or involved in year round hockey training, so one has to wonder how and why he was so impactful and so productive in the physically demanding game of hockey. I have wondered about this since I was the age of 12, when my father supplied me with my first Maclean’s Magazine Article that featured a young Wayne Gretzky, in the late 1970s.  I recall the author of the article described Gretzky as a “scrawny kid from Brantford, Ontario” when he was still playing for the Major Jr. A, Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds.

Through my own participation in competitive sports and onto formal study of Sport at University level, and through the application of Sport Medicine and Performance Science techniques where I have had front row access working with athletes from around the world, I have observed several common themes of Sport, and none bigger than the Athleticism-factor (“A-factor”).  No matter what the Sport, participants at all levels who possess well rounded athleticism dominate and endure over participants who possess only single sport-specific skill.

Athleticism is not difficult to achieve and conversely, it is very easy to rob people of athleticism by over-training and training only at one sport or skill.  Athleticism is the acquired skill of coordination; balance; agility and fluidity of movement.  Athleticism enables athletes to develop fully to support performance at higher levels, in part because they can adapt to situational play and to various circumstances thrown at them.  Single-sport athletes can do very well, but all evidence of the truly great, pure athletes is overwhelming and supports a balanced approach to training.

Michael Jordan, for example was perhaps one of the most productive and gifted basketball players to ever play the Game, and he also possessed a natural gift and talent in baseball.  To this day, he continues to perform at a very high level in the game of golf.  Jordan, like Gretzky is a naturally gifted athlete, who fed his “A-Factor” before he became a specialized single-sport athlete.


Tom Glavine, 2-time Cy Young Award, and World Series MVP was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2014.  Interestingly, Glavine was an incredible dual-athlete, who was first scouted in 1984 by one of the teams Gordie Howe played for, the NHL® Hartford Whalers.  Former NHL scout David McNab, now VP of Anaheim Ducks said Tom Glavine “had John LeClair-like hands”.

Amazingly, Glavine was drafted by the LA Kings, 5-Rounds ahead of future NHL® Hall of Famer (2009), Luc Robitaille and 2-Rounds ahead of NHL superstar and Hall of Famer (2009), Brett Hull. 

Message to Players, Trainers, Coaches and Parents: Sport analysts, writers, scouts and Coaches are quick to agree that Tom Glavin’s success in baseball, is linked very closely to his athleticism, which he fed in multiple sports, throughout his Youth and onto his draft year (age of 18), when he was drafted by both NHL® and MLB Teams.

To modernize this concept of multi-sport play, John Tavares of the NY Islanders who showed off his amazing hands at the 2013 NHL All Star Game and for Team Canada at the Sochi Olympics, has this to say about cross sport development:   “it's lacrosse that helped teach me to spin off checks, take shots and protect the puck under pressure. My stick skills, the way to read the play quickly, comes from lacrosse. The hand-eye coordination is just one of the little things that help you in hockey."  Other players who enjoyed an off-season and balanced approach to play, while honing cross-sport skills in lacrosse, are  Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Toews, Sam Gagne to name a few of the current NHL® Stars.

"It's lacrosse that helped teach me to spin off checks, take shots and protect the puck under pressure. My stick skills, the way to read the play quickly, comes from lacrosse. The hand-eye coordination is just one of the little things that help you in hockey."

                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                       John Tavares

                                                                                      
 

Past stars like Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky all played lacrosse, as did Doug Gilmour, Mike Gartner, Steve Larmer, Dave Andreychuk, Adam Foote, Joe Niewendyk, Paul Coffey, Adam Oates, Brian Bellows, Gary Roberts, Joe Sakic, Brendan Shannahan, and Paul Kariya to name a few who benefited from cross-play and development of natural “A-factor”.

I am having difficulty leaving this section (on the topic of “Athleticism”) without mentioning NHL superstar Pavel Datsyuk, who was voted by all NHL Players in the 2011-2012 NHL Players Poll to be the Smartest Player, Most Difficult to Play Against, Hardest to Take the Puck From, Most Difficult to Stop, Cleanest Player, and Toughest Forward to Play Against.

Being voted as one of the best all round players by one’s peers, and opponents is a strong indicator a player is special.  

A few years ago Rob Veccia, former OHL-er (Soo GreyHounds and Windsor Spitfires) and nephew to a former Red Wings Coach took me to my first game at The Joe Louis Arena, in Detroit.  Enroute to the game, we called an old friend of mine, Ed Burkholder who many may know from his energetic appearances on TSN and for his enduring color-commentating talents.  Ed had formerly worked as a Professional Hockey Scout within the Red Wings system, during their rebuild years so I knew he who have an inside scoop on what to look for in Detroit.  I was looking for a quick Scouting Report on key Red Wings personnel.

I learned that “Detroit was a team of puck possession” and that “play revolved around Pavel Datsyuk, who Ed described as a “master with the puck”.

Overlooked initially by NHL Teams most believe because of his small stature, it is interesting to note Datsyuk had low success early in his hockey career.  It wasn’t until one of the great minds in hockey, Russian Trainer for Moscow Dynamo and The Russian Olympic Team (2006), Vladimir Krikunov recognized Datsyuk’s athletic skills of coordination, agility and what he describes as his ability to “naturally read a game”.

The ability Datsyuk has to read the Game in any Sport, is a Gift he must have developed. To be clear, Krikunov didn't discover Datsyuk on the ice; he discovered one of the most exciting and talented modern day hockey players, on the soccer field.

Note to Players: One of the most gifted current NHL players is Pavel Datsyuk, who developed and was showcasing crazy athletic skill, on the soccer field during a training session, and it was on the field of soccer that the hockey world discovered the great athleticism in Pavel Datsyuk.

Stay tuned for tips on developing Athleticism and your own personal A-Factor

See ya at the rink,

Jody Anderson

#Hockey MATTERS

@DoctorJody

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Building Blocks

Quick Shot: Hockey affords many opportunities for its participants to learn far more than technical skills related to Sport. Early on in an Individual's life, the Game introduces Building Blocks that serve as foundation to bigger Life Lessons that are naturally learned through Play.

Long Version: As I look back to my own experience playing the Game so many around the world love to play and watch, I now see it has given so much to me and to so many of us who are Alumni of Hockey Programs, including Hockey Players, Parents; and Fans.

In my own experience, I believe I now have a better understanding of why hockey is so special, and why it affected me so much. I wonder about other people around the world and if the Game was more than just a Game for them, and how or if it helped to shape their lives, like it did my own.

In my own case, I know I possessed poor natural skating skill early on and was genetically programmed with what is considered a smaller stature, compared to the average hockey player. Thankfully however, I had a poor interpretation of my (self) image and I didn’t realize I was weak out of the gate; and my Coaches and Parents never discouraged me and instead encouraged me to be creative and resourceful.  This proved to be important early on and throughout my Hockey "career" and well beyond, as Life Building Blocks (of Confidence; Belief in myself; Self-Esteem and of being Resourceful)

Hockey taught me early in life, that I "played with heart”, and how to be resourceful and creative. How to work hard and how to work through adversity. (A figure skating Coach helped me get off my ankles and positive-focused Coaches provided everything else I needed to find my groove).  That's what hockey can do for its participants, when the natural process of Sport, and Play are given opportunity to wrap themselves around developing players.

Truth told I didn’t know I was small in size growing up, and I enjoyed outwitting any-sized opponent and getting up, when knocked down. “Never give up” and “believe in myself” became “my” Game, and it is these Building Blocks, I realize now, that have carried me through difficult times in my life, and far away from the rink.

“Never give up” and “believe in myself” became “my” Game

In my own case, I think in part I played the type of Game I played, for my mother who was afflicted with a terminal illness in my Youth. I know I always played hockey with an inner fight/grit and I eventually possessed a small amount of natural skating talent; and watching her die over a period of years was heart breaking and it changed me, as it would change anyone. The adversity she faced through tough times was real and it was huge; in some small way I think I learned how to be stronger in Life and to play Hockey with a bigger inner fight, as a result.  Hockey has far reaching capability!

I guess what I am trying to say is, that when dealing with life’s challenges, even death, we hockey players possess a special kind of “get-back-up” skill that we nurture in, and gain from playing Hockey.

As a young person, with limited resources I found my own inner strength and many great life memories, in the “bag” hockey helped build, which, those who play the Game are fortunate to carry away from the rink. If we play Hockey long enough, and we give enough of ourselves to the Game, Hockey is the type of Sport that will keep giving back, and long after we hang up our competitive skates.

I proclaimed once during a speech at a Hockey function, that "Hockey isn't about Hockey", which was followed by a room full of confused looks.  I do believe, that hockey is so much more than hockey, and as I set out to write a book about The Lessons I learned from Hockey, I started to think about the many things I learned through The Game.  As time passes, (and we age), we all slowly lose our technical skills; our speed and our "hands" and so I realized its none of those things that I really learned from The Game, and instead it was the intangible things that have stuck with me.

I sincerely wonder/wondered if other (hockey) people experienced what I feel about Hockey, which is why I am researching and writing. It is fair to say the Game of Hockey has changed as has the Sport itself, and not entirely for the better.  Enrollment of hockey participants around the world, is down considerably and many Organizers predict further decline.  I began to wonder how this could happen to such a great game and if we (Organizers, Coaches, Parents) have changed the essence of the Game or if Society had changed so much, that The Game was no longer appealing or providing the same Value it provided my (past) generation.

I hope my writing about the many benefits we realize through Play, including examination of the many Building Blocks that hockey can provide, could help (YOU) the Youth better understand why Generations, and so many Hockey players before YOU, loved and played the Game with so much passion.  I hope my writing may also serve as a reminder to parents, Coaches and Organizers that our Youth want us to feed the invisible hand of Hockey, that naturally can help guide and positively mold the lives of its participants.

It is impossible to know what essence of Hockey has been lost over time, and as a Hockey parent now I am committed to exploring my own experience and that of other hockey people, from around the world.  For the young readers, you have already been exposed to ideas at school and in life that help you understand the concepts of right and wrong; and of good and bad. You will already be aware that choices we make in life have consequence. Good choices lead to good consequence and similarly, bad choices lead to bad consequences.

Many historical figures, thinkers and important people who you will study at school, have they themselves learned from Individuals and societies; you will also learn theories, and methods and disciplines around human behaviour. You will learn through school and higher education, which is awesome as it is important to pursue education when it is available to you.

Education, like Hockey is another privilege of developed societies. Like Hockey, School is a place where we learn important Life Building Blocks and it can be a blast if you let it be fun, and approach it like you do Hockey.  The interesting thing I reflect on about Hockey “Building Blocks”, is that many of them are taught without formal lesson and rarely by Professional Teachers and most of the lessons I learned in school and in Sport, happened when I was having fun because I enjoyed what I was doing.

Hockey, for the most part is delivered through Volunteer Organizations run by volunteer Coaches. Having invested 20-years in the classroom as a student, concluding in a doctorate level degree, I have met and sat in many lecture halls and classrooms of some great and some, not so great teachers and professors. Same goes for Hockey Coaches - as they are not all great and they are not all focused on the right things, are they?

Some of the biggest lessons I learned as a player, happened on the edge of a hockey bench; in a Coach’s car on the way back from a Game; or when I took a foolish penalty, and nobody said a thing. I realize now, most of the lessons I learned weren't about Hockey at all, and they were about Life and how to live with Virtues, Principles and Character.

Hockey really is a great teacher

Stepping back into hockey now, as a parent has been a huge eye-opener for me and it wasn’t until now, I realized how much our Coaches give, and how important they are to us and to our development as Individuals. I realize now the high level of Social Intelligence and variety of Life skills our Coaches must possess to be effective.

Effective Coaches have a natural ability, and Gift, to positively influence and light up our Youth. I marvel now at the mastery Coaches of Minor Sports Teams possess, and freely deliver as Volunteers, mostly because they believe in the Youth and love the Sport so much.

I think back at my own Coaches and have come to understand how important they still are to me 30-years later; and how it was their ability to pass on life lessons and to present building blocks of character, through the Game of Hockey that matter most to me now.  I wonder, what is more important in life than possessing high Social Intelligence? I suspect a high Social Intelligence coupled with a good work ethic; respect for others; winning and losing with poise; possessing character and a belief in oneself probably just about does it.

Sounds a lot like a Hockey Player!

Message to Teachers: look for the Students who have learned and earned these Building Blocks

Employers: look for that worker

Parents: look for that child

Players: be that person who brings a higher Game to Life

See ya' at the rink,

Jody Anderson

#Hockey Matters

@DoctorJody

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How we WIN and how we LOSE, matters

Quick Shot: Seasoned athletes know from experience that winning and losing are both possible, and neither is definite nor forever.  In the sport of hockey, the duration of a shift; a game; and of the season itself puts a demand on players to refrain from celebrating prematurely, and to regulate their emotions through the many small victories and losses, throughout a game and over the course of a season.  Hockey breeds patience.  It demands it.  Winning and losing with poise, requires character and control of emotions.

On every shift in every game, in every arena on any given day, hockey players of all ages engage in real life challenges and obstacles.  Since the main objective of every player on every shift, on both teams is to “win the battle” for the puck, the very essence of the Game promotes healthy competition.  The battles naturally occur in the corners; in front of the net; and along the boards.  Opportunities arise every second of every game when players learn through play, how to fight and how to survive; and it begins early in a players’ involvement in the Sport of Hockey.

“Fight” breeds “inner strength”, which as adults, we know is required for survival in the real world; the battleground of hockey, provides its participants regular exposure and real life training.  Graduates of any hockey program anywhere in the world, gain real life skills training and a competitive edge in the classroom, workforce and in business because they all possess “inner strength”.  I propose we gain a sense of right and wrong; of compassion and we are exposed to hardship, adversity and to winning which all feed emotion, psyche and the soul.

Winning and losing are realities of life.  When I work with Olympic, Professional and Junior level athletes we develop mental strategies to manage emotion around success and failure, as both are possible outcome to every situation.  Seasoned athletes know from experience that winning and losing are both possible, and neither is definite nor forever.  In the sport of hockey, the duration of a shift; a game; and of the season itself puts a demand of players to refrain from celebrating prematurely, and to regulate their emotions through the many small victories and losses, throughout a game and over the course of a season.  Hockey breeds patience.  It demands it.

Winning and losing with poise, requires character and control of emotions.  Control of emotions is essential to every aspect of successful living way beyond hockey, and it is early in the Game of Hockey that a young player is taught to accept consequence and reward, regardless of outcome.  We are taught to play with our head held high to avoid hits and to play with pride when we have tried our best.  In amateur Sport, the ultimate goal is always to play to the best of one’s ability; naturally an athlete seeks to come out of any contest as victor on the score clock, and the true hockey athlete finds reward in leaving everything out on the ice. 

Coaches who define and promote an all out effort as “the” Win, help to promote and preserve self esteem in the individuals who they are privileged to guide and mentor.  Individuals, who play in a Sporting system that promotes healthy and sustained work ethic, grow to learn important sport and life skills that they carry with them as building blocks to life success.

How we Win & How we Lose, Matters: In what will go down as one of the more touching moments of the Sochi Olympics, Swiss cross-country skier Dario Cologna won a gold medal and then waited 28 minutes to congratulate last-place finisher Roberto Carcelen of Peru at the finish line. Source: Sochi Olympics

I had the privilege of working with 3-time Paralympic Canadian athlete, Bill Morgan throughout his accomplished career; in one of our meetings he captured the spirit of winning and losing with poise, character and pride, when he provided this mental reflection as we prepared for the Beijing Olympics. He explained to me,

“I WOULD MUCH RATHER LOSE TO A BETTER OPPONENT THAN TO WIN AGAINST AN OPPONENT 

I KNOW I COULD BEAT”

For many, the Christmas Holiday Season is a special time to share with family and to reflect on our Faith; for fans of hockey, it is also the time of year to watch the best-of-the-best amateur players showcase their skills and talents while they spill their hearts at the various World Junior Tournaments.  The Tournaments have proven to be good predictors of NHL® success, and a rich scouting ground for NHL® franchises. The Tournaments provide a format of play that showcase hockey in a pure, all-out, open format on the large International Standard ice pad. 

The rising stars at the Junior Elite level are at a stage in their hockey careers when they are still reaching wide and high; many who watch the Tournaments, enjoy the unencumbered, no-holds-barred style of finesse hockey played by young men barely old enough to shave. Many play a type of Game, the way it was intended to be played; with finesse; in a wide open; gritty; and very fast level. They play for their Country; and they earn global hockey ranking, which ultimately influences their future Individual prospect. 

Many fans around the world agree, the World Juniors Tournament hosts some of the best, pure Hockey and it is where we see Winners and Losers in an unbridled, live format.
 
The Joy of Victory and Agony of Defeat is an element of any high level game or tournament.  As I write this Chapter, the memory of fierce 2014 World Junior battles; great competition and a display of highly talented athletes from around the world are all very fresh. Any who watched, witnessed the poise and character held by the many favored Teams, highly ranked and expected victors only to be defeated by stronger opponents.  At the World Junior level of hockey, any Team can win if they show up to play; and this year, many teams showed up to play.   

While no Country or Team, or player ever shows up to a Game or contest to intentionally lose; it is in the losses of life and in Sport that a true character of a person, and often, the character and substance of a system, are revealed.  At the World Junior level, we witness athletes live on T.V. in front of the World, who experience the thrill of victory and the agony of unexpected defeat, and sometimes simply defeat at the hand of stronger opponents. Losing is never easy or fun.

This year, we will remember the young men who played their hearts out, and displayed a maturity of poise and character that is far beyond their years in age, which I believe is bred and programmed into hockey players, by the Game herself. 

Hockey players at all levels, experience the ups and downs of hockey life, well before they reach their adult age, and as result, they know what turbulence looks like. In short, they have a head start in life by learning how to develop coping mechanisms that are required to manage stress in life, away from the rink.

Good Coaches remind us to keep our chins high no matter what; to never ever give up; and to appreciate the privilege of play.  From day one in Hockey, a child and his or her parents begin to understand the privilege of Play, and the privilege of possessing good Health. We learn also how to push our bodies and our minds. We learn about our own human potential.

In the Sport of Hockey, by design, some children will represent their Communities – whether it is a Community population of 500, or the size of a National Community.  At the “Rep-Travel” level and at the Local or House League level in Hockey, the opportunity for a young person and their family to experience the Joy of participating in something bigger than oneself, and to know they are contributing to that bigger “thing”, is naturally realized and felt by all who play. 

Gaining a sense of belonging and being safe in that place, while having fun and working towards a common goal are all natural net side-effects of hockey, and it is through the experience of playing Hockey that a person can really feel that Joy.

The good and memorable Coaches teach us that there is no sweeter victory in life, than a moment in our lives when we put everything on the line, and leave everything we got inside our bodies, muscles, heart, and guts “out there” on the ice or whatever field of play we may be on.  It is in “the contest” that we find who out we really are, and when challenged, what we can really do. 

Hockey is the perfect sport for so many reasons and above all, hockey challenges us at the physical, cognitive, psychological and emotional levels. In my humble opinion and based on my own positive experience, I believe Hockey helps to prepare us for the realities, rigours and nectar of really living; and for life itself.

The winners in Sport emerge, because they find their inner fight and not necessarily because of just a scoreboard victory. The real winners find personal and Team victory when they form bonds and work together; for a common goal and at their own, personal highest level of ability.

No experienced and mindful Coach will ever ask for more, than for a player to play his or her best and it is often the lack of that challenge, that can lead to widespread apathy and laziness in Society. 

Hockey demands the best of its participants and it demands it equally to all skill levels, talents and ages. 

In hockey, the close quarters in the dressing room, on the bench, Team bus or Coach’s car promotes a physical and emotional connection to people and to our inner self. The flow in and around hockey enables the process of collaboration, of working together to happen seamlessly and often.  This magical process happens without intention, without a formal lesson plan and without an external teacher.  The Game herself teaches us.

The Game herself teaches us

Coaches who recognize winning and losing with poise, and dignity, to be fundamental building blocks of personal character, and a related quality that promotes life success take advantage of key situations throughout a player’s life in Sport to help his or her players understand what this means and how it feels, in real-time. 

Traditional or “old school” Coaches for example would never allow a player to over-celebrate, or to intentionally rub victory in their opponents’ faces, because they themselves embody respect, and want to teach their players about respect for themselves and for their opponents.  Winning is always the expected objective and players develop mutual respect, especially as they progress through higher levels of Sport, win or lose. 

Hockey Coaches, who teach young players to regulate their emotions in both victory and in loss, teach vital life lessons without formal instruction, and about the intangible qualities of poise and character.  These Coaches also look for small victories of each player, throughout the Season, and acknowledge those individual players’ performances and completion of simple tasks; as they know these learning opportunities serve as positive feedback and self-esteem builders for their players. 

Naturally, in hockey as in life, poor personal performance and lack of respect or bad attitudes are frowned upon, and many Coaches and teammates don’t tolerate bad behaviour.  Bad behaviours in hockey are quickly revealed and quite often dealt with by opponents; referees; peer pressure and when necessary, through Reward-Consequence methods employed by Coaches or Organizations.  The system of Hockey is far from perfect and it does somehow naturally reward good behaviour and it reveals bad behaviour, which is a close mirror to life outside hockey.

As a Hockey parent now, and a sitting Hockey Association Board Member, and contributor to the Hockey Canada Program, I wonder if there is anything more important to the healthy development of a child or young adult, than development and promotion of self-esteem.  I propose life lesson and self-esteem building are the cornerstones of raising healthy children, and to creating a healthy, stable society of people who contribute to the positive cycle of life. 

In my return to Minor Hockey, I have seen strong signs that hockey does provide a readily available platform upon which we, as Parents, Community leaders, Teachers, and Coaches can promote strong and healthy Values and Principles while passing along Life Lessons to our young people. I don’t know where a young person can receive this supplemental opportunity, in this degree or measure, so often and in such an accepted and passive way.  My father certainly was right!

If it is not yet clear, I am a fan of Sport, and while I loved playing The Game, my own passion about hockey has little to do with “hockey” (as I thought I knew it).

See ya at the rink,
Jody Anderson

#HockeyMatters
@DoctorJody

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Sacrifice (is far more rewarding than hogging the puck)

Quick Shot: Selfless acts or “sacrifices” are woven into the game of Hockey and they find their way into the lives of its participants. Hockey is a fast, dynamic game that periodically invites players with unique opportunities to excel, perform and to showcase and share their Gifts, on and off the ice.

Long Version: Hockey is a fast, dynamic game that periodically invites players with unique opportunities to excel, perform and to showcase their skills.  Heads up players are regularly rewarded.  More often than not, hockey teaches us that rewards in the form of “goals” come to those who work harder than their opponents, and sometimes harder than their teammates both in Practice (preparation) and during Game situations.

This reward system is a natural and competitive driver that motivates those who aspire to do as well or better than teammates and opponents. The "drive" comes naturally to those who seek to do their best and savour the victory found in effort.

In Hockey, it is rare to see a player rewarded for being selfish (i.e. hogging the puck or taking foolish penalties), and it is even more rare to find a player who can last very long on a Team or in the Game if he/she plays selfishly.  Hockey tends to wash itself of poor-sports and showboats, and it promotes a bigger game of sacrifice and team play.

In hockey, as in life, there are times that we need to take a hit for a teammate to get ahead.  In hockey, as in life we may need to pass off an opportunity (The “Give”) because it is the smart thing to do, only to have it come back to us (The “Go” and the completion of a “give and go”). 

Because hockey is such a long Season (7+ months), hockey players naturally learn about social sacrifices, and similarly we learn how to plan and coordinate school, social and family schedules at an early age. 

Hockey is a game that requires stamina, strength and discipline which requires fuel and players at a young age begin to understand the physical and mental rigours of the sport.  Fuelling the hockey body is a Science, and young players naturally learn to avoid (sacrifice) bad foods because they come with obvious negative consequences.  Thinking and motivated athletes naturally gravitate towards healthy food choices, because they are rewarded for the same.

Hockey is often a Sport that requires travel, which sometimes requires early mornings and late nights.  Young players learn quickly, that rest is essential to performance and hockey output, and unnecessary and "extra" late night indulgences catch up in the form or poor play and loss of competitive edge.  

 

Young people in today’s society have many life advantages and freedoms because of the hard work and sacrifices made by their families, and by the Generations before us all who helped to pave the way for a better and easier life.  It is difficult for anyone born into our Modern world to understand the depth of sacrifice our fore fathers and fore-mothers made for us.

Many have no idea what sacrifice to that degree even looks like.  One result of being born into our modern world is that we have become comfortable and unappreciative; some may say we display a sense of entitlement which is concerning for those who did the sacrificing.

Canadian Speed-skater, Gilmore Junio embodies Sacrifice and thinking about others. Junio gave up his chance to compete in a race, to Teammate, Denny Morrison at the Sochi Olympics. He said this about why he made the Sacrifice:  

“The decision to give Denny [Morrison] my spot was purely about performance. We wanted what was best for the team, what gave us the best chance to win.

"My parents [Gino and Julie] came to Canada from the Philippines looking to give their family a better life. Through my childhood they raised me to be a team player, consider the big picture and not only think of myself, to be humble and not a showoff. Ultimately that’s one of the reasons I made the decision I did."

Entitlement is the result of decay for the appreciation of what we have, and a lopsided sense of what we believe we deserve.  In a small way, Sport, including hockey helps participants including our Youth, appreciate the benefits of hard-work, and of sacrifice; and of the many factors that go into achieving good results.  The Game of Hockey is far bigger than the contests we play in our rinks, and as life goes on, this understanding guides us to gain a sense that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves, and that many people contributed to our joyful success in the Sport that gives us so much. 

See ya at the rink,

Hockey Matters

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T-E-A-M (Together Everyone Achieves More)

T-E-A-M (Together Everyone Achieves More)

Bobby Knight is a Hall of Fame Basketball Coach from Indiana, and lover of Sport.  His description of T-E-A-M, “Together Everyone Achieves More” is a simple way for players and Coaches to understand and own a broad meaning of Teamwork, and of what playing on a Team is all about.  In hockey, perhaps more than any Sport because of the speed at which it is played; and because of its complexity and of the potential for danger, being able to rely on teammates is crucial.

One of the greatest hitters in the history of Professional baseball, said this about "Team":

"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime."  

Babe Ruth

In hockey, perhaps more than any Sport because of the speed at which it is played; and because of its complexity and of the potential for danger, being able to rely on teammates is crucial.  Hockey Players, over the period of a season naturally develop unique bonds and special relationships with each other and with their Coaches.

Teams that perform well over the course of a Season typically possess natural ability to “gel” one with another and find creative ways to utilize the strengths within the depth of the entire Team.  Superstars certainly exist on even the successful Teams, and the truly successful Teams are those that can all rise to the occasion because they naturally lift and leverage the ability of all players, by emphasizing “the whole” (Team) as opposed to highlighting the parts, or individual star players.  Star players can go down or easily get contained, but a whole unit is not likely to go down with injury and a whole Team is infinitely more difficult to defend against.

Cooperation with and working well with others are very simple keys to building successful relationships.

To excel in school, we must learn to work well with others.  In a family, success-oriented parents who place high value in morality, values and principles understand that getting along with people, starts with respect for oneself and of others.  At work, a good Manager or Organization Leader is one who possesses the natural ability to identify then bring out the strengths of his or her employees because he/she knows that a strong Team is made up of individually skilled and uniquely talented individuals who come together to accomplish tasks. Teamwork! Same happens in Hockey.

I believe the ability to identify strengths in others is a skill that is learned through successful group experiences, including those opportunities presented in Sport, and especially Hockey. The Season of hockey is generally long so the ebbs and flows of a season invite individual players to rely on the strength of others around them.  Every hockey player knows that no singular person can carry an entire season, and humility is the net result of that gained knowledge and experience.

 

As a parent, our daily job is to bring the best out in our kids and as a teacher it is to “lift up” and “bring out” the strong qualities of the learner.  Some of my best and most memorable teachers were often also Coaches on the school or local Sport Association Teams.  They were often former athletes, and I learned through research for this book those Teacher-Coaches brought skills they had learned from playing and from Coaching, into their classrooms. 

I believe we learn a great deal from the wisdom our Coaches draw from, and as I reflect upon my life as a hockey player and as a Teammate, I can now understand the built-in lessons I learned many years ago without really knowing it then. One of the biggest lessons I still remember is probably the simplest thing I learned and most definitely the most important, which is: Team Sport teaches us how to work with others to achieve a common goal and objective.  This elemental life lesson was drilled into us as players, not formally and not by doing line drills or any other “hockey drill”; and it was engrained in us as the Game herself taught us through the accomplishment of personal and Team tasks, shift by shift, game by game and season by season.

“Team Sport teaches us how to work with others to achieve a common goal”

From early in the season try-outs and practices; throughout the Regular Season schedules; Tournaments and into the Playoffs – the Hockey Season is long and often up to 7-or more months in duration.  The average player, who plays at a competitive level of hockey, will play for 10 years and sometimes, more.  It is difficult to explain, but Hockey wraps itself around those of us who are privileged enough to play and watch through the length of the season; and who have invested time, energy, blood, sweat and tears into it, year after year.

I think this happens because a unique relationship is formed in the arena of Hockey, like that which is formed within the union of a Team. Some call this “chemistry”, and in fact as in chemistry, bonds are formed between the Game itself, the Teams we play on, the Coaches we play for, and the Teammates we play with.  The formulas for success lie somewhere in finding the right “chemistry” and mix amongst and within all the parts.

If we play long enough, I think we develop a deeper bond of commitment and it is formed within and with ourselves – as we play and compete at our own top level, whatever that level may be and it applies to areas of life inside and away from Hockey.  The Game, the people, the memories and even the early morning practices all contribute to defining moments; and it is in that spirit, for me that the enduring “Team” of Hockey lives on in my own life, and I estimate the lives of millions of hockey people around the world. 

  

The concept of “TEAM” can reach out well beyond the bench; and in truly successful Programs it can permeate out into Communities, where it helps to mold and reshape whole communities.  Team-building activities; planning meetings; Hockey-moms; Team Staff; and Community events all naturally bring people together and contribute to the legacy already planted in Communities around the world, that support Hockey programming.  This seed is Generations deep, and millions strong.

See you at the rink,
Jody Anderson

@DoctorJody
#HockeyMATTERS

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