How To Make A Great 1st Impression This Hockey Season
So you spent the past several months training and doing exactly what you should have to get off to a great start this season. Congratulations, you are now in the top group of hockey players who are spending the time in the garage, basement, backyard or wherever it is that you stick handle and shoot pucks. So what now? How do you show all of that talent and make a great first impression to your coach and teammates?
The best way is to share that talent with others. Now that you are dangling through opposing players and able to pick a corner and snipe a shot that blows the water bottle off the top of the net, it's time to do what all great players do, which is to make their teammates better.
When you are heading up ice and make a great move to get around a player, look to move the puck to a teammate. Pass with precision, tape to tape, and then turn on the jets to look for the give-and-go pass back to you. Great players know when to give up the puck and how to get open and get it back to score the goal. If you spent the past several months mastering the art of stick handling, there's no need to try and do so around every player on the other team. Nobody like a selfish player or a puck hog, but everybody likes and appreciates a player who can make a move, create some space and then give a great pass to a teammate.
The same can be said about shooting the puck, and when to pass it when you have a scoring opportunity. Wayne Gretzky scored 894 regular season goals which ranks him #1 on the all-time list, nearly 100 goals ahead of #2 Gordie Howe. As impressive as the goals were, Gretzky amassed an incredible 1,963 assists which is far and away #1 on the list. In fact the next closest player, Ron Francis, had 714 assists less than Gretzky.
Good players score goals, great players make great plays. Use your skills this season to create space and make great passes and the goals and assists will come.
And so too will the appreciation from your teammates.
Remember, always work hard and dream bigger than everyone else!
The best way is to share that talent with others. Now that you are dangling through opposing players and able to pick a corner and snipe a shot that blows the water bottle off the top of the net, it's time to do what all great players do, which is to make their teammates better.
When you are heading up ice and make a great move to get around a player, look to move the puck to a teammate. Pass with precision, tape to tape, and then turn on the jets to look for the give-and-go pass back to you. Great players know when to give up the puck and how to get open and get it back to score the goal. If you spent the past several months mastering the art of stick handling, there's no need to try and do so around every player on the other team. Nobody like a selfish player or a puck hog, but everybody likes and appreciates a player who can make a move, create some space and then give a great pass to a teammate.
The same can be said about shooting the puck, and when to pass it when you have a scoring opportunity. Wayne Gretzky scored 894 regular season goals which ranks him #1 on the all-time list, nearly 100 goals ahead of #2 Gordie Howe. As impressive as the goals were, Gretzky amassed an incredible 1,963 assists which is far and away #1 on the list. In fact the next closest player, Ron Francis, had 714 assists less than Gretzky.
Good players score goals, great players make great plays. Use your skills this season to create space and make great passes and the goals and assists will come.
And so too will the appreciation from your teammates.
Remember, always work hard and dream bigger than everyone else!
