Little things are not little at all! You see off-ice work for a goalie is just as important as on-ice work. This is where you see the fruits of camp. On the ice you may see improvement, but you really see the dedication off the ice. The goalies who attended camp this week where like dry sponges in a bucket of water when it came to off-ice work. They soaked it all in.
For example, by the end of the week they were critiquing themselves before we could say anything in the video sessions. Or, we would say their name and they would comment back, “I see the mistake.” Their bodies were leaning forward in the chair trying to absorb the video. Their intensity was like the footage in the movie “Miracle” when Herb Brooks is showing film about the Russian hockey team. In the beginning they were joking, but then they wanted to learn. It was an incredible transformation over the week.
Dry land training the most popular event at camp?! To be honest, I never pictured dry land being this popular at camp. After two hours of hard on-ice work, the goalies would head outside to jog, run ladder drills, and have hand-eye coordination competitions (The losers would have to do push-ups or sit-ups). Everyday when the goalies got dressed, all they would talk about was dry land. There would be the inevitable questions like “What are we going to do?” or “Are we going to do that drill again.” Or, the parents or the goalies’ siblings would comment about dry land training at home. It got to the point that they would get upset if dry land was cut short for video sessions. They started showing up early and getting dressed quickly just so they could have a full dry land session. The part that stuck out the most to me was the last night of camp when we finished the award ceremony 5 minutes early. Do you think they were running to get their hockey gear and leave? No, they wanted to head outside for 5 more minutes of dry land training. Dedicated goalies – their teams will reap the rewards from their goalies hard work.
I will give you one example of a seemingly little thing from this past week. The first two days of camp there was one goalie who was always the last to get on the ice. His mother asked me about game preparation. I explained the routine my son has and how early we get to the rink. He has had this routine since he was 8 years old and each year he wants to get to the rink earlier and earlier. After that conversation, for the next three days her son was either first or second to the rink. He was dressed and ready to skate ten minutes early. He was extremely focused. He would diligently work with a bungee ball right next to my son perfecting their hand-eye coordination. This young man was awarded “Most Improved” for the week. On the final day of camp, he won the skills competition. His expression – priceless! Upon receiving his award, he commented that he wished camp was a few days longer. I will see this goalie in a couple of weeks when fall AAA hockey starts again and look forward to seeing his progression.
I truly believe you start a hockey team from the goalie and work out. Too many coaches work the opposite way. Hopefully, the coaches see their dedication and hard work. If the goalie is the hardest working person on the team then it should trickle down to all the players. All these little things are not little at all!
“COMMON MEN GO NOWHERE.
YOU HAVE TO BE UNCOMMON.” Again… Herb Brooks
