---

 

Play YOUR Way!
Justin Johnson, Performance Coach

This summer I was fortunate to be named the goaltending coach at the University of Minnesota. As I travel to campus and enter the rink it reminds me of the time I spent there as a student-athlete and the growth I experienced not only in the classroom, and in life, but also in the way I played the game. Many may think that the progression from youth hockey to high school on to juniors and then college would be a smooth process for the type of individuals that find themselves at programs like the U.  Unfortunately, little is heard about the majority of athletes that must quickly and productively use their strengths to morph themselves into the role set for them in order to play their way to the next level.

For most of my youth and high school days I split or was given the majority of games. As I entered juniors the pressure to play consistently at a high level increased, forcing me to quickly adjust or fall behind. But perhaps nowhere was this more exemplified than in college. Part of the allure of playing for the Gophers was that I was to receive great coaching from the head coach and staff, which included a goalie coach. For three years I worked relentlessly to adapt my game not only to the level of play, but also into the style of play asked of me by the coach. Without a doubt, I grew in my fundamentals and my skills because of his help, but what I found was an interesting shift in my mindset.

No longer was it important to simply stop the puck in the way that came natural and through instinct. Instead, it had to be done so in the "correct" way. I found myself thinking about which foot I should be stopping on, how my body should be angled and how tall I should be in my stance while the puck was in my zone! It took me until the summer before my senior year to come to a startling realization...I haven't been playing my way, and if my career was going to finish this year it was going to be on my terms, played my way.

What happened the following year was fantastic!  Although my stats were basically identical, my confidence, patience, and feeling of personal satisfaction skyrocketed. I was playing my game and leveraging my strengths and not only was it working, but it felt great. I look back on my entire career now with great memories and life lessons, as I should. But there is a special lesson and feeling of peace knowing I finished playing my way.
I know many of you struggle to find what the coach or others expect of you, how you should play and what role you should fulfill.  I encourage you to listen to their comments and take them to heart., but don't make the mistake of letting their expectations dictate your career or playing style. Learn your strengths, find your limits, and then use them to your advantage every opportunity you get. What you will find is perhaps the most rewarding athletic season of your career.

Play your way,

Justin

 

Deal or No Deal
Brady Greco, Performance Coach

A rink manager from northern Minnesota went into work one day and discovered someone had been skating on his ice that morning.  This confused the manager, since he had locked all the doors before leaving the night before. He found no sign that anyone had broken in.  Being a rink manager, he obviously took to heart the way he kept his ice. He had rituals and specific ways he cared for the ice ranging from the way he zambonied it to the way he edged it.  

After he examined the ice closely and discovered how chewed up it was, he determined there were at least two culprits.  The rink manager was enraged - he had no idea who the perpetrators were or how they had gotten into the arena.  He wanted to catch the offenders red-handed, so he began sleeping in his office, until one early morning when he was awaken by the flicker of arena lights.  He looked at his watch. It read 3:34am.  Before making any sudden attempts to capture the intruders, he wanted to see who they were and why they chose to skate on his ice at such an odd time.  

To his surprise, he saw four kids exit the locker room. Each of them sported big, white-toothed grins as the stepped onto the ice.  He immediately noticed how the kids were flying around the ice, moving gracefully without a care in the world - skating, stick handling, and shooting as if it were game seven of the Stanley Cup finals.  The rink manager couldn't bring himself to interrupt what he described as 'pure love and joy for the game.'  He knew that if he called the police the boys would get into trouble and that was not what he wanted.  Instead, the rink manager came out of his office and called the boys over in a playful fashion.

The kids were startled at first and hesitated in making their way over to the rink manager.  After the boys 'mustered up the guts' to go over and speak with him, they were shocked by what they heard.  The rink manager first expressed how angry he was when he found that someone had been skating on his ice.  Then, to their surprise, he told the boys that he had never seen anyone skate with such sheer passion before.  The boys all nodded their heads and responded by telling the rink manager how sorry they were but also reinforced how much they loved the game of hockey.  

Because the rink manager didn't want to punish the boys, he felt he would teach them a lesson.  He told them that every time they came back and skated at this hour - with the same intensity - he would each pay them five dollars.  The boys' eyes lit up.  "DEAL!" they said, as the rink manager slipped them twenty dollars.

The next week the boys showed up at the same time and skated with the same passion.  They exited the ice after they were finished and the rink manager gave them another twenty dollars.  The following week after the boys finished skating the rink manager met them again, but this time he only gave them ten dollars to split.  The kids looked confused, and even upset, that they had only received ten bucks.  

The next week the boys showed up again at the same time but the rink manager noticed they weren't skating like they usually did. They even got off the ice early.  When the time came for the boys to collect their money, the rink manager only gave them five dollars for their effort.  This time the boys were actually irritated and told the rink manager to keep his five dollars. As the kids stormed off, the rink manager knew his lesson would work.

The following week when the rink manager went to meet the boys at the arena, they were nowhere to be found.  It took the boys three weeks until they found themselves back at the arena skating with the same passion and the same intensity they once had.  When the rink manager met the kids after their skate he was so impressed yet again that he handed them a twenty-dollar bill.  All the boys refused the money and told the rink manager how sorry they were for treating him so poorly when he tried to give them five dollars.  They even thanked the rink manager for allowing them the opportunity to play the game they love at his arena.  

Had the rink manager just kept giving them twenty dollars, they may not have learned this valuable lesson. He purposely showed them that their motivation should be their passion and love for the game - to skate on that ice and score goals - as opposed to the chore of making money for their efforts.  

A friend once told me that if his son is still playing hockey at the age of 60 and loving it, he has done his job as a parent.  Unfortunately, I have witnessed too many parents who pay their kids for making goals and assists in games.  When this occurs, there is a high risk of harming the kids' full potential.  The mental shift from playing for the love of the game to playing for money or awards can play a significant role in the long-term development of the athlete.


Play for the Love of the Game,

Brady

Thomas Vanek