Archive for category Off the Ice
Travel Tips for Hockey Players
Posted by Editor in Off the Ice on December 2011
Contributed by Sheryl Normandeau, Calgary, AB
WHETHER IT’S IN THE TEAM BUS, in a caravan of vehicles, or on an airplane, travel is a necessary part of the sport of hockey. Keeping young hockey players healthy and ready to play the game they love can be a challenge on the road – no matter if [...]
A Hockey Career, at What Cost?
Posted by Editor in In the Stands, Off the Ice on November 2011
Contributed by Valerie Bean (Pickering, ON)
REVELATIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE IN SPORTS have come to the forefront in the past few years, but the subject hit close to home when I read personal accounts by Sheldon Kennedy (2006), Theo Fleury (2009), and Steve Danton’s story as told by Toronto Sun sports columnist Steve Simmons (2011).
For a [...]
Crossing the Line
Posted by Editor in In the Stands, Off the Ice on October 2011
Contributed by Laura Robinson (Toronto-based journalist)
Thank you to journalist Laura Robinson, author of Crossing the Line: Violence and Sexual Assault in Canada’s National Sport, who permitted Minor.Hockey.Life. to reproduce this article, she wrote for Play the Game, 2002.
In her correspondence with MHL, Laura told us of her reasons for writing about this disturbing, but important topic.
It is out of print now, [...]
Legitimate Excuse for Failure: #3
Posted by Editor in Off the Ice, On the Ice, Personal Essays on March 2011
Excuse # 3 – The scouts never saw me and I was overlooked.
THERE ARE MANY EXAMPLES of NHL players who made it in spite of being overlooked in the NHL and in some cases the Major Junior Draft. Clearly scouting is not an exact science and many athletes are overlooked. But this is not an [...]
Legitimate Excuse for Failure: #2
Posted by Editor in Off the Ice, On the Ice, Personal Essays on March 2011
Legitimate reasons for failure, part ii of iii by former NHL goaltender Steve McKichen.
Legitimate Excuse for Failure: #1
Posted by Editor in Off the Ice, On the Ice, Personal Essays on March 2011
To have the ultimate result of making the NHL you must systematically and with vigor identify all potential issues that could derail your career. Once each area is identified and addressed you are left with only one valid excuse for failure. You weren’t good enough.”
Fear in Competition
Posted by Editor in Off the Ice on October 2010
In order for anything to be successful, under pressure, you have to practice it in situations of low pressure as well as situations of high pressure. This I believe is the process of mental training and the integration of perfect practise makes perfect.
Athletes and Their Potential
Posted by Editor in Off the Ice on October 2010
Anytime you identify yourself with your performance in anything, fear cripples the love of the game and destroys it. These athletes were masters at building all kinds of “off ramps” with each other and were scared to really reach their potential.
My Kid Can’t Get Cut!
Posted by Editor in Off the Ice, On the Ice on May 2010
And then in an instant that dream is shattered. The unthinkable has happened. Their child has been cut.
Creating School-Hockey Balance
Posted by Editor in Off the Ice on March 2010
PARENTS HAVE TO KNOW THEIR CHILD’S LIMIT when it comes to kids playing hockey and how they perform at school.
Team Chemistry: Made in Heaven or Sent from Hell?
Posted by Editor in Off the Ice, On the Ice on November 2009
IN TODAY’S HOCKEY WORLD, two concepts are always being pushed forth as the making of a competitive, potential championship team: Chemistry and Systems.
The Hockey Contract
Posted by Editor in Off the Ice on November 2009
We’re not talking a monetary contract here although many young players have that as an ultimate goal. Rather this contract is usually a written document prepared by the coach for his players to sign at the beginning of the season.