What a Flat Tire Can Teach You

May 31, 2012 Leave a comment

Driving home from the rink today I wasn’t 100% focused on my driving, instead looking around at campus. My tire nudged the little stone barrier on the side of the road, and the sidewall blew out. While getting a flat tire sucks, it reminded me about two very important things.

1. Execution requires focus. I was not very focused on my drive home. Even though I have done it many times, executing the drive home still takes concentration. I spaced out for a brief second and I blew a tire. It is no different in sports – have a momentary lapse in focus and you instantly increase your chances of failure. You must be completely focused on the task you are trying to accomplish and all the little details that are involved in doing your job successfully.

2. View the world from the inside out, not the outside in. My first thought was “Ugh, this sucks. I’m having an average day, and this would have to happen.” This was a very selfish and outside world thought. I instantly blamed my flat tire on the world conspiring against me, rather than my own lethargy and lack of discipline in my driving. As soon as I had that thought, I knew that I could not let my flat tire dictate the rest of my day. The world is what you make of it, not what it makes you do.

Luckily, getting a flat tire requires that you change it. I had plenty of time to sit and think while changing my tire and it helped me to clear my head and get back on the right track.

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How the Kings Won Game One

May 31, 2012 1 Comment

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Leadership in the Heat of Battle

May 30, 2012 Leave a comment

Gregg Popovich is a great coach and a fantastic leader. He is consistently churning out title contenders in San Antonio – a true testament to his coaching and leadership abilities. TNT caught this clip of him during the game last night. “I Want Some Nasty” – Great Stuff.

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Wednesday Drill of the Week #4

May 30, 2012 Leave a comment

Up this week: a Goalie Drill. This drill I call the Push-Set Drill. It was a favorite of one of the goalies I worked with at Amherst College this year, Jonathan LaRose. It is a drill that forces the goalie to move from one set position to another, simulating a shot and a rebound.

The goalie sets up on one post, pushing out to the center of the ice. The shooter in the middle takes a shot that is low to the ice on the side the goalie just pushed off from (back towards the original post). The goalie makes the save, then recovers (off the ice aka on their feet) to the second shooter near the dot. This shooter goes low to start and then can progress to shots up high. The goalie alternates posts, getting both sides of the ice. As the drill progresses, the goalie can also recover on the ice using a butterfly slide or butterfly push. The drill is shown inside-out but it can also be done outside-in, where the goalie pushes out to the shooter on the dot and recovers to the middle.

This drill is intended to simulate a game situation of one save, followed by a quick rebound opportunity. Goalies must work on their footwork and their lateral speed, as well as their body control and rebound control. It is imperative that the shooters have proper shot placement, forcing the goalie to move and react to the shots.

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The Value of Team Sports (or What I Learned from My Brother Pt 1)

May 30, 2012 Leave a comment

Last weekend, my brother attended Commencement Exercises at the University of New Hampshire. He will graduate from UNH in December with a degree in Athletic Training. During his four years in Durham, he was part of two transformations, one personal and one organizational. Both stories need to be told, as both are perfect case studies. This is part one, discussing how being a part of a team changed my brother’s life.

My brother has always been an intelligent and active person. He has a broad range of interests and abilities that he showcased during his time in grade school. Baseball player, drummer, cyclist, actor, student and friend. While he participated in a number of activities and paid attention in school, he was never truly interested in any one thing over another. That all changed when he arrived on the campus of UNH in the fall of 2008.

Tall and skinny, Brandon has a perfect build for crew. At his freshman orientation, he was approached by the crew coach and asked if he was interested in joining the crew team. With nothing to lose (and no prior experience), he said he’d give it a try, and I believe that it changed his life.

Despite what others may argue, I believe that crew (particularly eights) is the ultimate team sport. Everyone in the boat must be on the same page and operating perfectly in sync with each other for the boat to move. To be successful in rowing it requires coordination in the boat, and a dedication to the sport that few ever see. Practice at 5am? Check. Practice on a semi-frozen river in February? Check. Countless (boring) hours spent pulling on an erg? Check. Oh, and do all this for a race that might last 6 minutes in total (you race for a total of roughly an hour every season).

Once he discovered crew, my brother became a different person. He was dedicated to his craft; working out all summer, every summer. He became organized and an excellent time manager, building homework time into his day out of necessity. Finally, he became an outstanding student, finding a subject that he loved and dedicating himself to it just as he dedicated himself to crew.

Everyone goes through a transformation and a growth process when they attend college. While there is no doubt that my brother would have grown up and matured during his time at New Hampshire, I don’t think that he would be the man he is today without his involvement in crew. Crew has taught him a number of lessons that will help him succeed now and in the future.

These and other growth opportunities are not unique to team sports, however I believe that this is the true power of sports. Competition creates a clear result – success or failure based upon the outcome. To be successful in sports requires many of the same attributes that it requires in life, and these attributes are reinforced through the outcome of sporting events. My brother changed the direction of his life through competition and has become a successful young man with a great future ahead of him.

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The Importance of Timeliness

May 24, 2012 1 Comment

I’m sure most of you have heard the phrase “If you’re not 5 minutes early, you’re late.” When I was younger I often wondered what exactly that meant and why you would have to be five minutes early to be on time.

Being on time boils down to respect. Tardiness is disrespectful. It tells the other person that you value your time more than you value their time. You (consciously or subconsciously) decided that whatever you were doing or had to do was more important than being on time to your appointment. If it wasn’t, you would have stopped what you were doing in order to be on time for your commitment.

Being prompt is a trait that people appreciate and respect, because it shows that you respect them.

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Learning from Others

May 23, 2012 Leave a comment

The offseason is the time when players and coaches alike have the opportunity to learn and grow. Players can improve their strength, their conditioning levels, and increase their skill thresholds on the ice. Coaches can improve their methodology, their philosophies and their leadership abilities. The key to all of this improvement is hard work and a willingness to learn. You never know who, what, or when you may learn something that will make the difference in a long season.

On a personal level, during the offseason I try to consume as much information as possible. I try to read a wide variety of things that may open my eyes to something new. Management books, coaching books, blogs, tweetchats, etc. Any one of these things may present an idea in a new light or address something that may help us win a game next year.

I try to branch outside of hockey. I want to talk to as many non-hockey coaches and read as many non-hockey things as possible. This way I have an opportunity to learn outside of the game. Talking to basketball coaches about how they manage their practices and game days, reading books about football coaches and how they achieved greatness, discussing season planning with a baseball coach, going over organizational theory with a business professor. I believe that all of these activities will help me and my team improve in some manner in the upcoming season. When you look outside of your sport, it becomes less about the sport itself and more about coaching, organization and management theory. It is an opportunity to hear a new voice and a new point of view and it may just present an option that makes the difference in your season.

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Wednesday Drill of the Week #3

May 23, 2012 Leave a comment

Today’s drill is a Defensive Zone simulation drill that we used this year at Amherst College. It actively simulates a backcheck to defensive zone situation and requires players to read, react and communicate.

The drill starts with the five blue X’s in the neutral zone skating and moving the puck with a high tempo. The five red O’s are stationary in the zone on the perimeter. On the whistle, the coach moves the puck into the zone to one of the O’s and the five X’s backcheck to d-zone coverage and then play from there. The positioning off the backcheck is completely dependent upon how your team plays d-zone coverage. Players also do not have to be in their natural positions, but rather learn what every person in coverage does and play that responsibility.

This drill was extremely helpful for us this year in teaching and reinforcing defensive zone responsibilities with all of our players. As players became more comfortable with their positioning, we were then able to focus on the little details that make teams successful in the d-zone (stick position, body position, awareness, angling, etc.).

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Work Ethic

May 22, 2012 Leave a comment

Just read a great blog post over at Reviving Work Ethic that put a definition to the phrase work ethic. I thought I’d share it with you here. I paraphrased the following from this post.

Work ethic is knowing what to do and doing it. (Ethic is knowing what to do, work is the act of doing.)

Seven Core Values of Work Ethic:

  • Positive Attitude
  • Reliability
  • Professionalism
  • Initiative
  • Respect
  • Integrity
  • Gratitude

All credit goes to Eric Chester and his phenomenal website Reviving Work Ethic.

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Accepting Acknowledgement

May 22, 2012 Leave a comment

At the end of a season, a school year, a fiscal year, or any other period of time, there often is an event that recognizes what has happened and awards outstanding performers. These ceremonies are sometimes small (a gathering at someone’s house) or extravagantly large (televised awards shows). No matter the setting, it is important that those receiving recognition are gracious and thankful.

Why do people give awards? To show appreciation and understanding of work that has been done, and to motivate and inspire everyone to do their best. Awards are an important part of how our society recognizes achievement.

When receiving awards, it can be easy to downplay or overstate the accomplishment or achievement you are being recognized for. This often happens when you may have not worked very hard and relied on your natural abilities (downplay) or you worked incredibly hard and you want everyone to know (overstate). Regardless of how you may feel about the acknowledgement, there are many people who have helped you get to where you are and are proud of what you have accomplished.

Thank the people who have helped you along the way, appreciate the hard work that you put in to receive the award, and understand that the only thing harder than doing something once is doing it a second time. 

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