The “effort” in the headline is actually extra effort and time – and that it happens mostly during the offseason, but also in-season, and then mostly on the outdoor rinks available to most young players. I have three grandchildren, aged 8 through 12, that spend a great deal of time all winter on the outdoor rinks – mostly having fun, which is a great skill developer. It doesn’t take a camp or clinic or adults to get skills. Shinny is a great teacher.

This is the time of year when coaches want to meet with their players to review the season and to give them some advice for the offseason. That advice takes the form of reviewing their strengths and weaknesses – and suggestions as to activities that will get them where they want to go next November – or even in the summer league.

Coaches should be as honest as they can concerning the player’s weaknesses and what they need to do. They shouldn’t have to guess at what it will take to move up or get better at various things. The answer is pretty near the same for the players that have a potential for moving up. Yes, they can make a higher team, but it is strictly up to them. It depends fully on what they do in the offseason.

For some players, the advice might be concerning being able to move up to one of the first two lines. In youth coaches’ cases, the situation is very similar. Players are often trying to move up to the next level, or to A or AA, or to a better line. Sometimes, first and second line players are returning. The advice has to be for improvement. 

In the end, however, it is critical that players understand the relationship between effort and expectations. Many, but not all, youngsters feel that they should be able to progress up without the offseason (and in-season) special work that is necessary to play at the A or AA level or the varsity level. There are many distractions available today that make it harder for a player to set times to shoot pucks, do a stickhandling routine or work out.

Hockey is also a unique sport in that it is not a foot sport and it uses an implement (stick) to play. That means it takes extra work to gain skating or stick skills compared to any other sport. That means that the four- or five-month season is often not enough time to gain the kinds of skills it takes to be good to very good at the top levels of our sport.

I have told many of my players over the years that if they play three sports, they will not likely make the varsity the following year unless they are exceptional athletes. Three sports in high school just doesn’t allow enough time to properly develop skills. The other things that have to be done should come first. That includes studying, the other sport, social activity, family.

Sometimes it’s the parents who don’t want to understand, so the youngsters have little chance of understanding the effort vs. expectations’ relationship. I used to tell my players that by the time they reach the ninth grade, they need to pick two sports. If one is hockey, then the other sport should best be in the spring. That gives the players the spring off from hockey, but they still have six months (summer/fall) to do skill work for the two sports – if they want to progress up the ladder in both.

Often times it isn’t a matter of youngsters playing too many sports. It may well be that other social items take up their time, or they just don’t want to do skills’ work or work out. I don’t call these youngsters lazy, but rather poorly motivated. Other things are more important. If they are the right other things, then I don’t have a problem. It could be music or mathematics or physics – or that another sport is their favorite. All this is OK as long as the youngsters don’t have expectations that are unrealistic based on their level of commitment and effort.

Let’s take a look at the things that a serious hockey player should be doing offseason. This applies from about Squirt level on up.

• Shooting pucks – It isn’t very hard to create a net or other shooting range in the yard or basement. Players can shoot three times per week (200 pucks) and get 20,000 shots in before next season. That can make the difference between fair shooting skills and good or excellent shooting skills. It is easier if a buddy is involved. A parent can help out, too. I was the goaltender for these shooting sessions for my children, until they were 11 or 12 (then it was too hard on the body), then I shagged pucks. We worked with 20 to 25 pucks.

• Stickhandling – It is pretty easy to set up a couple of stickhandling obstacle courses in the garage or basement. That, along with 15 minutes, three times per week of practicing the little drops and pulls of stickhandling, can do wonders. Again, a buddy or parent is great.

The two key off-ice skill development activities will take about 30-45 minutes, 3-4 times a week. Really not that much.

• Working out – Unless a youngster has a naturally outstanding physique or body type, working out is critical to being a good athlete in any sport. This is especially important at about eighth or ninth grade when puberty sets in. Puberty allows muscles to be grown with exercises. A combination of weights (pulley mostly, but also some free weights) and plyometrics can make a tremendous difference in athletic performance. It is also almost mandatory if a youngster wants to play high school varsity hockey at a good school. Even in high school, the 5-10 and 175- to 180-pound player will be a much better performer than the 145- to 150-pound players. Working out is not just for the boys, by the way.

• Skating skills work/quality play – I believe that players need to find skating skills help in the offseason because skating is the most important skill – and the most deficient in most players. A growth of even two or three inches in the offseason will also make re-education of the brain/feet necessary. School camps that push the players to develop the skills are obviously the best. Quality offseason play is also an important piece of the puzzle. There are many leagues. The most competitive one available would be best.

Coaches can play a key role in this extra effort. Association and high school coaches should develop written materials and workout plans that can be provided to youngsters. Many high schools have summer workout times for their training rooms for all athletes. Lack of facilities should not be an issue.

Again, all of this really revolves around players having realistic expectations based on the effort they put out. Players can choose to not do extra work, but they must be willing to accept the results.

Order John Russo’s new chapterized book, “The Best of 26 Years of John Russo’s Coaches Corner”. It has been described as a “must read” for all youth coaches. Go to Russocoachescorner.com for information and ordering.

John Russo, Ph.D., is founder and now mentor to the Upper Midwest High School Elite League. He was a captain at the University of Wisconsin and recipient of prestigious hockey awards at the state (Peterson award) and national levels (Snooks Kelly). His Coaches Corner columns have appeared in Let’s Play Hockey each year since 1986.