Keys to the Top level Ice Hockey
Predisposition
Everyone, Yes!, EVERYONE, who has got a gift to be healthy, CAN become professional level player. Then the difference between ice hockey stars and other top players is bigness of talent disposal only.
Hard, high quality practice
The way to the TOP is very HARD WORK. Without hard, high quality practice it simply does not work. Even biggest talent won't succeed without very hard work and commitment.
Competition
Competition is a motive power of right development of ice hockey player. It's well known truth, that every player is growing - his performance -in high competitive team. On other hand, even recently great player is getting overall worse in weak (not enough competitive) team.
Learning from the Best
A learning from the best id very effective. It includes everything around ice hockey; certain skills as skating, shooting, positioning, checking, passing and so on, based on condition, nutrition, mental strength, proper preparation, and many others. If you are lucky and you have a chance to visit top level hockey like NHL, AHL, CHL or top European Leagues in Russian, Czech republic, Sweden or Finland, then go for it as much as possible.
To have a great coach
To be member of a team coached by good ice hockey coach is crucial for player's development. Especially in youth age (Mites, Squirts, Pee Wee and Bantams), a coach affects and creates players habits and profile significantly and very deeply. And also pays, that every young player learns very fast and relative easily, BUT not only a good things. Very often young ice hockey player can learn bad habits, which is pretty difficult and painful to put them out lately. Than is significant different between team and individual practice approach. Every player must practice in his own, without ADDITIONAL individual practice it just simply doesn't work. It applies in every field of human activity and in ice hockey at least as well.
Team practice
Team practice is very important and crucial for development of hockey sense and player's behavior - team communalism - in team society. It is very important for player's skills confrontation and competition generally. And - !The team-play is winning element in top level hockey!
Individual practice
Player's commitment and quality of his individual practicing is CRUCIAL for his development and success. To become a master of all ice hockey skills requires correctly provided literally thousands repetitions of particular skill or technique. Also applies, that practicing of individual skills is never-ending process. Player must practice each techniques on daily bases to "FEEL" the confidence, which is the key for top performance.
Goals Settings
Goals Settings is very important part of player's and coach's motivation and determination. There short and long term goals as well as team and personal goals. Obviously team's or player goals are those high motivation elements.
Player's dream
Player's dream is a loving ice hockey itself. Every player, who loves hockey, desires to dreams come truth. Dreams are often related with professional career, achieving particular trophy or membership in favorite dream team. Every player can achieve his dreams by hard work and determination. The dream is not the same as player's goals.
Practice tools and equipment
There is huge number of available ice hockey equipment, gear and practice tools. This web page useful tips and advices based on experiences of best players and coaches. You can find here interesting reviews.
Player and school (education)
High or top level hockey to harmonize together with player's education is very tough and complicated. On the other hand already at high school and later at college valuable players can see first benefits regarding their hard work as award. It means many different kinds of individual study plans and especially scholarships, which help to finance players education.
Player's mentality
Player's mentality, mental strength, is significant part of top level player personality. This factor is often underestimated, but it is necessary to very loudly say - it is major factor of success. Hockey-site.com pays big attention to this field. And also this - we can say - skill is possible develop and practice. Terms like a sport psychology, a ice hockey psychology, a concentration, a stress, a mental strength and a power, a will, determination, are very important elements of success in particular games and player's career.
Player's styles and types
Though every player is original, we can distinguish certain types of players. We can say, that player plays hockey by style like some famous or well known pro hockey player. Proper categorization and evaluation of player makes more effective practicing, coaching and it is very helpful for selecting and building team.
Visualization as skill and practice technique method
We use visualization every day without knowing about that mostly. Since young age, we learn all things by watching somebody doing that - we try to remember that - later to replay in our mind/imagine - and then we try to undertake our self. We have some limited ability to make self reflection, feedback. However it is limited by certain disproportion - swing from how we see our self (imagine) and the reality. The mentioned disproportion we can repair (detent) basically by two ways, which don't disqualify each other, even is most effective to use them both together at once.
The art of coaching
In principle every coach is able, after certain period of time coaching, to create pretty good practice plan as for team practice, as for individual practice purposes. BUT this is not ENOUGH! There are other 'substances', which make a coach to be good and great coach:
Way how to succeed
The key factor 'on road to the top' along with and based on great athleticism and skill level is knowledge of hockey world and his rules. The player must plan his career regarding many tiny details within them is most important to get yourself to good team playing competitive level of hockey in certain age group.
Then you must know 'how to sell', present yourself to be visible for scouts of junior and after that pro teams.
No less important is working in a team. Often in high level team is very competitive environment between players with one another. Sometimes it requires big mental strength to handle hard competition for single team position with even conflict situations. Somebody can say, that is not right sportsmanship, that's truth, but it is daily reality very often.
It means, that an integral part of players profile and personality along with great athleticism and skills is his mental strength and moral quality.