We know you can play, but do you figure in to the mix?

We know you can play, but do you figure in to the mix?

What is your on and off ice value in a team setting?

Hockey is unique in that you play offense or defense 100% of the time so you basically have two games within one. You have the game with the puck, which is why most people play the game and this game is challenging to teach more because of reaction times than skill. You have the game without the puck and this is less of a challenge to teach but hard to convince a player of the offensive benefits.


What makes you better?


Does your unit generate offense? Does your unit direct more shots on net than the opponent? If so, how many shots are directed @ the net compared to your opponent? What is your shot percentage? Do you spend more time on the attack with your break-out; transition game and sustained fore-checks, than your opponent? Does this translate in to a strong team game? What is your reaction time off pucks shot fm the strong side point, transition? How quick are shots generated on net after a turn over? Anything more than 3 or 4 seconds and you have a lost opportunity.


Do you provide the defense that leads to offense? Defense is not as much fun to play but defense is easy to teach and a necessary ingredient for those who like offense. There is only one puck. This 1 x 3 inch piece of rubber, weighing 6 oz, is the key to all success stories and generally time of possession dictates that success. Once you lose a puck, it is a very good idea to get it back.

What is your reaction time offense to defense; defense to offense? Why make the game so complex?


The mark of a great hockey player simplified is:


One – Your ability to get to open ice the split second after your teammate gains control of the puck. The teammate is thinking about who he can give it to. In fact, the great ones are thinking about who they give a puck to before they actually receive it. Puck carriers have an option of four players when you are @ full strength and the tape on the stick of each teammate must have a clear path to the puck. If your tape does not have a clear path to the puck, you are not a good player. Options are easier to see when there are clear paths. This upgrades the hockey sense skills and vision of your teammate with the puck.


Two – Your ability to pick up your “check” the split second after your team loses a puck. Picking up your check means you are @ minimum bumping your check while your teammate closest to the puck is in full flight to arrive first. If you arrive 1st, it’s only right to arrive with separation in mind. Separation fm the puck is your main objective. Reading and reacting is part of the equation. Anything less than 1 ½ players on the puck is not enough. This means the 2nd closest player to the puck is your teammate who is focused on being on the right side of the puck defensively unless there is a high percentage chance of picking up a loose puck created by separation.


The 3rd closest player is in more of a defensive posture but quick to pick up on an opportunity to gain a loose puck. Once the 3rd man is activated, players one and two simply become players two and three in the system. Players 4 and 5 are in a defensive posture ready to become one and the process continues. Not too hard, eh?


Great offensive teams can always focus on becoming better defensively in tough games and playoffs, and they will as the stakes increase. Great defensive teams have a tough time generating offense once they are behind by one goal or more and have a tendency to play not to lose or keep it close. Since when was any game played not to lose or keep close? There are no moral victories in competition. There is a winner and a loser.


The Stanley Cup playoffs are a reminder of the importance of survival in a playground setting with some guidelines. Recognizing that we were put on this earth to validate and anoint ourselves, this is your opportunity to excel, anoint and validate yourself beyond anything people say, write, report, think or believe. There is no rule that says you cannot be the most important player in any contest.


While stars get paid to be stars, there is nothing in the rules that states you cannot evolve in to being a star, or one of the three stars, in an important contest or series. Play to win and develop winning habits by doing the thing you love to do most; namely putting the puck in the net.


The Stanley Cup resembles a playground setting with a pecking order. The lineups are full of established players whose career achievements and shortcomings are well documented. If you don't like the pecking order, the setting is there to change it. Rules are reduced to guidelines and players get paid to outwork and outperform their opponent with no regard for who they are or what they've accomplished. Players accept the challenge and set out to prove they are better than the next guy.

The Cup mirrors life. Aren't we all paid to outwork and outperform our opponent in life? Pittsburgh’s Cup win was a great win for a group of guys who have no quit in them and appear to be relishing the playground setting where there is no room for the timid or weak minded player. Makes you want to bring back the old playground setting where kids grew up learning how to survive on their own in the toughest situations. More than one picked up their stick, skates, bat, and glove and went home.


Something tells me the PIT players have some playground experience and are interesting in altering the “pecking order”, maintaining and sustaining what they have worked so hard to accomplish.

Developing the attitude, swagger, boldness and competitive instincts of a winner, or gamer, is your goal. Do it enough and it will become a habit that stays with you as long as you live. Most of us reach a point in our lives where talent plateaus, but we can all be more fearless and smart in what we do. There are both team smarts and individual smarts.

When the results are in this playground, like all playgrounds, will define and shape the lives of individuals, teams, organizations, communities, countries and the world. Not one player got mad or embarrassed enough to pick up their stick and skates and go home. They accepted the results, shook hands with those they could find, and are headed in to the next chapter of their lives.

I believe the first order of business is to humbly accept your experience and then immediately begin to guard against tragedy, complacency and sophistication setting in. This mindset and your willingness to train and improve are the only things that determine how well you do the next time you lace up your skates. Burnout is not positive through physical exercise. Burnout stems fm scrutiny and people “boxing” you in. Burnout is a product of boring and unchallenging practices that stress defense, defense and more defenses. I am one who looks @ success and championships as incentive to do better versus a reason for any fatigue setting in.

I humbly thank the man upstairs for rewarding an imperfect person in my life. His power is present in our lives, especially in times of weakness and vulnerability; rewarding those with the will to win and those who recognize success isn’t handed out.

Copyright by Chuck Grillo, Minnesota Hockey Camps24621 So Clark Lake Rd P.O. Box 90 Nisswa, MN 56468-0090Phone 218.96.2444 Fax 218.963.2325 Email chuck@mnhockeycamps.comAll rights reserved.No part of this book, blog OR template may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means without permission in writing from Minnesota Hockey Camps