Minnesota Hockey: 4 Ways to Make Morning Practices Easier

Do you have trouble getting your child awake and to hockey games on the weekend? Susan Caminiti, writing for Minnesota Hockey website, provides four ways to make it easier.

Minnesota Hockey: 4 Ways to Make Morning Practices Easier

In the article she quotes me several times from a different article. I think there are some very practical suggestions (and not just mine) that can help you. I know from being a parent of a four and five-year-old that getting them up for school is tough enough. You do not want to have struggles on the weekend, too.

In summary, you can make morning practices easier by: 

Hockey Edge Newsletter: Psychological Recovery from Injury

This post comes from Dr. Dana Voelker sport psychology consultant and professor at Brockport State University.  Dr. Voelker provides a great recap of her own injury experience and what both players and coaches can expect.

My Injury Experience

I have always loved ice hockey and was fortunate enough to have played for the Penn State Lady Icers between 2003 and 2007. During all my years in competitive sport, I never sustained an injury that completely rocked my world. I had come out of years of lifting, running, mountain biking, skiing, competitive figure skating, and ice hockey without any major injuries – lucky me. Unfortunately, that came to an end a year following my last season at Penn State while instructing a college hockey class at Michigan State. What an unlikely scenario.

Avoid Outbursts to Save Your Pride - Something all Players Should Understand (Post 3 of 10)

How many times have you seen it? A player loses the puck or his man. The other team scores and the player at fault skates towards the bench with his head down. He then in frustration slams his stick off the boards making a load, echoing noise that catches the attention of everyone in the rink.

What do you think people watching this player think? Sometimes they think that he needs to grow up or is a hot head. At the same time, those same people would probably say that the player cares greatly about the game, and that they will take that passion over the player that does not show his emotion.

I think we are duped sometimes by the reactions players have - specifically why they do them.

More Meaningful Hockey Trophies for Kids by Brad Jubin of APIVEO

It is tradition for hockey programs to give participation trophies at the end of the season for, well, participating. Unfortunately, what does participating really mean? In this post Brad Jubin, youth sport coach from Atlanta and co-founder of APIVEO, explains the issues with mindlessly handing out trophies.

I would like to begin by saying that I am not in favor of “participation” trophies for youth athletes. The reason is not that we are giving out trophies to every player; instead, it’s the lack of creativity in what we call them and the meaning behind them. After coaching dozens of youth teams, I know that an eight- year-old player who came to practice, worked hard, played in the games and cheered on his/her teammates is not excited to be recognized as a “participant.” As parents and coaches, we have to be able to come up with something more meaningful than “participant.”