The Ride to the Rink: How Young Hockey Players Build Winning Habits

SPEAKER_01 1:15

This episode is powered by NHL Sense Arena. Hello, hockey skaters and goalies around the world, and welcome back to another edition of the ride to the rink. It's Lee and Mike here today. And gang, what we want to talk to you about is the importance of setting standards. You might have heard this word. Let's define it. Standards are the guidelines you adhere to throughout your day, throughout your season, throughout your life. Let's just say non-negotiables. A great standard is I will be to the rink an hour before the game. That is a standard. I will prepare my body before the game by eating healthy. I will get the right amount of recovery and sleep. I will get my schoolwork done before practice because I know I'm not going to do it after practice. It can be other things too. Like I will be the hardest worker on the ice every time I step on the ice. I will be the best teammate I can possibly be every time I'm with my team. Will you be perfect with these standards? Absolutely not. Standards are built through trial and failure and learning and growing. Can standards change? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, you've got to have some standards. And I don't care if you're six or sixteen or sixty listening to this episode. Standards are a path to massive success in your life on the ice. I said it in our big open episode this week. We have not had a pro athlete on, whether they are Stanley Cup champion, Walter Cup champion, Olympian, gold medalist, silver medalist, anything that did not have the highest standards. You do not have to wait to set standards. I'm going to bring in my really good friend and mentor, Mike Benelli, here and talk about some standards. Mike, why don't we talk about, again, some standards we set in our teams and how the kids, those of you listening, can set them for yourself.

unknown 3:05

Right.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

So I think one of the number one things you can do as a young player is kind of write down what you think the standards are and what you want to abide by, and then try to try to put them together with what the coach wants. So if the coach has this, these expectations, you know, dress code for games, uh, meals, you know, healthy, healthy meals, um, you know, getting to the rank an hour before, half hour before, whatever it is, whatever those standards are, then you have to kind of write down what your standards are and make sure they're aligning. Because at the end of the day, if your standards are different than uh and in a negative way from what the coaching staff wants, you're you're it's just it's not gonna work. So you have to find a way to find the medium and and balance. And by no means, if your coach is not establishing really, really high standards, doesn't mean that you shouldn't aspire to have really, really high standards. So if your coach says, I don't care when you show up, just show up, be there. Well, then it's your obligation to say, well, what's my standard? Like, where do I want to go with this? And I'm gonna, I my standard is gonna be I'm gonna get there, I'm gonna warm up, I'm gonna be dressed, I'm gonna be sitting in my pads, helmet on, mouth guard in, everything strapped up 10 minutes before practice, whether the standard's there or not. And I think once you start establishing those things, you're gonna find you're you're gonna get to teams that have higher standards.

SPEAKER_01 4:23

Yeah, look, another piece of advice, kids, is this uh if this is something you want to do, if you listen to this show, right? This is probably something you're gonna want to do. Uh, you don't have to go crazy with standards right away. You don't have to set 55 standards for yourself today and be like, okay, I'm gonna get there early. I'm gonna study game film. Because you're what you're doing is setting yourself up for failure. All right, like you nobody can just jump in and do all of them at once. Just start with one. Just start with one standard, whatever you want it to be. It could be again, eating, being there at a certain time. You know, I'm gonna a big one is putting down your screen at a certain time before a game. There's a lot of research that shows you should not be on screens before you get on the ice, it does not help you. All right. So find something, talk with your parents about what are some standards we can set. Your parents will know standards they wish you had. All right. And they will tell you, all right. I'm gonna say it again. One of my favorite ones with my my kids at home, uh, that I love, I'm kind of bragging about kids, but I don't ever have to really fight my kids to get out of bed to go to hockey, right? That tells me as their parent that they enjoy it, especially the really early morning games where nobody wants to get up, right? They they figured out that that, okay, if I love this, I'm gonna get up and I'm gonna get ready to go. And then the other standards is they pack the night before, the bag's already in the car, right? They they have their breakfast prepared. It might just be like a granola bar or protein shake. Um, and they're usually sleeping in what they're gonna wear out the door. But that's a standard, they set the standard, right? So find something, anything that you want. And again, ones we love on the ice is just being a great teammate or working as hard as I can, right? I'm gonna say this again: working as hard as you can looks a little different every day. But you should be able to look in the mirror, look at your coach, and say, Okay, I did my best today, or I didn't do my best today. I'm gonna do that better tomorrow. Set the standard and start with one, and then when you get one down, add another one, add another one, add another one. Also, I said it before. Do you need 50 standards? No, a good four or five will set you on a path to success, right? But you got to find what those are for you. Coaches are great guides and mentors for that, so are your parents. All right. I will also say this too. Sometimes the lack of a standard, Mike just said that, the lack of a standard also shows you the standard that you want to have. If you've got a coach or a friend or anybody that you feel like, man, we're not doing well because we're not doing XYZ, well, you've just discovered a standard. And kids listening, when you get older, this is why it's important to start young, you will have GPA or grade point average standards in school where you have to get certain grades to play. If you have not built up the standards for how to do well in school, by the time that happens, you're gonna struggle. And I've seen it. All right. A standard of are you a night owl? Are you staying up till 3 a.m.? All right. Happens to the best of us when we're teenagers, gang. Don't get me wrong. But what are you doing to help yourself get the recovery time you need? Just some things to think about. Mike, any final thoughts on setting standards?

SPEAKER_00 7:20

No, I think what Lee said earlier is correct. Like, start small, build on your standards, and then you're gonna build your repertoire of who you are. Let's just start with one, then get to two, add some more, whatever it is, and and then when you start finding success, just start adding the little things that are gonna help you be more successful.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Yeah, and kids, just final thought. If you're like, I want to set standards, I don't know where to start, talk to your parents, talk to your coach, even go online and search what are some good standards.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Listen to a bunch of uh ride to the rings.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

Yeah, listen to a bunch of our our shows. That's a good point, Mike. I should be saying that. All right, kids, listen, no matter where you're at on your hockey journey, remember we believe in you. You should too. For Mike, I'm Lee. We'll see you on the next Ride to the Ring. Have fun, everybody.