The Ride to The Rink: Hockey Tryout Tips - Preparation, Mindset, and Standing Out the Right Way

 Hello, hockey skaters and goalies around the world, and welcome to another edition of the Ride to the Rink. You may very well be riding to the rink to go towards an evaluation or tryout today. Hopefully, it's a few weeks before, maybe a few weeks after, but we want to talk to you kids specifically today about how to approach an evaluation or a tryout, because we know this can churn up a lot of different emotions, excitement, fear, and You know, being ready to go, being maybe I'm not good enough. There's a lot of different things that can happen this time of year. And Mike and I are here today just to calm you down, let you know how you should be going into these evals and making sure that you're really just giving the absolute best that you have, because that's what you should be doing every day. Right. So, Mike, why don't we just start with this like a little bit of a date? Maybe it's twenty four, forty eight hours before an eval. What are some of the things the kids at home should be doing to make sure that they are just starting to be prepared? Yeah, listen, I think a lot of it is the same way you prepare for another event in your hockey life, right? Making sure your equipment is all set to go. Make sure your helmet is, you know, there's no screws missing on your helmet. Making sure that you're thinking about a little bit ahead of time. Like, oh boy, is this happening during, a lot of evaluations are happening during other sports startup seasons, right? So do you have lacrosse practice or baseball practice or is there something else going on that might, that might interfere with your ability to get ready for this other evaluation so just take a quick you know checklist and look and say okay equipment's good my timing is good my nutrition is good i'm going to be able to get some sleep and i'm going to be prepared for making a positive impact when i walk into this evaluation Yeah, kids, I'm going to give you a little tiny bit of a scare here that I have seen kids show up drastically unprepared for evaluations, meaning they did not eat well. They did not really care about their equipment. And it shows. And I'm not saying that that's a sure thing. You're not going to make the team you want to make or anything like that. But I have seen kids not make the team they want to make because of that. So this is the easiest thing to do. As Mike said, is your gear ready? Are you physically ready? Are you eating and sleeping correctly? Those are the easiest things to do to prepare. If you have a very nonchalant, like, I don't really care attitude, it may show. All right. Now, I'll also reiterate, too, Mike, that these are things you should be doing every time you take the ice. Right. Not just evals. Now, this is kind of a fresh start. Evals are always the fresh start, right? New season, new people, even though it takes place at the end of another season. But maybe make sure you get that checklist going now. Get that part of it. Now, that's the preparation, right? Keeping in mind, too, that there's a mental side of this, right? Kids, I don't want you to have too much anxiety over an eval, over what team you're going to make, because at the end of the day, that anxiety is not going to assist you too much on the ice. There can be a want and a need and a desire to do the best you can. But that's not anxiety. If it's going to push you to do the best you can, loosen you up, that's not a bad thing. I hope you understand what I'm saying, the difference between being motivated and being anxious. But you don't want to go into an eval scared. Again, you're going to want to be feeling something. You want to care. Maybe that is a little bit of anxiety, but you want to care about what you're doing. But mentally, you've got to be able to tell yourself, and this is true, kids, you've been doing this all season. Right. You've been playing all year. Just go out there and do the absolute best you can do mentally. That's the way you got to go into it. I'm not even talking about the on ice stuff yet. Kids, you've got to get up and go to this rink thinking I'm ready to play hockey today because I love playing hockey and I'm going to have a great time out here. All right. And keep telling yourself that there's there's there's a saying fake it till you make it. If you're if you're having a lot of negative feelings, first off, acknowledge those feelings like don't ignore them. Acknowledge that you're having those feelings and then start telling yourself positive things. I'm going to do the best I can. I believe in myself. That's what I'm saying. Your brain may say to you like that doesn't sound right. That's OK. Keep telling yourself the positive messages. This is all before you get to the ring. Right. Remember, you love playing this game and evals no different. You should still love being out there and having fun. It's a little different. It's a little different in terms of the format. But it's hockey at the end of the day. Right, Mike? Yeah, and the coaches that I listen to the most, the coaches that I follow, and the coaches that I really respect and would follow as an athlete and as a coach is just control the controllables. You can control your attitude. You can control your equipment being packed. You can control what you eat. You know, drive into the evaluation. If you're going to, you know, go to Taco Bell and eat a couple of burritos and all of a sudden the second half of the tryout, you're getting off the ice because your stomach's churning. You know, you can control that kind of stuff. Like there's so many things you can make sure you're hydrated. You can make sure that, you know, when you walk in the rink, you're driving that little conversation. You know, you come in, look the coach in the eye. depending on your age, even at eight, nine years old, do your check-in. Go in, hey, I'm so-and-so. I'm checking in. And your mom and dad don't need to do that. Like that's a really great sign for a coach that there's a mature player that wants to be here and is so energized about being. Show a little bit of that personality and show that coach that you can't wait to go on the ice and perform for them. Yeah, kids, look, the best evals I ever had as a kid, and this is including probably in the minors and teams that you can definitely get cut from, I went in confident and loose, but with a little bit of an edge in the sense of, man, I'm really going to work hard today. Not, what if I don't make this team? You can't be thinking that way, right? But I went in confident, loose, ready to play my best hockey with determination, right? Those are, I think, are the right mental states you need to be in. Parents, if you're listening, you play a role in this, too. You know, it's not just about make sure you work harder than the other kids. Don't even focus on the other kids. Just make sure you're focused on you doing the best that you can. Now, another note for you kids when you get on the ice. This is an important one, kids. And we're giving you some big hints here. Do not try and be something you're not on the ice. If you are not a dangler and dangle around seven kids, do not think doing twelve toe drags out there is going to impress the coach. First off, you're probably not going to succeed at them because it's not something that you're great at and it doesn't look right. We can tell that you're trying too hard. Be the best version of you. If you're a great skater, skate. If you're a goal scorer, score, but also make sure that coaches know you can move the puck. If you're a playmaker, show that off. If you have a high hockey IQ, you're a defenseman, show it up. Be great with what you're great at and be a great team player as well. Don't try and be something you're not. I'm going to tell you this right now, that coaches, good coaches, if you make five toe drags at the blue line and get all five, let's say you make all five of them, What I see is that's a liability if you lose the puck at the blue line. Now, when I see a kid that I know can toe drag, I know can make a move, protect the puck and skate by a defenseman at the blue line, to me that's IQ points because I know what you can and cannot do. Be the best version of you. Do not be something you're not. OK, do not try things at evals that you've never tried before. That's not the time to do it. You should be doing that at practice all year, right, to try and get better. But Mike, your thoughts on this, right? You just be the best version of you. Yeah, I think by doing that, you just are going to exude a level of confidence that everyone will see. And I think that just goes along the line, how you act on the bench, how you are in a negative play. The hands go up if you don't get a pass or the body language you're presenting when you're on the ice or on the bench or getting ready to go on the ice. Um, you know, during warmups, there's a specific warmup. Don't, you know, don't go out and do your own thing. And all of a sudden, you know, try to stand out in a, in a way that's like a showboat way or, you know, or, or a way that's going to embarrass another teammate or, or embarrass yourself. Just be, Go in and think about it as a time for you just to say, this is what I'm good at. This is what I love doing. I'm just going to work as hard as I always do. That's why I'm here. And then if you're trying to elevate yourself from a B team to an A team or an A team to a double A team or you're coming into a new organization, again, the more steady player, the more player that does the consistent things at the right time, Those are the players that will get noticed. And then they'll have a little time for a little flash. There'll be time. I'm sure at the end of practice, they'll do, you know, maybe at the end of the tryouts, they'll do a three on three or they'll do a, you know, a breakaway contest. There'll be something where you could add a little bit of your flash in. But on a regular, you know, two day evaluation, just it's not advantageous to try to stand out in a way that you're not capable of standing out. Well, I'm going to add on to that wins the race. Yeah. Sorry, am I going to mean to cut you off that you're absolutely right. And the other side of this kids that I hear a lot is position. I've got to play center. I've got to play left wing. Look, I'm all about you being comfortable. Like I was very comfortable at center. That's where I wanted to be. Kids, I get it. But I'm telling you right now, when I'm watching an eval and I see two kids fighting to play center, that's not what I want to see. You know what I want to see is a kid who goes, I'll play left wing, right wing, center, defense. I will play wherever you want me to be. Don't lock yourself so much into a position that you can't play anywhere else. Again, I want you to be comfortable, and I want you to be in the position that you're comfortable in. Don't get me wrong. But if there's a situation where there's too many centers, go play left wing. Go play right wing. Show the coach you're versatile. Go play D. Find a way to show that. Goalies, you just play in net. That's your job right there. Do your best in net to be a great, great teammate there. Although I have seen goalies do both the tryouts, skate out and stay in the net. Kids, it's just so important that you show up with the right attitude. You show up ready to go. You show up confident. You show up ready to do what you need to do for the team. I'll tell you a quick story in closing, and then, Mike, I'll let you have kind of the last word. You know, skating was always one of my strong suits. And I remember I think it was one of my Bantam years. They were just doing line skates to see how fast you could go or I guess just see how your skating was. And I remember this is my drill, right, Mike? I'm the skater. I'm going to beat everybody. And I'll never forget they said go or the whistle blew. And I don't know if someone – I don't know what happened, but I fell down. I fell down and I got up. This is a skating drill. And I just went as hard as I could, as hard as I absolutely could. And I stopped on the goal line at the end of the drill. I looked up and I was first. Somehow I was skating so hard that I was able to fall down and get ahead of these kids. And I remember the coach telling me, that's the moment I picked you. Because of that. It wasn't a skill drill. It wasn't even the scrimmage. He goes, when I saw that effort, that's when I knew I wanted you on my team. Right. All the stuff I did to prepare for that tryout, all of the studying, all the all the things I did to be a great hockey player. It was my effort on a drill that I made a mistake. That is what put me over the edge to make that team. All right. So, kids, that stuff matters. All right. I could have just given up on that drill and said, I'm not going to win this one. And nothing to do with winning the drill. It had everything to do with I got to go as hard as I can. And I was very thankful that I had the speed at that time in my life, Mike, to make that happen. But it's a true story, kids. And I'll guarantee you, every one of you will make a mistake at a tryout. It is a hundred percent going to happen, right? It's how you respond to it. I think coaches see that, Mike. Any thoughts on that? Well, in that same thought process, I mean, talk to mom and dad and understand, like, post-evaluation, post-trial, get off the ice. Like, think about the way you're taking the news. Think about the way you're taking making it or not making it. Because the hockey world gets smaller and smaller and smaller as you get older and older and older. And the opportunity to run into the same people, the same coaches, the same program will happen. over. So if you don't make a program, you've got to take it in a way that's not going to put you in a really negative light. If you make the program, don't put it in a way where a coach is going to regret selecting you. Think about when you get off that ice, be in a good state of mind, be in a compassionate state of mind for other people around you that maybe weren't as lucky as you for making a team. But also remember, if you don't make the program or you have a bad tryout, you have a bad evaluation, it's one And I hope many, many, many evaluations you're going to have and everything you can do to learn from those little examples in life will ultimately help you in no matter what you end up doing, a pro hockey player or a pro accountant. Yeah. And Mike, I'll say this, too. Just you made me think here, you know, kids, if you if you make the team you want to make, that's fantastic. If you don't, I'm not going to sit here and tell you not to feel bad or be hurt about that. It hurts when you don't make the team you want to. My question to you is, what are you going to do about it? All right. Great. Great example is I've got a kid right now. I'm thinking of right now did not make the team he wanted to make. You know, so made a team below what he wanted to make. He has been an absolute leader and rock on that team. He's leading the team in scoring. He's almost leading the league in scoring. All right. He's been a great teammate to all of his teammates. And he could have complained. He could have absolutely complained that I don't belong here. I believe I belong on a higher team. He's showing a everybody why he belongs on that other team while being a great teammate. That's an accountable young man. I'm proud of him. Right. He's doing what he needs to do to show what he needs to show. And he took he took that hit the right way. All right. Do not be the kid that complains and blames everybody else and says this is not fair. This is not right. You deal with the hand you're given. You be accountable with that hand. And you be the best teammate, the best player you can be, and grow and learn. Some of the best seasons I have ever had, both growth and as a player, have been when I didn't make the team I wanted to make. And I felt horrible when I didn't make it. I'm not telling you kids to jump up and down if you don't make the team you want to make. I am telling you that you've got to deal with the hand you've been dealt. All right? And it says a lot more about who you are as a person by how you react to that, good or bad. All right? With that said, I hope all of your dreams come true. I really mean that, kids. I want you to put the work in, put the time in, and remember that no eval, no tryout is the defining moment of your life. There's not one ice session that's going to define you. You define you by the body of work you put out there over three hundred sixty five days, over each season, each day as a person and how you're choosing to grow as a player. Be accountable. Be smart. Be strong. Be on top of your game. Mike, any final thoughts? No, that's it. All right. Kids, remember, wherever you're at in your hockey journey, we believe in you. You should, too. Have fun. Skate hard. We'll see you on the next Ride to the Rink. Take care, kids. Best of luck to you.