🏒 See an amazing move in an NHL or PWHL game and immediately want to try it in your next game? Go for it—but not before you’ve put in the reps.
On this episode of The Ride to The Rink, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli talk directly to young hockey players about creativity, confidence, repetition, and knowing when it’s the right time to take a risk.
Trying new things is an important part of becoming a better player. But there’s a big difference between taking a calculated hockey risk and attempting a move in a game that you’ve never practiced before.
The goal isn’t to take creativity away.
It’s to prepare your creativity so well that the move becomes automatic when the opportunity appears.
🏒 In this episode, players will learn:
Why games aren’t always the best place to try a brand-new move
How repetition builds muscle memory and confidence
Why practice is where mistakes, experimentation, and creativity belong
The difference between a calculated hockey risk and an unnecessary gamble
How skills can be practiced at home, in the driveway, off the ice, or in VR
Why great players still work relentlessly on skills they’ve already mastered
How one skill becomes the foundation for the next
Why coaches should give players room to experiment during practice
How just 15 extra minutes of focused practice can add up over time
Why the highlight-reel move you see today may have taken thousands of attempts to master
Lee and Mike also remind players that the stars making incredible plays at the highest levels didn’t simply decide to try those moves in a game.
They practiced.
They failed.
They repeated.
And eventually, the skill became part of their toolbox.
💪 Your challenge: Pick one hockey skill you want to improve and spend 15 focused minutes working on it consistently. Don’t worry about making it perfect immediately. Get the reps in.
Because when the right moment comes in a game, the best skills don’t feel forced.
They just happen.
🎧 Listen now, get your reps in, and keep adding tools to your game.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Prepare, Believe, Reset: Want to Try That Hockey Move in a Game? Put in the Reps First
#TheRideToTheRink #YouthHockey #HockeyDevelopment #HockeySkills #HockeyTraining #HockeyPractice #YouthAthletes #HockeyPlayers #SkillDevelopment #HockeyConfidence #HockeyCoaching #HockeyMindset
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