Pavel Barber’s Top 10 Hockey Training Tips: Part 1 of 2
10. Use a Notebook: Those with more awareness will build skill at a faster rate. We all know those moments where we’ve been working so hard on a skill, and we make one small tweak and it finally clicks. I would get so excited as a kid when these moments happened that I would need to write down the details in a notebook. This way, I would never forget that small point that made me successful. To get truly great at something, you have to immerse yourself in the trial and error process. The failures and the disappointment will actually be the glue that will allow these points to stick so you won’t forget. Capture these moments, enjoy them, and continue to build.
9. Focus on Yourself: It’s easy to get distracted by what others are doing, especially when they are better than us. Sometimes that leads to us feeling insecure, and that’s OK. We all learn at different paces, and we need to understand that the only way to get better at the fastest rate possible is to focus on ourselves. We are constantly in competition with our former selves. That means we aren’t looking at how fast someone beside us in line is going through a drill. What you’ll find is that when learning a new skill, going slower will actually get you to learn the skill faster. Focus on your own development.
8. Have Fun: When we’re training, there is a lot of pressure. There’s a lot of expectations. When it comes down to it, we want to be the best we can be and do the best with what we have. In order to put in the ungodly amount of deep, focused hours needed to be the best we can be, we have to fall in love with the game. We need to have a positive relationship with training. It needs to be fun. When we have free time, we seek fun activities to do. When we enjoy it, it’s easier to stay in the present moment for longer, and we will undoubtedly train more if we love doing it.
7. Read: There are so many books to complement your development and help make you aware of all the competitive advantages you can use to gain skill faster. You’ll notice most of my advice above is about mental skill rather than physical. This is because the quality of the physical skill you perform will be influenced by the mindset you have going into that training session. A few great reads are “The Talent Code,” “Mind Gym,” “The Power of Now,” “The Cellestine Prophecy” and “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari.”
6. Put in the Work Off the Ice: These hours add up. And you don’t need much. Whether it’s a carpet floor and a golf ball, a backyard stickhandling zone, a driveway, and outdoor rink or a parking lot, you can get a lot done off the ice to supplement your on-ice skills. I didn’t have much money growing up, and the only way for me to get my hours of deep focused practice in was to stickhandle at home and stickhandle at an outdoor rink near my house. In your shoes is great, but adding rollerblades is a great way to take your skills and challenge them at speed and with edge work.
Join us next month for Pavel Barber’s Top 10 Training Tips: Part 2 or visit www.HockeyShot.com now for the latest tips, tricks and the best hockey training products on the market at an affordable price.
— HockeyShot’s Stickhandling Specialist Pavel Barber
(Nov. 15, 2018)