Archive

For the hockey category

Feb 03

How to Become a Professional Hockey Player – Part 3

By adminNo Comments
Ads by Easy CB Ads
2518971733 90199607ce m How to become a professional hockey player Part 3

Children from all over the world watched Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux skating around defensemen and scoring the game winning goal for their team in the NHL playoffs. I was one of them. And like most of these kids, I had the dream of being in the NHL just like them, and scoring the game winning goal! Alas, it was not to be, and I am stuck playing beer league hockey with a group of people that fall over their skates sometimes. But one of my teammates from childhood days, when I was in a much more prominent league (at least for hockey scouts) did make it. He was drafted out of major junior hockey to the Vancouver Canucks, and is now an important member of the defensive corps on the highly dynamic Chicago Blackhawk club.

I sometimes wonder if I had taken his path, would I be in the same boat? Would I be playing hockey professionally for even 10% of what he makes in salary? I know how he did it, so why didn’t I? It was my dream, wasn’t it? Well I didn’t because I didn’t apply myself to the same regime as he did. Maybe I could have, but obviously I didn’t want to make it so badly. If you actually DO want to make it, or your child has a dream to become an NHL star, this is how you do it:

There are three key ingredients to making the NHL: sacrifice, hard work and discipline. If this is your dream, and these three ingredients are part of your life, the rewards go far beyond the monetary remuneration you are offered by an NHL team; it becomes not only a dream, but a dream come true.

The first ingredient is sacrifice. This is probably the most important one, because it involves not only you, but your whole family. Sometimes it also involves others, such as your coach, or a family friend who has access to a hockey rink in off-hours. Many families have moved cities or towns to ensure their future NHL’er has the right place to play hockey. This sacrifice could also include financial sacrifices. Many families sacrifice extra vacations, newer cars, or other things so that their sons can go to a certain hockey school, or be sent to private schools such as Notre Dame College in Saskachewan, Canada, or Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Minnesota, USA. These are very great places to hone your hockey skills and knowledge while ensuring a good education. Last, but not least, parents of hockey players are known to sacrifice a LOT of sleep in order to get their kid to the rink on time. I remember ice-times starting at 6 am on a Saturday morning outside of town, requiring us to get up at

Related Posts:

Feb 03

The Best Way to Tape a Hockey Stick

By adminNo Comments
Ads by Easy CB Ads
3294926799 0f3b057220 m The best way to tape a hockey stick

As anyone who has ever played any version of stickball knows, balls bounce right off wooden sticks. Hockey sticks are also made of wood. Left untaped, the puck would bounce right off, making it extremely difficult to control the puck. Hockey tape adds a give to the blade, causing the puck to lose enough of its momentum so that it doesn’t bounce right off. It also protects the stick from the moisture of the ice surface.

Hockey sticks are taped in two places, the blade and the top part of the stick where the upper hand will hold it. This gives a grip for the upper hand, leaving the lower hand free to slide up and down the stick as needed for control.

Ice hockey players tape all the way around the blade of the stick. If you plan on also using the same stick for roller hockey, keep in mind that roller hockey players usually prefer to leave the bottom of the blade untapped, so that the blade does not accidentally stick to the floor.

To tape the blade of your stick, begin by placing a strip of tape along the bottom of the blade. Push the edges of the strip up on both sides until they lie flat.

Next, take your roll of tape and start wrapping the blade around and around, starting at the heel of the stick and the backhand side of the blade, until most of the blade is covered. (Experienced players may prefer to tape off only the middle of the blade.) Overlap each turn by about half the width of the tape. Keep your tape as smooth as possible throughout.

When you are within an inch of the toe end of the blade, rip off the tape so it ends on the backhand side of the blade. Use the roll of tape to smooth down your tape job.

To tape the handle of your stick, take your roll of tape and start wrapping the handle around and around, starting at the very top of your stick. In contrast to taping the blade, this time you want to twist the tape as you go, so that you get a cordlike effect. Finish off your wrapping approximately as far down as your wrist to the elbow, and tape it off. (Experienced players may prefer to tape off only the very top of the stick, or rarely to tape almost the entire stick.)

After you have completed this part of the wrapping, use the tape to make a small knob at the very top of the hockey stick. Make it big enough that you can feel the bulge at the end, but not so big that you have difficulty hanging onto the stick. This will keep the stick from sliding out of your hand. Those playing defense often prefer a larger knob.

Continue wrapping the tape around the stick from the knob down, in the same way as you did for the blade. Because you are wrapping over the twisted tape, you will now have a cordlike feel to the stick.

A final easy taping customization for the hockey stick is to convert a regular stick into a grip stick. Take a loose piece of wood about the length of your palm and a roll of one-sided duct tape. Starting from the top of this piece of wood, wrap the tape a couple of times around the stick, then give it a half-twist so that the sticky side is on the outside. Keep winding the tape around the stick until you reach the bottom, then give it another half-twist to finish it off. You should now have a very sticky piece of wood. Rub this up and down along your hockey stick until you have the grip at your desired level of stickiness.

Related Posts:

Feb 03

Should Fighting Remain or Be Eliminated in Hockey? – Part 1

By adminNo Comments
Ads by Easy CB Ads
364436054 a0133d9771 m Should fighting remain or be eliminated in hockey? Part 1

Fighting drives hockey to a higher emotional level than most sports. Without fighting, the sport would lose the unwritten laws that make the game what it is today. The players known as enforcers, or goons, whose main purpose is to fight, would have never been able to leave their mark on the hockey world and in the hearts of Hockey fans. Fighting helps define hockey, and it is essential to the popularity and integrity.

It is argued that fighting tears down the attractiveness of hockey, but it actually makes it more exciting. Rivalries are more heated do to enforcers, which can promote the sport to fans who like to watch their favorite players go toe-to-toe with the opposition’s roughest players. Besides advocating the grit and guts of hockey, fighting is appealing to fans who love the tactical aspect of its play. Enforcers are used to intimidate opposing players, and if use correctly, can affect suspense and tempo of play.

In what might seem like a contradiction, fighting helps regulate penalties. Some times an official may not see a major penalty or blatant act of misconduct, but because of the incorporation of fighting, players can police the game themselves, allowing them to regulate areas where conventional rules stall. For example, fighting helps manage an opposing player from becoming malicious, because they know that there is consequence to their action. In turn, the players can protect their star players from being bullied. The reluctance for cheap shots goes a long way in keeping the sport stable.

Enforcers brought a new element to the game when they were introduced. With the need to protect star players from injury to do belligerent opponents, the enforcer’s role became imperative and gave opportunities to them to be exposed to the public eye. Hockey fans would have missed out on some of the games star enforcers, such as Dave Semenko and Bob Probert, who brought their fresh talents to the sport.

Banning fighting in hockey would be detrimental to its excitement. Hockey is a brutal sport and appeals to fans that enjoy controlled violence. With the game being a fast paced contact sport, players need fighting to regulate the game beyond the rule book. They need the ability to protect their teammates, especially their star players who have a target on their head. Enforcers play an important role that is irreplaceable. The sport would never be the same if players were forced to play nicely.

Related Posts:

Feb 03

Hockey Helmet– Wear It, Stay Alive

By adminNo Comments
Ads by Easy CB Ads
362390331 7c0212c888 m Hockey Helmet Wear It, Stay Alive

Hockey helmet is the most important gear that every player should wear before entering the field to protect themselves from injury. National hockey league players are advised to change their helmets once every seven years as that is all the wear and tear a hockey helmet can stand. Also if a person were to pick up a second hand helmet, it must be tested for durability else will not serve the purpose at all. The sport of hockey is such that people often collide with each other while playing a match and there could be injuries to the head. By wearing a safety hockey helmet , thereby reduces the risk of brain damage by 60%. In fact even on the roads, people who commute using two wheelers are advised to wear helmets, which is again for their own safety.

Along with the team uniforms, a helmet is also handed out to all players before the match. And they are required to have it on at all times. These helmets are usually made of high quality plastic that does not break or bend with collusions. Also the helmets must have a protective face mask with a secured leather strap secured tight around the chin. There are some players who don’t like to wear the helmet saying it restricts their movement and hampers vision, but this will only cause harm to their head or skull and render them unfit for the sport. The hockey helmet has become so popular that today there are miniature helmets being created as part of the sports collectibles in many stores. People are ready to spend hundreds of dollars and buy one of these miniature versions just so they can own a piece of their team and proudly display it in their homes. There are also companies that make hockey helmets for fun purpose for children to enjoy while playing the game in their homes. Sometimes people like to buy these helmets and sport them at home as a curio piece. Or those who enjoy collecting sports memorabilia have a interest in these helmets amongst other sports gear. They enjoy purchasing and showing them off as part of their growing collection of sports collectibles.

All the leading doctors and ophthalmologists state the main reason for injury in sports is because of faulty or no head gear. While playing on ice, the risk factor is much more higher and so the need to protective gear is greater. Hockey helmet needs to be worn at all times while on the filed or arena irrespective of whether one is playing or not. The top selling hockey helmets are the ones made by Nike Bauer which has adjustable straps that allows the player to choose the place where he is comfortable in. these come in different colors and to fit different skull shapes. The helmets available in the market are authentic and some of the autographed helmets sold at souvenir stores are a way of preserving a moment of the sport forever.

Related Posts:

Feb 03

Girls Hockey Players Must Build Strength

By adminNo Comments
Ads by Easy CB Ads
42041584 f69fea9223 m Girls Hockey Players Must Build Strength

Girls hockey players MUST get stronger, faster and fitter this off-season if they want to take their game to the next level.

If girls address these 3 key components in their hockey workouts this summer, they will be a better player once September rolls around.

Hockey-specific strength training is the most fundamental component of off-season off-ice player development and must be built BEFORE speed and conditioning.

Without a solid foundation of strength and stability in place, young female players will NOT be able to use their speed and fitness to their greatest extent and will NOT be able to perform at the highest level both on and off the ice.

However, coaches and parents of young female players have some concerns about strength training.

Let’s look at each of the 4 most common concerns in more detail.

Concern #1: With no body checking in the female game, off-ice strength training isn’t necessary.

‘No body checking’ doesn’t equal ‘no body contact’. Since female hockey players are not allowed to use body checking as a means of separating the opposition from the puck, they must rely on their speed and body positioning in order to do so. By participating in a properly designed strength training program, female athletes will develop the total body strength needed to win races for the puck and battles along the boards.

Concern #2: If I start strength training, I am going to ‘look like a man’.

Fundamental physiological differences between genders makes ‘looking like a man’ virtually impossible for female athletes. Females have fewer muscle fibres and much less testosterone than males, which makes gaining large amounts of lean muscle extremely difficult. Furthermore, gaining a large amount of lean muscle mass requires very specific programs that are not effective in young athletes due to their lack of physiological readiness for this type of training and their lack of strength training experience overall.

Concern #3: Starting strength training at a young age will lead to injury.

Females are no more likely to be injured while performing strength training than males. Young athletes tend to get injured when they receive poor instruction on technique or are exposed to a level of training that is inappropriate to their age and ability. Proper instruction of correct techniques, coupled with a safe and gradual progression of intensity, will actually help to prevent injuries both on and off the ice.

Concern #4: Males strength train. Females don’t.

Perhaps more important than the structured physiological development of a young female hockey player is the proper psychological development. Young females are constantly bombarded with images and messages about what constitutes the ‘ideal’ female body shape. As a result, female athletes competing in sports that require strength and power may be more susceptible to psychological issues related to body image that are not typical with male athletes. Most young male hockey players desperately want to get bigger, faster and stronger. Young female hockey players must be empowered: parents and coaches must let them know that it is to their benefit to be strong, both as athletes and as people.

Proper strength training does NOT require players to push around weights and will NOT lead to them becoming “muscle bound”. They DON’T need to join an expensive gym and they DON’T need use any fancy equipment.

With body-weight strength training, girls’ hockey players can build the strength and stability in all of the muscles and joints that support and power hockey-specific movements.

Body-weight strength training is the most fundamental component to enhancing on-ice performance this off-season.

Related Posts:


 Powered by Max Banner Ads 
< Older
Blue Taste Theme created by Jabox