Elevate Your Game with the Bauer Vapor X:50 Skate

The X50 skate is a level down from the Bauer X:60, the top-of-the-line skate in the Vapor lineup. The Vapor X:50 uses X-rib technology to give the skater better durability and support and also provide great acceleration and maneuverability. This skate uses the Tuuk lightspeed runner, which you will also see on other high-end skates from Bauer. To make the skate lightweight but also stiff, Bauer used a full composite outsole. The tongue also features a nice form-fit feature and a high-density metatarsal guard to protect against lace-bite. Click here to read the full review.

7 Tips for Keeping Your Head in the Game

This is a message about mental toughness—when you reach a particular level in hockey, you will realize that mental toughness will set you apart from your competition. The same two players can have pretty much the same skills and speed, but their minds will enable one player to be great and the other to be merely marginal.



Hockey is truly a game of mistakes. The key is learning to overcome those mistakes in order to succeed. All players make mistakes, including NHL All-Stars. Successful players know how to get their head right back into the game—and I mean immediately, in the very next shift. All hockey players need to develop this aspect of their game just as much as developing skating, shooting, checking and team-building skills. Learn this now!

I started honing this part of my game during my fourth year of playing for the Providence Bruins. If I had only realized the importance of this skill—and it is a skill—at an earlier age, I would have truly benefited as a player. During that season with the Providence Bruins, I was sent to see the Bruins sports psychologist, Dr. Nuff, who has worked with many players in the organization over the years (including many franchise players). During week after week of visits with Dr. Nuff, I began to learn how to strengthen my mind and shrug off mistakes. I was rebounding quickly from negative thoughts and errors in my game. That season became a turning point in my career, which put me on my way to making it full time to the NHL. I broke the Bruins and AHL scoring record for a defenseman and was awarded the Eddie Shore Award for best defenseman. Unfortunately, I was only called up to the Boston Bruins for one game because the team had six solid defensemen with no injuries. I must say it was a thrill for me to be paired up on the power play with my favorite player, Captain Ray (Ray Bourque), on the Boston Garden ice.

I attribute much of my success that year to strengthening my mental game, so I want to share few concepts to work on to develop your mental game:

1. Take note of your favorite NHL player. He will make mistakes during the course of a game—but they go by practically unnoticed because he doesn’t go into a shell, get down, feel sorry for himself, throw a temper tantrum, bang his stick or take frustrations out on a fellow teammate. Never show your opponent you’re frustrated or weak!


2. Tune out negative situations around you and turn them into positives. Example: If you get beat 1v1 or have a bad giveaway, don’t get down on yourself. It is history—focus on the present. Quickly get yourself and your head back into the game with a good hit, a shot on goal, or working hard to beat your opponent down the ice. Do anything positive, no matter how small, and you will regain confidence. Charlie Corey, my prep school coach, used to say, “Serowik, do you think the people in China care you made a mistake?” It’s done and forgotten, so move on!


3. Make a list of your responsibilities as a hockey player. Think about them before every game. Then, during the game don’t think—react. Example: If you are a defenseman, write down your duties in all three zones, on the power play and during the penalty kill. Move the puck quickly, stick between the legs, play the man, box your opponent out, hit the net every shot, head on a swivel, communication, control gap, how to play a 1v1, 2v1, 3v2, and so on. I had a two-page list I carried in my wallet for my entire 10-year pro career. I pulled out that list before each and every game and went over everything, so that it was all in my mental storage. If it’s in mental storage and you’ve already thought it through before game time, then it will come naturally during the game. Once the game begins, you don’t want to think—just react!


4. Take 10 to 15 minutes before game time for “alone time.” Go over your responsibilities, almost like saying your prayers. Go off by yourself to tape your stick and visualize all positive thoughts. Example: Picture yourself scoring the winning goal, having a big hit, making a great assist and hugging your teammates in victory. These are all positive thoughts that will put you in the frame of mind to be a winner.


5. Tailormake a catch phrase to repeat to yourself in times of trouble. Example: “Keep It Simple” or, my favorite, “Move Mountain.”


6. When game time comes, come out for warm-ups hard and ready to compete. This is not a time to be social or screw around with teammates. Get a good handle on the puck, make some hard passes, stretch out and get your legs going with some hard sprints.


7. On your first shift, do something—anything—to get yourself into the game quickly. I liked to make a crisp hard pass, give a big hit or even get hit by my opponent to wake me up and motivate me. The first couple of shifts usually dictate the rest of the game.

I hope these points are helpful. Getting mentally tough is a lot easier said than done. Work on it every day. As you progress into the higher levels of hockey, everyone will be skilled. The mentally strong will make it. Your mind separates the men from the boys. We will be touching on these skills in the off-ice segments of our summer camps.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Jeff Serowik, a former NHL player and founder of Pro Ambitions Hockey camps, for this article.

Develop Skills in the Off-Season

Youth hockey now involves more games and tournaments than ever. While the season used to start in October and end in March, it now goes almost non-stop for 12 months. Spring and summer seasons, which used to be dedicated to skill-development programs, are now dedicated to tryouts, practices and tournaments.



Children need to have fun! They need some time away from hockey and away from the rink. They don’t thrive on the constant pressure of tournaments and competition. They should play other sports and develop other athletic skills that will improve their spirit and overall coordination.

The fact is that North America is producing inadequately skilled players, many of whom burn out before they peak. In my opinion—and in the opinion of many hockey experts—the off-season should be used for skill development! If kids want to skate on those beautiful summer days, they should be doing so for skill-development purposes rather than for competition!

Despite all the hockey schools and camps that have proliferated to extraordinary numbers, we are producing less-skilled players than Europe. Why? Either the schools are failing to provide the skill development that they profess to provide or fewer kids are attending the skill-development programs.

In the United States and Canada, we tend to focus more on games. In Europe, children play no more than 30 games and participate in more than 100 practices taught by professional coaches. Skills are learned in high-tempo practices that incorporate game conditions.

Perhaps it would be wise for parents and aspiring hockey players to evaluate their long-term goals before deciding the best way to dedicate their “hockey time” this coming summer.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Laura Stamm of Laura Stamm Power Skating for this story.

5 Warning Signs of Eating Disorders

Young athletes usually are concerned about looking good, and they all want to perform well. Most of the time, these factors motivate them to work hard at conditioning their bodies and perfecting their skills. But sometimes, to attain these goals, athletes resort to self-destructive methods that result in serious medical disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia.



In some thin-build sports (such as figure skating, gymnastics) and in some weight-regulated sports (such as wrestling) the incidence of eating disorders is alarmingly high. Various sports medicine studies report rates of eating disorders as high as 60%, and disorders occurring in athletes as young as 8 or 9 years of age.

It is essential to recognize that such maladies are not restricted to athletes in the sports mentioned above. Athletes in all sports are at risk for eating disorders. Unhealthy weight-control methods can involve the use of:

• Diuretics (substances that cause excess water excretion)


• Laxatives


• Self-induced vomiting


• Excessive and compulsive aerobic exercise


• Dieting that approaches self-starvation

The methods above can have devastating effects on the body. Because of the health-related risks, parents and coaches should be alert for the warning signs of a developing eating disorder.

1. Excessive preoccupation with being “fat,” especially in an athlete who is normal weight.


2. Unusual eating habits, especially signs of excessive (and often, secret) food intake (the first part of the binge-purge pattern of bulimia).


3. Evidence of purging with laxatives or by vomiting. One sign of repeated vomiting may be sores at the corner of the mouth or on the tongue caused by stomach acid.


4. Food avoidance or severe caloric restriction.


5. Alternating periods of lethargy and irritability.

If parents or coaches detect one or more of these signs, they should talk with the youngster in a highly supportive manner. If an eating disorder is suspected or detected, professional counseling should be sought.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Frank L. Smoll, Ph.D., and Ronald E. Smith, Ph.D., for this article. Drs. Smoll and Smith are sport psychologists at the University of Washington and co-directors of the Youth Enrichment in Sports program. To see previews of their Mastery Approach to Parenting in Sports and Mastery Approach to Coaching DVDs, visit www.y-e-sports.com.

Perfect Your Wrist Shot with Shot Tec

The Shot Tec is designed for a fairly specific purpose—strengthening the muscles used when taking a wrist shot (and only a wrist shot). Basically, a hockey puck is attached to a resistance band that is fitted into a track. The player uses a dial to choose how much resistance they want and then practices “shooting” the puck. The puck only moves forwards and backwards on the track so the full wrist shot motion cannot be completed. A digital display counts the number of reps, and counts down from a preset number of seconds. You can choose any 30-second interval up to three minutes. Click here to read the full review.

3 Insights on the Body-Checking Rule Change Proposal

Parents and players—particularly upcoming and current PeeWees—are all abuzz about the possibility of USA Hockey changing the age of legal body checking in games from 12U (PeeWee) to 14U (Bantam) for the fall 2011–2012 season. Well, you’ll know soon enough. The USA Hockey Board of Directors will vote on the proposal in June 2011. See what the experts are saying here:



1. USA Hockey’s team doctor, Dr. Michael Stuart, summarizes his recommendation—to delay body checking in games until the Bantam level while promoting a structured, progressive curriculum in practice to teach body contact, angling, anticipation and checking—in this video. (Watch the full video here.)



2. At the August 2010 World Hockey Summit, Brendan Shanahan weighed in, saying “I think player safety and skill development is more important.” Shanahan would know: he played for 21 years in the NHL and is now the NHL’s vice president of hockey and business development. Read the full story here.

3. Get answers to commonly asked questions on the rule change proposal here.

Remember, the rule affects legal body checking in games—not body contact in games, not checking in practice. Get the facts, then discuss among yourselves (we know you can't help it!).

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Kelly Anton, managing editor of the Grow the Game initiative, for rounding up these resources.

6 Steps for Teaching Skating Techniques

Skating is an extremely complicated activity and hockey is an extremely complicated sport. Skating moves are not natural to the human body—in fact they’re the opposite of natural. Skating moves are numerous, intricate and interdependent. Each hockey maneuver consists of many parts. Each part must be learned separately and then integrated into the whole move. Proper technique training is essential for players to become fast, powerful, quick and efficient skaters.



The teaching/learning process is a long one. The most effective teaching method is one that has a systematic and integrative approach. I believe in the pyramid method: a strong foundation must be built at the bottom of the pyramid. Then work up from there to integrate and refine each part into its whole. No one can learn a new skill or skating maneuver “going fast.” It’s too much for the brain and body to accommodate. Here’s my approach to teaching skating techniques:

1. Correctly.

2. Correctly-powerfully.

3. Correctly-powerfully-quickly.

4. Correctly-powerfully-quickly with the puck.

5. Same as 4, now under lots of pressure and in game situations.

6. At the end of each practice, players should be allowed to skate fast and have fun without worrying about correct technique.

*Note: It is imperative to learn “correctly” before worrying about powerfully and quickly—no matter how long it takes. And, when performing “powerfully” and “quickly,” “correctly” is still of No. 1 importance. That’s what makes explosive, efficient skating so difficult.

Skill (technique) training programs for very young hockey players (and for beginning players of all ages) should include basic and simple skating fundamentals done at a comfortable level, with a concentration on understanding, smoothness and efficiency.

Skating technique needs to be combined with power and quickness at fairly young ages. From ages 11 and up, hockey players should engage in training that includes some interval training (work/rest training). Whether the workouts are for sprinting, strength training, agility, skating or for athletic attributes such as balance, rhythm and coordination, they should include some interval training.

Work periods (sprint periods) for young players, including for adolescents, should be short (maximum 10 to 15 seconds in order to avoid the accumulation of lactic acid. In addition, there must be enough rest time between each work (sprint) period for them to recover fully. Many coaches are unaware of this so they push their players into over-stressful workouts that negatively affect skating technique and over-all performance.

While still learning skating techniques, most quickness training can be done off the ice so as not to interfere with skill development. Developing players cannot learn, perform properly or perform effectively when they’re fatigued. The quality of performance deteriorates quickly when fatigue sets in.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Laura Stamm of Laura Stamm Power Skating for this story. Laura offers special thanks to her friend and colleague, Dr. Jack Blatherwick, PhD., Physiologist, Washington Capitals Hockey Team for his thoughts, insights and knowledge that contributed to this story.

Training Tiles Build the Ultimate Hockey Training Room

Have you ever wanted a room or area that you could practice your hockey skills at any time? Of course you have, what hockey player would not want that?



Hockeyshot.com makes this possible with the dryland hockey training tiles. These tiles are durable, slick and tough! The hockey training tiles are made to be nice and smooth—perfect for stickhandling, shooting, dekes and passing.

Another great advantage of the training tiles is that they snap together. You can start with a small area, and if you ever want to expand your practice area you can simply order more tiles and snap them on. The tiles fit together seamlessly, which means a puck will slide smoothly across the tiles with no interference. You might be thinking they would be perfect or the garage, but where will you keep the car? How about right on top of the tiles! The tiles are strong enough to support the weight of a vehicle.

Once you have the tiles in place, be sure you’re perfecting your shot—not just practicing it.

• Proper technique is the best way to get the most power and accuracy. To score more goals, make sure you are shooting properly first, then work on perfecting your power and accuracy.


• When shooting, power comes from the legs, arms, core muscles and the stick—are you using every source of power?


• You can improve your accuracy by looking for a place to aim first, aligning your body properly, having a consistent and smooth wind up and follow through, pointing the toe of the blade of the stick at where you want the puck to go.

Now that you have some tips to improve your shooting, you need a good area to shoot from! To get your first box of hockey training tiles visit HockeyShot.com today.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to HockeyShot.com for these details on shooting tiles and shooting.

Smarthockey Stickhandling Balls

As a hockey player you should have a decent set of hands. You should be able to move the puck quickly from side to side and having the odd deke up your sleeve never hurts either. The only way you can develop quick hands is by practicing—and that is what the Smarthockey stickhandling balls are for. Get ideas for stickhandling practice and see how these training balls measure up here.





Early and Late Maturers

Size isn’t everything, but in sports it certainly comes into play. Those who mature early and experience almost immediate success can become frustrated as their peers catch. Those who mature late not only experience more failure at early ages—regardless of how hard they try—but they have trouble getting attention even as they mature. Take a look at the issues for both and keep in mind that both types of players require encouragement.



Early maturers hit their growth spurts sooner than their peers. They tend to have an advantage in sports such as hockey that require speed, power, endurance and body mass. For biological reasons—not necessarily because of greater talent or ability—they are able to outperform their peers. In childhood, they may have had successes for which they received much reinforcement and recognition.

Problems arise during adolescence for early maturers—those who experienced success in their younger years get frustrated because their peers suddenly catch up. They no longer experience the same success as before. Coaches may conclude it is because they are not working hard. Part of the dropout rate around age 14 is due to the frustration of early maturers. They don’t understand that the physical changes occurring in their peers are allowing them to catch up. Parents and coaches could do a lot to shore up their self-confidence during this difficult time.

Late maturers have a different set of issues. They often experience failure at the early ages because they are not as physically strong or developed as their early maturing peers. Even though they may work as hard, they often can’t keep up, which is a huge source of frustration. Even as their physical maturity and skills “catch up,” they may continue to have trouble getting coaches’ attention, encouragement and recognition. In other words, coaches may not give them a fair chance to “show their stuff.” Some of these youngsters drop out because of frustration. This seems to hit late maturing boys the hardest because they are at a particular disadvantage. Parents and coaches need to figure out how to keep late maturing kids interested and involved despite a lack of early success. They may turn out to be the stars.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Laura Stamm of Laura Stamm Power Skating for this story. Laura offers special thanks to her friend and colleague, Dr. Jack Blatherwick, PhD., Physiologist, Washington Capitals Hockey Team for his thoughts, insights and knowledge that contributed to this story.

Next Page »