BayToday Weekly Hockey Tip #5 - Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions

Former OHLer and North Bay native Cassidy Preston runs a local hockey development program, Complete Hockey Training, and will be offering his experience, knowledge and enthusiasm in his "Weekly Hockey Tip." Preston played three years in the OHL for the St. Michael's Majors organization, where he won the OPJHL championship with the Buzzers, the Majors affiliate team, in 2006. Enjoy

Want to get to the next level? Want to be a better hockey player? You are going to need to improve and continue to improve. Being hungry for coaching is one of the best tips I can give all you aspiring young hockey players.
The best players are always looking for feedback, always asking how they can improve. Wanting feedback is more than just having a coach. It is asking your coach how you can do things better and finding out what you need to work on.
If you look at many NHLers including Sidney Crosby, they all will have multiple coaches. They have their off-ice trainers, nutritionist, on-ice coaches, and sport psychologists, to name a few. If you were planning on learning and doing it all by yourself, then you are putting yourself at a huge disadvantage to those who have coaches guiding them.

Also, the quality of coaching you receive obviously is
going to determine the kind of improvements you make. If you want to be the best then only the best coaching is going to get you there.

Lastly, when I say coach, that doesn’t mean it has to be your current hockey coach. There are plenty of different types of coaches for hockey and some of the best for you could very well be your teammates. I had my own personal experience last august when I was skating with some local hockey players preparing for my coming season. One of the players was my good friend Matt Marquardt, who played for the Providence Bruins of the AHL this season. Marquardt has the best shot out of anyone I’ve ever played with and after a few skates with him, I really noticed the difference between his shot and mine. At first I tried just mimicking his shot but that wasn’t very effective. Finally I had to ask “what exactly are you doing that lets you shoot the puck so well?” He was more than willing to give me a few pointers on my hand placement and specific sequences he uses when he is practicing and within 5 minutes my shot drastically improved. This year I had one of the better shots on my team and all it took was that hunger to improve and be coached.

Again I encourage any comments, questions or specific things you would like next week’s tip to be on. Just email me at [email protected] or visit our website at www.CompleteHockeyTraining.ca