In our second book (So You Want To Play in the NHL) we have a chapter entitled "We lost, but it wasn’t my fault".  The chapter is about excuses and my contention that “it wasn’t my fault” is the most damaging excuse of all.  It’s damaging because it allows you think you’re not responsible for the outcome of your shift on the ice or the outcome of the game.  Further, “It’s not my fault” may affect the outcome of your career and ultimately the outcomes in your life.  It tricks you into thinking that someone else is responsible for your failure and allows for the possibility that your team’s loss, your lack of skill, your lack of progress, your not knowing the rules, your poor grades, your not being able to get along with other people are all someone else’s doing.

So I go on in the chapter to encourage you not to dismiss the failures or shortcomings in your life with the biggest excuse of all, “It’s not my fault.”  Instead take responsibility for your actions and yourself.  Because you do have responsibility.  You have the ability to correct and to respond to your failures. We call it response ability.  And that response can be, “What can I do to make the situation better?”  Or “How do I use this setback to my advantage?”  It can be “What can I learn from this failure?”  And “What can I do to be sure this doesn’t happen again?”  Or perhaps “I've been handed lemons, how much can I charge for lemonade?”

Or your response can be “It’s not my fault”. That response won’t get you to the NHL.  Most likely it will only get you to the next failure and another chance to make an excuse.

I bring up this issue of excuses because in this chapter I also tell about a person who did have a legitimate excuse not to excel at hockey.  Chris, a forward on the Bantam travel team that my oldest brother Scott played on, was a very good player in spite of being born with only one leg.  Because of a birth defect, his left leg ended just below his knee.  He wore a prosthesis (a mechanical leg).  Having a wooden leg could have been an excuse we would have all accepted.  He could have said, “ I can’t play hockey, I only have one leg and it’s not my fault.”

But Chris wanted to play hockey like all the other boys.  He worked so hard at it and became so good that no one could tell he only had one real leg.  Can you possibly imagine how much effort it took to become a good skater on a wooden leg?  Chris had all the excuses I mention in our other chapters in the book on excuses. He could have said:

“I need better legs.”

“I could play on the power play if I had two good legs.”

“The coach doesn’t like me because I only have one leg.”

“It’s not fair that I was born like this.”

“It’s not my fault that I only have one leg.”

And we all would have understood.  But Chris was a person who decided not to be handicapped by his handicap.  He worked hard and developed into a very good player and was an inspiration to everyone who knew Chris played with a handicap.

I’m repeating what’s in the book on excuses and telling you this story because I recently learned that Chris – actually Chris Cutter of Muskegon, MI – made the US Amputee Olympic Hockey Team.  Here’s Chris Cutter, an inspiration to my brothers and I when we were growing up, who continues to be an example and an inspiration to me now.  He plays hockey with only one real leg.  Long ago he made a decision not to let his legitimate excuse become a reason for not becoming the very best he could.  As a result of that decision made as a small boy, he now has the opportunity to play hockey in the Olympics in Salt Lake City against teams from all over the world.  Don’t let me hear anyone say, “Yes, but it’s only the Amputee’s Olympics" because I think that’s perhaps more of an accomplishment than playing hockey in the other Olympics.  It’s a triumph of spirit, of resolve, and of overcoming physical limitations none of of us would not want to deal with.

Chris is also a great example of what I said in the September issue – that your attitude will determine your outcome more than will your circumstances.  Chris had response ability.

I hope you are as inspired by Chris’ story as I am and encouraged to be the best you can be... regardless of your situation. There are no excuses if you want to be a success.

*****

In last months issue, I told you about Matt Moulson and his success at getting a scholarship at Cornell.  Matt wrote me a nice letter and included an article he wrote for his school paper.  It’s too long to include here but I’ve put in on the web site.  If you want to learn about how much hard work and dedication it takes to make it to play Division I college hockey, then click here to read his article.  And take notice of how articulate Matt is.  Cornell may be the lucky ones here.

Dan Bylsma

 We've been able to purchase a stock of the paperback version of our first book "So Your Son Wants To Play in the NHL" at a discount.  We've bundled this version and the kid's book "So You Want to Play in the NHL" and are offering them both - signed and personalized - on the web site for the special price of $21.00 plus $4.00 S&H.  A Christmas idea for your coach and his son, perhaps?

 You can order it until our supply runs out at www.DanBylsma.com/order/bookorder2.asp, then look for "PACKAGE 2".  Please allow 7 days for shipping.

At our hockey school we taught three things about checking.  First, your purpose is to dislodge the puck from the puck handler. Second, force him out of position so he can’t a make play.  And finally, it’s about gaining control of the puck.  We talked about how it’s not to hurt or bully anyone, and we talked about how you can protect yourself from being checked effectively.  One of our hockey friends suggested we talk in detail about how you can protect yourself from getting checked effectively and how to keep from getting hurt.

If you ever watch a wrestler or a boxer fight, you’ll see them get into a crouch. They know that a crouch lowers your center of gravity, provides better balance, and is more difficult to attack.  As it happens, we keep on talking about getting lower as a skater also.

It's critical to skate in a seated position with your butt as low as you can get it (or lower).  Not only does it lengthen your stride, but you are also in better balance.  Being in better balance also protects you from getting checked effectively.  So the first thing to think about to make it difficult to be checked is to be in the proper skating position – which not co-incidentally - is also the wrestler’s crouch with your butt low and your head and chest up.  Of course, if you haven’t learned to stickhandle with your head up, you're vulnerable to being blindsided.  Both of these points are to illustrate that the better your skills, the more likely you will avoid getting effectively checked.

If you see you are about to become the victim of a check, the worst thing you can do is cower, curl up, or lean away from the check.  All of these things make you more vulnerable to getting knocked down or knocked silly.  The best thing you can do is lean into the check.  Ask yourself: who is easier to knock down – someone who’s leaning toward you or someone who’s already leaning away from you?

The best thing you can do is lean into the check and hit back as you’re being hit.  Hitting back does three things for you.  First, it lets the opponent know you are no pushover (literally) and he may think twice about engaging you again.  Secondly, if you hit back, you may impart enough energy to nullify the effects of his check and maybe even knock him off his feet (especially if he doesn’t subscribe to my newsletter and know how to check properly).  Third, hitting back may leave you with enough control so you won’t lose the puck, or fall down and be out of the play, or both.  An important note here: young players who are afraid of being checked often forget about the puck, which should be the real focus of their attention.  If you hit back, at least you have a chance to maintain possession, you won’t if you bail out.

There is a common idea that if you’re going to get hit along the boards, you should position yourself up against the boards so you absorb the shock of the check, but don’t hit the boards as well for a double whammy.  This is somewhat true, but it’s also true that if you’re up against the boards, you limit your options for dodging the check.  Too often we use the boards because we’re afraid of getting hurt.  We cower against the boards, we crumple, and the checker accomplishes his goal of removing us from the puck, and we are out of the play temporarily as well.  It’s okay to use the boards to diminish the blow, but we also want to maintain control. So if we can get the puck in our skates, absorb the blow, and then come away from the check with the puck, we will have thwarted our attacker.  Watch an NHL'er who’s good in the corners or along the boards.  He will see the check coming, get the puck in his skates, brace himself, take the hit, muscle to the side, moving the puck with his feet until he can either kick it to a teammate or come out with the puck himself.  That is a very important skill to have - one that’s helped a certain player I know stay in the NHL for over 320 games.

Often when you see players who are trained to use the boards to soften the effects of an impending check you see them slow down, snowplow to a stop, and snuggle up to the boards.  That’s then you’re most vulnerable.  You’ve forgotten that you’re playing hockey and have the puck for a reason - to do something with it.  You’ve put a sign on your forehead that you’re as scared as you can be, and you’re defenseless, and the checker can have his way with your body.

Wingers are often vulnerable when the puck is sent around the board to them while they wait for the puck to come to them.  If the defenseman decides to pinch in, don’t wait for the puck to get to you and expose yourself, go meet the puck and send it back.  Or, if he’s not tight to the boards and he's close to you, let the puck pass by both of you out of the zone.   But again, focus on your job – either getting the puck out of the zone or reversing it.  If you’re successful and he still hits you, he’s seriously out of position and likely won’t try that again.

To summarize, quite often the fear of getting hit makes it worse than it is. Everyone gets hit and we all bounce away and carry on.  It’s part of the game.  The more you fear it, the more it will handicap you and the checker wins by intimidation alone.  Stand up to it.  Let your protective equipment do its job.  Often, if you think it’s going to hurt your actions make those fears come true.  If you take measures to protect yourself, bend your knees, check back, keep focusing on the puck and what you’re going to do with it, and be aggressive in your actions, you'll diminish the effect of the check.

I've taken a lot of hits during my career, some of them pretty good licks.  In only one or two instances did I get hurt (and never enough to miss the next game) and when I did, it was because I didn’t have my head up, I flinched, or I got careless and didn’t brace myself properly.  If you can conquer your fear (which is really a fear of the unknown) and play aggressively, hits will roll off you like water off a Duck's back (and I'm a Duck).

People wonder why guys like Paul Kariya don’t seem to get checked much.  The answer is simple: he such a great skater not many guys can catch him and he doesn’t skate into places where he’s likely to get checked.  He leaves mucking about in the corners with a bull’s-eye on your back to guys like me.  And he gets the big bucks!  Sometimes life in the NHL isn’t fair... but it sure is fun. I wouldn’t be any place else – hits and all.

COACH TO COACH and PARENT TO PARENT from Jay... .

 I very much appreciate those of you who wrote to either challenge or agree with my piece in the last issue on coaches playing players fairly.  I’ve had some great discussions and I appreciate your willingness to take the time to write.

*****

Some of you have heard me speak at your coaches' clinics or association meetings, others have heard rumors, and some people in the media are beginning to get wind of an initiative Dan and I have started called IT PAYS - an acronym for I Teach Positive Attitudes in Youth Sports.  Only a few of the 20 some Emails we receive each day get posted on the web site and some that don't make the web site are heartbreaking.  Too many stories of inappropriate behavior and even abuse of all kinds - enough to finally set Dan off and prompt us to use our network of hockey friends to do something about cleaning up the less-than-desirable reputation youth sports has earned over the past few years.  The condition of hockey particularly is such that Dan wonders if he should allow Bryan to participate in the sport that has meant so much to his brothers and himself.

Early in the summer we began talking to a number of people connected to the sport in North America as well as overseas, whose opinion we respect.  These cyber discussions have led to several drafts of a program aimed at restoring the goals of having fun, teaching and modeling good sportsmanship, and using the sport to teach positive life lessons while taking nothing away from the competitive nature of the game.  What sets IT PAYS apart from similar programs is an on-line, web-based system for reporting behavior much like we already report scores.  IT PAYS is based on the concept that how you play the game is as important as whether you win or lose, therefore how you play the game should be reported just as whether you won or lost is reported.

The program will be assumed by youth hockey associations and we have already drafted promotional material, evaluation forms, contracts for players/parents/coaches.  These documents can be reviewed at www.danbylsma.com/IPInit.htm and the pages that follow at that URL.  We are in the process of having a PR firm put professional touches on the documents and a web development firm is creating the web site and the reporting mechanism.  We are planning to begin with Mites and progress as Mites advance through the system.  We are encouraged that several organizations have already expressed interest in adopting IT PAYS for the 2002/2003 seasons.

We are seeking the backing of the NHLPA because Dan is not the only NHL player with children who is concerned about the condition of youth hockey.   

Whether you are a player at any level, parent, coach, official, or administrator, you have a vested interest in the condition and the reputation of this sport.  Dan and I encourage you to look over the IT PAYS materials which lays the foundation for IT PAYS in greater detail as well as points out some surprising advantages besides the admirable goal of cleaning up our sport and its reputation.

According to our projections the program will be self funding, but its start-up will be costly, very costly.  If you have connections to sources of funding whose focus is youth sports, we'd like to hear about it.  If you can help, we'd like to hear from you.

*****

Speaking of funding, it's going to cost Chris Cutter (the young man Dan writes about in DAN'S TIP TO PLAYERS) about $6,000 to play for the U.S. Amputees Olympic Team - and that doesn't include expenses for his family to attend.  The Bylsma families have committed to contributing $1,000 to help Chris defray his expenses and to tell our hockey friends (that's you) about Chris as well.  You can make a tax deductible contribution to Chris at www.amputeehockey.org and clicking on the Donations link at the bottom of the page and make the donation in the name of Chris Cutter or send your check to Chris Cutter at P.O. Box 917, Grand Haven, MI 49417, and we'll see he gets it.  I can't think of anyone who deserves this more than Chris.  We'll let you know of his progress through the March games.

 Jay M. Bylsma

THIS MONTH'S SAYING TO PUT IN YOUR LOCKER...

"Things turn out best for the people who

make the best of the way things turn out."

                                                                                      John Wooden 

ONE KID'S TRIP TO THE NHL - current installment...

A couple of random thoughts...

...on what makes a NHL player.  A number of you (especially Ducks fans) have written to ask why certain players (players who are apparently very talented) are sent down and other players who appear to not be as talented - and I think you mean me (let me put my sad face on) - have long careers in the NHL.  These more talented players perhaps can skate like the wind or may have an overpowering slap shot.  Your attention is drawn to them because they seem to be able to out-skate, out-dangle, and out-shoot everyone on the ice.  And the obvious conclusion you draw is that this player is stardom bound and he becomes a fan and media favorite.  Then, after 10 games and very little production, he is sent down to the minors and you wonder why.  It's a good wonder.

There are two reasons why this might happen.  One reason is that hockey is a team game and while it may look like mayhem and confusion out there, there are specific things to do, places to be, reactions to make (call this “understanding the game”) that are necessary for all five skaters to function as a team and have the best chance to advance the puck.  If one player in the group of five regardless of how fast he can skate or how hard he can shoot doesn’t understand the game and things are required of him - where he should be, or how he should react - it will handicap all the other players on the ice.  It's not just that he will be nonproductive, his inability to understand the game will effectively limit what the other players can do and cripple the team.  It's not like one missing sparkplug in an engine which makes the car run roughly; it's like one flat tire severely hampers the car's progress.

A player who exemplifies the importance of understanding the game is Al McGinnis.  To be kind, Al is not the best skater in the league (although I have personal knowledge that his slap shot can shatter shin guards). But because he understands the game so well, he’s one of the best defensemen in the league in spite of his skating ability.  Another example is Wayne Gretzky who some scouts didn’t think could play in the NHL because he was too small, not fast enough, didn’t have a very hard shot, etc.  But he understood the game so well he obviously overcame what some scouts thought were handicaps to be the greatest player in the history of the sport.

Another reason an apparently very talented player may not make a regular spot in the NHL may be because of the speed of the game.  The speed is the biggest difference between the NHL and the minors.  You have to be able to keep up – not just in how fast you skate, but perhaps more importantly, how fast you can mentally process what's going on - that is, how fast you can think and react.

During my first NHL game, it seemed to me like the world was going by in fast forward and I was reacting in slow motion.  Now more often than not, the game is going by in slow motion and I can react in real time.  You may see a player snap home a rebound so quickly you have a hard time seeing what happened.  If you ask the player, he might tell you he had plenty of time.  That's seeing the game in slow motion and reacting in real time.  Some players with great talent can’t make that adjustment and unless they can, they may get a shot here and there in the NHL, but they won’t last - regardless of how fast they can skate or how hard their shot is.  I've quoted Yogi Berra, that great sage of the 21st century, before when he said, "Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical".   I think he would have said about hockey that "it's deja vu all over again".   So the lesson here is if you're serious about playing the game at higher levels, you better become a student of the game as well as a great skater and learn to think and react quickly.  

*****

...some of you have written to ask if my appearance on Dr. Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power Television show is available on video.  I'm not lending out my copy but you can see the interview on my web site by clicking on the Home Page link “TV Appearances” or by clicking here.

*****

... I get more than a few letters from a left wing complaining that his coach wants him to play center or defense and he doesn't want to.  What should he do?  So far this season, I've played right wing, center, and left wing on the fourth (dump and grind) line, left wing and right wing on the third (checking) line, right wing on the second (scoring) line (two goals in one game, baby!), penalty killed 3 on 5, and 4 on 5, played on the power play and I've been sent out to take defensive zone face-offs for the first (scoring) line.  Believe me when I tell you I don't call home and complain to my father that I'm a left-shooting right wing and that I hate it when Coach Murray sends me out to do the other stuff.  I'm honored and thrilled to get the chance to hit the ice in any capacity.  I'd play defense if he asked me to and once when I was playing for the Kings, coach Larry Robinson threatened to have me get the pads on when our second goalie went down in one game (I became a real believer in intercessory prayer when the goalie got up and could continue to play).  So no more letters complaining about what you see as a bummer and I see as another opportunity for you to excel.  Take advantage of all the learning experiences that come your way and I hope some day you'll get sent out to take the defensive zone face-off between Paul Kariya and Steve Rucchin against Sergei Federov.  And I hope you win it, too.

*****

...in the first issue, I wrote about it being the beginning of the season and how each of us had a chance to write our own story – with attitude having a large part to play in the outcome.   I said how (before the season started) I was tied for leading the league in scoring.  Well, as I write this I am leading the NHL in scoring – in a certain category.  I have the best shooting percentage in the NHL with 4 goals in 9 shots or a 44.4%.  I’m going to stop writing right now before that changesJ.

So Your Son Wants to Play In The NHL Published in 1998 by Sleeping Bear Press in the US and McClelland & Stewart in Canada. HC $24.95. The story of Dan’s journey from the ice rink in our back yard to the NHL. “This is the best hockey advice since ‘Don’t rile Gordie Howe’”. "This is more than a hockey book. It's a book about life and how to use simple lessons and values for success. …a refreshing straight-ahead approach that makes you feel that you've learned something." LA Times.  Autographed and personalized copies available at www.DanBylsma.com.

So You Want to Play In The NHL Published in November, 2000, by NTC/ Contemporary/McGraw-Hill. Trade paperback—$14.95. Thirty-five questions that aspiring young athletes have and Dan’s and Jay’s alternating answers. Forward by Luc Robitaille. This book won’t help you play the game better, but we think it will help you live the game better. “I am making this book required reading for my team because it confirms everything I have ever said in the locker room and to parents.” Coach John M. You can read a chapter by clicking here.  Autographed and personalized copies available at www.DanBylsma.com.

Pitcher’s Hands is OUT!  Is finally out! (released) and you can get it at on line on the web site or at Barnes & Noble. Published in February by River Road Publications. HC $15.95. A historical novel about what it was like to be a kid living in the Great Depression. It’s a great baseball tale. “…a wonderful story – rich in historical detail, full of excitement, warmth, and humor – a story that readers of all ages will not want to end.” "These father-son authors... made a literary double play." Grand Rapids Press.  You can read a chapter by clicking here.   You can get autographed, personalized copies at www.DanBylsma.com.

Slam Dunks Are Not Allowed! - another historical novel is coming – this one about basketball and World War II will be released in early 2002. Many of the same characters you will read about in Pitcher Hands is OUT! – Scooter, Woody, Doolie and Dutchie - are now on the High School basketball team and are facing the reality of going off to war, a war that touched every family in America as well as Europe and the Pacific Rim.  You can read part of a chapter from the original manuscript by clicking here.

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