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Volume
2, Issue 4 - December, 2001
"From
the Right Wing…" |
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#21 |
Dan Bylsma’s
Newsletter
--- A Feature of West
Michigan Hockey Camp, Inc.
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www.danbylsma.com |
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Apparently Scott Fergeson didn't
read
For a
printer friendly version -
click here
the last newsletter on how to protect
yourself along the
boards. |
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DAN’S TIP OF THE MONTH FOR PLAYERS…
I
get a lot of letters from parents about your coaches.
They're usually concerned about your lack of ice time, not playing in
close games in the third period, or that the coach yells at you.
And while I know there are a lot of fine coaches in youth hockey, the
good ones are not the subject of the mail I get. And while
sometimes your parents have legitimate concerns, my father and I have
been around long enough to know there also are more than enough "hockey
parents" and hockey brats to go around. I address the issue of
some of the shortcomings of coaches later in this newsletter, but let's
talk about hockey brats in this section. Chances are if you
subscribe to my newsletter you're not a hockey brat, but perhaps you
know one and will pass this along to them, hmmm?
I've
played for a lot of coaches on a lot of different teams in the past
24 years. They range all the way from coaches who didn’t know a
lick about hockey and didn’t even own skates to a coach who is in the hockey
Hall of Fame and has almost as many Stanley Cup rings as he has
fingers. All of the good coaches had two things in common: they liked
to work with and help kids and young adults, and they liked to win.
These two characteristics usually work in
your favor. You need help and you like to win. So the relationship
between you and your coach is usually based on common goals. I’m not
saying that all coaches are good coaches. Nor am I saying that it’s
easy to get along with all coaches. But based on common goals, it
should be a good relationship. If it’s not, the first place to look is
in the mirror. If this is not the first coach who you
or your parents couldn't get along with, look really hard at
yourself. Perhaps you’re not doing the things that every coach likes,
or maybe you're doing some of the things the coach doesn’t like.
What are some of the things every coach
likes? You can put honest effort on the top of your list. And the list
will also contain things like these:
· an honest
effort when you
practice.
·
an
honest effort when you
play.
· being
courteous, that is: being on time, telling him in advance if you cannot
be at a game or practice, listening when he speaks.
· being
respectful of him, the officials, your teammates, and equipment, both
yours and theirs.
· being
coach-able by doing what he asks you, following his game plan,
and taking
suggestions to improve your game.
· being
in control by not taking retaliation penalties, coming off the ice
promptly when a line change is made on the fly, watching your temper and
your language.
· being
helpful by cleaning up your share of the tape balls
in the locker room after practice and
taking your turn at being water boy or picking up the pucks after
practice.
· being
selfless by passing the puck to a teammate on a 2-on-0 with an open net,
welcoming new players to the team, or correcting the score sheet if you are
credited with an assist that belongs to someone else.
· being
ready to play by having all your equipment, being sure your skates
sharpened, and having enough tape.
You can put all of the things on this list
into a simple rule: work very hard, play very hard, and be a gentleman
or lady as well (girls play hockey, too). Do these things and
chances are the coach will like and appreciate you and the contribution
you make to the team. Most likely, you will stand out from the me-first
attitudes that are so common in sports these days, and that will not go
unnoticed by the coach.
What are some of the things that
hockey brats do that coaches don’t like? Put
being lazy at the top of the list. My father
use to address lazy play by saying, “I don’t hear any music playing!”
What we knew he meant was that we were playing hockey, not going to a
public skate session where one can leisurely skate to waltz music. The
rest of the list would include these:
· being
discourteous by missing practice or a game without warning or
explanation or coming late.
· being
disrespectful by talking back to the coach, mocking a teammate or
opponent, mouthing off to the officials, or using foul language.
· not
accepting coaching by having your own game plan instead of the coach’s,
or whining when things don’t go the way you think they should go.
· being
undisciplined by being a puck hog, staying out a little or a lot longer
after the lines have changed (and cutting into the next guy’s shift),
taking bad penalties, or not being in control of your temper or your
tongue.
· being
a slob by not cleaning up after yourself.
· neglecting
your equipment and being careless with the equipment of others.
· being
unprepared by not having enough tape, needing to get your skates
sharpened ten minutes before game time, or forgetting some of your
equipment.
You can condense all
these things on this list
into a simple rule, too: be a lazy, inconsiderate jerk. The reason
coaches dislike the kind of behavior listed in this second list is because
it goes against the reason they coach in the first place: to help kids
and to win. The kinds of kids who do the things on the second list
usually don’t want any help and this kind of behavior often prevents the
team from winning. Furthermore, having one inconsiderate player on a team
can diminish the fun for everyone else.
It may be possible that you have all the
good characteristics on the first list and your coach still doesn’t
appreciate you or you have
a hard time getting along with him. There are some coaches whose
behavior we can find on the second list. But I believe those are the
rare exceptions. And the good thing about it is you will only have them
for one or two years, and it shouldn’t be an excuse for holding up your
career.
But if you really can't
get along with the coach, and particularly if this is the second
coach you or your parents are having trouble with,
it may be because you do some of the things on the second list. If
that’s even partially true, I’m not sure you're
someone I’d like to coach or play with either.
If you would like to
print out a TO DO LIST and a DO DON'T LIST as a reminder of what coaches like and don't like -
click here.
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ÿThis
month's newsletter comes with our best wishes for a happy, blessed
holiday season, whatever your religious tradition. We celebrate Christmas
V. We know some of you come from
other traditions
YW\
and we pray you find joy
and peace in your celebrations as well. If ever there was a
time to
¯crown
thy good with brotherhood¯",
perhaps we can all agree it is now.
Please accept the holiday
greeting card
found here as
our good wishes for you and your families during this special holiday
season.
'
'
'
Dan and Jay Bylsma |
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THIS
MONTH'S BEST QUESTION ON THE WEB SITE…
Dear
Dan: My son is 11 and plays AA hockey in the Toronto
area. His strengths are in game sense (specifically knowing where
to be without the puck, and reading the ice well), playmaking, and
passing. Although he has a good shot, he gets many more assists
than goals because he is unselfish (passing quickly to an open man
rather than carrying it in himself and taking a shot). His
weakness is that although his skating is technically good - thanks to a
lot of extra technical skating instruction outside the team - every year
he tends to look a little slower because he does not have great "foot
speed". And because he does not score a lot of goals (but gets a
lot of assists) he does not seem to get the appreciation or attention of
the coaches relative to the flashy goal scorers (who tend to skate all
over the ice), which seems to be affecting his confidence in his
abilities. It seems to be a downward spiral that I am not sure I
know how to help.
My question is twofold: first, what would you recommend in order to improve
his foot speed. Second, I feel that most coaches appear to look
mostly for speed, the ability to make dramatic rushes and score
flashy goals, and undervalue the other skills which are his strengths.
This seems to be hurting his chances of making the team he really wants
to play for next year, or even in allowing him to achieve his potential
wherever he ends up. Should we be encouraging him to carry the
puck more himself and trying to score, or what can we do to help address
these confidence issues? C.B.
Dear C.B. While I don't doubt your observation that your son "looks slower,"
often players with the correct technique look slower but
are actually faster. That's usually because skaters with bad technique have to churn their legs
for speed
and that makes them appear to be faster. I'm
sure that several kids in my youth hockey program were thought to be
much faster than I was and when I play pick-up hockey with them in the
summer, they still look faster as I'm going by. I think most fans would be surprised (as
are some players) to learn the results of the timed speed trials that
are usually conducted at the beginning of each NHL training camp.
So the investment made in good technique is a sound one.
It could also be that your son's physical development is such
that his quick twitch muscles haven't
kicked in yet while other player's may have.
See Scott Moulson's comments at the bottom of
Q&A # 90 on the web site for a more definitive discussion about quick twitch muscles.
As far as play is concerned, compared to other
flashier players, call up my
November
newsletter
and see the section "ONE KID'S TRIP TO THE
NHL... current installment" and the discussion there about why some
flashy players don't make it in the NHL. Furthermore, a player has
his stick on the puck 30 - 40 seconds in a game. A casual
observer will watch the player with the puck and analyze his skills.
The knowledgeable person when evaluating players will also watch to see
what the player does the other 900 or so seconds he's playing without
the puck. This
is because what a player does when he doesn't have the puck is just as
(sometimes more) important than what he does when he has it. If
your son knows what to do when he doesn't have the puck, believe me when
I tell you it will be noticed by (more than
likely stand out to) any knowledgeable coach watching him play.
Then, there is a
demand for players like your son. One of the reasons cited for
Paul Kariya not getting off to as great a start as the Ducks had hoped
for this year is because he doesn't have the right kind of players - assist
players - playing with him.
At your son's age, we're talking about a
young boy. I'd be encouraging him to have fun with the game.
Revel with him in the fact that he leads the team in assists or is the
smartest player on the ice or that his skating technique is so
outstanding. Most serious hockey skill development comes after
puberty. If he remains concerned about his foot speed, check into the
Frappier Acceleration program in your area (see
Q&A
#103 for a discussion of this program). Frankly, they
typically don't accept kids until they are 11 or 12 because a player
needs to have certain muscular and skeletal development before intensive
training like the Acceleration program is effective. It sounds to
me like your son is developing into a fine player (a lot like someone
else I know). If he continues to have fun with hockey, he'll
continue to work on his game. As his body develops, some of the
difference you perceive will go away. If he stops having fun, his
interest will wane and turn to something else.
I conclude with the words of Sparky
Anderson, the famous baseball coach that emphasizes your role in his
development better than I can. "Your son will make it to the (NHL) in
spite of what you do for him, not because of what you do for him."
So sit back, help him enjoy, encourage him, and realize that his
progress is not up to you.
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MY CHARITABLE TRUST FUND...
If you subscribed to my Newsletter
last year, you know that I have a Charitable
Trust Fund - a means by which Mary Beth and I can support research into stillbirths
(a favorite cause of ours since we lost our little daughter) and also give young athletes who are struggling financially some
monetary help
to play the sport they love. I fund my Trust by personal
contributions and by auctioning some of my collection of hockey
memorabilia. Well, to whet the appetite of all you Red Wings fans, my good friend and former teammate Luc Robitaille has donated an
autographed game stick to put on my auction. I will add a copy
of our second book - So You Want to Play in the NHL - the one with the forward by Luc - also
autographed by Luc as well as my father and I. The bidding will
start now at $25 and will be closed on December 28 at 12 midnight EST.
You can see the rules for bidding and place a bid by going to the Charitable
Trust Fund page on my web site
www.DanBylsma.com or by
clicking here and going to the bottom of the page.
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NOTES FROM MY HOCKEY CAMP...
My
father tells me that the brochures for next summer's hockey camp
sessions were put in the mail on December 15 to all the players on our snail mail list.
That list includes all the players that have attended my camp over the last
three years.
That will give prior attendees time to get
their registrations in before we'll begin taking registrations on the
web site on January 2nd.
If you've been to my
camp before, you know it fills up very quickly, so if you want to come,
you need to act soon if you want to avoid being disappointed. If
you haven't been to my camps in the past, you will have about two weeks
after January 2 before it will be filled. We will post how many
spots are left each day on the web site and if it says we're filled...
that's what it means. Don't try to have your mother or
father soft talk my father into
letting you in after it's filled. He's soft touch but I'm not.
Thirty-two of you little angels is all we can handle on the ice at one
time.
Your parents will
notice that the price went up a little, but we've included the Camp
T-shirt in the price. Now we won't appear quite so mercenary on Friday
trying to get the last dollar out of your parents and you don't have to
be begging them for money for a Camp T-shirt.
* * * * *
At hockey camp our
big emphasis is on learning the fundamentals of skating and one of those
fundamentals is how to stop. I like to think of stopping as a
controlled slide. By that I mean to stop you slide sideways on
your skates until you get to the point or place where you want to come
to a halt. Then you allow the edges of your blades to dig into the ice
and stop you.
Teaching someone to
stop is easier shown than told but I'm here and you're there so I can't
show you, so I'm going to have to tell you. One way to get the
feeling of how to stop is to stand with your skates
together, plant one foot, and slide the other straight
out to the side so that you
shave the ice with your blade. That's
what a stop is in it's simplest form. So you should plant
your left foot and slide out to the side ten times or so with the
right skate.
Then plant the right foot and slide out with the left skate ten times or
so. Then alternate the sliding, first
one foot then the other - just like a goalie
does at the beginning of the period. He's doing it to shave the ice
in his crease, but you do it to get the feeling of sliding to a stop.
As you feel comfortable and get the
feeling of sliding to a stop, instead of
planting one foot and pushing off to the side, plant one foot and take a
stride with the other and do the slide with it
- toe pointing to the inside, of course.
Plant your left foot, push off and slide to a
stop with the right foot and as you do let the
inside leg (the one you planted and pushed off with) fall underneath
the other leg so that both legs are doing the sliding. Do ten stops
or so striding off your left leg, then reverse
the process and plant your right leg and take
a stride and slide the left one, again letting your inside (right)
leg fall underneath your left so that both skates are sliding to
a stop.
As you get comfortable and can advance, you can learn to stop at will by
applying more pressure against the ice with your edges. Go
faster and using the same technique, practice
until you can stop any place going at any
speed.
Things to remember:
1) you need sharp skates.
2) the best skating position is the seated position.
It's very important to maintain that deep knee
bend when we're stopping as well.
3) Keep you feet about a foot apart as you're stopping.
4) Stagger your feet a bit.
5) If, when you are sliding, your blades chatter, that is; your blades
cut, cut, cut, cut instead of a smooth slide,
your feet are too close together or you don't
have a good knee bend.
Using this technique, you should be able
to stop at will in either direction at any
speed in a short period of time. If you don't, go back to the
beginning and try it again.
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DAN’S HONOR ROLL
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I think
your academic progress is so very important that I have an academic Honor
Roll; I don't have an honor roll for hat tricks and shutouts. I hope
each of you are diligent in your studies and can either raise your GPA by
one point, or can attain a 3.5 GPA and be listed here. |
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NAME
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AGE |
GPA |
SCHOOL |
TEAM |
STATE |
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Mitch MacLoed |
11 |
3.85 |
Spring Lake Intermediate |
GRAHA Griffins PeeWee A |
MI** |
|
Cliff Jones ‡ |
12 |
3.96 |
Spring Lake Middle |
Muskegon House PeeWees |
MI* |
|
Marshall Jones |
10 |
3.85 |
Spring Lake Intermediate |
Muskegon House Squirt |
MI* |
|
Winston Jones |
8 |
4.00 |
Holmes Elementary |
Muskegon House Squirt |
MI* |
|
Tyler Spiering ‡ |
11 |
3.96 |
Sylvan Christian |
EGRAHA PeeWee B |
MI* |
|
Zach Fussey |
9 |
3.61 |
Holy Family Catholic |
IYHL Irish Rovers Mite A |
IN |
|
Joe Adams |
9 |
4.14 |
St. Paul's Lutheran |
Jr. Ducks Squirt A
|
CA |
|
Bryan Duke |
12 |
3.62 |
Perry Meridian Middle |
Indy Racers PeeWee A |
IN |
|
Ross Hinkle |
10 |
3.69 |
Wayland Pine Street |
Grizzlies Squirt AA |
MI* |
|
Aaron Alkema ‡ |
7 |
TR |
Kettle Lake Elementary |
GRAHA Griffins Mite AA |
MI* |
|
Daniel Monteforte ‡ |
14 |
4.20 |
E.
Stroudsburg Sr. HS |
Lehigh Valley Bantam A |
PA |
|
Bennett Schneider ‡ |
12 |
3.75 |
Ft. Meyers Canterbury |
Jr
Everblades PeeWee Grn |
FL |
|
Joshua Valkema |
13 |
3.50 |
Jenison Public |
Jenison Wildcats PeeWee B |
MI* |
|
Casey Hobbs |
12 |
4.00 |
Pleasant View Middle |
Pueblo Panther PeeWee |
CO |
|
Mark Hazel |
12 |
3.96 |
Pinewood Middle |
Kentwood PeeWee AA |
MI |
|
Ryan Corgan ‡ |
13 |
4.00 |
North Muskegon Middle |
Muskegon Chiefs PeeWeeB1 |
MI* |
Jody Lisicky |
11 |
3.80 |
Garnet Valley Middle |
Quakers Squirt AA |
PA |
|
Max Goldstein |
12 |
4.28 |
Loggers Run Middle |
Jr. Panthers PeeWee |
FL |
|
Jeremy Hopersberger ‡ |
10 |
4.00 |
Laingsburg Elementary |
Flint Phantoms Squirt AA |
MI* |
|
Dan Dunbar |
12 |
3.93 |
Los Flores Middle |
South Coast Sabers PeeWee A |
CA |
|
Barrick Bollman‡ |
12 |
4.00 |
Upton Middle |
S. Bend Irish Rovers PeeWee A |
IN |
|
Piero Iberti |
12 |
3.55 |
Packer Collegiate |
N.J. Jr. Devils PeeWee
Minor |
NY* |
|
Josh Corgan ‡ |
9 |
TR |
N. Muskegon Elementary |
Muskegon Chiefs Squirt AA1 |
MI* |
Kevin Brooks |
10 |
3.75 |
Santiago Hills Elementary |
Jr.
Ducks Squirt A |
CA |
Brandon Ryfiak |
10 |
3.50 |
Rockford Parkside |
Rockford Squirt |
MI* |
Mark Jannenga |
11 |
3.92 |
St.
Mary's Elementary |
Perani's PeeWee |
MI |
Paul Engman |
11 |
3.85 |
East
Rockford Middle |
Rockford Rams PeeWee B |
MI |
Lucas McShosh‡ |
11 |
3.96 |
Baldwin Middle |
GRAHA
Griffins PeeWee A |
MI* |
Andrew Fried |
11 |
3.75 |
Greens
Farms Academy |
Wonderland of Ice PeeWee |
CT |
Ian Jendro‡ |
11 |
3.50 |
Holy
Family Catholic |
Seattle PeeWee AAA |
WA* |
James Donley |
11 |
4.00 |
Maplewood Elementary |
GRAHA
Squirt |
MI* |
James Sheff |
10 |
3.95 |
Inland
City Academy |
GLAHA
Panthers Squirt B |
MI* |
Michael
Orlando |
9 |
3.5 |
Wrightstown Elementary |
Ice
World Devils Squirts |
PA |
Chris
Orlando |
16 |
3.5 |
Canterbury School |
Canterbury Saints H.S. |
CT |
Jonathan Koslop |
10 |
4.00 |
Pinewoods Elementary |
Everblades Select |
FL |
Seth
Hawthorne |
15 |
3.67 |
Grand
Haven High |
Grand
Haven Varsity |
MI* |
Zach
Runge |
12 |
4.00 |
Kellogsville Middle |
GRAHA PeeWee B3 |
MI |
Brad Christiansen |
10 |
3.66 |
Peach
Plains Elementary |
Excel
Propane PeeWee |
MI |
Ryan Christiansen |
6 |
3.5 |
Peach
Plains Elementary |
Grand
Haven Rec Inline Mite |
MI |
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There's
room here for you! |
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I hope all of you
set a goal to make this list. To qualify you must have a GPA
(on a 4.0 scale A= 4.0, A- = 3.75, B+ = 3.25, B= 3.0, etc) of 3.50 or
better, an average overall grade improvement (or OGI) of at least
one full grade over last year, or a Teacher Recommendation (or
TR) which must be Emailed directly to me by your teacher and be based on
outstanding achievement in a non-letter graded situation.
When you qualify, Email your name, age, GPA or improvement, school, team,
and state to
Number21@DanBylsma.com |
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*
Attendees of my hockey camp. **Mitch did the Acceleration
program with me this summer.
‡ Indicates repeat offenders. |
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NHL PLAYER TO COACHES from Dan...
This
is a little different - I'm writing to coaches this month. I'm
doing that because of the following letters we received:
From a player:
"We did bad
this weekend in a tournament and during the middle of the game our coach
pulled us over to the side for a timeout. He told us that we sucked and
used the F word every time he spoke."
From a parent:
"I would like to tell you what is
going on with 7 year old son's travel Mite B
team. The coach knows his hockey, but
has an attitude and favors some kids over
others. The coach will pull kids off
the ice if he thinks they're not skating "fast enough" but doesn't
explain what happened or why he pulled
him. My son asked him at a tournament if
checking was allowed and he said to him "that
is a dumb question" and walked away
although there was talk in
the arena lobby that checking was allowed.
He also stated that
my son should not listen to his father about hockey.
I have issues with him and want to
approach him in a diplomatic manner and find out
exactly what is going on and why he leaves these kids
hanging with no explanation on what they need to work
on or what went wrong in a game. He is also focused
on strategy and when players don't play their
positions he pulls them off the ice - again no
explanation. But this doesn't
happen to all the kids - he
has his favorites and it shows. His
favorites can play anywhere on the ice
they want to - with only high
praise. My son has good skating skills, understands
the game and wants to be a team player.
Your input would be greatly appreciated."
I include these letters
because they are typical of many of the letters - about one a week - we get
from parents and a few from players about coaches. You can see my answer to this parent
on the web site at
Q&A
#114. But essentially I want to say that if you are coaching
little children a few years out of kindergarten - you don't have to
"know your hockey" because coaching at this level isn't about hockey.
It's first and foremost about little children having fun. You
don't need to go much farther than to create an atmosphere that allows
them to have fun. Because if they're not having fun or it's a bad
experience - they won't stick around long enough to need to use the left
wing lock or the reverse break-out. The next priority is to teach them
skating, passing, shooting, etc. so they will develop the skills
necessary to play the game with confidence.
To punish a little
child by taking him off the ice because he made a strategy blunder is
criminal. I have a rule that a child ought not to be concerned
about anything he's not old enough to spell - that would include words
like strategy, commitment, leadership, synergism, cohesiveness, etc.
They should be concerned about words like play, fun, joy, skate, shoot,
and score.
I once led a hockey
camp for a Squirt AAA travel team that had a 104 page play book.
(I had just come from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs where
the Kings' playbook had 4 pages). Yet these Squirts couldn't throw a pass from behind the net around the boards to
their forwards - who didn't know how to catch it. I wondered how
much fun they had trying to execute 104 plays they didn't have the skills to
make.
I frankly don't care if
a coach "knows his hockey". When I entrust my little boy
to a coach, I only want him to
"know his children" - as in parenting skills. My father was
speaking to a group of hockey administrators in Huntsville this summer.
They asked him, "You have a lot of hockey people up in Michigan, but in
the South, finding qualified coaches is very difficult. What do
you suggest we do?" I'm sure his answer stunned them. He
said, "You have a lot of very qualified hockey coaches in the South.
You go to the very finest person you know, a person of character
and integrity. A caring person who loves and relates well to
children and ask him to be your children's coach. If he doesn't
have skates, buy him a pair. It will be the best investment you
can make for your children and your program."
We believe
coaching hockey for little kids isn't about "knowing hockey", it's
about "knowing children". And frankly, coaching in the NHL
isn't so much about "knowing hockey", as it is about "knowing people".
By that I mean what does any NHL coach know about hockey (some have
never played at the NHL level or if so only marginally) that he can teach Steve Yzerman? But he
better know Steve Yzerman and have the interpersonal skills to handle him.
So drop the puck.
Let them play. Let them have fun. Let them discover the joy of the
game. Teach them how to skate - sound fundamentals. And
please don't rob them of their childhood and remember that an ounce of
encouragement after a mistake is worth a pound of praise after an
accomplishment.
As for the coach the
player writes about, you can read my answer to this player on the web
site at
Q&A
#117. I think there's a verse in the Bible that applies.
"..who ever offends one of these little ones..., it were better for a
millstone be hung around his neck and he be drowned in the depth of the
sea." Modern day translation to this coach - apologize, get out of
coaching children, and get some help for yourself.
Dan Bylsma
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THIS MONTH'S SAYING TO PUT IN YOUR
LOCKER...
"If
you put your head down
and
work as hard as you can,
you
will be surprised where you find yourself
when you
pick your head up."
Kevin Sawyer
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ONE KID'S TRIP TO THE NHL -
current installment...
The
quote just above is one that my roommate on the road - Kevin Sawyer - says
has been a motivational factor in his trip to the NHL. Kevin spent
9 years in the minors playing for seven different teams before he landed
a permanent job with the Ducks this season. Kevin has nothing if
not perseverance and is the poster boy for my father's saying about
perseverance. I use Kevin as an example that not all NHL'ers step
right out of Juniors or college and become superstars.
Most of us, certainly myself included, had to battle a lot of odds and
overcome a lot of disappointments to finally realize our dream of
playing in The Show.
And a
lot of us are still battling to keep the spots we have. Ducks are
a lot like the team you play on. We have a superstar or two, more guys in the middle who are 10 to 20 goal
scorers, and there are about six or seven players who are not altogether
certain about their future and know they have to impress the coach and
the GM every game or there might be a plane ticket to the minors in
their
locker the next morning.
You
have the same thing on your team, a few kids who are the best on your
team, more in the middle and then there are five or six kids who - well,
let's just say they could be better. And every team has a worst
player. I'm writing this especially to the kids who could be
better and that includes the worst player.
I want you to know that
I know how it feels to be the worst player on the team. In
previous newsletters I hinted at it but now I can tell you what really
happened earlier this year (you get the inside skinny). When I got to training camp, it was clear to me that I
was not in the Ducks' plans for this season. The "A" was not on my
sweater, and I was playing on lines with guys who were surely going to
be sent to the minors the next day. I phoned my father and told
him it didn't look like I was going to make the team. He didn't
believe that could be true and tried to encourage me, but as the
training camp went on, the signs that I most likely wouldn't make the 22
man roster became ever more clear to me. I wondered if my career
was over, whether this was all a dream and I would wake up with my
accounting degree in my hand and have to get a real job.
At the start of the
season, I didn't play in the first three games, played in the fourth,
and sat out the fifth. If you had told me then that I would play in
all of the following games until now, I would have asked you who was
going to get hurt.
But I put my head down
and worked as hard as I could. I never gave up in practices, never
stopped being a leader in the locker room, and never expressed any
sourness at the coaches. I was determined that who ever had made the
decision over the summer that Dan Bylsma was not needed on the Ducks
would be proven wrong. Well, it's 26 games later and I'm having a
record (for me) year. I'm leading the Ducks in even strength goals
(6), short handed goals (1), shooting percentage (.333 - still leading
the NHL in that category as well), in goals per shift played, goals per
ice time, blocked shots by a forward, penalty killing percentage,
I've been the First Star of the Game a few times, and I'm leading the
NHL in short handed blocked shots as a forward (30). And the "A" is back on
the front of my sweater - all that from someone who was thought to
be the worst player on the team at the beginning of the season. So
all the way up to the NHL, there are players who are the worst player on
the team - like perhaps someone on your team or even you. And for
a short time, it was me.
If you are one of the
"could be better" players on your team or even the worst player, you
don't have to be... but there's only one person that can change that.
You. Put your head down and work as hard as you can - every
practice, every shift, every game, and I promise two things: 1) because
most players - even at my level - don't have that kind of work ethic you
will stand out to your coach, and 2) you won't be the worst player on
the team for long. I'll have to be writing to someone else next month.
And if you are one of the
better players on your team you'd better put your head down as well or
I can promise you two things also: 1) you may be the best player
on your present team but you don't want to be the worst player on your
next team, and 2) the worst player on your team might just be like Kevin
Sawyer or Dan Bylsma and we'd be "comin' at ya".
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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. |
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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. |
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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.
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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. |
If you know of another player or his family
who might enjoy Dan’s Newsletter “From the Right Wing…”, feel free to
forward the newsletter along. Coaches are welcome to send the names
and Email addresses of their entire team - we're happy to sign them
all up.
If
you are reading the Newsletter because someone passed it along and
would like to receive the Newsletter for yourself, Email your first
and last name to
newsletter@DanBylsma.com.
You
are also welcome to reprint articles of the newsletter in your hockey
newsletter. See
Q&A # 51
on the website for the proper way to do that.
If
you have a question you would like to ask Dan or Jay, Email your
question to
questions@DanBylsma.com.
You can see the questions asked and answered on the Q&A page on Dan’s
web site unless you ask that the response be
confidential.
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DAN’S ORGANIZATION
West Michigan Hockey
Camp, Inc.
P.O. Box 917
Grand Haven, MI 49417
Fax: 616-846-0710
Email:
Number21@DanBylsma.com
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“Remember… it takes three
things to succeed:
talent, hard work and perseverance.
And
the greatest of these is not talent.” J.M.B.
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