Volume 2, Issue 7 - March, 2002

 "From the Right Wing…"

ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS  #21

Dan Bylsma’s Newsletter --- A Feature of West Michigan Hockey Camp, Inc.

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TThis month's issue contains:

 DAN'S TIP OF THE MONTH   THIS MONTH'S QUESTION   TRUST FUND AUCTION   TIPS FROM HOCKEY CAMP   DAN'S HONOR ROLL

  COACH'S TIP   THE SAYING OF THE MONTH   DAN TRIP IN THE NHL   DAN & JAY'S BOOKS   A WAY TO SUBSCRIBE

DAN’S TIP OF THE MONTH FOR PLAYERS…

In some of what my father and I have written, we've discussed why your parents should allow (even encourage) you to play youth sports, and the value of playing all the sports - not just hockey.  The reasons are for fun, to develop  your athleticism, and so that you can learn some important life lessons before you become an adult when a mistake can be more costly than just two minutes in the penalty box.

Based on my Emails, I'm concerned that I've left the impression that I want to change the game or take the element of competition out of your sporting events.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, competition is the reason we play the game, why we race to the school bus, try to win at checkers, advance to the highest levels in our Game Boys, be the first chair in the trombone section, or get the highest grade on a math test.  There is a strong desire built into us to win, be the best, to be the fastest. 

There are some people who think this is unhealthy.  They argue kids should play just to have fun.  So they advocate not keeping score or declaring a winner.  While the adults may not be keeping score, I suspect the kids who are playing know exactly what the score is.  I know I would.  While I support playing for fun, fun is one of the reasons you should play, but not the only reason.

I think the most important reason to play youth sports is to learn life lessons and competition teaches you an important lesson.  All throughout your life there will be a lot of serious competition and you should learn about competition, how to handle it, and that you need to work hard at competing if you want to win. 

There's competition to get into to colleges and the best students win.  There's competition for jobs and the best-qualified candidates win.   There's competition for promotions, and the best worker usually wins.  There will be competition to get contracts if you're a salesman, to get published if you're a teacher, to sell the most cars if you're a car salesman, and to win an election if you're a politician.  You may even compete for the attentions of your future marriage partner.  Life is full of competition - serious competition - and I think youth sports help you learn how to compete.  It teaches you that to win you must be your best and do your best.  It also teaches you how to lose and learn from your losses.

So don't let them turn the scoreboard off for your games.  While it's important to have fun, win or lose, it's also important to know if you've won or lost.  That's where the "learning life lessons" part of why I encourage you to play sports comes in.

My father spoke at a hockey awards banquet recently where the coaches indicated they were serious about being Christians and wondered if it was okay to want to win.  My father remembered the Biblical parable of the talents.  If you are unaware of the story, a rich man was traveling on a long journey and he gave one servant 10 talents (a measure of money in Biblical times), another five talents, and another two talents for safekeeping.  When the rich man returned he asked for an accounting from each of the servants.  The servant who received 10 talents had invested them and returned 20 talents to the master.  The one who had five returned 10.  The servant who had received two talents had buried his and returned the two talents to the master explaining he was afraid and didn't want to lose the talents, so he hid them.  The master was angry with this servant, fired him, and gave the two talents to the first servant.  The lesson of the story could be that you shouldn't bury your talents.  But the lesson also could be that you are expected to compete and try to win with the talents that have been given to you.  

So I encourage you to play the games of youth.  All of them.  Play them for fun.  Play them hard.  Compete to the best of your ability.  Keep score.  Try to win.  And learn the lessons of competition and what it takes to win.  Because believe me when I tell you you'll be competing for the rest of your life and the stakes will be more than a W or L on your team's record.

Dan Bylsma

THIS MONTH'S BEST QUESTIONS ON THE WEB SITE…

Dan: I question the need to discuss the use of alcohol in your newsletter.  It's a parental/association issue... A.P

Dear A.P. I am aware that for many people including myself (Mary Beth and I spent the Olympic break in Napa Valley) the use of alcohol is not a problem.  But professionally speaking, I have seen - up close and personal (roommates) - several potentially brilliant careers destroyed by alcohol and it's not a sight I wish to see happen to anyone else.  I write this after the headline that many of you may have read that 25% of alcohol is consumed by underage drinkers.  That should be sobering to anyone involved with youth.  The chapter in our second book "What's Wrong With Sneaking a Beer" was included to tell young players that if you aspire to perform at the highest levels, you need all your faculties.  And we can all agree that the use of alcohol precludes that.  And then there is an aspect of alcohol consumption by minors that the following letter points out more poignantly than I can:  

Dan: Please print the following in your newsletter if anyone thinks that a discussion of the appropriate use of alcohol at team functions is unnecessary...

"Being raised by hard working, God fearing, very loving parents, you would think that I would've listened to all of the warnings and advice about alcohol.  The truth is that I did.  Most people have stories about someone that they know who got into trouble with alcohol or worse yet, injured or killed in a drunk driving accident.  Growing up, I was no different.  I saw first hand the effects of alcohol abuse in my family and heard stories from other kids who had similar situations.  To most people that would've been enough to scare them, but not me.  You see, in my mind I was different.  I would never let myself get too carried away, or so I thought.

 Dan Bylsma  

MY CHARITABLE TRUST FUND...

The auction for the King's tickets and my first NHL Jersey will bring $1,000 to my charitable trust fund (the winning bidder's employer has a 100% matching gifts program!).  A huge "Thank you" to the winner and to all of you who participated. 

The next auction is a Kid's Auction.  I have a Wayne Gretzky hand numbered (416/1999) Farewell Tour Puck in it's Upper Deck Memorabilia box.  The Dealer who contributed the puck tells me that the retail price for these pucks was $100.  I also have a Teemu Selanne bear - a bright blue "Beenie Baby" type bear, and a signed copy of our second book, "So You Want To Play in the NHL."  So you're bidding on the package of the puck, the bear, and the book. 

Remember the rules for a Kid's Auction.  You must be under 18, you need your parents' permission to bid, and you can only raise the bid by 25 cents.  For the last Kid's Auction, I sent every unsuccessful bidder an autographed picture.  There may be a similar surprise this auction.  The bidding will start at $10 and will end on Saturday, April 7 at 6:00:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.

DAN'S TIP OF THE MONTH   THIS MONTH'S QUESTION   TRUST FUND AUCTION   TIPS FROM HOCKEY CAMP   DAN'S HONOR ROLL

  COACH'S TIP   THE SAYING OF THE MONTH   DAN TRIP IN THE NHL   DAN & JAY'S BOOKS   A WAY TO SUBSCRIBE

NOTES FROM DAN'S HOCKEY CAMP ...

One of the things you receive from me when you sign up for my camp is a package that reminds you it would be important to come to camp in good physical condition.  Usually that package contains a part of my summer training manual - largely because my father thinks you would find it interesting to see what an NHL summer training manual looks like.  While I always tell my campers they aren't expected to train like an NHL'er, it would be important to come into camp in good shape to avoid injuries, to be able to keep up, and not limit your participation. 

Part of the training manual deals with nutrition.  I was reminded of that by a question on the web site from a concerned Mom who asked what kind of foods are necessary to keep up a high level of energy.  Her player was dragging after the second period and didn't seem to have any energy.  That prompted me to pass along some of the suggestions from the nutritional section of one of the LA Kings' summer training manual.

The title of the Nutrition section is:

 "Nutrition for High Performance Hockey Payers

The Good, the Sad, and the Ugly"

At first I thought they were referring to some of my teammates.  But then I saw that the manual goes on to describe what kinds of food are good (highly recommended), sad (to be used cautiously), and ugly (avoid these or feel very guilty!!).  The manual starts out with five basic rules:

1. High performance... requires high quality foods from the four food groups:

   • Vegetables and Fruits

   • Meats

   • Grains

   • Milk and Cheese

   • and HIGH volumes of fluids

2. The high quality foods should emphasize carbohydrates (pasta, grains, potatoes, fruits, vegetables) and minimal fats (oils, butter, creamy sauces, red and processed meats).

3. The best fluids for re-hydrating are the electrolyte with sugar and water beverages like Gatorade; juices, water, tea, and mineral water are also very effective.

4. Fuels are restored at the fastest rate during the first two hours after exercise.  Therefore, post-game or practice, the high carbohydrate fluids and meals should be taken as soon as possible following the activity.

5. Sugars in the hour prior to exercise can result in a "low" or tired feeling just before or in the early part of the game or practice.  However, sugar/electrolyte drinks (Gatorade is best), during exercise result in very high levels of re-hydration and provide high-energy fuel without the "low" effect.

Here's the nutritionist's definition of the GOOD, the SAD, and the UGLY:

How important is this?  For a professional athlete whose body must be at it's optimum fitness and have the ability to generate high level bursts of energy over a sustained period of time - very important.  If I were to slack off and have two Quarter Pounders with fries instead of a good size portion of pasta and a large salad with bread for my pre-game meal, come game time it seems like I can't move my legs and I can feel the lactic acid build up (pain).

Typically, after a game I have soup, a large salad with bread, a big portion of pasta and perhaps an order of Chicken Parmesan because it's necessary to refuel what's been lost over the course of a game.

The saying, "You are what you eat" can be refined for athletes so say, "You can only burn the fuel you have and it's not called junk food for nothing."

So you feel like you don't have enough energy to play the entire game and your legs won't function during the third period, consider the food you're eating.  Quarter Pounders and fries may be the reason you're at quarter speed in the third period and your legs are fried.

Bon Appếtit!