Volume 2, Issue 8 - Summer, 2002

 "From the Right Wing…"

ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS  #21

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

(Printer Friendly Version)

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…

One of the pieces of advice I've stressed over the past years in the importance of hanging up the skates for the summer, play other sports, do other things, and have some fun (like fishing).   Among the reasons for that advice are:

•  to develop your athleticism.  This is because the players who advance in the sport are the good athletes, not necessarily the good hockey players.

• to avoid getting burned out on hockey.

• to make new friends and have new experiences.

• to stop picking your parent's pocketbooks for ice time money and skate sharpening.

• other sports have something to teach you that will help your hockey.

I know that some youth hockey coaches don't subscribe to that advice and think if you don't skate over the summer, you will fall behind.

Those of you who are enrolled to attend my hockey camp have received some pre-camp instructions and I included the first few pages of my Mighty Ducks summer training program/manual.  Realize this is a training manual designed for players who are arguably the best hockey players in the world - not for PeeWees or Bantams.  But this is what it says -  these are the very first sentences in the manual:

"What is the off-season?  It is the valuable time that falls between the end of one competitive season and the beginning of the next.  It is a time when a hockey player must focus on recovery, development, and preparation, respectively.  It is a time to focus on becoming a better athlete, not necessarily a better hockey player".

I've highlighted the sentence that I think is important for you.  This is the introduction to a NHL team's summer training manual in which the writer repeats the advice I've been giving you: do you want to become a better hockey player?  Become a better athlete.  If that advice is good enough for the likes of Paul Kariya, it should be good enough for you.  So I hope this special summer addition of my newsletter finds you playing baseball, soccer, tennis, golf, swimming, fishing, etc. and having fun doing it.

I received a letter from a father of a goalie who wanted to know if his son could skate where I skated in the summer because "I don't want him getting rusty or falling into bad habits."  I'm sure that father was surprised to learn that I haven't taken to the ice since my last game of the season and I won't play any hockey until the middle of August.  And you know what, I'm already itching for the season to start - just like I did when I was a kid and I didn't skate all summer.

More on this in the next section "THIS SUMMER'S BEST QUESTION ON THE WEB SITE..."

Dan Bylsma

THIS MONTH'S BEST QUESTIONS ON THE WEB SITE…

Dan: I have three questions.  1) How much organized hockey should I play over the summer?  2) How many hockey camps/clinics should I do over the summer?  and 3) How many hours a week of ice hockey is enough? T.B.

Dear T.B.: How much organized hockey should you play over the summer? None. Play baseball, soccer, golf, but don't play hockey. You get to be a better hockey player by increasing your athleticism and you do that by playing other sports. Besides, if you love hockey, you don't want to get burned out. I didn't play hockey from May to October and then I was so excited for the season to start, I couldn't sleep the night before. Each year my father noticed that I was better at the beginning of a new season than I was at the end of the last season.  He concluded that I had increased my athleticism and that translated into being a better athlete, and consequently a better hockey player. Add to that your doctor will tell you it isn't good for your physical development to play just one sport. And if you want to play in the NHL, you better be as physically developed as possible

 

How many hockey camps/clinics should you attend over the summer? Do you deserve to go to any? Are your grades good? Do you do your chores when you are told? Have you earned part of the money yourself? If you do deserve to go, you should only go to one week. If you want to go to camp for two weeks, make the second camp an Odyssey of the Mind Camp, a Band Camp, a Boy Scout camp, or a just plain fun camp. Hockey is not that important to go to a camp for two weeks. I only went for one week - ever - and I had to earn part of the money and I couldn't have gone if my grades were not up to my best effort. I'd have been in summer school or Math Camp.

 

Then, how many hours a week of ice hockey is enough? Enough to do what? You are a child. Playing games is part of your childhood. Asking me how many hours a week of ice hockey is enough is like asking me how many hours of Monopoly or Kick the Can is enough (those are some of the other games of childhood). Hockey is a pastime - you do it because it's fun. When it isn't fun anymore, stop doing it. If you told me you wanted to be a doctor when you grew up, would you be asking me what part of your childhood should you sacrifice now by practicing to be a doctor? I don't think so. Play hockey if (and only if) and when (and only when) it's fun. When you're tired of it or you're not having fun, quit and do something that is fun.

 Dan Bylsma  

MY CHARITABLE TRUST FUND...

The auction for the Teemu Selanne bear - a bright blue "Beenie Baby" type bear, a signed copy of our second book, "So You Want To Play in the NHL", and a Wayne Gretzky farewell tour numbered puck brought a high bid of $24.75.  I had several of the pucks and the bears so we offered the same deal to the four highest bidders.  Then some of my good friends offer to match the highest bid.  So all together, over $200 was contributed to my Charitable Trust Fund. 

Thanks to all that participated and this Kid's Auction has generated so much interest, we'll do it again next season. 

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 ...

We have had some unusual situations arise for hockey camp this year.  One parent called to say that his son's report card came home at the end of the school year and the grades on it were not reflective of what the young man was capable.  So, because hockey camp was a reward for taking care of your responsibilities and he had shirked his responsibilities, there would be no hockey camp.  They would have to forfeit their non-refundable deposit and wouldn't be coming (from some distance).  It was reminiscent of what my father would have done to me under the same circumstances.  I supported that father's decision.  We not only returned the deposit to the family, but I wrote a letter to the young man encouraging him to do better next year and enclosed a copy of the book.  I suggested he should read Chapter 4, "What's One of the Most Important Things You Need to Do to Make to the NHL".  I hope to see his name on my Honor Roll next season and at camp next year as well.

 I'll let you in on a secret.  This year you will skate with two Mighty Ducks at my hockey camp.  My best friend in hockey, Todd Reirden (defenseman (Edmonton, St. Louis, Atlanta) who helps out at my hockey camp) has agreed to terms and will be signing with the Mighty Ducks.  I hope the good luck I've had playing against him will carry over to me as I play with him.  It'll be nice to have a long time friend in the locker room and on the ice with us.