Don’t be a “Serious” Hockey Player

Hey Hockey Hacks Community

Without an investment, you can’t make any progress.

You are always invested into something every day. Otherwise you would be bored or doing nothing. Even then, THAT’s still an investment into - well, nothing.

That’s just how investing works. Here’s how it works for hockey:

Can you get better faster with 2 hours a week of Hockey-Specific Work?

I think it’s unproductive for your training to be on the ice for over 3 hours of “practice” time.

That’s a controversial take, considering you always hear these stories of the best players “practicing for over 6 hours every day.” But is it really controversial?

If you are reading this, you are probably NOT one of those best players.

So the question to ask here is, how much do you copy from what the best players do?

Much like you would not copy Chad Ocho-Cinco’s McDonald’s diet (supposedly) to get lean and shredded, maybe it’s not best FOR YOU to train 6 hours a day like what is rumored these top 1% players did.

I want to emphasize RUMOURED. Do you actually KNOW for CERTAIN that these players practiced as much as they did? Even as a coach, do you KNOW for CERTAIN? Did you act like a spotlight on them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Or did you only see them for 45–60min training blocks maybe 2–3 times per week?

In all likelihood, you were NOT a spotlight on these players for their entire lives up to the point of them making the highest levels of hockey. So you have no idea what they did, how much they practiced, and how they learned what they do.

Yes it is possible to get better faster while being on the ice for less than 6 hours a day. Yes it is possible to get better faster while training on the ice for 2 hours a week. There’s a difference between being on the ice for a long time, and training strategically. I have done both. Let me give you my current example:

As I am not currently playing and doing coaching instead, I am only doing a maximum of 2 hours a week of hockey mechanics training; 1 hour for 2 days. I make sure I get the most out of my training, so I set a 10 minute timer, and every-minute-on-the-minute I perform my sets of specific exercises/drills/mechanics. This allows me to get my mechanics better, but the shortened time frame allows me to get many conditioning benefits I wouldn’t otherwise get. I still take out my tripod and Ipad, looking back at my footage in the limited rest I’ve given myself.

So with this methodology as a whole in one training session, I am getting 50–200 reps of every movement I train in their respective 10 minute time frame, I am actually getting a workout with the limited rest time, and I am still using video to compare my footage during my rest times. Again, that takes only 10 minutes. So I have the other 50 minutes to do more! And so I do the same thing for 5 other drills, as that adds up to 6 drills in 60 minutes.

I am loving this training method for individual players, and I think it’s a go-to for anyone training on their own. Add this with your recovery, and you’re set to make gains quicker than anyone else!

Your brain learns best through sleep and recovery. That is why I say, “Recovery IS your training.” Plenty of studies back up this statement. And I’ve seen it to be true. Whenever I have gotten great sleep, my workouts have felt better, my metabolism is more manageable, and I can learn new skills (like hockey mechanics) much quicker. You have to give your central nervous system some rest. That’s the same driver of lifting heavy weights; if your CNS is fried, you won’t lift your strongest weight. You need the appropriate recovery. The CNS is also used in any intense activity like hockey games, which is actually a determinant factor in you having energy or not.

If you ever feel lousy, needing rest, or wondering why your energy is low, it may be that you did not let your CNS recover appropriately. It takes 6 times longer for your CNS to recover compared to your muscles. That’s why when you work to get the best sprint times, and lift the most weight on the bar, you rest for upwards of 3–5 minutes between sets. You allow for full recovery in this case. This is the game of strength. When you shoot for your best times or your best weights, make sure your Central Nervous System is appropriately recovered.

But there are still some skills you could practice daily. Juggling is an example of a skill you can do daily. Stickhandling falls into this same category, I believe. Both don’t tax the nervous system to the same degree that skating or lifting heavy weights do. They are great to do daily.

So how does this fit in to being a “serious” hockey player, or being a hockey development investor?

I think the “serious” hockey player always wants to be on the ice. And they easily achieve that. They always want to be in the gym. And they easily achieve that. They always want to explore every coaching method they can find. And they easily achieve that. I don’t think it’s difficult to be a “serious” hockey player. Because at the end of the day, everyone who plays hockey is a “serious” hockey player. Just like how everyone is serious about their eating, their morning routines, their jobs, and their daily doings in life, if you do it a lot, you are serious about it.

The difference to make is that just because you do something a lot doesn’t mean you’re INVESTED in it. Your morning cup of coffee may be a routine, but you don’t INVEST your coffee into anything. Your next Spotify hit you listen to in the car may be something you always check on, but you don’t INVEST that into anything. Your trip to Disneyland may give you happiness at the happiest place on Earth, but you don’t INVEST that into anything.

Your new hockey stick may be something you always look for, but what are you INVESTING that for?

INVESTING means spending and sacrificing the now for specific future benefits and gain.

But wait, are these NOT investments in their own ways. Yes, they could be. Entertainment, routine and a sense of normality so you don’t go crazy, having fun, getting attention, accessing higher status, etc. But notice how NONE of these are investments in HOCKEY DEVELOPMENT.

What is a true investment into your hockey development? You put it in proven, reputable, high quality and careful coaching. You have a PLAN, or a set of plans, for your next 3–5 years. You change your lifestyle so that everything centers around your hockey training. You find the BEST training methods that include, but are not limited to, training LESS than 6 hours a day. Maybe you get an outside job so you can fund the investment. You are looking for a RETURN on EVERYTHING YOU SPENT just to make RESULTS HAPPEN in your hockey career.

I created the Hockey Hacks System to solve this exact problem — that too many hockey players are too serious about hockey. And yes, you can be too serious about it. What happens when you train so hard that your performance drops because your recovery sucks? What happens when you can’t pay for the training you want because you’re too stuck on training 10 hours each day? What will happen with your family and your team when you”re so obsessed with hockey that you ignore the INVESTED FOUNDATIONS that allow you to train and play?

I have done the 6 hours a day training. I hurt my hips because of that, and likely lost 2–3 years of development I could have used to turn professionally, had I INVESTED in smart training.

I have been on teams where the players don’t invest into the team. What happened to those teams? They folded, because the “serious” hockey players INVESTED no attention to the state of their team.

We’re changing the narrative. It matters What you Train, not How Hard you Train. This is what it means to be truly INVESTED in your hockey training. And the Hockey Hacks System is your TEST to see if you are an investor of your development or not. If this is you, go sign up, because I support your career for the long-term. I don’t just do one-off camps and say “goodbye”. I am with you EVERY STEP OF THE WAY to make this happen for you. This is the support I wish I had when I was 12 years old; I could have made the NHL with this system.

If you are a hockey investor, go sign up for the Hockey Hacks System.

Yours in Hockey Hacks,
Mason