I'm part of a private Facebook group for coaches.
Not just hockey coaches, but all types of coaches from all sorts of different levels and representing all sorts of different sports.
It's been an awesome community to be a part of and is interesting to see other coaches perspectives on their sport.
It got me thinking about this blog the other day when I saw something that was asking what's the best advice you can give to an athlete.
So what's the best advice that I can give to a hockey player?
The more I thought about it, I realized that my advice isn't specific to hockey but really is useful for any athlete, or really anyone looking for advice.
For me, it comes down to two things:
1. Be passionate about what you do.
2. Be willing to work incredibly hard day in and day out for whatever you're passionate about.
I really believe that if you can master those two concepts that you will always be able to find success in some fashion.
As we all know, hockey is hard.
If you want to be good at it, you're going to have to commit a lot of time, effort, and energy into becoming a hockey player.
Days will get tough...hell seasons will be tough. But, if you want to be a hockey player then you need to have a passion for the game. A love so pure for the game that getting on the ice everyday is exciting.
Now the beauty of this is that if you have a real passion for something, like hockey, then working hard at it shouldn't come as a huge struggle.
The people that are really passionate about the game are the ones that really embrace the grind of it all. They take the good with the bad and make the best of it.
I really believe that if you can find what you're passionate about and really work at it, you'll find success.