Almost without exception, every single girls’ hockey player I’ve spoken to since I started Total Female Hockey two years ago has told me that she wants to play college hockey and play for her country.  With all the speaking, traveling and coaching I do across North America, I’ve probably heard that from well over 3000+ players at this point…

 

… which, to be honest, is awesome.  We all have BIG dreams.

 

BUT – and this is a HUGE but…

 

Saying and doing are 2 very different things.

 

Telling me, your parents, your friends, your coaches and your teammates that you want to play hockey in university or represent your country on the world stage is great.

 

But it’s really easy to talk about being great.
It’s a lot harder to take the action necessary to get there. It’s hard to go out and train off the ice all summer instead of taking it easy. It’s hard to go to power-skating lessons instead of playing 3-on-3.  It’s hard to go out and practice 150 shots every afternoon instead of checking your Facebook account for the 15th time in one day.

 

Becoming the best at anything – whether it’s your sport, your studies or your job – takes a lot of unpaid, unnoticed and under-the-radar work.

 

But that hard work is NEVER unrewarding.  You might be doing that work by yourself – but trust me, people will notice when you step back on the ice in the fall and you’ve taken your game to the next level.

 

Speaking of work, the month of June is one of the busiest of the year for me for traveling to different tournaments and showcases, and for running camps for teams and groups.  In fact, I am heading up to Sault Ste Marie this weekend to run a camp for their Midget AA team and then heading off to Vancouver to run the 3-day Total Female Hockey Experience Camp just a few days later.

 

By the end of this month, I will have met another 300+ players who will tell me about their BIG dreams.

 

And my challenge to them is the same challenge I give you this summer.
::  Stop just telling people about your dreams.

 

::  Stop just saying that you’re going to get a scholarship.

 

::  Stop just doing enough to get by.

 

And start TAKING ACTION.
::  Take control of your dreams.

 

::  Take time this summer to set goals for the future and start putting together your plan that’s going to get you there.

 

::  Take this summer and use it to become a significantly stronger, faster and fitter athlete, and a more skilled and more focused player.

 

Saying you want to get to the next level is good. But doing what’s necessary to get there is what makes you great.

 

Keep Working Hard, Dreaming BIG and Taking Action.

 

 

Your friend and coach,

 

Kim