It is easy to get motivated and excited for your next game.

But it is a little harder to get fired up for practice.

It is easy to just show up and go through motions.

It is harder to set a specific goal and focus all of your energy on making it happen.

In my final season playing at the elite level, I had the privilege of playing with a 3-time Canadian Olympian who is one of the best female hockey players in the world. It would have been easy for her to just go through the motions in practice and play down to our level. But she knew that in order to maintain her spot on the National team, she needed to push herself to be the best player possible every time she hit the ice.

Here’s how she made sure that she got better each and every practice:

She picked just ONE THING she was going to focus on for that day.

It might have been hitting the tape with every pass, having quick feet on 1-on-1 battles in the D-zone or aiming for bottom corners on every shot.

Whatever she chose, she committed herself 100% to “getting” that one goal in practice.

And it’s consistently setting and getting all those little goals over time that made her a great player and continued to keep her at the top of the women’s hockey world for a very long time.

Pick just one thing that you are committed to getting better at today.

=> It could be making sure that all your shots hit the net.

=> That you cover all your rebounds quickly.

=> That no one beats you one-on-one.

The key to being the best girls hockey player you can be is getting a little bit better each day.

Set a specific goal for the day.

Do whatever you can to go get it.

And then set your next goal a little higher.

That’s how you make your way to the top and how you stay there.

Work Hard. Dream Big.

~ Coach Kim