There are times out on the ice, when you think you’ve used up every ounce of strength you have, but you still need to dig in and give more. That’s when you make the choice to be a great female hockey player. Watch the clip below and see what’s possible when you don’t let your mind limit what your body can do.

Back in college, our team used to do the conditioning drill “7 up & 7 down”. It involved partnering up with a teammate and skating from blue-line to blue-line as hard as you could. One partner would skate there and back for “1” and then the other partner would go. Then the first partner would skate there and back twice for “2” followed by their partner. You would alternate with your partner all the way up to doing 7 times there and back…and then you would have to come all the way back down the ladder.

I remember the first time we did this drill when I was a freshman. We only did the 7 up (without the 7 back down) and my legs felt like jello, my lungs were ready to explode and I could barely take another stride. At that point, I couldn’t even imagine doing the 28 sprints it took to get back down the ladder.

No matter how much I try to block it out, I remember the day we did the entire “7 up & 7 down” for the first time. That day, I learned how far I could push myself, especially when the entire team was going through the same thing. I remember telling myself to, “Dig in and keep pushing”. This drill wasn’t about pacing ourselves – it was about seeing how hard we could go.

Don’t limit your body by what you think is possible.

Sprint all the way through the line.

Dig in and keep pushing no matter what.

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever pushed yourself through on the ice? And how did you feel, physically and mentally, after it was all done?

Work Hard. Dream BIG.

~ Coach Kim