Preparing for Junior Hockey, Step 1

I am Jason D. Power and over the next few weeks I will be writing a series of articles for InGoal Magazine designed to help you navigate the waters of Junior hockey.

Over the last decade, I have had the good fortune to work with goalies from the Pros down to Mites. One of the most common issues I am approached with from High School goalies is that they and their parents for the most part are in the dark as to what the next step in their development process is. As a Junior Coach, hun- dreds of Potential Goalies try to market themselves to me each year and roughly 80% don’t even get consideration-because they don’t look after a few simple details that I can show you how to fix. Im going to present you with a carefully designed system over the next few weeks that will get you maximum attention...so stayed tuned and I’ll help you get the recognition you deserve and provide you a guide for your travels.

Parents, make sure you read this too. This after all is your child. As a parent myself (of the worlds greatest two kids of course!) I personally always take the approach “What if this was my son?” In essence, your son is going to be living with a new family in the care of a Coach you may have only met once or twice. Just as your son needs to, you should do some homework on the potential pro- gram he wishes to play for. The internet knows no ends...do your research, it’s free after all!

So at this point in the year, your hockey season has reached its halfway point and is starting to wind down headed for playoffs. Like most aspiring goalies, you have worked very hard over the last 4-6 years mastering your craft and feel as though the next level is calling. Last year’s team captain is off in a distant city living a new life in the Junior Hockey world, he keeps you abuzz to everything via Facebook and Twitter. The goalie on his team just committed to a D1 school for the following season, and you only have a few months before your hunt begins. Keep in mind, it is rare in today’s game for an athlete to go straight from High School and play Col- lege Hockey. Colleges want players to spend a year or two in Junior Hockey to develop, both physically and mentally.

But, what do you need to do? Over the next few articles, I am going to give you a guideline...and most importantly, some do’s and don’ts that I see over and over year to year! What may seem common sense to you, might be the lifesaving facts someone else was unaware of. As a proud member of the Goalie Nation, I personally like to see everyone get their chance and fair shakes. Like in everything in life, take lessons from those who went before you and learn from their mistakes!

With the exception of the CHL, every junior league in North America allows you to keep your NCAA eligibility. Keep in mind, there are tons of leagues out there from the USHL and NAHL in the US, and the BCHL and Ontario Provincial in Canada, just to name a few. Many people are unaware as to why young athletes lose their Eligibility by playing in the Canadian Hockey League, or Major Junior as its commonly known. The answer is twofold: for one, the players receive a stipend to play and cover their daily costs, and also the fact that many of the players have signed contracts after their drafts with respective NHL clubs. In the eyes of the NCAA, those particular players are considered Professionals, and thus the league gets professional status and affects all that play.

What you as a goalie need to do is sit down, and give yourself an HONEST assessment of where you feel is your best option. Remember, don’t set the bar only at the top and refuse to play below it. This is the next step in your development, you may have to start a level below where you feel should be to work hard and get there. When setting your bar, be realistic. Are you the top goalie in AAA hockey? If so, then yes leagues like the USHL and NAHL are attainable. If you are a senior backing up your High School team from say somewhere like South Carolina...odds are not terribly in your favor for achieving that same goal. Keep in mind, there have been MANY of goalies that have started out in Junior C or Tier 3 and moved all the way up the ladder and earned Scholarships to College to play hockey. Hard work does NOT go unnoticed.

No matter what avenue you take, the entire process is about marketing, and marketing only. You are marketing YOU, so take pride in it and give it 100%...if you are putting out 50% effort, coaches take notice. Remember, as coaches, we typically see hundreds of requests yearly from goalies wanting to make one of two or three roster spots on our teams. Our jobs rely on two things, winning and moving young athletes onto College. Some programs are notorious for being a pipeline to University hockey due to their traditions and their coach’s connections, while some programs are just the opposite. Do your homework and begin to figure out which programs are going to help YOU for YOUR future, and provide you with the best training to get there.

I am going to discuss over the next few articles ways of communicating with the coaching staffs of teams you are aspiring to play for. Naturally, like every great marketing plan, you need to have a path that goes step by step. To blitzkrieg a coach with lots of information about you will drastically hurt your chances...so let’s go step by step, article by article, and help you achieve your dreams.

This week I am going to discuss Step 1, the Email. Emails are a fantastic way to reach out to coaches and introduce YOU. Remember, an email needs to be a lot like a Mini Skirt; short, grabs attention, and most importantly leaves the coach desiring more. Here is a list of things to include in your email and some helpful hints:

Your name and all of your contact info. You would be amazed how many people forget this, no joke. I get emails from aspiring goalies almost hourly towards the end of the season, and it never amazes me how many I move to the delete box because of this. One time, I had a parent ask me why I don’t spend a few more of my precious seconds to email back and ask for the info...I simply asked why they didn’t spend more of their precious seconds and send it to begin with? Also, remember, it is an email...as in a letter. You are not tweeting another kid with acne...use proper English and punctuation for heaven’s sake.

Keep it short. No one will read anything over 2-3 paragraphs...a wall of text does not correlate to stopping pucks! Keep in mind this email is all about introduction and touching base. Your email should not read like you are scared, when writing it pretend you know the coach or he knows you. If you make the team, you have to virtually live in each other’s lives daily for the next 9 months... make friends early!

Highlights. Go ahead and attach a few YouTube clips...those are always fun to watch and take up only 30 seconds of our time. Make sure there is no Rap music...100% of the coaching staffs out there are over the age of 28, I myself am in my early 30s...many are much older. If it is something that would offend your parents or school, it will offend me too.

Stats-Keep your stats honest. If your team is one of those that keeps stats separate from what Pointstreak says, good luck. And remember, goalie coaches know how to read through stats...we under- stand that the historical misrepresentations of goalies known as GAA and Save % are indicative of the 5 players’ mistakes in front. Don’t be afraid to attach other stats like your bounce back win percentage, penalty shot/shootout percentage, and off-ice stats as well.

GRADES!!! If you don’t have solid grades...then what are you even hoping for? Colleges want athletes with good grades (sorry boys, a 21 on your ACT is not great). Keep in mind GPA is nice, but not the whole story. Kids from the worst public school in the country taking remedial classes and 5th grade level math can still get a 4.0.

References. ALWAYS add 1-3 powerful references in your email. If possible, use your goalie coach from summer camp...this has helped me the most. This past year I called Joe Messina from Bandits, Robb Stauber, and Jim Johnson from the University of Minnesota about kids that emailed me. What is nice about talking to guys like that is we all know each other and can compare you to others. In essence, it gives someone like me a solid foundation to know what I am looking at...love you or hate you, no one is willing to risk their reputation to one another by lying.

Camps. I like to know where you train, if even at all! It amazes me that some kids do ZERO training over the summer. By letting me know what camps you attend, it gives me a solid idea as to your style of training and shows me your level of dedication. Also, don’t forget to put down anything prestigious too! District and National camps are GREAT EXPOSURE, and it also lets a coach know you have gone through the refinement process and been identified amongst your peers.

PICTURE! Just remember, is the picture you are sending magazine worthy? Would you see it featured on InGoalMag.com? If not, then go get another one. You are trying to sell yourself! Include both an action shot and a head shot. Kids that are clean cut and serious get the correct attention. Having a mop for a hair cut hanging in front of your eyes with a goofy look on your face makes the delete button all that much easier.

This may be the most important of all – be personal! Each week, I get an email from a goalie that says along the lines “Dear Coach, I want to play for you.” Great lead-in right? Problem is he sent it to me and 60 other coaches CC’d in the same email. Will this lead me to believe that you really want to play for me? NOT so much! Again, you want me to spend a solid minute or two with my undivided attention on you and your email...do the same when crafting it! If you have to send 300 separate emails, so be it...turn off your cell phone, turn off Facebook, and focus on your future!

Stay tuned for my next article, I will be going over the recruiting DVDs and Showcases. Trust me, there are some major do’s and don’ts when we get to those!

As always, follow your rebounds and keep your stick on the ice!