Article Surfing Archive

For this article I'll define 'being ready to win' as... focused preparation waiting to meet a competitive opportunity.

So...being ready to win is really about paying attention to all the details.

You have likely worked hard all year, listened to your coach, perhaps you have even elevated your skill level by participating in a power skating and/or off ice training program. And no doubt, you are using great fitting skates and equipment.

Now, as the season moves ever closer to playoff time have you covered ALL the details...? Are you prepared to win?

In our world of skates and equipment this is the time of year that paying attention to the details becomes

an essential part of preparing to win by helping you to avoid simple yet frustrating distractons.

Think about this....You have been playing all season and the skates and equipment you have been wearing has been taking the brunt of your hard work. (and perhaps your body...but that's another article!)

In my years of experience, I have noticed that players and parents overlook a couple of fundamental yet

important details. Here are a couple of great tips that are guaranteed to help you to prepare to win.

If winning is about focus, then nothing is more distracting than skates that don't or equipment that doesn't

perform like it did when it was new.

Avoid the stress later and take a look right now at all your equipment.

1.) Is there any stitching that's coming apart on shoulder pads, shin pads, pants etc?... Are you using more tape on your equipment than you are on your stick? If so, get it repaired now, not the day of the big game.

2.)Look at your skates...closely! Is it ime to replace the blades? This is by far the most overlooked

performance issue. Blades wear down slowly over the course of a season and can slowly erode your

skating performance. Here are a couple of signs that may indicate yor blades need to be replaced.

a.) Falling or being knocked down easily.

b.) Working harder to maintain speed or skate as fast as earlier in the season.

c.) Hitting the edge of your skate on a tight turn

d.) Skates need sharpening more frequently.

3.) Are you still using that broken lace? Replace it now and be done with it.

4.) Do you need to replace old and worn out foot beds? Old foot beds affect both comfort and fit.

5.) Are all of the rivets tight or are they staring to rust out? Check under your old foot beds, and see if moisture trapped under them have started to rust the skates rivets. A loose blade holder affects performance, and if it comes loose during a game you could find yourself being a spectator.

As you can see it's all pretty common sense... yet year after year, we see the stress and panic of players and parents that didin't take the time to and get 'ready to win!