🌱 From Travel to Academy Hockey – Confidence & Independence at 10 Years Old!!
Over a year ago, @Carson Hills and I started working together. Carson's family is from Virginia. And for those who don't know Virginia, that's not a very big hockey hub. So like many parents - they weren’t sure how to help him level up. And not going to lie, we struggled for the first bit trying to find his motivation to train. But yesterday, a year later, I asked Carson if you could go a week without training? I told him to completely "go nuts" - no hockey, no training, for entire week. And his reply was "well that's not going to be easy" of course - I laughed out loud. But more importantly, this was the moment I realized everything we've been working on finally clicked. Carson finally found his sense of ownership in his development. He also mentioned he's still not fully there yet. And I replied "of course, we're all still trying to figure it out" But now? No parents nagging him to train, he's showing up early and training even harder. And that's the beauty of coaching; it isn't about nagging players to do the right things. It's about creating a safe-space to start holding themselves accountable to their actions. And where's Carson now? He’s made the move from travel to a private academy team. Sometimes progress isn't by level - it's personal growth. And to us, that's a real win. 💪