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Practice makes Perfect
When
I participated in my first pickup game of hockey, I
was probably marked by most people as pathetic.
However, I had such a passion for the game that nothing could
prevent me from prying towards improvement.
Now, practically every chance I get, I try to gain
possession of a stick, and practice my shooting and
puck-control. My parents preach to me that if I want to
plow my way into a higher level of play, it is going
to take a lot of practice, hard work, and pain. To
push my skills to higher plateaus, I painted
targets on a wall so that I can fire pucks at it whenever I
please, and although I have punctured plenty of
windows and doors, my parents are proud of my
persistence. They said that they don’t mind the penetrating
sound of pucks pinging off posts, as long as I can
pay for the damage, and patch up any holes in the garage
door.
To parallel my dry-land stick work, I also have to work on my
physical fitness. I now participate in a hockey
specific training program, which pin-points weight
lifting, running, core work with tools such as physio balls,
and plyometrics to increase speed and power.
Aside from the physical part of hockey, I need to
continue to develop my mental portion of the game.
Preparation is the key to a productive game, so I
paint pictures in my mind of scoring the game winning goal in
the playoffs, punishing the other team on our
power-play, and preventing them from scoring against our
penalty-kill. I stay away from bad images like punching
the glass if I get a penalty, or pounding my stick on
the ice if I miss a pass. I think about having poise
in pressure situations, and pursuing defenseman on the
forecheck like a psycho, without making poor plays or
being out of position.
Although I have a passion for games and organized
hockey, pond hockey is probably my favorite thing to
do. It promotes every important skill in the game, and at
the same time, it is great fun. Plowing an open spot on
black ice, and playing for endless hours with my pals
has produced countless memories of past winters.
There is nothing like the feeling you get from doing whatever you
want on your own private rink, and practicing at the
same time.
My dad says if I pursue my dream of playing college
hockey, he can picture it happening. To get there, I will
need to push towards skills such as the powerful
skating ability of Patrice Bergeron, the puck control
of Peter Forsberg, the patience of Pavel
Datsyuk, the shot of Patrick Marleau, and potent
leadership skills of Paul Karyia. These professionals
worked hard to get their skills, and I am willing to do the same. I
am pushing myself to reach my peak, but at the same
time, I am enjoying the perfect game of hockey.
-Josh Richards |
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EMAIL QUESTIONS to:
Carrie Grillo
CLAIRE
GRILLO
DEAN GRILLO
CHUCK GRILLO
JOE
CIARDELLI
or call (218) 963-2444!
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