I am getting a lot of calls and a lot of emails. All the players and parents looking for the easy fix, or the adviser who can wave a magic wand and make all the problems in hockey and hockey politics go away.
If you want the answer to your inability to reach the next level I have it for you.
The answer you want, the solution you are seeking lies in the work you are refusing to do, the changes you are refusing to make and the chances you are refusing to take.
Lets get real for a minute here. You think you deserve to be at another level. You think you know what you should do. You think that because one player you know took one route that you sould too. You think because you played with “Jimmy” so and so last year that you should be where he is this year.
It is time for some tough love parents and players. If you have not reached the next level, there are reasons for it. None of those reasons are based in what you think you know. This answer is universal. Why? Because you dont know anything other than what you are choosing to believe.
Reality check. Time to throw all your old belief systems out the window. Time to leave all the things you think should happen in the trash. Obviously everything you have thought has not worked and it will not work next year either.
Hockey is like “Ariticial Intelligence”, it is constantly learning and evolving. Growing, processing data, and changing how data is interpreted.
If you are offended by this then thats your problem. Truth can be offensive when people dont want to see the truth.
If you knew what you were doing, then you wouldnt be reading this. If you knew the path that should be taken for yourself or your child, then clearly you would be on it and experiencing success after success. But you dont and you are not.
Players and parents need to stop saying they will do “whatever it takes”, when you will not do what ever it takes. Because “whatever it takes” usually means doing something outside of your comfort zone and out of the traditional ways you have looked at things.
Its time to stop believing all the sweet music your coaches have put in your ears whille in AAA or prep school. Because if you are not at the Tier II or Tier I level after your AAA eligibility has run out, then you havent been paying attention to the facts of hockey.
So many of you are so caught up in what everyone else is doing, you completely miss what you should be doing.
No two players paths are the same. Sometimes the shortest distance from point A to point B is a road that is not on your google maps. Sometimes, with everything in life, you get what you pay for. Free is never really free.
I am writing this today because a recent chat with a potential client and his parents inspired me. The player thinks he is special. He could be special, but he has never proven he is special against special competition. His parents think he is special too, and think that money is the solution to the problem of a lack of production on the ice.
This player who has performed at a good level in the past has never been a top producer. He has never dominated the competition he has faced, but he has always looked good, and shows flashes of breakout potential. Thats not enough to get you to the next level in North America.
This undersized player, who is sitting at home, was given an opportunity to play on a top level junior team in Europe, a free to play opportunity, in one of the top hockey countries. Thats what he and the parents said they wanted. But when presented the opportunity, it was not “good enough” for them. Yet, this player said he would do what ever it takes. Clearly doing what ever it takes has a different definition for some people.
News flash, no one is special when it comes to really high level programs unless they prove they are special.
So once again I say to you;
The answer you want, the solution you are seeking lies in the work you are refusing to do, the changes you are refusing to make and the chances you are refusing to take.
When you are ready to break through, and commit to doing “what ever it takes”, I am willing to do what ever it takes for you to get to the next level.
Joseph Kolodziej – Adviser
When making decisions, Hockey Talent Management has been providing sound advice to players and parents for nearly three decades.
