The season has started. Final camps, pre season games and regular season games have started, and the chase of the dream is entering its peak for this season.
So what happens when you get cut at this point in the year? What do you do?
The first thing you do is self evaluate. Take a few hours and evaluate exactly what took place in the week or two weeks leading up to being cut. Don’t start pointing fingers at coaches, or other players. Take some responsibility for being cut because in the end, you’re the person who has to recover from it. After those few hours, or a maximum of one day, move on, put it in the rear view mirror and learn from it.
With an average of seven or eight players competing for every spot on every roster, you began the tryout with a fifteen percent chance of making the team. Open your eyes and look at the numbers. If you did not do all that you could have done in the camp, and did not treat every game as if it was a championship game, then you have no one to blame for not making the team but yourself.
There is no time to sit and rehash everything over and over. A whole lot of other players just got cut too, and everyone is looking for a new spot.
So get over it, learn from it, and move on.
It is now September. With a few hundred players hitting the street this week from the NAHL, NCDC, and Canadian Junior A you had better be prepared. You do not have time to waste and there is now a lot of competition for every remaining roster spot.
It is now time to put the backup plan into action. If you don’t have a backup plan with another team, in another league, at another level, then you are behind all of the smart hockey players in the world that have the backup plan.
There are still Tier II teams in Europe that are looking for players as well. Don’t say you are willing to do anything to play Tier II if you won’t consider playing in Europe. If you wont consider it, you are not willing to do anything and you should re-evaluate your commitment to the game.
If you do not have a Tier III or Midget backup plan in place by now, you may not have a team to go to. The player must remember that there are only so many spots on so many teams and too many players to try out for those spots.
For those with no backup plan, you need to remember the Midget and Tier III teams have already been holding their tryout camps. Most of those rosters will be finalized by the end of this week. You will have to work hard now to create a backup plan.
There is no time to worry over the disappointment any longer. You got cut, so what.
Nearly every player in the world gets cut in their career. The best player is the one that turns the experience into motivation to perform better. The smart player can look in the mirror and say “I could have done this better” or “I should have done that better” The smarter player can say “I am not quite ready for that level and I need to got to the other team to get ready.”
If you are player, not just person who plays the game of hockey. You self examine your play and you know others were just a little better. When you see this, and you see that summer is over, it is time to make a backup plan work. Don’t be the player who has no team to go to, because your ego doesn’t allow you to walk along a different path.
If you think you should be playing at a higher level, prove it. Dominate someplace else, and make them notice you. If you want to get attention as a player, you need to dominate, not just show up.
When you are ready to take a new look and approach moving forward. When you are ready to be put into a position to dominate and get noticed. I will look forward to talking with you.
Joseph Kolodziej – Adviser
