Get To The Next Level In Hockey (Become Multi-Dimensionally JACKED)

The concept of "hockey development" gets thrown around a lot in hockey.

It's become a buzzword.

It's confusing.

What does it mean to "develop" a hockey player?

What goes into developing a high-level hockey player?

What does it take to move up levels?

What does it take to go from:

• Minor to Junior?

• Junior to College?

• College to Pro?

• Pro to higher levels of Pro?

These are the most important questions in hockey.

These are the questions I obsess over.

Yet I do not hear very many people explaining these things in simple terms.

I can't help but feel like many development coaches are focused on hiding their secrets and philosophy.

I think that so many players and parents are being fed cheap tactics instead of wholesome strategies to level up.

Development always requires strategy.

We all have a strategy for everything in life whether we know it or not.

We have a strategy for how we treat people (e.g.: treat others the way you want to be treated).

We have a strategy for our job and making money (e.g.: work hard, and learn the skills required for a raise).

We have a strategy for having fun (e.g.: build great relationships, make time for friends and family).

These strategies can also be described as principles.

This is how Ray Dalio thinks of them in his amazing book conveniently named "Principles".

As a player, I went from minor to junior, to college, and then decided to differ my options to play pro and coach.

I learned a lot of strategies that both worked and did not work.

One thing I wish I understood for example is what Ray Dalio also talked about in the principal's book:

As I shifted into coaching, I have studied several things about this path from others perspectives.

I focused on studying the paths of hundreds of players and games to see what worked and what didn't.

I always aim to distill this knowledge for you in these letters.

I do this because I understand where you are.

I know the pain of feeling helpless in the hockey world.

I know the feeling when you are working your ass off to get noticed but scouts and coaches at the next level don't seem to notice.

You are trying to jump to the next level, but feel like you have a ball and chain attached to your ankle.

It might feel hopeless right now.

But I promise you there is success in your future.

It might not be the NHL (or maybe it will be), but there is so much potential inside of you.

I need you to KNOW there is so much potential inside of you.

I need you to know that your potential is waiting to be unleashed.

But it is like a wild animal that must be trained.

Your potential needs a development strategy so that it can be fully let loose.

That is what we will talk about in this Identity Letter.

How Did We Get To This Identity Letter?

Last week we talked about some key things to focus on so I will put the links here:

The 10 Hockey Player Archetypes (Forwards & Defense)

The 3-Hour Hockey Workday - Optimize Your Training System

The last 3 articles (including this one) follow a logical sequence:

1. In the Identity Archetypes letter, we broke down how scouts and coaches see you.

2. In the 3-Hour Workday video, we broke down how to train better to make the most of your Archetype (or shift it)

3. In this letter, we will break down the larger picture of your training and how to optimize it (Player Development).

This will give you a much more complete picture of your game.

It will also give you key insights into how we approach things in the Next Level Academy.

Holistic Development

Let's start by defining Player Development.

Development: to grow or cause to grow and become more mature, advanced, or elaborate.

Hockey Player Development: the process of growth and becoming a more mature, advanced, and elaborate hockey player.

Put simply it's the process of getting better.

Development happens through your actions:

• Skills work

• Mental work

• Physical training

• Game experience

• Life Experience

It also happens through the subconscious programming that happens all around you.

Programming like social media, music, TV shows/movies, friends, family. coaches, teammates, etc.

Most people focus on skills development when it comes to a player's development.

I believe that if you had to pick one, skill is probably the most important - so don't neglect that one.

But I think that is a limited view.

Player Development is about who you become as a person on and off the ice.

This is what I call the Identity.

Development is about crafting your Identity over time.

The steps are:

1. Set target (In Game)

2. Prepare

3. Face challenge (win/lose/fail/feedback)

4. Learning (the RIGHT lessons from the wins and the losses)

5. Getting better (mentally, physically, and skill-wise)

6. Repeat

It's about becoming multi-dimensionally jacked (not just physically jacked) - Stole this idea from Dan Koe.

This feedback loop will make you multi-dimensionally jacked.

I consider this the Identity Shift Philosophy.

Becoming Multi-Dimensionally JACKED

To apply this philosophy it takes consistency over a multi-year period.

This is not a philosophy you try on for a week and then decide it doesn't work.

It's something you must apply for 5-10 years.

This is the Long Term Player Mindset that we teach at the beginning of our mental courses.

It's just like building muscle.

It takes a high-quality plan applied over a long period to develop a great body.

Yet we expect our hockey game to be like this.

Sure you may not be the best player in your age group now, but in 10 years from now I have watched average players become great pros.

How did they do it?

They kept getting better using a feedback loop similar to this one and applied it with consistency.

My Advice

So here is my advice:

1. Go all in on this philosophy.

2. Study the game deeply (watch film and as much hockey as possible)

3. Study your own game deeply

4. Get a hockey notebook (digital or physical)

5. Make sure you have all areas of the game covered

   1. Mind

   2. Body

   3. Skill

1. Embrace failure

2. Learn to love the process (because the process creates the outcomes)

I truly hope this helped.

Don't worry, we will continue to dig deeper into hockey development in our future Identity Letters.

So there is MUCH more to come.

For The Players Who Want More (Only)?

Here's my sales pitch for the best program I have ever made to help hockey players learn the tools I deeply wish I had understood as a player.

In this program, I teach the strategies and tools that have helped our clients:

• 5x their goal totals in one season

• Secure full-ride NCAA scholarships (worth $240,000)

• Discover the joy of playing again

• And much more

Apply here to join the Next Level Academy.

The Next Level Academy includes instant access to:

• The Identity Mastery System (8-week mental mastery program)

• The Hockey Meditation Course (28 guided sessions)

• The Hockey Visualization Course (over 15 guided sessions)

• Next Level Sleep System

• Next Level Skills Course

• Athletic Freak Workout program

• Freak Speed Program

• Bedard Forearms Program

• The Bullet Proof Hockey System
  

Plus:

• 3x Weekly coaching calls on focus, confidence, IQ, and training advice.

• Weekly pattern of the pros masterclasses (assess to full study material I complete each week as I dive into what makes the best players great).

• Weekly course updates.

• Weekly hockey insights are broken into easy-to-digest micro-lessons.

• Exclusive insights into the minds of scouts, college players, pros, and coaches at the highest levels of the game (NHL, AHL, ECHL, NCAA, etc.)

Apply here Hope you have a great week!

- Corson