The 25 Skills You Must Master to Play Pro Hockey (Will Take You To The Next Level)
- Corson Searles
- Dec 11, 2023
- 8 min read
What if I told you that you are only preparing at 50% capacity?
What if I told you that you could be WAY better than you are right now?
What if I told you that there are 25 areas of the game you should be working on?
Don't freak out, but everything I just said is true.
See, you probably think you are working hard to reach the NHL, NCAA, or pro hockey, right?
You probably are pushing yourself harder than anyone else you know, right?
I was doing the same thing.
Turns out I was not even close to doing everything I could do to be better.
It took me 20 years of playing to realize that there are so many things that you can do to improve your game.
We are usually only exposed to about 40-50% of them.
It is my mission with Identity Shift Hockey to make all high-level hockey training available to all hockey players.
I want to make it possible for all players to reach their potential.
The key to doing this is about exposing the mental, physical, and skills secrets that are not talked about.
Opening this info up pushes the game forward.
Potential Over Professional
See how I said FULL potential instead of saying “pro hockey”.
The reason I say this is because playing in the NHL is not the goal anyone should be aiming for.
There are so many factors that influence this.
Things like:
Natural talent
Right coaches at the right time
Optimal physical development
Location
Etc...
And even when you make it there, every player realizes the work has just begun.
Don't believe me? Go watch all rookie's first NHL interviews, they all say the same general thing - the work has just begun.
So instead of worrying about what level you end up at -> focus on how good you want to be.
"Focus on your potential and that will propel you to where you are mean to be"
That’s what I mean when I say ‘next level’.
It’s not that you don’t want to move up to higher leagues.
Getting to the next level means levelling up in the game of your development.
When your attention is directed at YOU, everything changes.
"The game of hockey is all in your head. You win in your head. You lose in your head."
You must realize that playing in higher leagues will always the result of you reaching your potential.
Introduction to Systems Thinking
So here’s the deal, your performance is not just your skills, it’s not just your mind, it’s not just your numbers in the gym.
On-ice performance is a combination of all of your abilities coming together.
It is a combination of your mental, physical, and skills systems coming together as one.
Think of this like your body's systems. You have:
your cardiovascular system
your nervous system
your digestive system
respiratory system
endocrine system
etc...
All these systems play a role in your body's performance. They are all interlinked.
If one is not working it will lead to lowered performance over time.
I like to think of on-ice performance as a collection of systems too.
The Identity Shift system looks at your performance as three core systems:
The Mental system
The Body System
The Skills System
Your Weakest Link
Your weakest area will lower your performance on the ice.
Your weakest area will hold you back from getting to the next level.
It will be a like a ball and chain tying you down to your current level.
The 25 Systems Framework
Now each of these systems breaks up into sub-systems.
These subsystems then have many strategies and tactics.
In this article, we are only going to expose you to these areas. In the future, we will dig deep into each.
If you wanna skip to the good stuff you can look at this program.
The Mental System
Mindset System
Focus System
Confidence System
IQ System
The Body System
Strength System
Speed System
Size System
Power System
Cardio System
Breathing System
Mobility/Flexibility/Recovery System
Nutrition System
Sleep System
The Skills System
Skating
Hands
Shooting
Passing
Offence
Checking
Positioning & systems
Defending
Checking
Puck stealing
Positioning & systems
Pretty crazy to think about right? And each of the 25 different sub-systems all have detailed working parts. So what do I want you to take from this list? What I want you to realize is that performance is not random. Performance in hockey is by design. When you look at Mcdavid dominate on the ice, that is by design. That is natural talent crafted to perfection. That is a collection of systems all coming together into a perfect cohesive unit. You can learn from this. You must learn from this. You must start looking at your game from a holistic perspective. Systems thinking is looking at things from a holistic perspective. If you want to maximize your potential and see how great you can be, you must add many things to your training system.
What To Do Next
Here is what I recommend you do next...
Consider right now how many of these systems you are working on.
For all that are missing, it is time to do some research and put the hours in, or hire someone to save time and energy.
Then it’s time to look at the systems you already have and question if they are up to par with reaching your potential? (I bet they are not)
Again it’s time to go do the research or hire someone to help
How to do the research
So the next logical question you might be asking is well how do I do the research?
I am going to tell you a harsh truth here: it will take a lot of time.
There is no perfect answer for each person.
It will take hundreds, if not thousands of hours to master something.
"That's the ticket of admission to the next level." (100s of hours of work).
To save time and energy I recommend you go to a performance coach first (which we will talk about below).
But here are the principles I have followed to build my programs.
This is after 20 years of playing and thousands of hours studying what the best performers in the world do
Step 1: Get yourself a hockey notebook to write down your findings*I also have an advanced digital notebook that my clients are using now to get 10x the results. This is only for my clients right now but will be public in the next year.
Step 2: Identify your strongest and weakest points in your game. (one each for now)
Step 3: Get extremely interested in these topics.
Step 4: Go research deeply using Google.
Look for books first
Look for blog articles next
Then look for youtube videos
Then look on short-form social media
Step 5: Take detailed notes on everything that you learn.
Step 6: Create a detailed system of actions of how you will get these new skills and abilities
Step 7: Execute this system aggressively.
Step 8: Review, reflect and adjust the system every week. *Our clients do this on Sunday before our group coaching calls.*
The key here is steps 7 and 8. It’s about doing the work, reflecting, and then iterating on the system.
Action is where you actually get better, and iteration is where you set yourself up for higher-leverage actions.
A good performance coach will help you here because they can help you iterate faster and see blindspots in your game.
Think of it this way, if a coach helps you get 20% better each year while another player only gets 5% better each year.
The results get crazy over time.
Think of this like a money investment.
Each person starts at zero and invests 1000 energy points each year for 10 years.
One person A gets 5% better each year working on their own.
The other gets 20% better because they worked with a quality coach.
Now the expected outcome in most people's brains is that they will have a 15% different outcome (ability) after 10 years.
So you would expect player A to have (10,000 x 0.05) + 10,000 = 10,500 at the end.
You would expect player B to have (10,000 x 0.20) + 10,000 = 12,000
So that is not that crazy, only a 1,500 difference. If this were a skill measurement, this might not mean too much. That player might be slightly better.
BUT That's not how compound interest works.
This is what that experiment looks like after 10 years:
After 10 years of putting in 1000 Energy Points (getting 5% Better)
After 10 years of putting in 1000 Energy Points (getting 20% Better)
Play B gets 2x or 100% better than Player B in 10 years.
See the value in working with a coach to get that extra bit better?
Hockey development follows a similar rule.
This is why a player can be close to you for one year, and then in 5-10 years, they are lightyears ahead.
When you improve a skill it adds to all your other skills.
Becoming a better shooter makes you more of a threat, which opens up passes.
Becoming a better skater opens up more chances to use your hands.
Having better hands allows you to make up for a weaker shot.
Adding new skills over time creates the compounding effect you see above.
So that is why I encourage every player to work with a personal development coach.
Even if it's for a couple weeks, or a consultation once a month.
A good personal coach will help you get that 20% improvement each year.
That 20% improvement will pay dividends in the long term.
That is why I do this work with Junior, NCAA, and Pro Players.
That extra percentage goes a long way.
15% creates a 6.2x return over the long run.
And imagine if you invest more energy into your game so you get even more compounding than that 1,000 I used in the example.
The sky is the limit.
How to Hire a Coach to Help
There are many things to look out for when searching for a performance coach.
I define a performance coach as someone whose job is to help you perform in whatever way it takes. They also often go by development coach.
Typically, a performance coach will:
Watch the film with you and help you make small adjustments and direct your skills training development from this
Advise you on training systems to follow (on and off ice)
Help you optimize your lifestyle for minimum stress and maximum performance
Give you systems to follow for all 25 areas of the game (mind, body, skill)
Advise you on what specialized coaches and trainers to hire
Help you navigate the challenging journey that is being a hockey player
Here are a few key things to watch for when selecting a performance coach/development coach.
Are they overspecialized?
If someone gets too caught up in their own way of thinking they will be biased and often only teach you a limited area of the game
I would say I am biased towards the mental game, but that is only with players who need to work on the mental game
Are they spread too thin?
Something I am learning to balance as a coach is that you can only help so many players 1 on 1.
As a player, you must be aware that if a coach is going to guide your development, they will not have the time to work with 100 players 1 on 1.
They might be able to advise you, but they will not be able to be in the trenches with you the way most players need
Keep in mind that group coaching is still very valuable both in person and online, it is just not the same as personalized performance coaching
Are they obsessed?
You must find a performance coach who is doing this because they absolutely love it
If they are more focused on a quick paycheck or don’t really seem overly excited about learning, then you will want to move on
You need someone who will push you and who you can always learn from
As I always tell my players “If you are not learning from me, then ask more questions, if I am not giving you the answers, then find someone else.”
Remember, it’s not personal, it’s just business
Now I hope this has given you a solid framework to build your game.
If you want the full system where we cover all 25 areas and make sure your entire game is optimized, then click here and apply to be a client.
If not, then I hope you take action on everything I said and get to work on reaching your potential.
You only have one hockey career, make the most of it.
Keep finding new levels and keep learning.
I will see you at the next level.
Corson
Comments