The BRUTAL Truth About Junior Hockey (How to Survive + Thrive)
- Corson Searles
- 4 days ago
- 9 min read
Junior hockey is ruthless.
Here's a story I recently shared on Instagram about one of my guys:
It’s not just a new level.
It’s a whole new battlefield.
And most players get dropped into it unarmed and without a map.
Whether it’s:
Coaches lying and overpromising only to ghost you two weeks later
Watching games from the stands, scratched and silenced
Being cut, sent down, or left with no team to play for
Getting torn apart in the locker room just because you’re a rookie
Rookie parties that break your body or your soul
Junior has a thousand ways to break a player.
I remember nights where the stress was so heavy, all I could do was throw on a Joe Rogan podcast just to feel normal again.
You try to forget what’s happening.
You try to mentally escape.
You try to convince yourself that you’re still on track.
But you know deep down — this isn’t sustainable.
When you have a bad game, you know your spot might be gone.
Yes, some players call junior “the best time of their lives.”
They tell stories like it was a dream.
But here’s what they don’t say:
Those players were the stars.
They were already the guy.
They could show up late to meetings, take dumb penalties, coast in practice… and still be in the lineup.
Some of them even got out of speeding tickets and jail time.
Literally.
I have seen it happen.
Junior isn’t built for development.
It’s built for survival.
If you’re not the chosen one?
You have to wake up every day and prove that you belong — with no guarantee anyone will care.
And that’s where most players break.
Because they think that if they just:
Train harder
Skate faster
Push more weights
…they’ll earn their shot.
But the truth is:
Most players who get cut, overlooked, or left behind aren’t lacking in skill.
They’re lacking a system that allows their skill to show up when it matters.
The players I see struggling all share the same pattern:
Great physical tools
Strong work ethic
Deep desire to improve
But no structure for their mental game.
Building A Mental Game Structure
And without that structure, you fall apart.
Not because you’re weak — but because no one taught you how to hold it together.
So here’s what I wish someone told me when I played junior:
If you want to survive in this league — and thrive beyond it —
you need three things:
🧠 1. A Mental Operating System
One that helps you wake up every day and program your confidence, instead of waiting for it to show up.
One that keeps you focused when the coach ghosts you or screams at you.
One that helps you manage stress, stay resilient, and play sharp — even when everything around you is falling apart.
🧠 2. A Principle-Based Hockey IQ Lens
So you don’t just train harder — you train smarter.
You learn to read the game like a coach.
Influence it like a star.
And react like it’s second nature.
🧠 3. A Strategic Training Filter
Because more effort doesn’t equal more progress.
You need to understand what to work on, when, and why.
Otherwise, you’ll spend your whole offseason solving the wrong problem.
When you combine these three tools with your physical ability…
You stop chasing a dream.
You start engineering your career.
And no — I’m not here to promise D1.
I’m not promising the NHL.
Because no one knows your ceiling.
Not scouts.
Not coaches.
Not your agent.
Not even you.
But I’ll tell you this:
99.9% of players never come close to their potential.
Not because they don’t want it.
But because they never built the system to unlock it.
⚠️ If this is hitting — and you know you need help building this kind of mental system — I built a free training that breaks it all down.
It’s short, clear, and loaded with tools.
And it’ll show you exactly how to start wiring confidence, clarity, and control into your brain before next season even begins.
🧠 So What Is the System?
If you’re still reading this…
It’s probably because deep down, you know you’ve been winging it.
You’ve been grinding, sure.
But without a map.
Without a system.
Without a way to take all the effort you’re pouring into your training… and make it actually matter under pressure.
Because let’s be real:
What’s the point of training 5 hours a day if your brain breaks in the first 5 minutes of a game after you make a single mistake?
Here’s what the top players — the ones who stay in the lineup, lead their teams, and actually keep developing — all have in common:
They’re not just talented.
They’re mentally engineered.
They’ve built a foundation underneath their mechanics.
A subconscious system that keeps them calm, clear, and effective — even when everything around them is chaos.
And that system has three core layers:
🔁 Layer 1: Daily Mental Programming
This isn’t “positive thinking.”
This is performance wiring.
A daily practice that helps you:
Reset your nervous system
Reconnect to your identity
Rehearse how you want to feel, think, and act in real games
It’s like plugging in your brain every morning to update the software.
Because when your default mode is fear, hesitation, or overthinking — no amount of reps will fix that.
You have to reprogram what’s underneath the surface.
There is quite a bit we could talk about here.
My foundational recommendation is to:
Wake up in the morning
Sit up in bed
Do 10 minutes of meditation (I will explain more details next)
Yes I know you have heard this before.
You hear all the hippies talk about “being mindful”.
And for a long time that really scared me away from meditation.
But a good way to think of this is like warming up your car on a colder morning (my fellow northerners understand this haha).
You want to basically scan your body and mind for emotions or thoughts.
Doing this allows you to notice what’s there and gives you the power to handle your thoughts an emotions.
Dr.Richard Schwartz (creator of IFS therapy over 40 years ago) encourages people to do this using his IFS approach → which I will share more about in the future.
You can do basic mindfulness breathing too.
There is no perfect way to do it.
But starting your day this way is massive for starting your day in control.
I always love this Kobe clip where he shares:
“When I don’t do it, I feel like I am constantly chasing the day, as opposed to being controlled and dictating the day.”
No of course there is much more to this in our higher level programs, but this is a powerful place to start if you are not already starting the day with some form of mental practice.
And for any coaches reading this, here’s a clip of Phil Jackson (won 11 rings as a player/coach in the NBA):
We also work with teams to help them learn these tools so feel free to reach out if you’re interested: CLICK HERE TO CONTACT US
🧠 Layer 2: The Game IQ System
Most players try to improve their IQ by playing more games.
They might also try to simply watch more games.
But they never get smarter — they just get more confused.
Many beer league players play tons of games and watch hockey all the time…
But they don’t improve their Hockey IQ at an accelerated rate?
Why is that?
Because IQ doesn’t necessarily come from playing more or watching more.
It comes from training your brain to see patterns before they happen.
When you understand hockey through principles — not just random highlights — you start to:
Anticipate what will happen next much easier
Know how to react and improvise when things get chaotic
Influence plays before they even unfold so you are in control
It’s like switching from playing in the fog… to seeing the game in 4K.
And this is not magic.
We teach all of our guys these things in our programs in a step by step fashion.
🎯 Layer 3: Strategic Self-Coaching (Self-Leadership)
This is the mental skill most players don’t even know they’re missing.
It’s easy to think of Self coaching as simply positive self talk.
But it goes much deeper than that.
Self coaching is really about becoming the Hockey Coach you have always wanted.
It’s about taking power back and not relying on your team coach, skills coach. strength coach to fix everything.
This is what self leadership really looks like.
If you want to be a good team leader, you have to first become a good self leader.
Self-Leadership is the ability to:
Design an effective plan for development
Setting up the right routines
Knowing what phases to do and when through the in-season and off-season
Knowing when to take strategic breaks in your plan
Knowing when to push and when to rest
Knowing how to set better intentions before each activity you do
Know how to calm your emotions
Know how to work on your mental, hockey IQ, physical, and mechanical ability in a flowing system
This might be the most valuable thing we teach the players who we work with.
It’s the reason why so many of our guys end up being captains on their teams.
Think about it this way:
You wake up with energy for team practice and a workout.
Or maybe it’s the offseason and you have a skate and workout planned.
You want to train and you’re ready to go hard.
But what do you actually work on?
Yes you might have a workout plan, that might be covered.
But do you know what do for recovery later?
Do you have a clear plan for your speed work or cardio work?
What about skills…
How do you know if you’re fixing the real problem on the ice?
Or are you just going to some group skates and doing whatever everyone else is doing.
By all means, this stuff is MUCH better than doing nothing.
And yes, you can still have a very successful career.
I just want more for you.
So let me share what I have noticed.
Most players fall into one of two traps:
They copy someone else's plan.
They overtrain and burn out.
If you have not fallen into one of these traps yet, it’s likely coming if you make any of the mistakes I have talked about earlier.
What you need is a system that teaches you how to coach yourself.
A way to build training blocks that match your mental state, physical needs, and on-ice goals.
This is what separates grinders from guys who really get better.
Pros don’t just train hard. They train smart — because they know how to design their process.
To get started with this I have a free training planner in the “align your training” in the free training course.
I recommend you get there and start tracking your training.
That should give you lot’s to work with!
Stacking Layers
When you stack these layers together things usually start to click for players.
You go from feeling stuck, stressed, and inconsistent — to feeling sharp, prepared, and in control.
You don’t just play better.
You become better.
Not by chance.
Not by waiting for “exposure.”
But by taking full ownership of how your mind works, and how you use it to fuel your game.
And when that happens?
You stop needing hype to play with confidence.
Confidence becomes your baseline.
Execution becomes instinct.
Your performance stops depending on circumstance… and starts depending on your system.
Confidence = System + Trust
You Don’t Get a Second Shot at This
Junior hockey doesn’t wait for you.
It doesn’t pause the season so you can figure yourself out.
It doesn’t give you bonus shifts because you’ve “been working hard.”
It just moves on.
And if you can’t perform when it matters — no one’s coming to save you.
The truth is:
You don’t need to be the most talented player.
You don’t need to be the strongest guy on the team.
You don’t need to be perfect.
But you do need to learn how to handle chaos.
You do need to know how to reset your mind and lock in under pressure.
You do need to take control or your own development — because no one’s going to do it for you.
This isn’t about motivation.
This is about building a mental architecture that lasts.
When the coach pulls you off the power play
When you get scratched for the third time this month
When your roommate gets called up and you don’t
If you don’t have a system — you spiral down.
If you do have a system — you rise up.
Let me be brutally clear:
You can’t afford to “figure it out later.”
Because “later” is when you’re benched.
“Later” is when you’re cut.
“Later” is when someone else takes your spot.
🚨 So if you’re serious about making this season your breakout year… stop trying to do it alone.
Book a strategy call with my team.
We’ll break down your current mindset.
We’ll figure out what’s holding you back.
We’ll show you how to build a mental system that finally connects your skill to your performance.
If you’re a fit, we’ll explain how we work with players like you.
If you’re not a good fit, we will give you the best advice we can and hook you up with some “personalized resources”.
But either way — you’ll leave that call with a real plan.
Because junior hockey isn’t just a game.
It’s the fork in the road.
And if you don’t learn how to own your mind now…
You’ll spend the rest of your career trying to make up for it.
Comments