During the first few weeks of a hockey season, you will be able to sort out good players from players that need a little more work. An important thing to remember is that in the early years its more important that the kids are having fun and developing a love for the game. If they aren’t having a good time they will not want to get better.

What makes a good hockey player? I’ve come up with 10 characteristics I feel make a solid hockey player at any age:

1. Positive attitude/Sportsmanship
2. Passion for the game
3. Willingness to learn
4. Able to take direction from coaches
5. Hard work and Perseverance
6. Teamwork
7. Leadership
8. Ability to Own Mistakes
9. Not Afraid to Seek Help
10. Competitiveness

That list is not in order nor is it exclusive to what makes a good hockey player. But if you or your child can master this list they wont only go far in hockey, they will go far in life as well. These characteristic will follow your kids for their entire lives. I think each point needs a more detailed explanation so you can have a good idea what coaches might expect.

Positive attitude/Sportsmanship

What a coincidence that this is number one on the list. Like I said the list isn’t in order but to me this is number one. You need to have a positive attitude when it comes to sports. It is very difficult to teach kids that are always negative or complaining about things that happen in hockey games and practices.

Now what does it look like to be a good sport? Having good sportsmanship means to always keep trying, never put down other players that might not be at the same level as you. When playing the game you help the rest of your team play well by encouraging, talking over good plays they made and helping share the rewards by passing the puck and creating plays not only for yourself but for the team.

At the end of the game you shake hands and always always say good game. Now this might change in the later years when kids start hitting puberty and their hormones are out of control. Anger and frustration might come out to play but its important for parents and coaches to always remind our kids to be good sports.

Coaches will seek out and reward players that consistently show a positive attitude and good sportsmanship on and off the ice. No matter what area of life these positive characteristics will help you grow and become a great person and player. In every sport.

Passion for the game

Passion baby. This is why it is so important for kids to have fun in the beginning of their hockey journey. In IP or U6, its all about fun fun fun. We try really hard to make sure the kids have a great time, do fun drills like tag or cops and robbers to keep them amused. At the same time they are learning how to skate and move around better and better. I barely recognize my son from the start of the year to now because our coaches have done an amazing job keeping it fun and teaching the kids the skills at the same time.

So how can we as coaches and parents help our kids and players develop a passion for the game. Here are 8 easy tips to think about:

1. Keep it Fun
2. Positive reinforcement
3. Constructive Criticism
4. Give them easy attainable goals and praise them for when they accomplish them
5. Watch hockey or other sports with them
6. Teach them off the ice how sports or other healthy activities can help them grow
7. Be a role model
8. Get out there and play and have fun WITH them

Willingness to learn

A willingness to learn is an amazing attribute to have and a child, teenager or adult. I know when I was growing up I always thought I knew everything, but boy was I wrong. I soon realized that in life you should never be done learning. Who knows if I had realized the importance of learning early maybe I could have made it to the NHL, ya right.

But thats the way many people operate. I know I am trying to teach my children differently. I truly believe if you are willing to learn something it will help you go far in life. In hockey, it isn’t enough to just go to practice, play some games and think you’ll get better.

You actually have to want to learn how to do things better. You have to take the responsibility for your own actions and decisions. We are parents and coaches again are responsible for teaching our children these things when it comes to sports and life. Keep on trying and learning and you will go far in hockey, education, careers anything you want, just keep learning.

Able to Take Direction From Coaches

Something I have noticed with my sons team, that I help with, is that some kids don’t like when you try and explain a better way to do a certain drill. Keep in mind they are 7 and 8 year olds and I don’t expect them to all be amazing and responsive to my direction, but when I see something not right with how someone is doing something my job as a coach is to coach the child and teach them the proper way.

For example, Tony (not real name) is a great little hockey player. He tries hard and has a decent mind for hockey. He always gets back on defence and makes some great plays in important situations. At practice we take time to shoot the puck against the boards to practice our wrist shots, slap shots and snap/flick shots.

Now I always see Tony trying to raise the puck the wrong way. He angels his stick the wrong way and tries to lift the puck, instead of practicing a proper wrist shot. I went over, and have done several times, and showed him what a proper wrist shot looks like. Now instead of trying and taking the advice of his coach, Tony says, “I know what I’m doing and I like doing it this way.”

Now this isn’t a huge deal, he is 8 after all. but this is an example of a player not listening to solid advice from his coach on how to shoot properly. I explained that if he works hard and tries to do it properly, that in no time he will have mastered the shot and will be able to shoot much better in the future and score more goals.

Some kids have to figure things out on their own. It is frustrating watching tho because I know if he would just simply listen to the advice and try to do it properly he would have many more opportunities during the game to get more goals.

If he would listen, his confidence would grow, he would get so frustrated with himself and he would become a better player as the years go on. I will continue to work on it with him because I won’t give up teaching the proper way. Thats my job as a coach.

Hard work and Perseverance

This one is obvious on what it means. But executing it might not be as easy for some kids and even adults. I know for myself, I have a hard time remembering that HARD WORK PAYS OFF!

You need to work hard in order to become good at anything. In sports, this means working physically hard but also working smart. The perseverance part means never giving up and pushing through even when times are tough.

My son isn’t the best out there, he is an amazing hockey player and tries so hard every shift on the ice. And sometimes he comes up short or not as fast as other players. Some players have that natural talent out there. I always remind him that in order to beat those players that are naturally good, he will have to work hard consistently, and over time he will become better just by sheer will and determination.

In order to get good at something you’re not strong at, it takes hard work, consistent work and perseverance. Put in the work day and night and you will succeed in whatever you put your mind to.

Teamwork

Teamwork is huge in sports. Unless you’re playing singles tennis or badminton every sport requires teamwork. In Hockey, every single person on your team needs to work together to get the job done. Coaches love to see kids that pass the puck, work hard to get open on the ice, encourage their team mates to do good and congratulate them when they are successful.

As a coach there is nothing worse than having a kid on your team who thinks they can do it all themselves. I have seen many times where talented kids try and skate through the whole team only to loose the puck right in front of the net, when there were 3 other kids open and ready for a pass.

Now usually it only takes a couple talks to remind the kids to pass the puck and work as a team until they understand. It is important to always remind the kids about teamwork. They always feel good when they make a nice pass and it leads to a goal.

Leadership

Being a leader doesn’t mean you’re now able to boss everyone around. No body wants to follow a leader that is mean and bossy. Leaders on a hockey team could be anyone at any time. Most times the kid that meet the list above are chosen to lead. But that doesn’t mean that every kid on the team can’t lead in one way or another.

A leader knows how important teamwork is and encourages his fellow team mates to do the same. A leader shows positive attitude, good sportsmanship and a willingness to help his team mates.

Becoming a leader on a hockey team is usually handed to the kid with skills in each of the above areas. Someone who shows dedication and passion for the team and sport. It is usually someone who works hard and never gives up. You have to keep your cool in tough situations and think of ways to get your team fired up to win the game. And if they don’t win, tell everyone a good game and try again next time.

Ability to Own Mistakes

If you make a mistake, it’s ok. What is not ok is making a mistake and not learning from it. Everyone makes mistakes, Every mistake is a lesson. And every lesson you learn will make you a better hockey player and better person, but only if you are able to own the mistake, not get upset and quit and learn what happened so in the future you don’t make the same mistake again (or try not to).

When you are able to recognize that you made a mistake and not give up or feel sorry for yourself, you have already won in my mind. It doesn’t matter if you lose the game, you have gained something much more important than a win or lose. You have learnt what not to do or another way to do it better. Then when you’re faced with a similar situation you will be able to over come the obstacle that stopped you the first time.

Not Afraid to Seek Help

If I had a player come seek help from me without me having to ask, I would be blown away and instantly gain respect for that player. It isn’t always easy asking for help when you’re unsure of something, but there is nothing wrong with seeking help.

But if you ask for help, chances are there are other players that might be needing help in the same area and right then and there you could be helping the entire team. Always ask for help if you are unsure of something. It wouldn’t make sense to keep the question inside and continue to be unsure of yourself.

Any coach out there would be glad to help someone out if they needed extra practice at something, whether its skating, shooting, stick handling. If you seek help in an area then you will find the answers you’re looking for.

Competitiveness

Is being competitive a bad thing? Absolutely not. Competition drives people to become great. We need competition in order to become better at anything in life. But sometimes it can be taken too far, and at other peoples expense.

My boys, especially my oldest, can be border line too competitive. Sometimes everything at home becomes a competition. Who can run to the couch first, who can stand on the skateboard longest, who can jump the highest. You get my point. Then it usually turns into someones feelings getting hurt because they feel like they are not good. Now my kids are young so its my job to teach them about fairness and bullying.

When it comes to sports this can happen too. So it is important for coaches to encourage healthy competition. Healthy competition involves, positive attitude and good sportsmanship.

We always have competitive races at practice. It gives the kids something to work hard towards. It is a very good thing to be competitive because it shows them that hard work pays off.

You just need to be able to remind everyone that the sport is just for fun and we are all here to learn and have a good time. Now there is a time in Hockey when it is important to win and play hard. When you loose it sucks and it effects standings and your chances in playoffs. But that usually doesn’t happen until the Major Midget, Junior hockey Levels where winning and loosing really matter.

Not that in Atom to Bantam winning isn’t important. But in the younger years its more about fun and learning. Regardless you need to teach the players how to be competitive enough but still be make it a good time for everyone.

At the end of the day, you need to be competitive in order to make teams, and become a great hockey player. But never loose the enjoyment and passion for the game.

Hope You Enjoyed

Thanks for sticking around for my article. I hope you agree with some or all of my list as to what makes a good hockey player. I still have a lot of learning to do as a coach but I plan on continuing helping out and coaching for as long as I am physically able. The hockey community always needs volunteers and coaches and I plan on being around for that.

Keep working hard as players, parents and coaches and I wish you all the best in your hockey journeys. Take care and enjoy life.