What Makes an Elite Youth Hockey Player

There are youth hockey leagues all around the world.practice is over, the effort is over until the next
There are thousands and tens of thousands of youthspractice.
that play the game of hockey. Especially in theThe player that stands out will stretch before turning in
countries where the weather is mostly cold.at night to be more flexible. They will do extra push
All the youths on these hockey teams go to theups whenever they can. Not to get stronger, but to
practices and play in the games. They put forth anincrease the chance of making the varsity team and
admirable effort.eventually and hopefully rising through the ranks to the
Here is the question.ultimate goal. The NHL.
What makes some of the youth hockey players standBy doing all the extra stuff a player needs to do to be
out from the rest of the bunch?the best they greatly increase the chance of getting
Here is the answer.that college scholarship and standing out when that
Practice is not exciting. The stretching, the push ups,professional hockey scout attends one of their games.
the conditioning is not fun. In fact it can be pretty boringYou have to make the decision to be the best and do
doing the same drills over and over and over again.the necessary things that it takes. Dedication, hard
That is how you get better. Most players will put inwork and never quit attitude.
their time and go through all the drills. The end. When