Mark Johnson’s Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team has been one of the best teams in US college hockey for years (winning the national championship in 2006 and 2007). I had the pleasure of watching the team play two weeks ago in Duluth, and they were just plain impressive. When asked what his key to the incredible success his program has had in the seven years he has been coaching at Wisconsin, here’s what he said…

Setting high standards and meeting them.

“When you have things in place and you’ve had success in the past, it makes it an attraction to young ladies who want to get involved in a program that is rich in tradition now and certainly there is that opportunity to win championships,” Johnson said.

“But you know you wake up every day with a passion and a desire to help coach and teach these young ladies to become better players and the end result is you try to create a culture that they can be successful in. We’ve been fortunate to be able to do that the last several years.”

There is no secret why Johnson is one of the front-runners to be the head coach of the US Women’s Olympic Team for the 2010 games in Vancouver. He knows exactly what developing successful female hockey players and teams is all about.

-> Creating a culture of success on and off the ice.

-> Having passion and desire to be the best.

Any player looking to get to the next level of female hockey must follow Johnson’s advice.

Whether it is with your team or with yourself as an individual, you need to create your own culture of success. Set big goals with realistic expectations of how you are going to get there. Put your success plan in place and then work hard to achieve your dreams. Focusing on getting better each and every day is the key to creating the culture of success in girls hockey.

If you have the passion and desire to be the best, and have a plan of how you are going to get there, anything is possible.

How will you create your own culture of success?

Work Hard. Dream BIG.

~ Coach Kim