I am happy to announce that the first ever Total Female Hockey Experience Event was a real success. The 3 day event was action-packed for the 66 players involved and I know they all left on Sunday with a much more complete picture of what it takes to get to the elite level of women’s hockey. After having a few days to reflect on the whole Experience, I wanted to share 3 lessons I learned from the event.

1. NEXT Testing is awesome!

We were so excited to bring in NEXT Testing to the event so that the players could be tested on the ice and see exactly how they stack up in terms of on-ice speed, reaction time, agility etc. It was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend. Check out the video below to watch the girls in action:

2. Players Must Think Foundation Before Fancy

When we were taking the players through the off-ice performance testing this weekend, one thing really stood out to me. The most basic test we did, the single leg squat test, was the one that girls struggled with the most! They all did pretty well on the jumping, agility and running tests, but 90% failed the single-leg squat test. This test tells me as a coach whether the player has the foundation of strength and stability she needs to perform at the elite level. Doing complex speed drills, skating on fancy skating treadmills and lifting big weights may seem “cutting-edge”, but the reality is, that the basic foundation of strength and stability must be developed first through off-ice training if girls hockey players want to reach the elite level of performance on the ice.

3. Most Girls Hockey Players Are NOT Prepared For The Next Level

My good friend and former teammate, Brooke Whitney, was the head on-ice instructor for the Total Female Hockey Experience. Brooke is the former NCAA Player Of The Year, a former NCAA Division 1 Coach and one of the best teachers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. She knows first-hand what it takes to get to the next level on the ice and went to great lengths this weekend to show the players what they needed to do to excel. She didn’t just take them through drills and blow the whistle. She TAUGHT them how to be their best on the ice.

Brooke also made a terrific presentation on the entire US College Hockey Process that really opened the eyes of the players and parents in attendance.

The truth is, that the vast majority of girls hockey players have NO IDEA what it really takes to get to the elite levels of women’s hockey and aren’t prepared enough on or off the ice to get to and excel at that level.

It’s not their fault - it’s just that no one has given them the information they need to get there.

That was the entire purpose behind the Total Female Hockey Experience:

To show aspiring girls hockey players exactly how they stack up to the competition on and off the ice, what they need to work on as an individual and how to make their plan for getting to the next level.

It was a great first event…

And we are already getting ready for an even bigger and better event next year!

Until then,

Keep Working HARD and Dreaming BIG!

~ Coach Kim

PS - To see more pictures and videos from the event, visit the Total Female Hockey Fan Page on Facebook:

Total Female Hockey FAN PAGE