Never underestimate the power of feedback. Whether positive or negative, it is absolutely critical to the success of every player and every team. We all want to know how we “stack up” so that we know how to improve. And when this feedback comes from people we not only respect, but also want to perform well for, like our coaches and college scouts, it can make or break our season and sometimes even our career.

Let me give you an example of feedback from my own hockey career that not only transformed my performance, but my entire team’s…
(more…)

Girls hockey is definitely a game of speed. So the faster you players are, the faster your team should be. Right? Players can be the fastest skater or have the fastest shot on the ice. But that doesn’t mean that they are fast hockey players. Confused?
(more…)

OK so this week seems to be the unofficial, “Kim Rants About Everything To Do With Girls Hockey” week, but now that I am in the rink almost every day during playoff time, I am seeing and hearing a lot of things that really make my blood boil. Last night, I got two separate emails from girls hockey coaches who wanted to know what they should do in their last few practices leading up to the big playoff games. Before I could even get a word out, one of the “details” of the practices left me speechless….
(more…)

No one wants to be a “bench warmer”. Especially at the end of the year when the big games and entire season are on the line. But now that the playoffs are here, it is inevitable that some players are going to get more playing time than others in those “do or die” situations. Even the most elite women’s hockey players have been left sitting on the bench when the game is on the line. So how do girls hockey players deal with warming the bench?
(more…)

Mark Johnson, a member of the United States side who won gold at the 1980 Winter Olympics, was named head coach of the U.S. women’s hockey team for the 2010 Vancouver Games on Tuesday.

While there was much speculation as to whether the US team would name its first ever female head coach (Ben Smith coached the previous 3 Olympic teams), no one can deny that Johnson is the best man for the job. You would have a hard time finding another coach in the female hockey world that is as qualified in terms of his experience on the ice and behind the bench as Johnson.
(more…)

How do you motivate girls hockey players? This is one of the most common questions I receive from parents and coaches in the female game. Whether it is on the individual or team level, getting girls players motivated is very different from the boys. While the method of screaming, yelling and threatening may work in the boys’ game, it is much less effective in the female game. So how can coaches and parents help motivate their girls hockey players to perform their best?
(more…)

Usually when we think about goal setting, we focus on what we are going to accomplish as individuals instead of what we want to achieve as part of a group. I will spare you the - There is no “I” in TEAM speech - but it is absolutely essential that you and your girls hockey team re-evaluate the goals that you set at the beginning of the season and see how they match up with what you want to accomplish in the second half.
(more…)

Did your coach choose your captain? Did your team choose them? Now that we are half-way through the season, do you think that they are doing a good job? How do you know?
(more…)

Who played worse?

Me or you?

Why are girls hockey players even asking themselves this question?

(more…)

Total Female Hockey CLUB is jam-packed with tips and advice how you can take your game to the next level and become the best girls hockey player possible. Well, I am going to let you in on a little secret. One of the best ways to take your individual game to the next level has nothing to do with you at all.
(more…)