At Driscoll Hockey we strongly believe that Spring and Summer Training should be geared to Individual Player Development with Power Skating as the teaching foundation. Skating is by far the most important Skill in the game of hockey, and as the speed of the game increases, skating will continue to be the most important skill. We teach hockey players how to skate better.

At Driscoll Skating & Skills, we take a long-term development approach. We understand and appreciate that all players must pass through the same stages of development, yet every player will do so on their own timeframe. We will pass along the most critical skills, with skating as the foundation, and nurture our players through the stages of development. We have found that this long-term approach and singular focus on individual skill development keeps the game fun for them while boosting their self-esteem.

In my experience as a player, the Spring and Summer months were the most important times for development. While in college, I used the off-season as an opportunity to work on my skating and stickhandling. It was very clear to me that the work that I put in during those important training months helped me be more productive and a more valuable member of my team. In fact, I knew that my training model engineered extraordinary improvement on an absolute and relative basis relative to my peers.

Tryout season reminds us that the current youth hockey model emphasizes competition and winning over skill development. Many for-profit programs will cut three, four or five players from their teams and replace them with players form other programs. In their paper “…Burnout in youth sports: a position statement from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine” DiFiori et al conclude: “To reduce the likelihood of burnout, an emphasis should be placed on skill development more than competition and winning.”

We encourage parents to rethink their Spring and Summer hockey schedules in an effort to increase their child’s enjoyment of the sport of hockey and identify a skills program that focuses on Individual Player Development. Driscoll Skating & Skills does exactly that. We teach skating to hockey players knowing that our players will have increased self-esteem as they begin to learn our curriculum. Help us keep the game of hockey FUN for your child and as a parent enjoy your child’s hockey journey. We look forward to working with your family this off-season.