The Inside Post

Looking for the perfect hockey gift for the aspiring D1 player in your family? We have a range of products for all ages, and for all budgets. As the 20-year market leader in home hockey training, we pride ourselves on offering products that are durable, provide great training benefits, and are simply fun to use. 

The leaves have fallen, days are shorter and temp is colder, and the time for outdoor hockey is fast approaching! In this week's article, our veteran backyard rink builder David Shuler breaks down the critical factors you need to consider before tackling your backyard rink this winter.

Whether you serve as captain on your team, or are a third line grinder, everyone has the ability to apply leadership skills to positively influence team culture and level of play of those around them in a positive way. In this week's article, we dive deeper into five such leadership characteristics that are common of great hockey leaders.

Hockey is a game of possession. A considerable amount of practice time is dedicated to passing and puck control, which is important to be sure. But nearly as important for many players is knowing the best ways to take the puck away, and the tilt the time of possession back in your team's favor. We review four top techniques to steal the puck in this week's article.

Alongside skating, puck handling is one of the base skills in the game of hockey. While mainly overlooked by shooting or stickhandling, puckhandling is at the core of all of...

Training on synthetic ice has many benefits to players. In addition to having a slick surface with superior puck glide, for beginning players synthetic ice helps them work on edges, stops, turns, and develop ankle strength. For more-advanced players, the benefit is both being able to perform drills while moving, and doing so while elevated on skates (improving your hand-eye coordination from that level). Learn more about why synthetic ice is an essential training tool in this week's article.

Playing on the team that is right for you can be the difference maker in your development. You want to play at a level that is competitive and challenging, but also where you can touch the puck and improve your skills. There are valuable life lessons to be gained by reaching a top team, as well as when being a leader and building more confidence if playing on a lower team.

Tryouts can be a stressful time of year, as both parents and players experience a mix of nervousness and excitement. In this week's article we discuss the top-10 steps your athlete can do today to prepare for their upcoming tryouts. We believe that with the right attitude, pre-tryout preparation, equipment checks, and game-day strategy, your player will be ready to perform to best of their ability, and make a team that is right for them.

Even with busy back-to-school schedules and fall sports, hockey players of all ages and levels can find a few minutes every day to sharpen our skills and get ready for upcoming winter team tryouts. Coach Connor shares a few of his tips in this week's article.

Most players want to impress their teammates during team practice by executing a shot they know they can do, and fear embarrassment if they mishandle the puck or whiff. But if that is the case, then how do hockey players ever work on new shot techniques and location? Coach Andy Blaylock with Competitive Edge Hockey digs further into that topic in this week's article. 

Investing time to learn new skills is an essential part of personal growth. And with the learning of any new technique, such as a stickhandling move, there will undoubtedly make mistakes. This is a good thing. Mistakes are signals that let you know forward progress is taking place. Instead of getting frustrated and abandoning the drill, challenge yourself to think like an elite player and become determined to conquer the issue. Learn from the mistake, make the adjustment, and go again. Soon the mistakes get fewer and fewer, and before long they’ve developed mastery of the new skill.

Every hockey player has different motivating factors for playing the game. For many, the answer could be for love of the game, to have fun with friends, and/or to be active, which are all perfectly good reasons! Those committed to becoming elite athletes, however, have other personality traits in common that motivate them on their hockey journey, which we explore further in this week's article.