This time of year our players from RevCon and my Turning Pro clients are busy heading to spring mini-camps hoping teams will see something they like and to earn an invite back to main camp at the end of the summer.
One of our guys (pretty sure he will be at the SOLD OUT UGT Live event at the end of May) attended the London Knights minicamp this past weekend and did not allow a single goal in any of his games (the only guy to do that) AND he had the highest testing scores in the vertical jump and the 20yd sprint AND…not drafted into the OHL.
Here’s What Helped Him Do It…
Before a minicamp, goalies will often tell me about the other goalies invited to the camp.
“They’ve invited 6 goalies to camp, one guy is an over-ager, this guy played here last year, that guy was their back up last season…”
What they are forgetting is the toughest competition they will face and the only player on the ice that matters – – is THEM.
I think Rob Zepp is the perfect example.
In case you somehow missed the month of December, Rob made his NHL debut at the spry age of 33, when he suited up his first game (and first win) with the Philadelphia Flyers.
And it wasn’t one of those, those Ray Emery’s snow mobile ran out of gas on the way to the rink and Steve Mason slipped getting out of the tub and we just need a warm body in net tonight – – that usher will do just fine 🙂
He climbed his way there and it was a LONG climb.
Drafted in the fourth round (twice), spent time in the Coast and the AHL, then played in Europe and then got picked up by the Flyers where he was playing with their AHL affiliate when Steve Mason got injured.
I love how Zepp admitted to his doubts…
“There’s some doubts along the way, but I always believed in my ability.”
It is normal to have doubts, but if you are going to succeed you have to keep going and keep moving forward. You have to compete with YOU.
You are TOUGH…
If Zepp had worried about all the other goalies he faced or those who he started out with in the ECHL who made it to the NHL years before him (some of them had probably already retired from the game when he made his debut), it would only have distracted him from taking his next step.
From constantly asking, “What is the next thing I need to do that will have the most impact on my game”.
That is how you get better – by competing with yourself.
So when you head to mini-camp or spring showcase tournaments or whatever, forget about the other goalies, what they are doing, where they are from and what they did last year.
It is only by competing with yourself that YOU will make the strides necessary to achieve all the little goals along the way that lead to your dream.
Keep climbing my friend 🙂
Cheers,
M
PS – for those of you over 33 who are still hoping for a chance…there was a 41 year old rookie who made his debut with the Chicago Blackhawks…in 1926-27… so there’s a chance right?