There
are many different opinions when it comes to determining what the most
important skill a hockey player can have is. In the case of Nick Leddy, the
defenseman for the New York Islanders, the answer is easy: skating ability!
Leddy,
who has lasted through 5 NHL seasons and won numerous awards, has been playing
hockey since he was very young...and he’s been skating since even before then.
His father encouraged him to skate on a pond in his own backyard and later
enrolled his skilled son in twice-a-week skating lessons.
Leddy
also engaged in other sports that helped him develop skills, such as balance
and endurance, that he would need to be
a better skater. He played baseball and football and is now living proof that
being a multi-sport athlete is always a good thing for kids!
And,
though Leddy was smaller than the average player and the average “success
story,” his skating got him noticed at the tender age of 16 when he won a
skating race, performing a great deal better than the other players.
Now,
Leddy credits his skating skill, his hard work, and his ability to simply have
fun while playing as the keys to his success. Kids these days, if they want to
be like Leddy and other successful players, need to focus on having fun and
building basic skills, not on training so hard they lose all joy and love for
the game. Participating in other sports that reinforce necessary hockey skills
is also a wise decision and can help to prevent burnout in addition to
providing extra training.
Parents
and coaches alike are advised to learn from Leddy’s example and to always
remember that, at the end of the day, hockey is about having fun and building
skills; if a player can do these things consistently, then the rest will fall
into place if it’s meant to be.
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