To persevere is to continuously try to attain your goal. Goals are certainly something  players should strive towards at one point or another to become better. The fact remains that during the course of our shortish playing careers, we often face large and small challenges. Perhaps we are not progressing as fast as we’d like or perhaps we’ve dropped down the pecking order and have lost our usual position to another player. The best way that we can overcome challenges is with perseverance. Remember, Rome was not built in a day. It is only by persevering that we are in any position to attain our goals. Moreover, setting a goal can help motivate you to try even harder and can act as an impetus, driving you onward each day.

Billionaire and space entrepreneur, Elon Musk offers a word of advice about perseverance: He says work doubly hard as your competitor to succeed and adds,

Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up.”

Get out of your comfort zone:

Micro management of micro moments is a key factor of becoming a better hockey player. It’s all too easy to lay on the sofa after work, click on the remote and wallow in the goings on of other people’s lives in some soap opera or another. I suggest opening a You tube video on 3 D skills and taking the decision to change your micro-moment. Pull on your gear and practice a skill. Choose 4 skills to master this season. Practice, practice and practice again and then employ them one by one in game time.

Examples of great 3D skill to learn

When you’re attacking the best players can pluck the ball off the deck and control it in the, ‘third dimension.’ The knack is to get the ball off the ground and control it in the air thus stealing a march over your marker. The old advice of using the pace of the ball and letting it roll up the stick is key with this 3d skill. You can generate enough speed by simply knocking the ball from side to side, generating enough speed and scooping the ball upward. As you become more experience you can flip the ball up and bounce it onto the reverse edge. Try not to snatch and shovel the ball and stay low for best positioning.

When you feel you have become proficient in the 3D ‘jinking’ technique be sure to set a goal of employing your new skill in a match. Plan to use each skill several times each half of the game. Coaches will be looking at your armory of skills.

The Tomahawk is a great example of another 3 D skill to master. Coaches will be looking for your deployment of this sweep move. Defenders, especially playing on the left use it to clear the ball while midfielders use it for cross field passing. Forwards can hone the skill for shooting at different angles.

Fitness levels:

Managing your micro moments again is key with fitness. Instead of watching TV for the evening, a forty minutes jog would keep you in good stead for the weekend’s game. Lower and increase your speed and persevere for the full forty minutes and you will notice the benefits come match day. There is nothing worse than being out of puff and the legs feeling like lead twenty minutes into an important match. If you believe in yourself, in your skills then you owe it to yourself by pushing on ahead.

To finish this article on perseverance, the following quote hits a perfect note…

“Work like hell. I mean you just have to put in 80 to 100 hour weeks every week. [This] improves the odds of success. If other people are putting in 40 hour workweeks and you’re putting in 100 hour workweeks, then even if you’re doing the same thing, you know that you will achieve in four months what it takes them a year to achieve.” Elon Musk speaking on perseverance.