Sled Stars

The Puck isn’t the Playmaker 👀
Want to DRASTICALLY change your game?
Stop asking “who made that play?” And start asking “what made that play possible?”

If you start to ask that question you’ll learn really quickly just what makes a play happen, and you’ll see it has very little to do with the puck and everything to do with MOVEMENT.
Watch any hockey highlight and we’re sure you’ll track the puck. It’s natural, considering the puck is the center of th game, but here’s the important thing to remember: the puck is usually the LAST thing that made that highlight plausible. The play was already being built LONG before the puck was even a part of the equation.
Because of the movement associated with the play.
Because of the way the team set up and moved across the ice.

Movement is the invisible game that changes everything.
Imagine you’re watching a goal happen.
🥅 the puck carrier comes into the zone and shakes an early defensive effort
🏒 perfect pass across the slot
🥅 shooter takes the opportunity and buries it!
🏒 everyone celebrates
🥅 the scorer gets the points
🏒 assists are awarded
🥅 coach is happy

It’s a great feeling.
But the puck just ended up in the back of the net...the goal happened BEFORE the shot. Why?
Because of the movement that went into it.
Let’s re-picture that same scenario and break it down shall we?

🏒 the puck carrier pulls into the zone, but notices defense is coming strong
🥅 meanwhile, the shooter to be, drives hard to the net pulling the remaining defense with them and creating a passing lane.
🏒 and another teammate sees this and rotates high, pulling the defender from the puck carrier JUST enough to make the pass
🥅 a fourth player moves into the open space, therefore stretching the defense just a little tighter
🏒 the puck carrier has the ability to make the pass.
🥅 shooter to be receives the pass and manages to bury it deep

None of the other three teammates touch the puck, yet every one of them changed what the defense had to worry about, and created movement that made that shot possible.
BEFORE the whistle blew.
BEFORE the ref indicated a good goal.
BEFORE the puck hit the net.
There were things happening all around the goal to ensure the puck went where they wanted it to go.
THAT’S the power of movement.

THIS is also the exact reason we have repeatedly compared chess to hockey. In chess, you don’t move a piece just because you can. You move it because you’re trying to influence what your opponent does next.
Same with hockey.
Sometimes your job isn’t to get to the puck. Sometimes your job is to move in a way that creates space for someone else.
It may not result in an assist.
You may never touch the puck.
But your movement changed the entire play.

There’s a strange theory that goes around from time to time where players truly think that if they’re not scoring goals they’re not being “useful” to their teams.
You’ll start to see it a lot at tournaments when points are awarded and there’s leaderboards of the top scorers and top assists and things like that.
But the truth is, every player is the reason that top scorer exists. Because of the invisible game of movement, they helped aid that scorer’s points total.

Which is exactly why no matter if you’re scoring left and right or if you’re simply pulling a defender an inch out of the way, you have to start seeing that movement as helpful and proactive.

That being said, it’s important to note that EVERY bit of movement asks a question, and if you aren’t paying attention, you can also drag the defense straight into the play. So you gotta be careful because every time you move without the puck, you’re forcing the defense to make a decision.
🏒 if you drive towards the net, does the defender follow you?
🥅 if you slide into open space, does someone leave the puck carrier to cover you?
🏒 if you rotate behind your teammates, who switches? Who communicates?
EVERY movement asks a question and every question the defense has to answer steals a little bit of their attention (and time) which means, the more questions you create, the harder the game becomes for the other team.

There’s a bigger lesson at play with this one today, and we’re hoping it makes sense because it sounds absolutely bonkers, but it’s truly the best advice we can give for this particular situation:
The goal in hockey ISN’T to be open…yes yes we see what we just typed, but follow us for a moment.
MANY players think “I need to get open”
Coaches always tell you to be an option.
We get that. We do. And it’s true.
But the thought shouldn’t be “I need” it should become “How can my movements help?”
If you stop just “trying to get open” and instead force the defense to actually make a decision, you’re creating opportunities for others.
There’s also the chance that if you were to slide into open space the defense won’t follow you and now you’re wide open.
Or the chance that if you rotate high, and your teammate switches with you, the defense will follow them and not you, and AGAIN you’re open!

See how you still are doing exactly what your coach said (be an option) while also creating opportunities?
See how you’ll also find that if you’ll stop telling yourself “I need to be open” and start figuring out the best movements you’ll most likely find yourself open and calling for a pass?

When you change the perspective from what you THINK is right and focus more on what you COULD be accomplishing with your movements, you change the game.

Challenge yourself. . . the next time you watch a game, or your own team, try something different.
For one shift…ignore watching the puck.
Pick one player who doesn't have it. Watch ONLY them.
Notice:
🏒How often they change direction.
🥅How they support the puck carrier.
🏒How they pull defenders.
🥅How they create passing lanes.
🏒How they recover when possession changes.
You'll start to see a completely different game. One where the biggest plays often belong to the players no one is watching.
You’ll start to understand that the puck may FINISH the play, but movement started it all. Every stride, every rotation, every screen, every cut into open ice shapes what happens next.

Because hockey ✨isn't✨ just played by the player with the puck.
It's created by the four teammates without it.

What Defense is ACTUALLY chasing 👀
Contrary to popular belief, a good defender isn’t hunting you down. They’re not sitting in the zone just waiting for their opportunity to knock you into the boards.
They’re not sitting in wait ready to give you a teeth jarring hit
(Don’t get us wrong, they want that too) but it’s not their goal.

No, their ultimate goal isn’t to chase you down.
It’s to chase your clock.

Most people think defenders are hunting the puck or waiting for that opportunity to make a big flashy (fun) hit…but in reality, they’re hunting your time and creating pressure both physically as well as mentally.

As we all know, time is hockey’s MOST valuable currency (energy is a close second for sure) but why is that the case? Why is time so valuable?
Simply put, because the game of hockey isn’t played with unlimited time and every second that is played moves QUICK. You don’t have time to set things up perfectly, what works on paper may or may not transfer to the ice, and what worked in practice probably won’t be nearly as smooth in a real game situation. There’s just too much happening all at once. And every second you possess the puck, the defense is working to make your world smaller.
Not by taking the puck. But by taking away the time you have to make a good decision.

Most players think pressure looks like a defender skating toward you.
And we could see how that could be the case, considering how movies and books, and even real life situations make that the most prevalent form of pressure.
But the truth is, pressure actually started long before that defender even knew they’d be guarding you. A good defender understands this and instead of rushing for you like the movies, they begin an invisible countdown.
Unlike the movies (or even your actual game play experience) a good defender doesn’t rush as soon as you get the puck, which means at first, you have several good choices in front of you:
🥅 Skate into open ice.
🏒 Make a cross-ice pass.
🥅 Dish it to a teammate.
🏒 Cut to the middle.
See, several choices to choose from. But a good defender knows about these choices (remember we discussed this) and as they approach or change their body language, those choices begin to change as the clock invisibly ticks down.
Maybe they angle their body to take away the middle, now the puck carrier is pushed towards the boards.
Maybe a teammate arrives and closes the passing lane, and now the cross-ice pass is gone.
You hesitate for a half second, and now your shooting opportunity is gone.
Without ever needing to steal the puck, the defender has quietly reduced five good options to one difficult one.
That's the countdown.
Not time measured on a stopwatch…but time measured by how quickly good decisions disappear.

Remember when we talked about defending space rather than players? This is literally why. Because every option removed forces the puck carrier to spend another second searching for a new answer. And when defenders defend the right space, they naturally take away the time, and if they can take away time, they can create enough pressure to cause a BAD decision.
And a bad decision is really the start of their chance at a shot on goal.

Which is why, you (as the puck handler/offense) needs to learn to protect your time.
That sounds like it’s impossible given how fast things move, and we get that, so here’s some options that simply give you a little more “time” without actually adding any seconds to the clock:
🥅 communicate- if you’re going for a puck shout that out, let your team know what you’re doing so they can then fall into some sort of play formation that can build the play rather than toppling it down before it gets started.
IF you talk to your team, you’ll be providing them with choices before you have to make them yourself.
IF you don’t talk you risk everyone puck chasing, and leaving space, or you get the puck but no one was prepared so there’s nowhere to go with the puck
Communication buys you time.

🏒 practice- in practices you should be working on the communication for sure, but also you need to start asking yourself “when did I know what I wanted to do with the puck?”.
IF you start to ask these kinds of questions you force your mind to slow down enough to actually figure out the answer. Because the truth is, if you don’t know your next play until the pressure arrives, you’re already too late.
IF you know before the pressure arrives, you’ve protected your time. The best way to know before is to practice it before. Get out of the “me me me” mindset that you think buys you time, and get into the mindset of “if this player goes with me, we can create a 2 on 1 and have a better shot at goal. We should practice that.”
Practicing with intent buys you time.

The cool thing about sled, at least one of the cool things, is that the game isn’t always won by the strongest player or even the fastest. Sometimes, it can be won by the player who keeps their clock running just a little longer. It makes the game that much more exciting. Because anyone can be that someone. And the quicker you realize that hockey is not a race just against your opponent but rather a race against disappearing time, you’re one stride closer to becoming that “someone”

Did YOU Know 🧐
If Judy Heumann was the movement’s organizer, and Ed Roberts was the visionary of disability rights, then James Dart Jr was its ambassador.
Ever heard of him?
Well, he’s often called the Father of the ADA, not because he wrote it into law, but because he became the movement’s relentless advocate.

Justin Whitlock Dart Jr
Born- August 29, 1930
Died- June 22, 2002
The Father of the ADA

Justin was born into a prominent family, his father, Justin Sr was the president of Dart Industries, a major consumer products corporation (that owned brands such as Duracell and Tupperware) and his grandmother was the wife of the man who founded the Walgreens drugstore chain.
To put it mildly, he was born into immense privilege, luxury, and extreme wealth.

But that’s the thing about disability life. It doesn’t matter how much money is in your bank account, nor how famous you or your familiar ties are. When it enters the equation, it enters with a force no money can solve.
And that’s what happened to Justin.
In 1948 he contracted polio at the age of 18 which paralyzed his legs and initially left him with just 3 days to live.

Now, growing up, Justin often called himself a “super loser” due to his families immense pressures of coming from such a successful business savvy group. He also went on record to explain that his home was defined by erratic behavior and “obnoxiously” extreme wealth. He recalled heated dinner table shouting matches and described his home as a household dominated by conflict. He also went on record to say that he wasn’t a “good” person growing up, and the concept of even thinking of someone other than himself was foreign to him. He was spoiled rotten, and had a chip on his shoulder. Jaded by a life that money provided. So when in the hospital, fighting for his literal life, and surrounded by unconditional warmth from not only medical staff but also fellow patients, his outlook on life had its first transformation.

He survived.
And he was “lost” in his own words trying to navigate a new world, one not made for him and his wheelchair, and one no amount of money seemed to help him get through either.
He distanced himself from his family, all while he was searching for something to believe in, and found Gandhi’s book, “My Experiments with Truth” the book, he says, changed his life, and gave him “vision”
It forced him to make some big changes to his life, but he persisted.

He threw himself into his education, formed an organization for radical desegregation at the University of Houston, and co-founded a progressive political party called the Harris County Democrats.
But as we all know, social changes rarely come quickly, and James wasn’t a man of patience. He decided to pursue his goals through business. He even moved to Japan where he worked in business for years and when he returned to the States post his mother’s death, he planned to continue in his career.

It was here he got a lesson he never saw coming, because instead of joining a new company, he encountered something he’d never experienced before, discrimination. Employer after employer turned him away…not because he lacked qualifications, but because he used a wheelchair.
He later reflected that he had believed America was a place where hard work determined success. Instead, he discovered that disability could close doors before anyone even looked at your résumé.
That experience changed the direction of his life, because he realized his story wasn’t and couldn’t be unique.
Here was a man of vast luxury, and with a family history of successful business men and woman, as well as the experience to back his family name up, and yet, he still couldn’t get a job.
He realized that if he couldn’t…so many others (without the right names or titles) had to be experiencing the same thing. He was right, as the truth was, millions of disabled Americans faced the same type of barriers:
🏒 Employers refusing to hire them.
🥅 Schools denying admission.
🏒 Public buildings with stairs and no ramps.
🥅 Buses people couldn't board.
🏒 Restaurants with inaccessible entrances.
🥅 Hotels, theaters, parks, and sidewalks that excluded them.
He began dedicating his life to changing that, and his greatest contribution turned out not to be the one giving speeches, but rather to be the one listening.
In the 1980s, while serving on the National Council on Disability, Justin and his wife, Yoshiko Dart, embarked on an incredible journey.
They traveled to every U.S. state.
Not for photo opportunities. Not for campaign stops.
They wanted to hear directly from disabled Americans.
They met:
🏒 Veterans.
🥅 Parents.
🏒 Children.
🥅 Farmers.
🏒 College students.
🥅 Factory workers.
🏒 Teachers.
🥅 Athletes.
🏒 People living in institutions.
🥅 People living independently.
They asked one simple question: "Tell us what your life is really like."
Thousands of people shared stories.
🛷Stories of being denied jobs.
🛷Stories of inaccessible schools.
🛷Stories of buses driving past wheelchair users.
🛷Stories of restaurants where they couldn't enter.
🛷Stories of children who couldn't attend neighborhood schools.
Justin took those stories with him to Washington where he gave Congress something it couldn’t ignore; the truth.
When lawmakers debated disability rights, Justin didn’t just present statistics, he presented real accounts of people’s lives. He gave them visuals of what so many people didn’t have access to.
Instead of simply saying “Accessibility is important,” he said
“Here’s what a student in California faces everyday.”
“Here’s what happened to a woman in Kansas,”
“Here’s what a father in Maine told me.” �“Here’s what a child in Seattle explained”
The stories transformed disability rights from a simple policy debate into a HUMAN one.

And that’s why they call him the father of the ADA. No he didn’t write it, but because he became one of the most recognizable public advocates, and because he made Congress look at the PERSON behind the policy, he helped unite people with many different disabilities.
He testified before Congress
He advised policymakers
He rallied the disability community.
He brought his dream to life: “Equal access. Equal opportunity. Equal dignity.”
When the ADA was signed into law on July 26, 1990, it represented years of work by countless people. Justin had spent much of the previous decade helping build the coalition that made it possible.
Justin didn't fight so disabled people could merely enter buildings.
He fought so they could fully participate in society.
That includes sports.
When a new athlete tries sled hockey for the first time...
When a family finds an adaptive program...
When a rink installs accessible entrances or locker rooms...
When disabled athletes compete instead of watching from the stands...
Those moments reflect the kind of inclusion Justin envisioned.
Justin ended many of his speeches with two simple words:
"Lead On."
He wasn't talking only to politicians.
He meant everyone.
He believed every disabled person had the ability to lead—whether that meant changing a law, mentoring a child, speaking up at school, coaching a team, or simply refusing to accept unnecessary barriers.
Those two words became a rallying cry for the disability rights movement. And today are the same two words we’re pushing to continue where he left off. �Lead On.
Lead on in showing others what we can do
Lead on in continually advocating for ourselves and those to come
Lead on in knowing that listening can make a difference.
Lead on in Disability pride.

Support is a Skill 👀
One of the least understood parts of hockey is that support isn’t just “being close by” it’s understanding if you’re actually helping your teammate in situations.
It’s one of the biggest reasons a team will look either connected…or like their coach is heading cats to a baptism.

See, often people think “I’m close, I’m being supportive.” It’s not the worst mentality to be able to look up and see someone close by, but it’s also not always the support your teammate might need. The thought process shouldn’t be “I’m close enough to be supportive,” the thought process SHOULD be “Am I actually helpful to my teammate in this position?”
Those are two very different thought processes, and they both have the power to change the entire game.

Think of it like this, you’ve got the puck, and defenders are closing in and you hear, “I’m open!”
Maybe.
MAYBE they’re open.
But are they ✨available?✨
There’s a difference.

One of the biggest misconceptions in hockey is believing support simply means standing near the puck.
It doesn't.
Support ISN’T measured in feet.
It's measured in options.
If you look up and can't ✨safely✨ get your teammate screaming they’re open the puck, then they aren't supporting the play, even if they’re only a few feet away.

Support is CONSTANTLY moving. It’s not just skating to one spot and waiting, hockey as we know is NOT static. The puck is moving, the defenders are moving, your teammates are moving, that means you (and support) have to move too.
🥅 Good support is a constant adjustment.
🏒 Good support is knowing where to go when a teammate shifts.
🥅 Good support is FLEXIBLE.
🏒 Good support is asking “if they get pressured where is the open ice going to be?”
Good support isn’t skating next to someone saying you’re open, it’s learning where to be where your teammates need you most even if it’s not a typical place for you. Support is a constantly moving conversation that happens without words and with a whole lot of attention to the ice.

Here’s one thing we gotta remember as hockey players on the ice, support is a SOLUTION for a teammate under pressure. So imagine this for a moment:
🛷 teammate has the puck and carries it into the zone
🛷 defenders close in and pressure mounts (aka it’s time to make a play happen)
🛷 teammate looks up…ready to build a play and make a move
�OPTION A: a teammate close by behind a defender
OR �OPTION B: You drifting down into open ice, with your stick available

Which feels like support?
Right, you do. Not because you’re closer to the puck carrier, but because you recognized the open ice, and made that adjustment giving the puck carrier a SOLUTION rather than forcing a bad pass or forcing their way through the defense.
THAT’S the real job of support. To become the ANSWER before your teammate has to ask the question. It’s a no brainer to say “okay two defense are on the puck carrier, let me slide into this open ice” �sticks down, you’re ready for the pass
The puck carrier looks up, and it’s like rays of sunshine beaming down on you. They don’t think. They simply act.
They make the pass
Now you have a chance to score.

See how that works out when you’re supporting properly?
That’s because good support truly creates better decisions. When players support well, the puck carrier doesn't have to force difficult plays. They don't have to stickhandle through three defenders.
They don't have to throw a blind pass.
Why?
Because someone has already created an easy option. Good support makes hockey feel simple. Poor support makes hockey feel rushed.

Here’s a challenge for the next time you’re on the ice:
Every time your teammate has the puck, ask yourself one question:
"If they needed me right now, could they use me?"
If the answer is no…don't call for the puck.
🏒Move.
🥅Change your angle.
🏒Create a lane.
🥅Become available.
Because support isn't about watching the play. It's about staying connected to it.

And that’s something that leads to an even bigger lesson believe it or not, support isn't JUST a hockey skill.
It's a mindset.
The best teammates don't wait until someone is in trouble before they become an option. They're already there. Already moving. Already creating solutions. And that's why great teams often look effortless. Not because every player is extraordinary. But because every player is constantly making life easier for the person beside them.
Bring that kind of team to any tournament, and you’re a threat. Not because you’re the fastest or the most experienced, but because you make it seem so easy.

GROW THE GAME!

PARA HOCKEY Catering to the disabled LGBTQ+ community nationwide

Oh what fun was had!