TBC: The Six Secrets Of Hockey

I don't often get the opportunity to read e-books for Teebz's Book Club as most publishers like to send me a copy of the book they would like me to review. I appreciate that, but there's something to be said for the simplicity of reading an e-book. Don't get me wrong - I like the physical book in my hand an flipping through pages is relaxing. Every once in a while, though, an e-book is a nice change. Today, I had the privilege of reading The 6 Six Secrets of Hockey, written by Edward R. Stephen and published in .pdf format, on my e-reader. There are some excellent ideas put forth in this book that could be considered the secret to success in hockey.

Normally, I include a biography of the author at this time, but I don't really know a lot about Mr. Stephen and there's nothing in the e-book that allows me to do some research. Mr. Stephen did email, though, with these intriguing lines, "I came up with the idea after one of my teammates made a lasting remark 'I wish I could restart my hockey career knowing what I know now.'" That grabbed my attention, so I jumped at the opportunity to read through Mr. Stephen's six secrets to hockey success.

Having played hockey, I found that the e-book covered topics that I already knew about the game. It occurred to me, though, that a number of people may not know these "secrets" about hockey, and it would be these people that would benefit from an e-book such as The 6 Six Secrets of Hockey. Again, it's not for the hockey veteran, but it would be an excellent read for parents who haven't played hockey guide their children into the game and through their formative years.

Mr. Stephen looks at the six secrets that include the developmental process, battling adversity within one's self, the "politics" of hockey and how networking is an important process, visualizing wins and keeping a good mental focus, making smart decisions, and fine-tuning critical skills. Again, some of these concepts would already have been learned for a more veteran player, but novices and parents of younger players may find the information in these six secrets to be valuable in terms of the lessons introduced by Mr. Stephen.

The one section of The 6 Six Secrets of Hockey that I enjoyed immensely was the portion about hard work in Chapter 1: The Developmental Process. I have always maintained that hard work is far more important in hockey than talent alone, but if one has talent and works hard, good things will happen. Mr. Stephen writes,

Strategically embedding a good work ethic in a player at such a young age will render definite advantages in the future. There are various methods to incorporate this; employ skating at the end of every practice, set early-morning workouts, or even make them join the cross-country team, be creative. Make sure that you understand the importance of hard work in the game of hockey. Natural ability will only take you so far. If this is introduced early it will prove to be beneficial at the higher levels. You may have heard of the expression "Hard work beats talent if talent doesn't work hard." This is one of the numerous actualities of hockey. A generic assumption for life is that the amount of input will later equal the amount of output instilled into a certain endeavour. This also applies to the game of hockey. If you are truly devoted and dedicated to the game, it will reward you accordingly.

I can't say that there is a better truism than this paragraph in the book, and I fully believe this passage should be taught and repeated with young players on a daily basis. Not only does hard work trump talent in hockey, but it's a truism for life as well. If one works hard, one will be successful regardless of the amount of talent one has.

UPDATE: I had to rewrite this paragraph as Mr. Stephen has updated me with a number of things. First off, the book used to retail for $5.99. Now, it's available for $4.59 with no coupon codes required. That's a nice discount on a solid little book. Secondly, I had taken issue with the fact that the cost per secret worked out to a dollar, but Mr. Stephen is now making it more worthwhile. He has expanded the book to include more information, and he has turned ">his website into a full hockey resource! Good bang for the buck now if you ask me!

I honestly believe that this book could help parents who may need some key points to teach their youngsters about succeeding in the game of hockey. While I'm not saying that the six secrets are all that secretive since one or two "secrets" seem more like common sense, Mr. Stephen lays out the information in a very clear, concise format that is literally portable if you have any sort of tablet, e-reader, or laptop. I like this mobile idea, and due to that feature and the fact that this e-book does offer some excellent advice for novice hockey people, The 6 Six Secrets of Hockey earns the distinctive Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!