A Winner Never Quits

The Competitive Mindset Never Turns Off

I'm on spring break with my family. Working out in the gym yesterday next to a retired professional football player I met, great guy, we are about the same age. I found myself get off my exercise bike to go look to see what level his bike was on. I wanted to be sure my workout was harder. I did not think much about doing this until later that day reading an article in Men's Health called "A Winner Never Quits."

That instinct to check, to compete, to measure yourself against whoever is in the room with you, that does not go away. It is not something you turn on for a game and turn off at the gym. If you are wired to win, it runs all the time. The question is whether you are doing something with it or just carrying it around.

What Real Competitors Do When Nobody Is Watching

Love this quote from Tyler Seguin: "When I'm at the hardest point in a workout, I picture my strongest competitors doing the exact same workout but flying through it with no fatigue. My competitive drive kicks in, and that inspires me to work as hard as I imagine those guys are working." We all know that a winner never quits and to work hard but THIS IS A REMINDER.

Why did I get off my exercise bike to check to see what level he was at? Because I am a competitor. I am conditioned to battle. I always talk about my summers at The Cape working out with JR, Jeremy Roenick, early on in my career. I was battling it out in the minors, JR was an NHL All Star. We went hard on a daily basis to the brink of exhaustion. I went to hit balls on the range after working out one day, it was the hottest day of the summer. In the 90s with 90 percent humidity. Just standing on the range I was dripping in sweat. I caught out of the corner of my eye, way off in the distance, JR doing sprints on the course up and down the hills at full speed.

Bottom line. If you are not doing it, someone else is. I never forgot that day. That image stayed with me for the rest of my career. You do not need someone standing over you with a whistle. You need that picture burned into your brain of the guy who wants your spot working harder than you right now.

Conditioning Is the One Thing You Can Control

I love Seguin's quote. Here is mine: "Conditioning does not take skill. There is no excuse. In my day I was the best conditioned guy going into every training camp. I could control that."

Not saying I made the team I wanted every season because I did not. But I did not give up. Winning is not easy. Winners are losers who DID NOT GIVE UP. Coaches notice who comes into camp in shape. It does not guarantee you make the roster, but showing up gassed before the first drill is over tells everyone in that building exactly how serious you are. Control what you can control, and conditioning is always on that list.

Humble Pie and the Pittsburgh Penguins

My last season pro, sitting on the beach with my wife getting ready to leave for training camp. This was the first time in my career I was not offered an NHL contract before camp. My agent called and told me the Pittsburgh Penguins invited me to rookie camp. I had not been to a rookie camp in ten years. A thirty year old rookie? I was not a rookie. I did not want to go, it was embarrassing and insulting.

I will never forget what my wife said to me: "Go, this is why you do it. You have the skill, you need a chance. A small chance is better than no chance."

Enter 30 year old Jeff Serowik to the Pittsburgh Penguins rookie camp with a bunch of 18 year olds. Humble pie is not so yummy. I flew through the rookie camp and felt better when regular training camp began. There were injuries at camp. I had the best camp of my life, I was ready. I signed a three year deal with the Penguins. I was playing on the first line with Jaromir Jagr. Sorry to those who have heard this story, but I did not give up, and in a million years, never in my wildest dreams did I expect that outcome.

If you don't get on the team you want, don't get into the school you want, don't get, don't get, don't get. DON'T GIVE UP. A small chance is still a chance. Show up ready and let the work speak.

Put In the Work Colin White Does

Colin White is a great kid, great player, and the hardest worker. I coached him at Nobles for three years before he left to play for the US Development Team. He trains with my partner Brian McDonough, a strength and conditioning coach and founder of EPS, the EDGE PERFORMANCE SYSTEM. Brian knows Colin is the hardest worker. We know what he does daily in the summer. Your head would spin. Watch out for this future NHL franchise player. He deserves and earned all of his successes.

We are here to help you get to your highest bar. We are the experts with unbiased sets of eyes. The only agenda we have is helping you get there. But you have to work for it.

All the Best, Keep Battling,

Jeff

--

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I stay motivated to train hard when I'm not seeing results?

Results take longer than most players want to admit. The work you put in this summer will not always show up in September, but it will show up. Go back to what you can control today, your conditioning, your habits, your effort level. Stop measuring results by outcomes and start measuring by whether you showed up ready to work. That shift alone separates players who break through from players who burn out.

Is it worth trying out for a team if I think my chances are small?

Yes. A small chance is better than no chance. I went to a rookie camp at thirty years old surrounded by 18 year olds. It was humbling. It was also how I ended up signing a three year deal and playing on a line with Jaromir Jagr. You cannot control what a coach decides. You can control how prepared you are when you walk through that door.

What separates elite players from everyone else when they train off-season?

The elite players do not wait to be pushed. They have that picture in their head of a competitor working harder, and they use it as fuel. Conditioning does not take skill. It takes decision and discipline. The players we see make it to the next level are not always the most talented in the room. They are almost always the best prepared.

How important is mental toughness compared to physical skill in hockey development?

They work together, but mental toughness is the foundation. Skill gets you noticed. Toughness keeps you in the room when things get hard. When you are cut, when the offer does not come, when you are asked to do something humbling, that is the moment that defines your career more than any tryout ever will. Teach yourself not to quit before someone else tells you to stop.