Three Great Books For Hockey Players to Read Train Your Mind - Pro Ambitions Hockey, Inc.

Start of Season Mindset

Wishing everyone a great start of the season. You are not the player you were last season. Many of you worked on your game a significant part of the summer, both on and off the ice. Summer is when you grow in stature, in mind, and athletically. We call it The Summer Hockey Growth Spurt.

For those going to a new team, great. For those returning to an old team, great. It should not matter. A good coach will see the commitment you made over the summer and see your growth. What matters is what you did when nobody was watching. That is the work that shows up in October and carries you through a long season.

The physical growth is visible. The mental growth is what separates the good players from the great ones. That is what these books are about.

Three Books to Strengthen Your Mental Game

Here are three books worth reading this season to build the mental side of your game. Get them on audio if reading feels like too much right now. Listen in the car with your player on the way to practice. Or read a chapter at a time in a book club format, parents and players together, and talk about what you read. Everyone is busy with school starting and the season ramping up. It may take a while to get through these and that is fine. The goal is not to rush through them. The goal is to let the ideas sink in and apply them.

Relentless by Tim S. Grover

Grover trained Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. He knows what it takes to compete at the highest level, and he does not sugarcoat it. This book is about the mentality of being truly elite, not just good, not just competitive, but relentless. It is a tough read in the best way. Young players who think they are already working hard enough need this book.

Mind Gym by Gary Mack

This one is written specifically with athletes in mind. Mack breaks down focus, confidence, pressure, and consistency in a way that actually makes sense to a player sitting in a locker room. The concepts are practical and usable. Read a chapter before a big game and see if it changes how you approach your warmup.

Mindset by Carol Dweck

Dweck's research on fixed versus growth mindset is the foundation for how we approach player development at Pro Ambitions. Players who believe they can improve with effort will outwork players who think talent is fixed, every single time. If your child hits a wall this season and starts making excuses, hand them this book. It reframes what struggle actually means.

Weekend Training With Pro Ambitions

Reading about the mental game matters. But the work still has to happen on the ice. That is why we run small group training and private lessons every Saturday and Sunday morning, and have for decades.

You can train for one or both hours in Dedham from 7:30 to 9:30am. We have added a second location in Braintree at Thayer Rink from 11am to 1pm, which includes specialty goalie training with our new goalie director. This has been one of the best kept secrets of Pro Ambitions.

Serowik and his crew of full-time professional youth development coaches are there every weekend. This is not a camp staffed by college kids working a summer job. These are coaches who do this year-round and care about individual player development. Privates and small group specialty training are significant ingredients in a player's growth throughout the season. You make small corrections, fix specific habits, and sharpen the details of your individual game, separate from what your team works on.

Training away from your team on your own throughout the season is what the serious players do. Serowik will never get away from this type of training. Making a difference in youth development on a personal level, one player at a time, is what this is about. It is a different experience than the summer camps, and it is just as important.

Frequently Asked Questions

What age group is the weekend training appropriate for?

We work with players across a wide range of youth levels. Whether your player is just developing or is a more advanced skater looking to sharpen specific skills, the small group and private format allows us to adjust to where they are. Come out and see for yourself.

How is private or small group training different from team practice?

Team practice serves the team. Private and small group training serves the individual. We focus on what that specific player needs to fix, whether it is skating mechanics, puck handling, shot technique, or positioning. You cannot get that in a group of twenty players running drills.

Do my child and I really need to read these books together?

You do not have to. But parents who understand what their player is working through mentally are better able to support them. When your kid is in a slump or losing confidence, knowing the concepts in these books gives you something real to talk about instead of just saying "keep working hard."

When is the best time to start this kind of mental training?

Now. There is no minimum age for learning how to focus, handle pressure, or develop a growth mindset. The earlier a player starts thinking about the mental side of the game, the bigger the edge they build over time. Most players neglect it entirely. That is exactly why it matters.