Road to the Rafters: Preparing for a Season of Junior Hockey

‘Road to the rafters’…that was the Kitchener Rangers’ unofficial motto for the 2011-12 season.

In an arena that boasts a multitude of banners including two Memorial Cup championships, along with the individual accolades of guys like Paul Coffey, Scott Stevens, Al MacInnis and Larry Robinson, it would be nothing short of an honour to have your name hanging high above the ice alongside them.

Through every practice and every game, the small sign bearing those inspirational words reminded players of all they strive towards; it served as a constant reminder of the sacrifice, dedication and commitment needed to be successful. I asked assistant coach Paul Fixter about the motto in a feature I recently did on the team for a local Kitchener television station. In the feature I highlighted the importance of off-season preparation.

Paul outlined the due diligence not only the players put in over the course of the off-season, but the coaching and front office staff as well. After all, a strong off-season is the precursor to a strong season on the ice.

Much is the same for reporters and journalists.

By the end of the summer heading into training camp, you should be able to spit out names, numbers, measurements and draft rank like a fluent second language. A player’s background is your base – what is necessary to compliment the scores, standings, injuries and any other story lines that may unfold during the season.

Every reporter has a different way of going about their business, but I’ll share two of the most important practices in my off-season regime.

First of all – read. It sounds so simple, but it’s a past time taken for granted. Read the paper, read a book, read a magazine…anything. Don’t be fooled though, reading 140 character posts on Twitter does not actually constitute as ‘reading’…unfortunately. In today’s world a lot of people are quick to jump to conclusions and then share their one-sided opinion, before actually exploring both sides of a topic. We’ve all been guilty of it. The benefit of reading is not only do you become more educated, but you also pick up on other important elements of your craft such as proper sentence structure and grammar. So read…it’s good for you.

The second thing I’ll share is something I’ve been doing religiously since I was a little girl – keeping a diary. Of course I have a different sort of diary for my sports related ventures, but nonetheless it serves the same purpose. When I first started in hockey I took one big, fat notebook and lined every single page with notes of research – things like hockey plays, referee rules, team history and even ‘slang’ definitions…the thing is an absolute mess of scribbles and highlighter marks. That notebook has come to evolve over the years, including more current info from throughout the season. A diary is an essential part of the creative process; being able to document your research, short stories and recollections before making use of them.

As you find your groove, you’ll find different methods of preparation that work best for you. Embrace the quirky habits and have fun with it!