BK GIRLS EXPECT SEASON-LONG IMPROVEMENT PROCESS WILL HELP THEM PEAK FOR PLAYOFFS

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The art and/or science of peaking for the playoffs is inexact.

 

That doesn’t mean it should be disregarded, either.

 

At the end of a competitive season lengthy enough to rival anything they’ll see in college or the pros, the BK Selects girls are back at work, preparing for what they hope is another two-team trip to USA Hockey Nationals in early April.

 

“Our girls do a great job throughout the year, learning to have a routine and a process, and through the year they grow that process,” said BK Director of Girls Hockey Cari Coen. 

 

“It’s a really big piece to (have) individual and team success,” she continued. “We talk about being a pro, right? That means taking care of everything you do, if it’s academically, socially or athletically.”

 

With the arrival of March comes the New York state tournament, with the 19Us set to face Buffalo’s Nichols School in a two-game series this weekend, while the 16Us will line up against the Rochester Jr. Americans, Syracuse Valley Eagles and Team Long Island.

 

After wrapping up the regular season last weekend, it’s down to this to see if the BK Selects girls play on.

 

“I think the team is in a really good spot heading into playoffs this month,” said 19U forward Addison Tremel (Newcastle, Wash.). “We got a good week go training in last week, and a super competitive game against Burlington on Sunday, so we are feeling pretty confident heading into states this weekend!”

 

And whichever team has leveled up the most since the fall is in a great position to come through in the spring.

 

To pursue that focus on constant improvement, BK Selects players don’t just engage in team-oriented practices and games. They also take part in regularly-scheduled individual skills sessions on the ice, primarily organized by 16U Assistant Coach Mel Ames.

 

Throw in Bishop Kearney’s traditional February break — which happened to fall right after both teams won championships at the challenging Motor City Girls Fest — and the girls are in a good position to carry that September energy and enthusiasm into March.

 

“We’re making sure we continue to make the rink a destination and an exciting place to be,” Coen said. “It’s about having them peak towards the end of the year, not feeling like ‘I can’t wait for Nationals to be over because I’m tired.’ “

 

Ames, who said she owes a debt to her father Dave for helping her get started in coaching, aims for a constant progression in whatever the BK Selects happen to be working on that week.

 

“I think keeping it fresh when it comes to these skills is very important, because it can get redundant for the players and you can get stuck just going through the motions,” said Ames, a Rochester native and four-time NCAA Division 3 champion with SUNY-Plattsburgh. 

 

“From the coaching side, it allows me to get creative with the skills. Each week we build on the previous week’s skills, but in a different situation. For example, adding a puck or adding pressure to the edge (skating) drills.”

 

Ames alluded to it, but the overarching theme of the skills sessions this year has been pushing the players to get uncomfortable, both in terms of using the edges of their skate blades and the speed with which they are operating. 

 

She points to world-class modern skaters like Connor McDavid as examples of pushing the envelope on what’s possible for hockey players to execute.

 

“Skating is the most powerful skill for hockey players and if we can get more comfortable with being uncomfortable on our edges, in small spaces, this will help us be better hockey players,” Ames said.

 

“Everything we do we correlate to how we can use it within our game. For example, we spent a few weeks working hard on edge control and moving through small spaces to now adding pucks with a heavy focus on puck protection. It’s been really cool to see the development of everyone’s skating shown in their games.”

 

Tremel said drilling down on some of the details of her game has helped her adapt in her first year at the 19U level, to the point she was named MVP of the Motor City Girls Fest with five goals and five assists in six games.

 

“Those sessions are great,” Tremel said. “We get to hone in our skills in a super-hard practice. It’s always fun to push ourselves in a skate that is formatted differently than our usual skates.”

 

Considering how well the 19Us (48-3-0, ranked second in the nation) and 16Us (41-9-4, ninth) have performed this season, it would be easy to assume complacency is a significant foe.

 

But, to hear Tremel tell it, sometimes BK Selects players can get frustrated when they’re not performing to their self-imposed high standard. That’s better than the alternative of resting on past achievements, but still a matter worth addressing.

 

“Positivity on the bench is going to be one of the things that carries us the farthest,” Tremel said. “Just because of how well we play when we are positive and being joyful.”

 

Hockey is a hard game, or at least it is when you care about playing well. Almost a decade into the lifespan of the BK Selects girls program, all involved seek a balance of squeezing the most out of every day, while not needlessly draining the energy needed to excel at the end of the season. 

 

“I think we’ve grown and elevated in a lot of areas, whether it’s coaching, or off-ice work, or just working with the mental side of things,” Coen said. “It’s just making sure we’re able to keep growing, and making sure they’re have a fun time, so they can continue to craft their skills.”