“They all had the responsibility of completing it and being accountable to their teammates,” said Hagman. “We made incremental goals along the way when they achieved a certain amount of shots, such as Mike and Ike's, coaches in tutus, wearing an NHL jersey at practice. The final goal was a pizza party right before playoffs.”
This proved to be a true team-building exercise as few of the Terriers had completed any of the OMHA Players Club challenges before.
The aim of the 5,000 Puck Challenge is to increase shot accuracy, speed, quickness and technique. Over a 10 week span, players shoot 100 pucks a day, five days a week. Parents and coaches, including those in Orillia, have been thrilled with the skill improvement in their players and have credited the OMHA Players Club as the reason.
“They were always excited to hand their sheets to be checked at practices and see how they were progressing. As we got closer to each goal they really wanted to reach the end. The parents were so supportive of this as well.”