Kevin Mansolill Biography
TRAINING "FAILING TO TRAIN - IS TRAINING TO FAIL"
In 2002 at age 10, after playing roller hockey year round beginning from age 6, I started to take both hockey and training seriously. My dad read this book “The Winning Edge” by Jack Medina M.A., strength and conditioning coach for more than 5 NFL teams and Olympic trainer to Cathy Rigby and several other gymnasts. Training brought on a whole new meaning for me. I started hearing words like plyometrics, wind sprints, overspeed, energy systems, interval training, ATP, carbohydrates, free radicals, antioxidants, nutrition and more. I didn’t fully understand what it was all about, but I trained by that book under the guidance of my father for years. Now it seems part of every elite athletic program. At 10, I focused on a multitude of plyometric and calisthenic exercises starting and ending each session with different variations of static and dynamic stretching for flexibility and cool down. I began running proper wind sprints with a re
covery time of 2 minutes while constantly trying to lower that time in between sprints. The shorter the recovery time meant I could get back out on the ice quicker and still perform close to my maximun output. That really helped my speed and endurance. Then in 2004, my dad turned our garage into a mini hockey gym with equipment to build up my strength and stamina. I combined what I was already doing with an elliptical machine for stamina, stair-stepper and PowerSkater machines for leg strength, a rowing machine for upper and lower body strength and yes, more wind sprints. Light training with weights came in about 13 and gradually increased for power as I progressed and grew older. I’d shoot on a goal and stickhandle for hours in there to hone my hockey skills. That was my favorite part of training. Nutrition is still a big part of my regime. I do my best to stay away from junk food. I eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, grains, and berries. Eating proper amounts of protein and the right carbs are important too. I'm glad I started this regime when I was 10 because it has become a way of life for me and has made for an easier transition into the program we now use. When I come home for holidays and summer breaks, I still train in the garage and run my sprints in the back.
PEEWEE MAJOR- THE GLACIER BEARS U12 AA 2004/2005
This was my first ice hockey team. It was a team that was discounted by a lot of teams from the very start. With only 12 players and coming from Florida, no one expected us to win anything. The northern teams called us “surfers”. That year the Glacier Bears came in 2nd in the 
State of Florida, and went on to the Southeast District games in Tennessee. We also won the Southeast Regional Silver Sticks in Huntsville, Al.! We moved on to the Silver Sticks finals in Port Huron, Mi. It was the most fun and exciting year for me. At age 12, the transition from roller hockey to ice hockey came naturally and quickly for me. Within 3 months of being on the ice, I won several skill competitions as the fastest skater and puck handler. Due to fact that we had just 12 players, I got a lot of ice time and I finished that season as the leading scorer with 105 points. I also had my best moment on the ice to date. During the Southeast District games against the Frederick Fury from Maryland, we were losing 4-1 going into the third. After a great locker room pep talk from our coach, the team came out with a new mind-set. We worked together and I was able to score a natural hat trick within 2 minutes and 38 seconds in Districts to tie up the game. However, in the last minute of that game, our goalie made save after save. He played great, but the puck finally slipped past him, and we lost 5-4. After that game, the head coach of the Frederick Fury came into our locker room to congratulate our team for an unbelievable comeback. He said we played with determination, heart, and a never give up attitude! Our coach, Jeff Wood, gets the credit for convincing my parents to allow me to cross over from roller to ice. Some die hard ice players frown upon roller, but I feel it was the best basic training of hockey fundamentals for me. While some players could boast they were on the ice for an hour a day 2-3 times per week, I could say I had my skates on with a stick and puck in hand for about 4 hours per day, 7 days per week, 52 weeks per year! I've played league and travel roller hockey from age 6 through 12, and then made the transition over to ice. Roller and ice are both great! However, it was time for me to make the move! I’m glad I did!
To Coach Jeff Wood, Thank You!
BANTAM MINOR - FLORIDA FLYERS U14 AA Spring /Summer 2005/2006
The next stop was on a tournament team called the Florida Flyers. We played a few tournaments up in the Midwest. It was a spring-summer team in between regular seasons. We faired pretty well in the Chicago and Detroit area considering we were playing some really seasoned Midwest teams under different names. We made it to the semi-finals each time. Our coach was Sean O’Brien. He was a graduate from Princeton University and was the Captain of their hockey team. To have somebody with those qualifications! He is also the owner of Perfect Competition in Davie, Fl. It’s a huge sports training facility that trains pro athletes from all sports. We held our off-ice training there throughout the next year. My only regret was that that league was too short. However, it was a great stepping stone into next season's team. I wished we had more time to learn from Coach O’Brien. Sean O’Brien is now in charge of Player Development of USA Hockey in State of Florida.
To Coach Sean O’Brien, Thank You!
BANTAM MINOR – FLORIDA SHARPSHOOTERS U14 AA – 2005/2006
This was another great team to be on. Although we were considered a minor team, we played up against the '91 major teams. We went on to win the Florida State Title. This is a great feat considering our rink was in Sunrise Fl. and was literally destroyed in October 2005 due to Hurricane Wilma. With only a few practices and games played there, we were a team looking for a new home. .jpg)
Our Coach, Carlos Assayag found us a new home right next to Perfect Competition in Davie, Fl. It was called Pro Hockey Institute or PHI for short. Being right next door to Perfect Competition we held our off-ice training there twice a week. PHI didn’t have a regulation size sheet of ice. They had 2 half sheets of ice side by side. At first thought you might think this is detrimental, however, by playing on a smaller ice surface with the same amount of players, it forces you to become quicker in all aspects of the game. It’s like trying to weave in and out of cars during rush hour traffic. You have to think and react faster. You’re forced to move your feet and hands quicker and stay that way at a higher pace. We’d have our regular drills and they’d eventually turn into mini-games. It was actually a blast. We worked harder on the half ice than a full sheet. Coach told me I was a “work horse” for him. I always had great respect for Coach Carlos. Winning State was great! A perfect way to end the season!
To Coach Carlos Assayag, Thank you!
BANTAM FLORIDA EVERBLADES U14 AAA 2006/2007
I was invited to come out for a AAA tryout on the west coast of Florida. It’s about a 3 hour drive each way. This was the only ’92 AAA team in the entire state of Florida. I had a good tryout and was approached afterwards by the then assistant coach Brett Strot. He said I had a lot of raw potential. He liked my speed and said I had a knack for always coming up with the puck. I made the Florida Everblades AAA team/roster. I was excited that I was able to transition from roller to AAA ice in 2 years!
Unfortunately, we had a family medical crisis with my mom and we couldn’t travel that far away from her for long periods of time so we had to decline joining that season. My mom is on her way to making a full recovery and she makes almost every game to this date. Although I couldn’t join the Everblades team, I’d like to thank Coach Brett Strot for offering me the opportunity.
BANTAM MAJOR FLORIDA JR. PANTHERS U14 AA 2006-2007
I joined the Florida Jr. Panthers. Most of the players were my teammates from the Florida Sharpshooters. We were already good friends. Our new coach was Coach Ray Dion who was our assistant coach under Coach Carlos Assayag from the Florida Sharpshooters. Coach Dion made me his Captain. He 
expected a lot from me. He said “being a Captain is more than just wearing a “C” on your jersey”. I worked hard and did my best to live up to his expectations. We had a weekly phone call to talk about what was going on, even if it wasn’t hockey related. We had a very good team. Out of 8 tournaments, we finished top 3 in all but one. One nice memory is we played in the International Silver Sticks in Alpharetta, Ga. In the semi-final game we played the Affton Americans from Missouri who were ranked #1 at the time in the country. In overtime, I intercepted a pass at the blue line, skated it in and scored top shelf with a wrist shot. We won 2-1 and were in the finals. We didn’t win the Championship but we were all proud to take 2nd place at International Silver Sticks. My most memorable tournament that season was the Can/Am Challenge Cup. Not because we finished 3rd, but because we were able to play on the ice in Lake Placid NY, where the USA won the Olympic gold medal in February 1980. The Miracle on Ice! That was a terrific honor! We also ended up in third place for the State Championship!
To Coach Ray Dion, Thank you!
MIDGET FLORIDA JR. PANTHERS U16 AAA 2007/2008
I just turned 15 and tried out for the U16 AAA Florida Jr. Panthers. I made the team. I was playing up on a team of '91’s with 3 other '92 teammates. Our coach was Ray Sheppard, who had played over 800 games on several NHL teams including the Detroit Red Wings, and our Florida Panthers. 
In his opening meeting, I remember him saying “if you’re good, they’ll find you”! This is one of his comments that sticks out in my mind when I think of Ray Sheppard. I try to live by that advice. For anyone who knows him, you’d know that during a practice and/or a game, he’s a no nonsense kind of coach. He’s strictly about focusing, paying attention, working hard and performing well. If not, the whole team is “climbing the mountain”. I liked how serious and intense the practices were. This was a whole different level for me and I took it very seriously. I respected the fact that we were being trained by a coach who played in the NHL. He treated us like we were in the NHL. The rookies had to know their place; he had nick names for everyone. Mine was simply “Manz”. You had to earn your ice time. He taught the team the “left wing lock” used by Detroit. I’m not sure if we ever mastered it but we definitely tried. He was big on practicing the breakouts and positioning. Due to that, I felt that I excelled a lot in those areas. It was a great year for me. I ended up the 2nd leading goal scorer and learned a great deal from playing up. I played on the penalty kill. We played 10 out-of-state tournaments in the Midwest and Northeast. We won games against some top AAA teams, and lost some games we never should have lost. When we were on, we were on. All in all, we were playing some of the top AAA teams in the country. This was elite hockey!
To Coach Ray Sheppard, Thank You!
HOCKEY NIGHT IN BOSTON TOURNAMENT 2008
I just wanted to briefly mention this one tournament. The HNIB summer tournament is well known and been around since 1974. It’s a week and a half of games played every July/August. There were 20 teams mostly from the 
Midwest and Boston area. The talent level was amongst the highest from their areas. This was the last year all teams played in one division. They now have a seperate Elite divison. I mention this tournament because it’s nice to show the caliber of players from Florida and that we can compete with the Northeast and Midwest. We went up with an 18 man roster and lost only 2 games all week. I believe we played 12 games in all. I had a total of 10 points and the game winning goal in overtime of the semi-final game which helped bring us into the championship game. We lost it in a tight battle. However, after competing with some of the toughest teams from up north, I was extremely proud to be part of this talented team from Florida that finished in 2nd place.
I’d like to thank Coach Tim Kyrkostas for choosing me on his team that represented our area, South Florida.
THE MOVE TO JUNIOR’s MJHL
I was 16 and at a crossroads as to whether I should stay locally and continue to play youth hockey or make the move to juniors. It meant moving away from my family, friends, school, local rinks and my entire way of life in
That turned out to be the best decision I’ve ever made! I had to make adjustments and learned how to really take care of myself. I now had responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, managing finances and keeping up with my studies. I had to learn to maintain a healthy balance of school, hockey, and domestic duties. I attend 
This team had a roster of high caliber players. Our junior games were played at the most professional level. At each new level you achieve, there’s so much more to learn. The training program is superb. On and off ice training is unbelievable! Brett Strot and Hockey International are responsible for that. This was the main and foremost reason for me joining the Ice Dogs.
The Ice Dogs are known for their speed, quick puck movement, and overall team work. This was a much disciplined team. We finished the south MJHL as Champions, and we finished 2nd in the MJHL Keegan Cup (out of 28 teams) earning us 2nd seed in the Junior Nationals in
To Coach Brett Strot, Thank You!
JACKSONVILLE ICE DOGS MJHL 2009/2010
I chose to stay on with the Ice Dogs - Hockey International program for the training, development, coaching staff, and a great team of skilled players! I feel that after training and playing a full year with the success of last season, it’s definitely an elite program and truly prepares you for the next level. I’d recommend this program to everyone who wants to make a move up from youth hockey or move from another junior team. The Hockey International program has lead its teams to Nationals 3 out of 4 years! I feel that's proof the program is working!
As the first half of the season wound down for the holidays, both the team and I did very well. We were in 1st place in our division, and I received the “Player of the Week” award by the MJHL and was fortunate enough to be selected to play in the MJHL All Star game in January 2010 at Walpole Massachusetts. I have had interest from a D-1 college, the NAHL, EJHL, and the AJHL. We finished the season as the Division Champions which earned us a spot in the Keegan Cup and the Junior Nationals! Unfortunately we headed into these games without 5 key players due to major injuries. However, we trained hard and were prepared and finished strong at Nationals, winning 2 out of 3 games. With our full roster, I feel we could have won the Nationals! In the last game, I had a natural hat trick, GWG and a SHG against a very competitive team, Maksymum. I also finished up as the 8th leading goal scorer in the 2010 Junior Nationals. Our overall team record finished at 30-13-0-1. Making it to Junior Nationals 2 years in a row has now become the most important event in my career. It was extremely gratifying for all the hard work and as always, an honor to be able to attend. I thank all my teammates for such a great year to remember and wish all the Ice Dogs the best wherever they go!
And once again to Coach Brett Strot, Thank You!
To sum up, my speed, ability to read the puck, and team play are my forte and I continue everyday to try and better myself. We actually train to use all 5 senses on the ice. I feel I now have a much greater awareness on the ice and I’m always looking to make a play. I give 110% at every game and practice, on and off the ice. I consider myself to be a strong team player with a very good head for the game which can help make a positive difference in the outcome. I shoot right but like to play off wing or center. My objective is to play Junior A and then go on to play College hockey. I never give up!
To be continued…