HOW TO PREPARE, AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TIME AWAY FROM THE RINK!

Spring is in the air!  The days are getting longer, the temperatures are getting warmer and summer is on the way! It also means changes are taking place. Some facilities are removing ice for the off-season, others are taking the next few weeks to regroup before the next season starts and others are shutting down for renovations.

As you prepare for the next couple of months, it is important to press the reset button for yourself and perhaps more importantly, for your staff. It’s always a good idea to take some time off and get away from the rink! As you plan for that however, it’s a great opportunity to reflect, rethink some things and hold a debriefing meeting with staff. 

In fact, I just hit the road on the Harley for some much-needed wind therapy and headed to Daytona, Florida for Bike Week. But before I fired up the big two-wheeler, loaded up Bob Seger on the stereo and “Rolled Me Away” on the iron horse, I thought about the past several months. I evaluated some things, jotted down a task and contact list, and considered the things I’d ponder on the open road. And then once I had my thoughts collected, I rolled clean out of sight.

We all may want to just run and hide after the winter skating season, but it is always a great idea to regroup, and based on the season, get a direction to head in while the thoughts are fresh in our minds and staff is still in one place.

This review and plan doesn’t have to be a ten page document. It can be as simple as a reminder to resolve the problems with your resurfacer that never got addressed during the busy season, or removing the band-aide and actually addressing some mechanical issues.

As that great Bob Seger song says “I could go east, I could go west
It was all up to me to decide…”

​And it is all up to you to decide! But before you do, make that list, review the season with your staff and get the house in order with the proper planning and preparation. 

Because if you do,  “next time . . .  you’ll get it right!!”