The best hockey practice habits to get into

When it comes to playing hockey, practice definitely does make perfect. By knowing the best hockey practice habits to get into, you can make sure that you are always playing your best game. Read on to find out what the best habits are when practising hockey.

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Always shoot to score

When bearing down on the net, never let up. Overexaggerate every shot to make sure you score. Taking that last second glance to pick a corner of the net to release the ball to will help you get a more accurate shot.

Think of everything as you would in a game

Even if you are just doing drills, you can still pretend that you are in the game situation. Protect the ball as if other players are attacking, even if it is just a shooting drill. Add more intensity to make your practice count and bring your best on game day.

Watch the other players

During the field hockey drill, try not to be distracted when standing in the line. Watching the other players in your team doing the drills has been shown to be as beneficial as doing the drill yourself. Keep watching the drill intently to look out for mistakes and look through the eyes of a coach. Some really effective hockey training drills are available from providers such as https://www.sportplan.net/drills/Hockey/.

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Ask the coach’s advice

When you don’t understand a field hockey drill, it is always best to ask your coach. There is no point in walking away confused. Asking for that extra clarification shows your coach that you are serious about your training and that you want to do your best for the team.

Embrace your mistakes

Making a mistake during your practice can be frustrating; however, instead of letting that frustration get to you, learn from your mistakes. The errors you make in your drills should not be looked at negatively; instead, see them as a way to improve your game. The stumbles, trips and falls when practising all contribute to your body learning new skills.

Enjoy it

Being around your fellow teammates and working together to achieve a goal should be enjoyable. If you are not having fun, you won’t work so hard.

 

Five Trends Shaping Digital Signage

Advertising is crucial part of the success of any organisation – and signage can play a key role, whether it is static, interactive, analogue or digital.

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Digital signage undoubtedly leaves an impression on the viewer – indeed, it has a very impressive recall rate of 83%.

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There are a number of trends that are continuing to shape the industry, and more will likely emerge. But what are some of the key ones to look out for?

Digitised Texture Designs and New Customisable Signs

Traditionally, designs have been imprinted on computerised texture. But, in the future, producers are likely to find ways of taking these illustrations/designs to a higher level in terms of how they look.

When a digital texture is used, it brings the signage to life by creating more light and allowing movement. This enables signs to be brought to life but at a fraction of the cost of doing it via a traditional screen. It means organisations can create impactful adverts at a lower cost.

Advances in technology mean that signage can now be created in a variety of shapes and sizes – making it possible to have custom-made digital signs.

Touchscreens

Touchscreen devices are the norm in today’s society. So it comes as no surprise that digital adverts in the future will surely involve touchscreen panels. Indeed, at present the only reason these are not commonplace is to do with the perceived lack of interconnectivity between what the customer does and what they see. This is something that newer technology (such as being able to incorporate breaks to mimic the console) will help to tackle.

To learn more about how modern signage can benefit your organisation, why not take a look at the website of an industry-leader such as Mood Media today?

Digital Advertising

Digital solutions are great for dealing with advertising that needs to be updated on a regular basis. Software that permits easy content tagging makes life much easier – as does using cloud-based media players connected to that signage. This means that all schedules and content can be managed using web-browsers.

Content Streaming in Real Time

Digital signs are a great platform to share real-time content (video and/or audio) and open-up numerous possibilities. This is a brilliant way of promoting services/products in an entertaining and fun way, giving the consumer a memorable digital experience.

How can branding benefit your business

A company’s branding is key to its recognition and reputation and in this article we take a look at the benefits effective branding can bring to your business.

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Face it

A brand is the face of a business and this includes a company’s name, logo and the colours it uses. Whether you are using a branding agency Gloucestershire or Lincolnshire, bear in mind that good advice about what branding actually is will also incorporate non-visual elements too such as a company’s personality and tone of voice. It’s a big job!

It’s not just about image

How customers perceive a company is vital – its brand image. Making sure a brand is perceived as a reflection of what a company does is the best outcome. However, if the reflection isn’t what customers actually receive, there is work to be done!

Reach out

Of course, people interpret brands very differently and in order to mean something to a wide audience, experienced designers will research the customer base and associations. This article in Forbes discusses what successful brands have in common for you to consider. It’s a useful exercise to test a brand design – companies such as reallyhelpfulmarketing.co.uk/brand-development/ employ such an approach as it helps to understand how it is being perceived and whether it is doing what a company wants it to do. Too much scope for interpretation is not a good thing when it comes to brand identity.

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In the eye of the beholder

How people see a brand is based on a number of elements including images, colours and fonts as well as the tone behind the text. People have associations with all of the above and come to a conclusion based on their own experience. So, for example, a dark, linear and strong logo might make some people think of a financial institution; a colourful cartoon style one may have associations with a children’s charity or pre-school.

Keep your champions on your side

Employees are the backbone of any organisation and can, as such, champion your organisation to the outside world and, importantly, your brand. It, therefore, goes without saying that an organisation’s culture and how it treats its staff is all part of the process.

Get it right and your brand will help your company grow and develop into a successful one.

Painting a starry night

It’s amazing to think that one person can capture the scene a night so vividly as Vincent Van Gough does. His work is not that of the realistic view he is more of the impressionist view. It is not an easy thing to convey in such reach colours especially as the night is black. This is a Paris before the days of light pollution. The Stars speak and shout their joyous movement across the sky proclaiming to all the window that they bring. If Van Gogh could have painted this scene indoors but was influenced by the world around him. If you are inspired to paint the night sky because you can see it through the damage in your roof then it really is time to contact a Roofer Gloucester company such as http://gloucester-roofer.co.uk/. You are much better off taking a wander of a summer evening to capture the feeling of the night sky than staring through a whole in your roof.

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Van Gogh was an impressionist broke away from the realistic painting that was the norm of the time. It was seen as more important to capture the likeness of a scene rather than the impression. The patrons were mainly upper class, upper middle and aristocratic patrons that wanted the family portrait or the betrothed to be captured for posterity and kept on a wall. They also wanted paints of their assets and land so that their wealth could be admired and commented on. Paints and portraits were symbols of power and wealth to remind those that come after what great achievements they patron had done.

This is one of the reasons why Van Gogh remained penniless and struggling. It is also thought to be a contributing factor to his frequent bouts of depression and there is some evidence that he was bi-polar as well. The point is that when he painted he painted from the heart and with his eye. He wanted the impression of the scene. It was his mission, and other impressionists after to draw out the colour of the scene and interpret it in such a way as to illustrate what the scene looks like to the artist.

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This view and style met with little rich takers, the fact that he concerned himself with subjects that they found uninteresting or irrelevant did not help. He painted Belgian coal miners as he believed that he saw life, decency and integrity in their daily battles with poverty, disasters and the elements.  He wandered the French Countryside feeling the world and feeling the colours and showing us how they worked in the world. It is only now that we are starting to appreciate the world that he saw through his paintings. If only he were alive to hear us today.

Should I put Laminate Flooring in My Bedroom?

The popularity of laminate flooring knows no bounds, and many modern homes sport stylish and practical laminate floors throughout. With such a vast range of realistic wood and stone finishes available at a fraction of the price of real wood or stone, this convenient floor choice is a popular option for kitchens, bathrooms and living spaces. But does it work in the bedroom?

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Are Laminate Floors Suitable in the Bedroom?

The easy answer is yes. Laminate floors are made up of planks or tiles. They make an ideal bedroom flooring option, as the versatility of tiles or planks allow you to choose your own pattern, finish and colours, quickly transforming your bedroom.

Benefits of Laminate

Laminate in a bedroom is easy to clean, low-maintenance and long-lasting, so you are less likely to need to replace it as frequently as some other flooring types. It is a ‘floating floor’, which means it is not stuck down with adhesive but rather has a locking system that connects each tile or plank to each other, providing one continuous floor that easily contracts and expands along with the ambient room temperature. The individual components mean that it is quick, easy and inexpensive to remove and replace a damaged area of floor, as you only need to remove one plank or tile to fix a problem rather than the entire floor.

Choice of Laminates

With laminate’s great range of colours and effects, your bedroom can quickly be redesigned with a stunning and unique floor pattern. Laminate Wood Flooring produces a more classic look in the bedroom, giving a cosy warmth that is comfy underfoot. Check out the comprehensive range of laminate flooring on offer via a specialist online such as https://irwintiles.ie/index.php/wooden-flooring.html. These alternatives to real hardwood cost much less and don’t require the upkeep that natural wood requires.

Bedroom Design

To incorporate a laminate floor seamlessly into your bedroom, consider the colours and furnishings in the room and the type of furniture to find a suitably stylish floor. If you have an oak bed, perhaps choose an oak-effect laminate to set it off to perfection. A metal bedframe may be more suited to a lighter beech grain or a white-washed wood-effect laminate. Or choose grey and black laminates for a sleek monochrome look. There really are so many different types to choose from its incredible.

A pros guide to Driving Results through Content

According to the pros, the return on investment in content marketing may not be immediate or predictable, but it is almost guaranteed if you follow a few simple rules. Giving up the temptation to play it safe, those who succeed in using content to drive business results are consistent, meet their customers where they are and prove their expertise with content that informs, educates and entertains. A Cheltenham PR Agency knows all about how important content is when it comes to communicating with clients or customers so perhaps pop onto a site such as www.targetgroup.co.uk/ to see how their trained staff they can help with this or other forms of contact you may be using. Im sure they will agree with what we have written below.

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The Importance of Consistency

Anything you publish is content. This includes video, audio and blog content as well as your company’s tagline, product descriptions and brochures.

Consistency when it comes to ‘look and feel’ and brand messaging will establish your brand in the minds of your potential customers.

Being consistent is about letting your customers know that they can rely on you, as well as on your product or service.

Having a schedule for publishing content online is also part of this, and when your audience knows you can be trusted to deliver over and over again, they are more likely to become customers.

The Reach of Your Content

Your potential customers use multiple platforms to meet their needs, which might be video, blogs, podcasts or question-and-answer websites like Quora. The experts say that content marketing success includes producing content that can be re-purposed across channels.

Your website’s FAQ page, for instance, can be posted to Slideshare as a slideshow. Speaking at an industry event? Consider recording both video and audio to create content for your YouTube channel and downloadable audio giveaways. Your speech can become a series of blog posts to extend the marketing potential of your speaking engagement.

Using Content to Establish Authority, Quality and Value

Content marketing gives your company the opportunity to establish itself as an expert in its field. Providing in-depth content that is valuable and educational and answers pertinent questions about your product or service goes a long way in retaining and attracting new customers.

Podcasts and videos are great ways to connect personally with your audience and build a relationship fostered on openness and trust.

People like to be entertained, say the pros, and leveraging your brand’s entertainment value to make people laugh and encourage them to share is one way of ensuring an ROI on your content marketing efforts.

When A Plumber is Needed give them a call

Whether you own a home or rent your property, a plumbing emergency can be disastrous. Some plumbing problems can be fixed as a DIY job while others need specialists to deal with the issue. Read on for advice on when emergency plumbers are necessary.

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Preventative measures

The most important thing in preventing plumbing problems is to keep on top of home maintenance. You should routinely inspect the plumbing areas to ensure they are running smoothly. Keep an eye on taps and pipes and deal with any small issues as they arise. Often, if you leave a problem it will only get bigger and eventually an emergency plumber will be necessary.

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Plumbing problems

Some plumbing problems include leaking pipes or burst pipes. These can mean that water accumulates on the floor of your home and causes a hazard. It creates a sanitation problem as well as causing water damage. Once a pipe has burst, this is an emergency situation requiring an emergency plumber.

A less problematic situation is low water pressure. This could be due to the accumulation of debris in the shower head. If you are able to take apart the shower head you could fix this yourself but you might be better to hire a professional so you will be sure of a perfect result.

Emergency plumbers

You can find emergency plumbers in most cities and towns. For example, if you are looking for a Cheltenham Plumber, such as https://actdirect.co.uk/services/emergency-plumber-cheltenham/, you will be able to find someone to come to your property quickly and deal with the plumbing issue. Similarly, in other cities, there are experts waiting to be of assistance.

You can search the internet or contact an agency, but it is always best to contact your local authority who will have a list of trusted plumbers. For help in finding a decent plumber you can also contact the Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors (APHC) online for guidance.

Ideally, when hiring a plumber you will get references and make sure they are qualified. However, in an emergency situation, the most important thing is that the plumber is located close to your home and can perform the task quickly. This is why it’s a good idea to research local plumbers so you have an idea of who to call in case of an emergency.a

Causes and impacts ofpower outages

Business depends on the everyday ability to carry out its operations. But when the electricity goes out, unplanned downtime can occur – and that can cost your business hundreds, thousands or even millions of pounds. An outage you weren’t expecting can lead to situations that might be difficult to restore. Ensuring your business has a plan to eliminate downtime in the event of a power outage will help your business reduce the potential losses that can occur due to blackouts.

What is a power outage?

Power outages can include short-term or long-term electrical power losses for certain areas. Blackouts can affect homes, businesses, or entire cities. There are several types of power outages that your business might experience:

1. Brownout: The voltage drops and causes the lights to dim. Brownout can cause damage to electrical equipment.

2. Blackout: Total power loss in an area for several minutes or in an unlimited amount of time.

3. Permanent error: Large power loss due to interference with the power line.

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Whatever type of power outage your business might experience, you must be prepared for anything. With increased electricity outages, they are an important concern for businesses. Sensible solutions include having a back-up generator. For Generator Rental, visit Newburn Power Rental

What causes a power outage?

Some power outages are planned, such as when maintenance and upgrading needs to occur. However, at other times, your business may experience unplanned outages. All of the following factors can cause a power outage:

Weather: Weather is one of the most common reasons for power outages. Weather that caused power outages could include storms, cold weather, floods, tornadoes, and forest fires. Natural disasters are a particular source of concern – they can come suddenly and cause power outages for a long time.

Animals: Animals can come into contact with fuses and transformers and cause them to stop working. Squirrels are famous for climbing electrical equipment and causing blackouts.

Vehicles: Vehicle accidents can damage the poles and power lines, causing a power outage.

Equipment failure: Sometimes electrical equipment can malfunction due to age or various other factors. Over time, salty and moist air or dust can affect engine performance. Weather and natural disasters can increase the risk of equipment failure.

Spikes: Increased power supply voltage can cause a power outage. Spikes are often the result of a lightning or short circuit.

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Monetary loss as a result of power outages:

Downtime as a result of a power outage can burden your business and cause it to lose out on a large amount of money. Power outages can affect your profits and impact everyday operations. Financial losses from downtime can differ based on industry, duration of outages, time and the amount of people.

To calculate the cost of downtime per hour, add hourly labour costs to income lost every hour. Your hourly labour costs will take into account factors such as income, number of employees, number of hours worked per week, average annual employee benefits, and the percentage of labour affected by blackouts. Lost income per stop hour will be a factor in your daily income and the percentage of your income that is affected by the outage.

5 things to consider when hiring a solicitor

So, you are looking for a lawyer to represent you. There may be many reasons why you might want to use a lawyer: perhaps you have suffered personal injury because of:

An accident at work road traffic accident clinical negligence (where a health professional has made a mistake that causes you pain and suffering). industrial diseases that you develop through your work, such as asbestosis.

Or, you might need a lawyer service that specializes in employment law – who can help you with: unfair dismissal claims settlement agreement (where you arrange how the work will end). discrimination claims

No matter what the legal problem, sourcing the right lawyer is very important to successfully resolve the problem. But how do you find the right lawyer for you?

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1. Recommendations from friends and family are not the last word

Whilst information and advice from people you know and respect are always handy when deciding on who to choose for your legal representation, you must ensure that every company recommended to you has legal experts in the field of law that are relevant to your legal issues. If not, then you don’t have to follow the recommendations.

2. Larger companies do not always mean better companies

Just because a company has many lawyers working for them, and a huge advertising budget, doesn’t automatically make them the right company for you.

3. You don’t always have to choose a company that is local to you, or to your place of business

Years ago, if you had a legal problem that needed a law firm, many people would choose firms based near them. As the only way to communicate with your lawyer was to write and receive letters, call them from a landline, or actually make an appointment to go to office, choosing a local lawyer was a wise choice in many cases. Of course, there is nothing wrong in choosing to involve local lawyers (provided they meet other requirements) For a firm of Manchester Solicitors, contact https://bridgelawsolicitors.co.uk/offices/wilmslow-manchester/

4. Check online reviews

When deciding which restaurant to go to, which hotel to go to, which Amazon book to buy, most of us depend on online reviews. Of course, not all online reviews – good and bad – are always fair, but usually inauthentic reviews are easier to recognise.

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5. Finally, go with your instincts …

How do companies respond to your questions?

Are they polite, pleasant and friendly, while displaying confidence and professionalism?

Who will handle your case if you give instructions to the company? Talking to them can be a useful basis for instinctive impressions.

Also remember that you have the right to choose the law firm that you want to act for you. You don’t have to use any company that might have been ‘assigned’ to you – maybe by an insurance company, car rental company, garage, trade union, or any other organization. That is your choice.