I believe (from experience!) that working just an extra hour a day can separate a guy who wins 60% of the time from a guy who is victorious over 70%.

Another thing to remember is that, while facing off looks like an individual position, it involves a coordinated team aspect with wing play. In college, I won over 1,000 face offs and scooped up over 500 ground balls. This means that roughly 500 face offs that I won were scooped up by my teammates. In the pro league, Brodie Merrill played on my wing, giving me a huge advantage over the competition. Honestly, having dominant wing men can be the difference between success and failure. It's important that every face off man, no matter how talented, realizes that as much as facing off can be one-on-one, the success ultimately relies on teamwork.

For all-level players, I re-emphasize the importance of technique. If you practice the proper technique and dedicate yourself to mastering it, you will be successful at this position. And remember how crucial this position is to your team: Without winning possession of the ball they won't be scoring any goals...