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| The Mental
Game |
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Hockey is not only demanding
physically, but also mentally. Also the mental area of hockey is
often ignored, it can make the difference between a good player,
and a great one. Here is a list of mental characteristics
associated with excellence and top performance. Apply them and
you will greatly accelerate your development and performance
level as a player.
To be in top mental health, remember to eat as many nutritious
foods as you can and try getting good quality sleep every night.
You will not be in good mental health by eating a poor diet and
getting little sleep.
Goal Setting
Setting goals will give you a sense of direction
and purpose in what you are trying to attain. Are you trying to
make the provincial team, get a hockey scholarship, develop a
better shot? Once you have established your goals, work and
focus your energy on trying to attain them. Make sure your goals
are realistic and remember to not be to hard on yourself if you
don’t attain them right away.
Mental Rehearsal (visualization)
Visualization is the ability to
create a mental model of an
event or situation. It is a natural common behaviour and can
greatly help you achieve your goals
and perform better as a player. For example, if you are trying
to develop a stronger slap shot
and are having trouble, try visualizing yourself executing a
good one. By mentally rehearsing
yourself achieving what you are striving for, you will increase
your chances into developing the
desired skill a lot faster. Visualization will also make you
perform a lot better in pressure
situations.
Relaxation
To perform at your best, you must be able to relax,
especially when your body
becomes stressed. To increase your relaxation response, try
meditation or deep breathing (deep
breath from your abdomen). For simple meditation, find a
comfortable quiet area in your house
(your room, living room), and try focusing on your breath while
letting your thoughts come and
go. The key is to become in a very relaxed state without trying
to control thoughts. Let go and
try relaxing as much as you can. Don’t get discourage if you
have trouble attaining relaxation.
Meditation takes time to develop. As you become better at it,
increase your meditation sessions.
You may also want to use relaxation music to help get you in the
zone. You may also want to try
yoga, tai chi, or other forms of relaxation exercises.
Concentration and Focus
Concentration can be defined as the
ability to focus your attention on
a selected target or purpose. In hockey, being able to
concentrate if essential to becoming a
great player. An example of concentration in hockey would be
trying to find an area to shoot at
to score a goal, or it might be looking for a teammate to pass
while being scanned by opposing
players. The key is to be able to concentrate on a desired area,
without letting other
distractions get to you. Improving concentration can be achieved
by working on being able to
zone your focus on the task at hand. Another trick to increase
concentration is to not to over think or let distractions get to you. During games, focus
one shift at a time. Try to
refocus your energy when you get distracted and frustrated
during a game because you missed a
scoring chance, or during a questionable call by an official.
Positive mental attitude and belief
Believing in yourself and
being positive can be developed
and trained over time. By continually giving yourself positive
feedback, you will greatly
increase self-confidence and self-esteem. Try replacing negative
self-talk patterns by more
positive ones (For example, instead of saying ‘’I couldn’t score
a goal on this goaltender if my
life depended on it’’ by ‘’I will find a way to score’’. Try
using positive confident goal
oriented statements such as ‘’I will, I can, I am going to’’.
Also, when visualizing, try seeing
yourself performing the way you want to (confident, energized,
and fully focused). |
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