Performance Boosts / By Warren
It’s killing you, it’s been 10 games now without a goal. You are starting to squeeze the stick a little tighter each shift. You are trying to aim more with your shot instead of just shooting. You are starting to do things that you haven’t done before and the coaches are wondering why? You even have changed up your pre-game routine to see if you can shake this drought. Nothing seems to be working.You are even admitting to yourself, “I can’t score any more!” or “Am I finished as a hockey player?”
But wait it’s not over yet!!!
Coach Nye is here to tell you one thing and one thing only,
“It’s not over until we decide it is!” So what’s it going to be?
That’s what I thought. You aren’t a quitter, you are a winner and that’s why you want to know the number 1 secret to kill a scoring drought, guaranteed don’t you?
Well first off you need to build on your success. So you need to build up and develop your mental toughness! Developing mental toughness has the same growth curve as does your body does through a workout. You need to extend your reps with the exercise of your muscles for them to grow. Well it’s the same thing here with your mental toughness. We must recognize our need, want to improve and focus our efforts towards the desired result.
Once we recognize the need to begin the battle for our minds, we can then welcome the positive and consciously discard any destructive thoughts. We have taken the first step towards developing the mental toughness that we need to help us compete.
Developing correct habits of thought is probably the precursor to most success. Good habits are key to your success! Bad habits are the unlocked door to failure! Change in our attitudes and actions will happen as we choose to develop good habits of thought. According to James Allen,* “You are today, where your thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow, where your thoughts take you!”
Let me tell you a quick story before getting to the complete secret here.
Successful People Focus on the Task at Hand!
This story was relayed to me from NHL player Ryan Walters*
His favorite coach was the great Jacques Lemaire. Ryan was going through a scoring drought himself at one point and Jacques took him aside after a practice one day to work on some things, it went like this.
Coach Lemaire ordered the backup goalie into the net and Walters to go to the blueline while he took a bunch of pucks into the corner. Lemaire asked Walters to skate hard down the boards and then passed him the puck. As Walters approached the net for a shot, Lemaire shouted, “Stop”. “Ryan what do you see?” Walters replied, “ I’m looking hard, but all I see is a goalie” The coach took Walters through this drill several times asking the same question, “What do you see?” but the reply was always the same.
Coach Lemaire finally suggested a slight change. He told Walters in some video he watched of him when he was scoring he saw Walters going down the side and indicating he only saw “goalie” he would move in a lateral direction until he “found net”. Walters said “Wow” so simple yet so profound. With that small adjustment to his game and to his confidence, he regained his scoring touch. You see in the end we get what we constantly focus on. If you continually only focus on shooting at the goalie instead of finding ways to focus on the net your success will be limited. Focusing on the task at hand and the correct tasks over the long run creates our desired success.
Now for the Secret!
“ You know it yourself and it’s sitting within you as you read this. The ability to focus at the task at hand has been the secret to all accomplishments and it is the secret here to help you out of your scoring drought or anything else that is keeping you away from reaching your peak performance.”
You see during any dry spells, it is important for players to return to the fundamentals of their game. Focus on the simple aspects of your training and preparation that can consistently bring you success and contribute to your team’s performance. For example, as a goal scorer, during practice, keep your focus on the present moment, by setting realistic challenges and goals. Like increasing the number of shots you are taking, and the timing of your shots. During a game situation focus on fulfilling your role and responsibilities on the ice and overcome your own struggles by trying to do much. Despite the temptation to focus all of your energy on overcoming your slump, players who focus more on contributing to the team’s success often rediscover their form more quickly along the way. Therefore commit fully to your role on the ice and demonstrate leadership through effective communication by encouraging those players around you.
It has been said before successful people welcome challenges with optimism. So during a scoring drought remember this. Spending inordinate amounts of energy being upset about the drought will only slow down the recovery and get you back on the score sheet. You must accept what has been happening and to realize that right now it is out of your control and you must move on, which is back to the basics and re-focus. Focus on the positive energy the rest of the team has, feed off it and focus on what you can do to be a better all-round player!
Until next time.
See you after the game,
Coach Nye
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