Teaching, Coaching and Mastering the Mental Game of Hockey
Dr. Wayne Halliwell University of Montreal Today’s athletes are different
- Understand them - Empathize with them - Communicate with them - Connect with them - Inspire them HEAD (Mental)
HEART BODY (Emotional) (Physical) MAKE
DREAMS BUILD
ACHIEVE The Journey
Passion “It is a terrible human waste to have sight without vision”
Helen Keller Keys to Success
Awareness
Control Knowledge
Choices Awareness
Self-awareness
Situational awareness Self-awareness “ What are my strengths ? ” “ What do I need to improve ? ” “ What kind of player am I ? ” “ What chair do I sit in ? ” Identity as a Player
Offensive Defenceman – Green, Rafalski Defensive Defenceman - Pronger, Foote 2-way Defenceman - Lidstrom, Markov Offensive Forward - Savard, Satan Defensive Forward - Draper, Helm 2-way Forward - Crosby, Datsyuk Power Forward – Franzen, Holmstrom Identity as a Person
Commitment Work ethic Attitude Responsible Leadership Humility “ You can fool the fans You can fool the media You can fool the coaches You can’t fool your teammates because they know ” “ You can’t fool yourself ”
“ Satisfy the man in the mirror “” Help them GROW - grow as athletes
- grow as players
- grow as people Daily Decisions Determine Destiny M.E.D.C.
“ Make Every Day Count ” Olympic Mindset
Confidence and Consistency
Constantly searching for ……
Improvement ! “ Set stretch goals ”
Improvement is a process C O N F I D E N C E
P T T A H M E C C Y E H T S N N I I T I C C A C A A A L L L L “ Train Your Brain ”
“ Unchain Your Brain ” Thinking habits
- We are all creatures of Habit - Be aware of your thinking habits - Break old thinking habits - Create new thinking habits Thinking Habits – awareness ?
“ I have to have a good game ” “ I better start scoring ” “ I have to get a goal ” “ I hope I have a good game ” “ I hope I don’t screw up ” "Mind vitamins" Self-talk Visualization Focusing Breathing N.H.L. Mental skills
99, 87, 77, 48, 37,
26, 19, 17, 9, 1 Anecdotes
“ Have a store of stories ”
Harvey Dorfman Coaching the Mental Game “Consistency, work ethic, and pride are the keys to success”
Wayne Gretzky #99 “ Control what you can control”
Sidney Crosby # 87 Breathing
O2 # 77 1 3 2 3
Take deep breaths between shifts on the bench Steve Thomas - "Get pucks in, get pucks out, and take deep breaths" A,B,C’S FOR GOALIES Alert Big Calm "Trigger words"
Alert – Big - Calm Square Challenge Battle See the puck "Trigger words"
Move your feet Drive the net Stay on rebounds Track back hard Win the battles Stay with it “SUCCESS IS A CHOICE” “Success doesn’t happen by chance Success happens by choice !” “We are not born as winners or losers, we are born as CHOOSERS” “How good can I be ?”
“What will I do today ?” Train with a Purpose
Practice with a purpose ATTITUDE “Work ethic is a skill”
Harry Sheehy
“Raising a Team Player” “ If you aren’t working hard, someone else is, and one day, the trwo of you will meet ” HAVE TO
ATTITUDE WANT TO
GET TO Adapting and Adjusting
- Quick feet = foot speed
- Quick hands = hand speed
- Quick brain = mind speed ‘‘ Focus control ’’
Mind
Past Present Future Relax Ready Review
Refocus
Release Regroup
Replace
"Bouncing back" – using the R's Thoughts, emotions, focus, breathing,
body language, effort, battle level,
reactions, attitude, communication, leadership, hydration, nutrition, sleep
perspective, balance, decisions Other Can’t Controls
Coaching decisions : - ice time - not dressing - linemates - position - team systems Coping skills
1. Don’t point fingers 2. Deal with it ! 3. Focus on what you can control 4. Stay in the solution 5. Figure it out ! “Struggle and Emerge”
Notre Dame College
Wilcox, Saskatchewan Short Focus Sharp
Compete Battle Intensity
On-ice Discipline Off-ice Mental Preparation
Be in the moment
Stay in the moment
Own the moment In The Moment Immersed Absorbed
Engaged
Connected Emotional preparation
Enjoy the moment
Savour the moment
Embrace the moment PRESSURE
“ You can FEEL pressure ”
or
“ You can APPLY pressure ” PRESSURE
“ Be Comfortable being …….
Uncomfortable ” Finding ways to lead Out front
Help 19 Beside Care
Behind FIND A WAY
- To LEAD - To CONTRIBUTE - To BE PROACTIVE - TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE Talent is not enough
Young guys need to : - bring energy - leave an impression - grab opportunities - not sit and wait - be proactive and have a plan Motivational R’s
Recognize Reinforce Reward “ Use effort-based language when giving praise to athletes ”
Carol Dweck “ MINDSET ” “IF IT IS TO BE IT IS UP TO ____ME !”