:: GOALIE FRUSTRATIONS ::

Today I was talking to a young goaltender who I have been working with to help him make quadrant hockey for the first time, when we got on the topic of consistency. The young goaltender who I was working with has been struggling with consistency and feels like he may never become as consistent as the goalies he will be competing against in tryouts. This young goalie is frustrated.

To help goaltenders out there, I wanted to start with a story about a young goaltender who, when he was good, he was great and when he was bad, he was really bad. This young goalie wore his heart on his sleeve and had a true love for the position of goaltender and it showed. When games were not going this goalie’s way, he would be quick to get upset and may have broken a few sticks. The better the hockey this goalie played, the more he expected out of his game and the more his frustrations towards his inconsistent play grew. It was at this time this goaltender decided that to be successful as a goaltender, he would need the help of a mental performance coach.

This goaltender was me.

So how about you? Do you get frustrated? Have you ever lost your cool? Maybe fellow athletes or coaches refer to you as a hot head? Do you hold onto the frustrations of the last goal? Game? You’re not alone.

Goalies everywhere are being taught to show no emotion after a goal. Showing emotions after a goal lets the other team know they have gotten to the goaltender and the goaltender’s team worry that the goaltender may be in trouble. These goaltenders then bottle up the negative emotions and frustrations of the previous goal in their mind which leads to blowouts or terrible performances.

The first step to overcome your frustrations and emotions from a bad goal is to realize that being frustrated about the goal is human nature. An angry reaction to a bad goal is the direct result of feeling as though we are capable of better. The intention of the anger which we feel after a goal is a positive one as it is produced with the intentions of driving us to be a better goaltender. Yet by getting angry, we end up shooting ourselves in the foot if we don’t find an appropriate release.

The key to resolving frustration is to honour the intention of wanting to play better through the process of learning. Each time that you allow a goal, use the goal as an opportunity to review what you did wrong and what it is that you can do next time so that you don’t experience these feelings again. Every single National Hockey League goaltender has allowed bad goals throughout their careers, but the key to their success is their ability to learn from their mistakes and become better at the parts of their game which they have been exposed.

Even today when I strap on the pads, I get frustrated when I have been scored on just like I did when I was a young goaltender with NHL aspirations. The difference is that I have learned how to let go of these frustrations and strive to learn from every goal that I allow. These same mental techniques have also helped many goaltenders which I work with varying in skill level from beginner to pro to experience the frustrations of being scored on as a positive and not allow one bad goal or game to lead them down the same path of inconsistency.

Shaun Smith is the founder of Absolute Mental Training and provides The Goalie Guild with a weekly column that is posted every Tuesday. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email him at ssmith@absolutementaltraining.com!

Tryouts- Negative Thoughts And Nerves

:: TRYOUTS – NEGATIVE THOUGHTS AND NERVES ::

Imagine for a second you are standing at the tee box (I know… golf… but I have a valid point) you look at the water that is about fifty yards in front of you and say to yourself, “I hope I don’t hit my ball into the water,” where’s your ball going? Most likely it’s going in the water. I don’t think that you need to be a mental expert to know that we always get what we are most focused on. This means that no matter what we are focusing on, either a positive or negative result or consciously or unconsciously will have a direct effect on our performance. Too often during high pressure situations we see athletes crumble and the cause often results in a poor mental makeup or simply ignoring the mental aspect of the game.

If you want to get nervous, focus on what you don’t want to happen, focus on the past or future and feel all of the nervousness, stress and doubts that will be created. The truth is that no one WANTS to create these negative feelings themselves but yet almost every athlete will create negative feelings all on their own.

For athletes to become successful, they must learn how to monitor their thoughts and images that are creating these negative emotions in their mind during competition and learn how to automatically replace these negative thoughts with positive images and thoughts. Athletes I work with begin to make this switch automatically so that whenever you find yourself focusing on what you don’t want, it automatically gets replaced with one that you do want, WITHOUT you thinking. This means that when you play, you can simply enjoy performing at your best and no longer are overwhelmed with negative thoughts or focusing on not thinking of negative thoughts.

The first step to an automatic mind is to determine the specific moments when you get tense, nervous or discouraged. Every athlete I work with will have a unique set of experience that creates their negative emotions. The best way to determine this is through visualization and previous performances. Look at competitions that you recently played in and replay the game in your mind keeping in tune with the emotions that you felt during the competition.

The key to visualization is to make the images in your mind realistic by recalling the ice sights, sounds, feelings in your muscles and your mind. If you find a moment where you were particularly nervous replay this event in your mind and determine the root cause of the negative feelings. Complete this activity for multiple competitions and you will soon discover a trend of events which trigger your negative emotions. Triggers can range from stepping on the ice for warm up to a bad call from the referee so look for those events that affect you.

The process of determining what causes you to be overcome with negative emotions or feelings is a very deliberate process but will help you to gain self awareness. By completing this activity you will now be able to understand what causes you to be overcome with negative emotions. This is only the first step in replacing the negative emotions with a positive emotion but I hope that it will help you to gain more self awareness in your game. Professional athletes are aware of what triggers them even if the answer of what triggers them is embarrassing.

Shaun Smith is the founder of Absolute Mental Training and provides The Goalie Guild with a weekly column that is posted every Tuesday. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email him atssmith@absolutementaltraining.com!

Take It To The Grave

By: Shaun Smith- Performance Mental Coach

Hockey is a game that is played at high speeds with a lot of emotions. One thing that all goaltenders must be conscious of is their thought process and the emotions that they evoke. A goaltender can lose control of their emotions, which often yields a poor performance by a negative thought that stays in their head. A goaltender that can quickly and efficiently get rid of a negative thought will be much more successful than many of their goaltender counterparts.

Many of the clients that I work with can get caught up by their negative thoughts and get stuck in a vicious cycle of negative thought, that produces a negative emotion, that produces a negative thought, and on and on. This thought-feeling cycle will then start to gain momentum to the point where the goaltender looks like those guys that are chasing the ball of cheese down the mountain side.

You don’t have to be that goaltender that loses control of your emotions if you are responsible in controlling your thoughts effectively. There are many different techniques for goaltenders to stop their negative thoughts before they spiral out of control. One technique that I like to use with my goaltenders is what I call “Take It to the Grave.”

Take it to the Grave is a thought stopping technique that, when used effectively, can allow the goaltender to mentally put to rest their negative thoughts and move on with their lives. Taking it to the grave works in two different ways which can be effective for the goaltender.

The first way to use the technique of taking it to the grave is to use the powerful tool of imagery to imagine taking your thought and burying it six feet under the ice where it can have no effect on your current emotional state.

Imagine seeing yourself digging a hole in the corner of the ice where you take your negative thought and bury it so that it is no longer a part of your thought process. Once you have stopped the thought replace the previous negative thought with a positive thought and you are on your way to controlling your thoughts and emotions.

The success of this technique is often the result of a goaltender that is willing to give it a try as well as the goalie that is able to make their imagery realistic.

The second way which you can use taking it to the grave is to allow yourself the opportunity to constructively release your negative thoughts when struggling to compete at the top of the game or when in a slump. In this technique, the goaltender will actually find some kind of material that they can carve into and write their negative thought onto your negative thoughts tombstone.

Once this activity is finished, the athlete takes the thought and buries it deep in the ground with the tombstone. Many times, athletes who are struggling can be found holding onto their negative thoughts. By holding onto their negative thoughts, they end up with a lot of negative emotions that they have no control over. This loss of control is one of the key factors to the helpless feeling of not having control over the athlete’s game. Burying the thought allows the athlete the chance to rid their mind of this helpless feeling.

An athlete’s success in their sport can often come down to the athlete’s ability to control their emotions. When an athlete can disturb a negative thought quickly and effectively the will be able to get back to stopping pucks and create a positive thought-emotion cycle which will allow them to feel good about their game and lead to success.

Shaun Smith is the founder of Absolute Mental Training. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email him at ssmith@absolutementaltraining.com or visit Home

The Lessons My Grandpa Taught Me

:: LESSONS FROM MY GRANDPA ::

By: Shaun Smith- Performance Mental Coach

This past Saturday, I spent the day celebrating and honouring my Grandpa’s life after an eight year battle with cancer. Growing up I thought there was nothing that my Grandpa couldn’t do. He excelled in everything that he did from farming to playing sports such as golf, curling and baseball. My Grandpa was my role model and taught me many valuable lessons about life; I thought I would share some of those lessons with you.

To Be Successful You Need to Work Hard – My Grandpa was an incredible athlete and farmer. He experienced a ton of success throughout his life whether he was in a field working or at a sporting arena. The secret to all my Grandpas successes laid firmly on his devotion and commitment to working hard regardless of what he decided he would do. Athletes all talk about how hard they work but the problem with many athletes is they only work hard when others are watching or work as hard as they have to. To achieve success in sports and life you need to work hard even when no one is watching.

Work Hard but Play Harder – My Grandpa was the hardest worker I have yet to meet yet he also took time to recharge through his leisure activities. Many of my earliest memories of my Grandpa are outings that were held at my Grandpas home with many of his closest friends and family. Later when in school I began to realize that these outings were more than just an enjoyable time. They allowed my Grandpa to continue to work hard without getting burnt out. I see many athletes who are experiencing burnout and the number one reason why they are experiencing burnout is because they fail to mix their hard work with periods of time where they are able to recharge.

Young Children NEED To Play More Then One Sport – As stated earlier my Grandpa excelled at golf, baseball and curling but he also played many other sports. My Grandpa was very athletic yet he excelled at three sports not one. Today parents and children spend all of their time and money on one sport which often leads to frustrations and/or burnout from this sport. In my opinion athletes need to find more than one sport that they enjoy so that they can enjoy their offseason from one sport and continue to improve their overall athletic abilities. One thing that I remember growing up was the excitement and nervous feeling that I used to get when I knew that the start of one of the many sports that I played growing up was nearing. Too many athletes these days don’t get the chance to experience this feeling as they play their one sport all year.

Learn How to Laugh and Get over Your Mistakes - I remember one year my Grandpa showed up at a Curling Bonspiel that I was competing in. I was the skip for my team and in the final end I missed a shot that I should have made but I pushed the rock slightly on my release. I had blown an opportunity to win my first bonspiel as a skip and was very angry with myself for making the mistake. I remember seeing my Grandpa afterwards and he immediately began giving me a hard time about missing the shot. I was furious at my Grandpa for making a joke about my mistake but soon after realized he was helping me to release and get reset. As athletes we are all going to make mistakes but the key to all mistakes is to learn from your mistake and learn to laugh at the mistake you made. Too many athletes get caught up on worrying about a past mistake and how it will be perceived by others or making the same mistake again. We’re all human and will make mistakes those who excel are often able to laugh about the mistake they have made, move on from their mistakes and get refocused.

Have Fun Doing What You Are Doing – My Grandpa spent some time in Long Term Care and on one instance a nurse approached my Grandpa and asked him what he did for work? My Grandpa replied “I’m a farmer.” The nurse then asked if my Grandpa enjoyed what he did. Without my hesitation my Grandpa said yes. My Grandpa farmed up until he was no longer able to not because he had to but because he loved to. Too many athletes play their sport because of money or because someone they love wants them to play their sport. The truth is if you yourself don’t love your sport you need to determine if you can love the sport and recreate your love for the sport.

I hope that you have enjoyed some of the life lessons that my Grandpa has passed onto me and that I have done my Grandpa justice as to explain my Grandpa fully would take too many pages. Remember to take a few minutes to look at the special people in your life and the life lessons that you have learnt from them. You may be surprised at what lessons they can bring to your game.

 If you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to email me at ssmith@absolutementaltraining.com
Copyright 2009 by Absolute Mental Training, LTD
All Rights Reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means- graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any request for photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems of any part of this article shall be directed to Absolute Mental Training, LTD (403) 808-7818.

What Now For Carey Price? Managing Expectations

What Now For Carey Price? Managing Expectations

By: Shaun Smith- Performance Mental Coach

The trade of Jaroslav Halak to the St Louis Blues marked the start of another chapter in the growth of Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens. Halak, who carried the Canadiens into the playoffs and past the Capitals and Penguins was made a legend in Montreal but Halak did not play his way onto the 2010-2011 Canadiens team as many fans and media personnel may have thought. Instead the Montreal Canadiens went with the future and rolled the dice with Carey Price. So what does this mean for Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens in this upcoming hockey season? We’ll have to wait and see but one thing is for sure Price will need to learn how to manage expectations set on him by his team and his fans for the team to have success.

Jaroslav Halak stole the show last year and brought a Canadiens team that looked doomed to be golfing at the end of the regular season into the playoffs and on a rememberable playoff run. Price was to be the guy last year but Halak came in and won the hearts and trust of the coaches and fans. So what does trading Jaroslav Halak do for the expectations that will be placed on Carey Price in the upcoming season?

The truth is the expectations will be mixed. Some of the fans and media expect that nothing will change and Price will continue to fail to reach up to their expectations that have been placed on him ever since he was unfairly compared to the next Patrick Roy. These fans will be negative right off of the hop and will be all over Price’s every mistake no matter how minute. Comparisons to what Halak did at the end of last season will be made unfairly right off of the get go.

The other side of the fans and media will expect that Carey Price to carry the team the way that he has showed in glimpses throughout his short career. These people will have high expectations of Price carrying them back to the playoffs and to another Eastern Conference Final, if not deeper. These fans and media will expect Price to steal games on a regular basis for his team and failure to do so will result in angry fans.

No matter what side of the fence you sit on one thing is for certain and that is Carey Price at a young age will need to learn fast how to handle expectations quickly. Teams, players and goaltenders have all been eaten alive by expectations that were set on them by fans and media personnel.

Expectations are placed on all of us. We set expectations to get something done by a particular date or get a promotion at our job by a certain time. Bosses place expectations on employees to show up to work and complete a task. Playing professional sports comes with expectations which are often determined by a multitude of factors including the particular market the athlete is in, the previous season, and players that are brought in to help the team.

Think of times when you have had expectations placed on yourself. No matter what the situation was I am sure that you felt the added pressure to get the job done because someone or a group of people expected you to get the job done. The pressure was most likely related to the amount of confidence you went into the task with that you could get the job done. Athletes experience expectations and the pressure related to the expectations in their daily lives just like you have in the past so how do you deal with expectations when they may not be realistic or within your reach? How does Carey Price deal with the expectations which have been put on him due to the recent success of Halak and the Canadiens?

There are many different factors which need to be examined to ensure that Price handles these expectations correctly including managing his emotions within the game, being able to handle the rollercoaster which will be the upcoming season, learning how to handle pressure appropriately, increase and maintain his confidence throughout the season but the biggest factor that will determine if Price experiences success this upcoming season will be his ability to ignore the expectations that others place on him and set realistic and obtainable expectations for each and every time that he hits the ice. Carey Price will need to focus on one game, one practice at a time. If he can do this than Price will have a great season and will be in the best possible situation to put his team back into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The expectations that the fans are putting on Carey Price may or may not be realistic for the upcoming season but the truth is Price will not have a successful season unless he reaches out and gets some help with his mental game. Price will need to learn how to manage the expectations that he places on himself as well as the expectations that others place on him. This is what being the goaltender in a hockey crazy market like Montreal asks of their goaltenders. Price has the ability but he will need to back up his technical and physical attributes with a much stronger mental game this year. If you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to email me at ssmith@absolutementaltraining.com

Why Teams Fail

Why Teams Fail

By: Shaun Smith- Performance Mental Coach

Hockey is a great team sport. There has never been a team that has won the Stanley Cup because of one elite athlete. Hockey teams win because they work together to become something greater than they are as individual hockey players. A great hockey team can be compared to a large dogsled team. When the dog team is running together they can pull a lot of weight quite quickly but when one dog decides that he no longer wants to work or decides he wants to go another direction the entire team is brought down. Hockey teams are very similar. A great example was the growth of Lee Stempniak after being traded to Phoenix from Toronto. In Toronto he was struggling to get points but once he joined the Phoenix Coyotes he had an offensive explosion. When interviewed about his recent success Stempniak attributed his point explosion to his new team who were closer knit than any team he had ever seen.

Great hockey teams win because of the group not the individuals. Look at the teams which were unable to earn a playoff spot and you will find that these teams failed to come together as a team or had one or two squeaky wheels. So what is it that these teams fail to do? The list is long but here are some of the factors that I have found lead to unsuccessful teams in my work with teams:

• Moaning and Complaining- When teammates moan and complain it brings down the moral of the entire team.
• Blaming Other People- Teams that fail often do so because they blame each other or people outside of the team for their setbacks. Blaming others is often an easy scapegoat. Instead of having to deal with issues as a team and investing the energy on working on what actually resulted in the setback to ensure it won’t happen again these teams spend their energy blaming other people. The other people can range from referees, league officials, schedule makers, media and the other teams.

• Inability Or Reluctance To Deal With Issues- Teams that I have worked with that fail often do not deal with issues regarding the team at all. They are often very reluctant to buy in to what the team is trying to do. This creates a wave throughout the team where little work is being done and the players begin to hate what they are doing. This can often lead to tempers flaring within the dressing room.

• Dominating Negative Thoughts- Teams that are negative very seldom win. It is often hard to tell which one came first the negative thoughts or the negative results but one thing is for certain is that the two feed off each other creating more negative energy and even worse results. It is almost entirely impossible to be negative as a team and still experience success. Yet for many teams they don’t want to be negative however the negative thoughts often silently attack the players.

• Small Cliques Within The Team- Teams that fail often do not come together as a group. Instead they create small cliques within the team. These cliques often create a gang sort of mentality where their group is better. This does not allow the team to play as a group but often creates more negative thoughts and actions within the team’s environment. Teams who spend time together and whose players are willing to get to know each other are the teams which experience success.

• Deferring Tough Decisions- Teams that fail often are unable to make the big decisions. Who to trade, who to bring in, should the athlete receive surgery or not are all examples of tough decisions which are often not made. As a result of the tough decisions not being made the team often sits in lieu without a definite answer. This often can create tension within the dressing room, especially if it involves the future of one or more of the players.

• Over Reliance On Team Captains Or Star Players- Teams that don’t win do so often because they rely too heavily on their leaders or star players to make it all happen. I have seen this time and time again. The coach and players almost seem to hide behind the star player in hopes that they can all jump on his back and he can carry them the way. The problem with this is that hockey is a team sport and as so needs the entire team to be working towards a goal. When the star player can no longer score or becomes injured the team suffers.

·         Lack Of Team Commitment- Team commitment is probably the biggest predictor of if the team is going to win or lose on any given night. Teams who are committed to a team system that they believe could work are often the teams who win. If one or more of the players does not believe in the system or is not committed to doing the work to implement the system the team will fail. Commitment is doing whatever is necessary to win. This could often mean a change in role for one or more of the players to a less attractive role but when the players put the we before the me and accept the less attractive role teams win.

What team will win this year’s Stanley Cup is anyone’s guess but what I do know is that the team that will win the cup will need more than just talent to be successful. Great hockey teams need a shared vision and a commitment to achieve success. This often starts with the leaders including the coaches. This is why some of the smartest coaches I have ever worked with have recognized the need to bring myself in to ensure that the team can grow as a collective whole instead of a group of individuals. Yet many teams still believe that naturally things will come together. Unfortunately this seldom works and this is why teams who are favored to win often lose. If you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to email me at ssmith@absolutementaltraining.com
Copyright 2009 by Absolute Mental Training, LTD
All Rights Reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means- graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any request for photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems of any part of this article shall be directed to Absolute Mental Training, LTD (403) 808-7818.

Is My Child Too Young?

Is My Child To Young

By: Shaun Smith- Performance Mental Coach

This past week I received an email from a parent who was following my articles and wanted to know if her nine year old child was too young for mental training. She said that it was obvious to her (being an athlete growing up) that the troubles that her child is having in games is the result of his current mindset. "In practice he is one of the best players on his team, but his
confidence in games is low. He seems very tentative and willing to let others do the work.”

My answer to her and every parent or child that is out there is that children are never too young to be exposed to mental training. Younger athletes that I work with have had less time to make their mental blocks habit and because of this are able to change their current mental training approach with much more ease.

When looking at mental training for our youth what is important is to look at how the information is presented and the mental training coaches’ ability to understand the demands of the sport. When athletes are younger it's important for the mental training coach to keep the concepts simpler and easy to understand. Children at this age are very intelligent and can learn quite quickly if the information is presented in the right way.

The mental training coach that you are working with should use terms that your child can understand. Too many mental training coaches try to use terminology that although is understood within the industry, the general public, let alone children have a hard time understanding what is being said or what to do. Priding myself on being able to present the material to each athlete is one area where growth in my athletes has been a direct result of using terminology and techniques that the athlete I am working with understands.

There are many advantages to exposing children to mental game training early on, they include:

First, mental training skills will become part of athletes' consciousness and vocabulary. They will integrate mental training concepts naturally into their learning. Athletes who often struggle with performance do so because of bad habits that were introduced to their game at a young age. Its true athletes who often choke in big games will be more likely to do so when in the situation again. It’s a matter of habit but can be easily transformed when the athlete is still a child.

In addition, when children embrace mental training early on, they develop confidence in themselves and what they are doing. They learn strategies for keeping and enhancing that confidence even in the face of adversity rather than simply reacting negatively when their performance is not perfect.

Mental training also helps children understand that they're not "bad" or "losers" if they make mistakes or lose a game or competition. With some exposure to mental training at a young age, children learn to not judge themselves based on their performance. You don't want children to label themselves as losers.

What's more, the lessons that are being taught through mental training has a direct transfer to school and other aspects of their lives. For example, if they learn techniques for focusing well in sports, they can apply these strategies to completing their homework on a timely manner or other activities.

As parents and coaches, you should focus on the numerous benefits of sports psychology. With some mental training, athletes will improve their consistency, boost their confidence, improve their focus and learn how to practice smarter and harder. Remind your athletes that they're not sick or broken if they choose to embrace mental training. They're smart and more likely to gain a mental edge and beat out the competition! Want to learn more about how to improve your sports parenting skills and ensure your young athletes make the most of their physical abilities?  If you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to email me atssmith@absolutementaltraining.com
Copyright 2009 by Absolute Mental Training, LTD
All Rights Reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means- graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any request for photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems of any part of this article shall be directed to Absolute Mental Training, LTD (403) 808-7818.