Last night I worked with a new girls hockey team who is doing really well this season and is near the top of the standings in their division. There are probably only a handful of other girls teams in the entire province who are ahead of them. Their coaches wanted to know how to help their team get to that next level. Whether you are at the top of the standings or near the bottom of the division, here is the #1 tip that will help you beat the best.
Don’t focus on them. Focus on YOU.
If you are worried that you are going to get slaughtered, that the other team is going to skate circles around you and leave you wishing that you never stepped on the ice…
That is exactly what is going to happen.
By focusing on how fast, strong and skilled they are, you are taking your focus away from the most important thing of all.
==> YOU.
In order to beat the best, you can’t give them a second thought.
It is easy to get awestruck by another team’s talent - but you can’t let that affect what you are doing out on the ice.
There are only two things that you have control over out on the ice: your work ethic and your attitude.
Ultimately, you have absolutely no control over how the other team plays, what calls the ref makes, or even how your teammates perform.
All you can control is your ability to work hard and stay positive.
Doesn’t it make sense that you should stay focused on what you have control over?
Not how great the other team is.
Back in college, our team played against the previous season’s national champions early in the season. Most of our players would have been fourth liners on their team. On paper, we were far and away the weaker team.
Instead of worrying about how many Olympians they had on their team (it was 6 by the way) and how fast/strong/skilled they were, we just stayed focused on our team’s strength - outworking our opponents. It wasn’t pretty, but we managed to grind out a huge upset win against the best women’s hockey team in the country.
You can beat the best if you focus on what you do best.
The key is to play your game - not theirs.
How do you stay focused on “your” game when you are playing against the best?
Share your thoughts below.
Before the game I tell myselft what I want to achieve in the game.
1. I want to win the game
2. I want to have a save percentage above 90%
3. I’ll choose some part of my game that I want to play my best, i.e. Not going down too fast, controlling my rebounds or communicating more.
Being focused on my three main things then I’m not focusing on what the other team is doing and I always want to pull the upset and be the backbone of my team.
For every season have something that you will focus on every game, every game have something you’ll focus on and every period have something you’ll focus on. That’ll give you three things to focus on every period.
Hi from Canada! We won our first two games and I had a shutout on both! I’ve been warming up and eating right. I felt great during the games. We have a 12 oclock game tomorrow, and if we win, we’ll be in the championship finals. The team we play tomorrow we lost to last year in a shootout. I want to beat them!
See ya!
Amy
Hi Madeleine,
Great idea about having one goal for the season, one for the game and one for each period to focus on - that’s a really great system for goal setting that I hope a lot of other girls adopt into their games.
Thanks for the great idea!
~ Coach Kim
Hi Amy,
Great job in the tournament - I am sure you will do great again tomorrow. I hope you beat them in regulation time, but if not, good luck in the shoot-out. I was always glad that I wasn’t a goalie during those.
Keep us posted on the results.
~ Coach Kim
Congrats on your tournament so far. I hope you don’t go into a shoot-out, I get so many butterflies in my stomach when I’m waiting for the players to be picked. Good luck, especially if you go into shootouts. Remember, someone has to win, why not you?
Hi, Kim!
Excellent post - totally appropriate to all facets of life. Your blog is excellent! Keep inspiring.
-Liz