1. Emotional Game Control
Action: Work on maintaining composure during high-pressure moments in games. Regularly practice mindfulness or breathing exercises to improve emotional regulation. Consider journaling to better process your emotions and avoid letting stress or frustration affect your performance.
Development Focus: Continue working on staying calm under pressure. Monitor your emotional responses in both practice and games to make adjustments when necessary.
2. Understanding Your Role & Position
Action: Reflect on your role within the team and how it contributes to overall success. Clarify with coaches how you can best support the team and where you can add the most value. Embrace your position and identify areas where you can grow within your role.
Development Focus: Regularly assess your alignment with your role and ensure that you’re engaging fully with the team’s objectives and strategies.
3. Self-discipline
Action: Strengthen your daily routine and commitment to practice. Set clear, manageable goals that keep you on track, even during moments of low motivation. Build consistency in your preparation and game readiness.
Development Focus: Monitor your habits and work on creating more structure in your training routine. Stay disciplined both on and off the ice.
4. Mental Toughness
Action: Work on increasing resilience in the face of adversity. Practice bouncing back from setbacks by maintaining a positive outlook and using challenges as opportunities to improve. Develop techniques such as visualization and positive self-talk to stay motivated.
Development Focus: Embrace failures and learn from them. Focus on maintaining a strong mindset, especially when things don’t go as planned.
5. Team Player
Action: Foster positive relationships with teammates by being supportive and collaborative. Engage with others both on and off the ice, and actively contribute to building team chemistry. Be aware of your energy and how it impacts the team.
Development Focus: Strive to improve communication and collaboration with teammates. Ensure that your actions support the overall well-being and success of the team.
6. Self-confidence
Action: Reinforce your belief in your abilities by setting small, achievable goals and celebrating your progress. Work on improving your mental dialogue and replacing negative thoughts with positive affirmations. Focus on your strengths to build self-assurance.
Development Focus: Continue to work on maintaining confidence, especially during stressful moments in practice or games. Keep reinforcing a positive self-image.
7. Understanding Player Performance
Action: Focus on understanding the mechanics of your performance and how to make smarter, more effective decisions on the ice. Watch game footage and analyze your strengths and areas for improvement.
Development Focus: Seek ongoing feedback and refine your understanding of what contributes to success. Stay open to learning new strategies and techniques to improve your overall game.
8. Attitude Toward Performance Problems
Action: Shift your mindset to view challenges and mistakes as opportunities for growth. Instead of focusing on the error, focus on the solutions and improvements. Approach every problem with a mindset of learning and progress.
Development Focus: Develop a growth mindset by reframing failures as part of the journey. Use each setback to fuel your motivation for improvement.
9. Mental Toughness & Drive to Win
Action: Cultivate a stronger drive to compete and win. Set long-term goals and break them down into smaller, manageable steps. Push through mental barriers during practice to build perseverance and resilience.
Development Focus: Focus on building mental resilience and consistency, ensuring that you are always focused on the end goal, regardless of challenges faced along the way.
10. Coachability
Action: Stay open to feedback from coaches and be proactive in seeking advice on how to improve. Be receptive to criticism and apply it constructively. Ensure that you maintain a balance between being coachable and staying true to your natural playing style.
Development Focus: Develop a growth mindset and strive to continuously learn from others. Use coaching feedback as a tool to improve your game and performance.
11. Competitive Fire
Action: Engage fully in every game and practice. Push yourself to compete at your highest level, even when motivation may dip. Develop a strong desire to win and give your best effort in every moment on the ice.
Development Focus: Keep challenging yourself to compete and strive for excellence. Build a mentality where giving your best effort becomes second nature.
12. Focus & Game Intelligence
Action: Improve your focus during games by eliminating distractions and maintaining attention on what is most important. Work on refining your game intelligence by understanding the key strategies and decisions that lead to success.
Development Focus: Focus on the details that make a difference in the game, from tactical decisions to maintaining focus on the big picture of team success.
13. Self-motivation & Desire
Action: Strengthen your intrinsic motivation by connecting with the deeper reasons why you play the game. Focus on improvement for personal growth rather than external validation or outcomes.
Development Focus: Reignite your passion for the game by setting personal goals and embracing challenges as opportunities for self-improvement.
14. Attitude Toward Personal Hockey Problems
Action: Maintain an objective perspective when facing personal obstacles. Acknowledge any performance gaps and take steps to address them with a proactive attitude. Work on finding solutions to overcome challenges.
Development Focus: Embrace obstacles as opportunities to learn and grow. Develop an action plan for overcoming performance barriers and set clear steps toward improvement.
By focusing on these areas, you can work toward becoming a more well-rounded and mentally strong player, improving both individual performance and team dynamics. Every player can benefit from continued growth in these areas, ultimately enhancing their overall success and enjoyment of the game.