Mental Preparedness Series: Positive Attitude

You’ve heard it before, he or she’s in “the zone”.  But what does it mean?  Is it more than an athlete just having a great game? The answer:  Definitely.  In order for an athlete to find their way into the zone, a series of events must occur which allow the athlete to learn, develop, and build upon.  Unfortunately, there is no quick fix.  These experiences will happen over time, and how the athlete is able to learn from them is extremely important to their mental preparedness growth.

Athletes looking to accomplish their goals must put as much emphasis (if not more) on mental preparation as they do on physical preparation.  Jack J. Lesyk Ph.D. from the Ohio Centre for Sport Psychology, lists Choosing and Maintaining a Positive Attitude at the top of his list for athletes to discover mental preparedness.  For goaltenders, this can cover a very wide range of things. From the work out in the gym, to the dry land warm up with their team before a game, during each game, and practice, to the ride home with a parent, this is one of the most important aspects for goaltenders to achieve their goals.  Without positive thinking, comes doubt in one’s teammates, coaches, and themselves once they hit the ice. Goaltenders are of the few lucky ones able to witness the whole game from where they stand.  Meaning, they get to see every play developing as well as every mistake on the ice by their teammates.  But how does a goaltender get to a point where they are able to brush off the mistakes of their teammates and turn it into something positive?  It’s easier to throw their hands up in the air on a screenshot goal and blame their defenseman for not providing him with a visible path to the puck.  The coach may have even told the team that he never believes that a goal or loss is the direct result of a goaltender not being on his game, but instead a defensive breakdown. After all, they win as a team, and lose as team, so it can’t just be the goaltender’s fault.  Right?

Elite level goaltenders understand that despite the actions of their teammates on the ice which may result in a goal, they need to be able to shake off the goal and get their head back in the game.  There is no need to get down on themself for letting in the goal.  Instead, they should replay the situation in their mind through visualizing the exact same scenario, and deciding what they would have or could have done differently.  Doing so allows them to learn from their mistakes and when faced with the same situation again, they may make sure not to make the same mistake.  As for their teammates, no one wants to be blamed for a goal or a loss.  So how can a situation be approached positively so that everyone may learn from the experience?  The answer:  A Compliment Sandwich.

Good managers in work environments and good coaches have a few things in common.  One of these things is how they are able to get people to buy into the product or service they’re selling, or the system that they’re teaching.  Either way, great communication skills are essential to the performance of their employees or teams.  Like coaches, experienced managers are able to coach their employees to perform and want to perform at their best in order to accomplish their individual and company goals. One of the best ways that they’re able to do so is the compliment sandwich.  Let’s say we have a sales agent not making their target for the quarter, and they’re pulled into their manager’s office.  The manager tells them that they’re not making their target and to, “pick it up” or else they may need to look for other work.  The employee will not leave their manager’s office feeling valued or confident in their position at the company.  Instead, she may feel undervalued, unappreciated, and disposable. She may feel unconfident in her ability to perform at the needs of the company, which may continue to spiral into self-doubt. For a few, this may be the kick in the pants to get them working harder, but for the majority, this management tactic will not pay dividends.  Instead, the compliment sandwich approach provides the employee with recognition for what they’re doing right, it targets the mistakes or areas for improvement by getting the employee to acknowledge them, and finishes on a positive note by recognizing another area where the employee is doing well.

The compliment sandwich method is easily transferable to coaches and how they approach their team or students.  So, as a goaltender, why not keep the same positive outlook with approaching teammates with this method?  After all, we’re all human, and we’re all going to make mistakes.  Chances are that the defenseman has replayed the scenario in his mind as well, and may already realize that he should have taken the screen away to provide the goaltender with a clear view of the puck.  Therefore, rather than throwing up the arms as if to say, “it wasn’t my fault, but someone else’s”, evaluate the situation through visualization to see if something different could have been done on your end as the goaltender. If at the end of the period or game, you have a chance to speak to the defenseman, compliment him on his play from another point in the game, bring up the screen shot situation to see if something else could’ve been done to avoid it from happening again, and provide positive reinforcement by complimenting him on his game.  Say that he did a great job blocking a shot, or with a big body check.  After all, positivity can’t hurt, but confrontation can.

A positive attitude for athletes is more than being able to discuss areas for improvement with teammates. Instead, it’s a huge part of a goaltender’s growth and development.  Athletes looking to excel in their respective sports must ensure that they have a positive outlook on their own performance and training. For those who participate in team sports, positive outlook must play an even larger role to ensure that they succeed as an individual and as a team.