Keep your head in the game

The mental skill of maintaining focus or keeping you head in the game is probably as important as any physical skill a goaltender can possess. Lack of focus or losing focus during a game usually ends in negative results.Still, it is amazing how little time coaches and athletes spend on this important part of the athlete's tool box. I think most of us know of at least one goaltender who had incredible technical skills or who always performs exceptionally well in practice but, who seems unable to achieve the level of success you would expect based on their skill set. They just can't "zone in" when it counts or are easily thrown off their game with the slightest distraction.

Because the mental aspect of hockey occupies such a small, if any, portion of training and development, hockey athletes, in general, think, losing focus is something they can simply deal with spontaneously as the situation arises even if it is in the midst of a competition. But, very few, if any, athletes can do this on a consistent basis. For most, it will require a great deal of repetitive preparation and an understanding that, this, like any other goaltending skill or technique, must be learned and practiced. And, the earlier in an athlete's career he/she understands this, the better their chances of playing up to their full potential along the way.

Understand that maintaining focus during competition starts long before game time. A good, solid pre-game prep, which may include relaxation techniques, visualization or positive affirmations is a great place to start. This, along with a physical pre-game preparation such as a Dynamic Warmup will set the tone and provides a grounding base for every game.

Since we are creatures of habit, a positive pre-game preparation gives a goaltender a familiar starting point game in and game out. If they follow that up with a consistent routine of a few confined space skating drills immediately as he/she steps on the ice, he will now own a consistent and familiar, game approach that will help him start every game in a relaxed, positive state.

So how can he/she stay relaxed, positive and focused during the game? The best advice I can give here is, they have to learn to play, and be, in the moment. Because, if they spend any amount of time, during competition, thinking about incidents that have gone past or which, they anticipate, may happen in the future, they are just wasting valuable energy and opening themselves up to become distracted. Make no mistake, many thoughts will flow through a goaltender's mind during a game.

The idea for them here is to learn to only focus on things they can control....for example (reactions, performance). Things they think and feel. If you can't control it, why think about it. Whether it is a bad call by the ref, team mate error, or even a goal scored (good or bad). Whatever transpires, they cannot allow themselves to dwell on these or other distractions or they run the risk of become completely sidetracked, perhaps even anxious, upset or even angry and lose their composure.

So what can he/she do if they lose focus. One quick way to refocus is to develop a bit of a ritual much like a pre-game prep that will bring them back to a "comfort zone". They can pause and reflect on the thought or incident for a moment, do a quick mental review of the event and release it from their mind as they takes a quick skate to the corner, a drink from the water bottle or flip up their mask. (Watch most pro goaltenders and what they do to refocus after a goal is scored to see what I mean) Some goaltenders will simply pause, take a deep breath and use key words or phrases under their breath to refocus. Some such phrase used over time can become an excellent trigger to clear the mind of unproductive thoughts and refocus.