“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”— Henry Ford
Hockey season is here. Whether you are preparing for a pro camp, early season training with your college team or beginning your club or house league, hockey energy abounds.
As part of this kickoff to the season, the focus in this column will be confidence. Whether you are returning to your old team or joining a new team, it is natural to wonder what role you will play. In fact, all athletes — no matter what sport or level they play — face confidence issues at certain points in their career.
What do Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Denis Potvin, Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux have in common? Aside from being exceptional players and esteemed captains, they possessed common attributes as impressive players. As part of my doctoral work, I researched NHL captains to determine overlapping characteristics they possessed. Confidence — in themselves, their training and their ability — was a primary one.
Do any of these sound familiar?
- Have you ever felt that you were in a performance slump?
- Have you ever felt overlooked by the coach?
- Have you ever felt as though everyone else is better?
- How can confidence improve performance?
Peak performance research has found a direct correlation between self-confidence and success. Athletes who feel confident believe in themselves and in their ability to compete at the level they want. Athletes and teams that display confidence perform better. Think back to 2004 when a confident Boston Red Sox team of self-proclaimed “idiots” upset what was considered the top club in Major League Baseball, the New York Yankees, and went on to win the World Series.
Healthy self-confidence, which is important to distinguish from arrogance, motivates and empowers athletes and teams to excel beyond their expectations. It can determine whether a team succeeds or fails, wins a gold or a silver medal. In contrast, athletes and teams that lack self-confidence perform below their potential, often leading to slumps and low morale. Based on a variety of factors, confidence is complex and can fluctuate depending what the situation might entail. In one game, players might feel confident in themselves and their abilities, but in the following game, something could have changed and they feel less sure of their skills, abilities and even their position on the team.
What would you say to your teammate?
Given the connection between mind and body, it is natural that our thoughts and behaviors are connected. Simply, when we think negatively, we are apt to play less well than when we think positively. Scientists can now see the difference in body chemistry and activation in any given context. The cool thing is that we can choose to think negatively and decrease our chance of success, or we can choose to think positively and increase our chance at success.
One defenseman from a Division 1 college frequently came down hard on himself when an opponent beat him or scored during his shift. Once he became fully aware of what he saw as failure, a series of physiological effects occurred, resulting in poor play. As soon as he felt he had made a mistake, stress hormones flooded his body, his heart rate increased, his muscles tightened and he lost his ability to think quickly under pressure. His body reacted to the negative self-assessment and his performance weakened.
While exploring this pattern, I asked him if he tells his linemate the same things that he tells himself after an opponent scores by skating around him. “No!” he responded. I then asked what he would tell a teammate in such a circumstance. “I would tell him that it’s OK, we’ll get it back.” In other words, his response to a teammate was far more positive than it was to himself.
Ways to strengthen confidence
- Play hard in practice
- Work out and practice skills off the ice
- Develop a mental conditioning routine that includes: focused breathing; imagery (see last month’s column); positive self-talk (see exercise at the end of this column); mindfulness techniques (topic of an upcoming column)
Thoughts impact behavior
It is estimated that people have about 60,000 thoughts a day and that about 80 percent of those are negative. Given the magnitude of those numbers and the mind-body connection, negative self-talk clearly has an adverse effect on performance.
Positive self-talk, however, promotes confidence and success. Training their minds like their muscles — with personal affirmations and consistent repetitions — allows athletes to develop positive thinking habits, which then become automatic under pressure.
Self-talk exercise
Purpose: To replace automatic negative statements with positive statements or affirmations about self.
When to practice:
- When negative talk of self arises after a challenging incident or interaction
- In anticipation of a stressful situation when the player wants to build confidence
General instructions:
- Write down a common negative self-statement.
- Cross it out and replace it with something positive (i.e., what you would say to a close friend or teammate).
- Repeat the positive self-statement whenever negative thoughts arise. As self-awareness and practice develop, it will become easier and eventually more automatic to hear a positive internal script.
As with every mental conditioning technique, consistent training is key. Remember that you would not expect to have strong quadriceps after going to the gym only once or twice. Invest time into building confidence and enhance your opportunity for success.
Dr. Elizabeth Ward is a former Harvard hockey player, licensed psychologist and peak performance coach/consultant. Learn more at www.DrElizabethWard.com.
