Learning to Manage Your Worries
The lessons you learn from hockey can be applied to real life situations… Just as real life lessons can be applied to circumstances you experience in hockey.
These valuable lessons can help hockey players get to the next level, just as they can push people to achieve their personal goals and success in various areas of life.
Success is never smooth sailing. In hockey and in life, you will hit some speed bumps, roadblocks and obstacles. For some hockey players, tough circumstances lead to fear and increased worry.
Excessive worry affects both the body and mind, potentially leading to: muscle tension, illness, injury, low confidence, doubts, negative self-talk, inability to focus and under-performance.
In terms of hockey, if you are playing goal and are worried about giving up a goal to lose the game, you will be anxious, agitated, unable to focus clearly on the action on the ice, tense and tight. All these factors contribute to making saves more difficult.
Worry doesn’t improve your game or improve your ability to overcome obstacles. Worrying about tough circumstances only serves to generate increased levels of worry, anxiety and panic.
Consider the following:
* No one has ever worried themselves to a hockey championship
* No one has ever worried themselves to more ice time during games
* No one has ever worried themselves to a much improved game
Worrying about your circumstances only makes matters worse in your personal life as well.
Worry can take over when circumstances feel out of your control, as it did for many people during COVID-19 in 2020.
In 2020, COVID-19 disrupted the everyday lives of all people. School closings, quarantines, work layoffs, depleted savings, mounting bills and all kinds of uncertainty made most people feel like they were losing control. You may remember the increased worry it caused in your own life, and uncertainty can bring that same worry back at any time.
You may have felt greater amounts of worry than ever before during that time.
While serious situations deserve attention, worrying about all the ‘what ifs’ has physical and emotional consequences.
Worry increased among many NHL players in 2020 as their season hung in the balance due to COVID-19. Washington Capitals’ defenseman John Carlson held worry at bay by focusing on the things he can control, such as maintaining his fitness.
CARLSON: “All I’m thinking about is trying to keep myself in the best shape I can with the circumstances and whatever the rest of the season holds. I’ll worry about that when I lace the skates up again.“
One lesson to be learned is that you have the power to minimize worry inside and outside the hockey rink.
Downtime is a good time to work on your ability to prevent excessive worry.
How to Manage Worry
The first step in managing your worry is to gain some insight into how you respond to challenging circumstances.
Answer the following questions:
1. What circumstances cause you to hit the panic button?
2. What specific thoughts or feelings increase your level of anxiety?
3. What physical symptoms do you experience when you worry excessively?
4. How has excessive worry affected your game in the past? How does your game change?
These questions will help you understand your underlying fear. Then, you can address it head on by rationalizing with yourself or your athletes.
Worry in Hockey: Frequently Asked Questions
Why do hockey players worry too much?
In hockey and in life you hit speed bumps, roadblocks and obstacles. For some hockey players, tough circumstances lead to fear and increased worry.
How does excessive worry affect hockey performance?
Excessive worry affects both the body and mind, potentially leading to muscle tension, illness, injury, low confidence, doubts, negative self-talk, inability to focus and under-performance.
Does worrying help your hockey game?
No. Worry does not improve your game or your ability to overcome obstacles. Worrying about tough circumstances only generates increased levels of worry, anxiety and panic.
How do you manage worry in hockey?
Start by gaining insight into how you respond to challenging circumstances: what causes you to hit the panic button, what thoughts and feelings raise your anxiety, what physical symptoms you have and how worry has affected your game. Then address the underlying fear head on.
How does worry affect a hockey goalie?
A goalie worried about giving up a goal will be anxious, agitated, unable to focus clearly on the action, tense and tight, which makes saves more difficult.
Related Articles on Hockey Mental Game:
- How to Play Worry-Free Hockey
- Your Mindset and Finishing Hockey Games
- Tips for Positive Practice Habits in Hockey
- How Tension Can Affect Hockey Players’ Performance
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Mental Coaching Programs for Hockey
Our mental game coaching programs for hockey players helps athletes improve confidence, concentration, let go of errors quickly, and stay composed during crunch-time. Read more about sports psychology for hockey players at Peaksports.com
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Dr. Patrick Cohn helps athletes and teams worldwide from a variety of sport backgrounds improve mental toughness for sports. He’s helped junior to NHL hockey players improve their mental toughness.
As the president and founder of Peak Performance Sports (Orlando, Florida), Dr. Cohn is dedicated to instilling confidence, composure, focus, and teaching powerful mental game skills to help athletes, teams and corporate professionals perform at maximum levels.
Dr. Cohn also teaches sports parents and coaches of young athletes how to help athletes achieve peak performance through sports psychology training. In addition, he teaches his mental game coaching system, the MGCP certification program (Mental Game Coaching Professional) to qualified coaches, trainers, and sports psychology students in training.