• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hockey Mental Game

Mental Toughness Strategies for Hockey Players, Coaches, & Parents

  • Home
  • About
    • Sitemap
  • Free Tips
    • Articles
    • Videos
    • Free Report
  • Mental Coaching
  • Products
  • Contact Us

How Frustration is Your Biggest Adversary in Hockey

October 22, 2015 By Patrick Cohn Leave a Comment

Game Intensity

Keeping Your Composure After Mistakes

Starting off a season on the wrong foot can set a negative tone and generate a sense of frustration over the next several games.

Sometimes hockey players get that feeling there is nothing they can do to stop the bleeding of bad play.

One thing goes wrong, then another, then another and it snowballs to the point where you feel you can do nothing right… That feeling is frustration and it is on a seek and destroy mission with you as its target.

Can you identify with this experience? You have trained hard and feel ready to play…

You start the game strong… You are fighting for a loose puck, skating hard, making crisp passes and playing solid for a few shifts…

Then one shift, you make a bad pass, the puck is poke checked away from you another time and a defensive breakdown occurs and it’s your fault!

On your next shift, you play a little more cautiously but the bad plays pile up. Sound familiar?

You may have made some blunders but the biggest mistake you made was allowing frustration take over your mind.

Many athletes become easily frustrated after making mistakes. You may feel like you failed and have disappointed your team.

But holding onto those mistakes ingrains them into your mind.

When you become frustrated, you relive mistakes in your mind and beat yourself up over something that every athlete makes.

It is impossible to not make mistakes and unrealistically hold yourself to that standard.

Failing to let go of mistakes and move past them sabotages your play on the ice.

The Calgary Flames have high hopes for the 2015-16 season. Last year, the Flames made it to the second round of the playoffs but were ousted in the Conference Semifinals by the Anaheim Ducks 4-1.

But so far, the Flames are having a frustrating start to their season with a 1-4 record and an average of 3.8 goals allowed per game (3rd worst in the league). The Flames also rank near the bottom in scoring averaging only two goals per game as compared to 2.89 goals per game last year.

The Flames opened the 2015 season with a 5-1 loss to the Canucks, the team they beat in the playoffs last year.

Flames defenseman Kris Russell thought his team allowed frustration to build up and seep into every aspect of their game which lead to their horrible showing in their home opener.

RUSSELL: “They embarrassed us in our home opener. We were poor in our own zone, our transition game wasn’t there, I thought our neutral zone wasn’t good at all, we had a lot of turnovers, our forechecking never really got going, we never really made it hard for (Ryan) Miller and we gave them too much room. They got goals on our mistakes and they’re a good team and they’re going to do that.”

When you hold onto mistakes tightly, they morph into overwhelming frustration. At that point, you are battling two opponents: the other team and your biggest adversary, frustration.

Tip for combating frustration:

Understand that there is no such thing as smooth sailing. Expect there will be some rough waters but you can to right the ship. In other words, mistakes will happen, but it is up to you to re-focus and play the current play. Use a cue word to re-focus after a mistake, “Now,” “Fight,” or “Move on.”

Work on developing a different response to mistakes and strengthening your mental game.

Improve your mental toughness with one-on-one mental coaching with Dr. Cohn.


Free Hockey Mental Game Report!

Hockey Psychology Report

Download our free hockey report and discover “The 10 ‘Deadly’ Mistakes Hockey Players Make With Their Pregame Attitude.”

You’ll learn:

–How your mind can be your best or worst asset on the ice.

–One strategy that can help you boost your pregame confidence.

–The top mental game skills you need to master to boost your confidence and performance in games and much more!

Discover if you are making one or more of these “costly” mental game mistakes before games:

The 10 “Deadly” Mistakes Hockey Players Make With Their Pregame Attitude

Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: Hockey Psychology Articles Tagged With: hockey frustration, mental game of hockey

COMPLEMENTARY 15-MINUTE MENTAL TRAINING SESSION

Do you want to learn how your athlete can benefit from mental coaching?

Call or Email Us Today for a Free 15-Minute Sample Session.

Toll-Free: 888-742-7225 | Local: 407-909-1700

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hockey Psychology Report

Hockey Psychology Tips

Hockey Mental Game Articles

  • How to Get Beyond Plateaus in Hockey
  • How Adam Brady Stays Motivated During the Pandemic
  • Take Action to Prepare for Next Hockey Season
  • How to Maintain your Edge in Hockey Without Formal Practice
  • How Hockey Players Cope with Difficult Conditions
  • Hockey Players That Worry Too Much
  • When Pushing Athletes to Excel Turns into Pressure
  • How to Take Mental Skills to Hockey Games
  • How to Improve Consistency on the Ice
  • Applying Mental Skills to Games
  • When Should Hockey Players Start Mental Training?
  • How Goaltenders Can Cope with Giving up a Goal

Hockey Mental Game Categories

Partner Links

  • Baseball Mental Game Tips

Top Mental Game Mistakes

Hockey Psychology Report

Footer CTA

Connect with Us!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 | Hockey Confidence by Peak Performance Sports | Privacy Policy