Blog

I hope your tryouts have gone well and that the last 2 postings were beneficial to you as you competed for a spot on the team.

Sometimes, though, when I talk to goaltenders, I wonder if they really understand who exactly the competition is. In a tryout scenario, obviously it is the other goaltenders vying for the open spots. Then as league play begins, the opposition becomes the competition.

But not to forget, if neither you nor your partner are the defined "starter", then, potentially your competition is your playing partner. And even if one of you gets the starter job more regularly, there is still an element of competitiveness. Hopefully it is healthy competition, but nonetheless, it is competition.

As you move up in development levels the competition arena becomes broader and now you compete with other goaltenders in your league for all-star, best save percentage etc. honors.

Graduation from Minor Hockey to the Junior or Prep School levels now means your competition could come from just about anywhere; the next town, the next province or state or for that matter another country. With hockey now a global sport and the willingness of participants to move away from their home towns in the hope of improving their hockey future, we need step back and consider a macro view of our competition.

At the end of the day, it is almost impossible to identify your true competition so you better be practicing & refining your skill set with hard work, motivation & enthusiasm because, when you both step on the ice together, will you be ready?

For many of us pre-game & tryout nervousness is something we experience regularly, Just what can we do to take this stressful time, turn it around & make it a more enjoyable experience? Well, here is one thing we can work on to minimize & reduce nervousness or getting "rattled" and that is controlled breathing.

So just how can we control our breathing? Well, it is simple really and the more your practice, the better you will become at relaxing. You can do this at most any time, when you are in the dressing room before the ice session, sitting on the bench or even on the ice waiting your turn in the net. And here is how: sit or stand up straight and breath in deeply (use a slow count of 10) through your nose and down into your stomach (not your chest). Now breath out slowly through your mouth (again use a count of 10) until you empty all the air out.

Repeat this several times until you feel your body relax (it really works) Do this as often as you like and whenever you feel necessary. Try to think only about what you are doing (breathing). The neat thing about this is that no one will ever know what you are doing.

Another thing you need to be aware of is to maintain your focus at those critical ice times throughout the days & weeks of the whole tryout process or games. Concentrate hard, and don't get distracted by what is going on around you.

And, last, don't be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes happen and you can't change what has already happened