MENTAL TOUGHNESS TRAINING FOR GOALIES

Led by Ron Mays, MSc Sports Psychology

It can be well argued that the goaltending position in hockey is the most difficult individual position to play in all of team sports. The technical and tactical components of the position are certainly demanding and take many years to master. However, anyone who has played the goaltending position for any length of time understands that what separates the hockey goaltender from athletes in other team sports are the mental demands imposed on the goaltender. Rarely has an individual athlete had such an enormous impact on the outcome of a game and his or her team’s success or failure. To top it off, the goaltender’s every move is continually scrutinized, subjected to evaluation and commented on by his team-mates, coaches, parents, opponents, fans, scouts, and, perhaps most importantly, by the goaltender himself.

While talent and skill level are undoubtedly integral components of goaltending success, what elite level goaltenders have come to understand is that their success, and the variances in the quality of their performances, can be attributed almost entirely to mental factors. Talent and skill level are fixed assets that rarely change from game to game or from week to week. On the other hand, the strength of the goaltender’s mental game can fluctuate drastically from one day to the next leading to wild variations in performance. For this reason, hockey’s most successful goaltenders are those who have learned to manage their mental game and who have developed the required mental skills enabling them to produce consistently outstanding performances game after game.

Ron Mays, former goaltending coach for the Mississauga/Niagara Ice Dogs for 6 years, with a masters degree in sport psychology (MSc in Sport Psychology) , has designed a mental skills training seminar to help the goaltender of any age or ability find the missing ingredient to achieving consistently outstanding performances between the pipes. The purpose of this seminar is threefold:

to educate goaltenders and their parents on how the mental game impacts the goaltender’s physical performance
to provide goalies with the mental training tools needed to acquire mental toughness skills
to teach the goaltender how to implement mental training skills into their pre-game preparation and in-game performance

Who is the target audience?

These seminars are ideally suited for goaltenders who:

suffer from a lack of confidence on occasion or who are looking to maintain a consistently high level of confidence
have difficulty maintaining concentration throughout the duration of a game
want to learn how to manage their intensity level and enter and stay in the “zone” more often
must learn how to thrive under pressure instead of choking during high pressure situations
find it hard to bounce back from a set back or poor performance
do not have a consistent, stable pre-competition routine in place
often perform at a higher level during practice or training than they do in a game
struggle with inconsistency
want to gain an edge on their competition

The Mental Toughness Training for Goaltenders Seminar Series will feature 4 separate seminars, each (1) one hour in duration and followed by open discussion (Q&A)

Both the goaltender and his/her parent are encouraged to attend each seminar as the topics and knowledge will progress logically from one seminar to the next.

BOOK ONE or MORE SEMINARS

SEMINAR 1:

An introduction to mental toughness training. What is mental toughness training and how does it impact your on ice performance?
Confidence: Unleash its power.
Responsibility psychology

SEMINAR 2:

Concentration: Paying attention to the task at hand.
Energy Management: From relaxation to frenzy.

SEMINAR 3:

Thriving on Pressure
Becoming Resilient: Bounce back ability
Learn to play in the zone

SEMINAR 4:

Developing an Effective pre-competition plan
Post-game reflection and Debriefing: Learn from your performance.
Tryout preparation: Peak performances when it counts