If you’re a serious hockey player, chances are you’ve come across the concept of visualization at least once throughout your career. You may know it under another name, such as mental imagery, seeing in the mind’s eye, or hearing in the head, but in my eyes, all of the above can be defined as follows: “A mental rehearsal of a technique, skill, feeling, emotion, … Read More
The 5 Hockey Leadership Styles That Make Up a Winning Team
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” That’s a quote from John C. Maxwell, best-selling author, speaker and visionary on everything leadership-related. Maxwell believes that everything rises and falls on leadership, and I totally agree—especially when it comes to hockey. After having been on losing teams where we won a handful of … Read More
3 Realizations That Will Cure Your Fear of Making Mistakes in Hockey
Last Friday around midnight, I got an email from someone (let’s call him Joe) that went a little something like this: “Ben, I’m scared of making mistakes in hockey. I’m scared to mess up and lose the puck or cause a goal against. How do I get over my fear of failure? I feel like I’m not playing up to … Read More
How to Be Clutch in Hockey (when the game is on the line)
If you want to succeed in hockey, whether that’s making it Pro or just being a go-to guy on your beer league team, then you’re going to want to be clutch. Being clutch is another one of those things—like hockey sense—that people believe you’re either born with or without. I’m here to tell you that’s not the case. Anyone can … Read More
How to Know if You’ve Played a Good Game: 3-Step Framework for Evaluating Your Performance in Hockey
Picture this… You just finished up your hockey game and are on your way home when you get a text from your friend. “How’d the game go?“ It went well, you tell him. Your team won! “That’s great! How’d you play?“ This one’s a little harder to answer… If you’re like most players, you’ll answer “I got a goal” or … Read More