What if your “genes” don’t fit?

I just ready an interesting article in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated — Sports Genes by David Epstein. In this article, the author discusses the role of genetics in sports performance and he alludes to the concept of genetically engineering the perfect athlete. An interesting history of human evolution is also presented that examines the role of endurance running, the quest for meat, and the development of bipedal man (cool stuff from an anthropological standpoint).

The author then jumps into genetics, and the concepts of gene therapy and gene doping, the kind of stuff that makes you wonder what the heck we are doing and what lies ahead in our future.

Anyway, the part that struck me was his reference to  a quote by Wayne Gretzky “maybe it wasn’t the talent the Lord gave me, maybe it was the passion.”

Is there such  thing as the perfect athlete?

What if you were not born into this world with the “right” genes?

Should we genetically test our children after birth to see if they are “pro” material.

Or, perhaps we need to look at the other side of the coin and realize that yes, some athletes are born athletes, but a good percentage of pro athletes are playing at that level because of their passion for their sport, their hard work throughout the years, and their ability to develop the mental side of their game. So if you are one of the many that are not genetically gifted, don’t give up on your dreams, you can overcome these obstacles through hard work, passion, and the development of your mental game.

Mental Training for Hockey

Start your hockey mental training today. Here is a follow-up on yesterday’s blog post with some simple techniques to begin training your brain.

At the elite levels of most sports, the competition is usually pretty tight, with most participants having a similar level of fitness and skill, and thus, the margin for victory is small.  Coaches and players are beginning to realize that in order to stay one step ahead of their competition, they need to practice more than just skill and technique, they need to train the mental aspect of their game. So when faced with similarly skilled competition, it is the team that is more mentally prepared, more poised, and more confident that will emerge the victor.

Concentration, confidence, composure and commitment are considered the primary mental qualities that are essential for successful performance in sports.  Collectively, these are known as the the 4C’s.

• Concentration: the ability to maintain focus
• Confidence: the belief in one’s abilities
• Composure: the ability to maintain emotional control
• Commitment: the ability to set and work towards pre-defined goals

The techniques of mental imagery, goal-setting, and focus can help athletes achieve the 4C’s.

With mental imagery, players imagine performing a specific movement or skill.  This technique helps activate the same neural pathways from the brain to the muscles that are used to perform the actual movement.  There is a plethora of scientific evidence that demonstrates the concept of mental rehearsal leading to an improvement in performance.

Goal-setting is a motivating technique that simply involves setting short-term and long-term goals for yourself. Think about an ideal future and then set incremental goals to turn your vision of the future into reality. You will learn to effectively use time and resource management to achieve short-term goals, which raises one’s level of confidence and leads to increased levels of motivation.

You can improve your ability to focus much like any other skill (ie. with practice and training). The simplest form of meditation can be used to achieve greater focus through concentrating on an object — study the object, focus completely on that object — what does it look like, its shape and color, how does it smell, what is its texture — learn how to control your breathing and focus your mind and energy on the simplest of tasks.

One of the biggest obstacles with mental training lies in overcoming the perceived “silliness and triviality” of some of the techniques used. But hey, this is something that can be done on your own time, in your own space, with no-one else around. Use this time wisely and correctly, and you will notice an increase in your performance, but like the development of any skill, mental training takes time and patient. Learn these techniques and many others by attending one of our summer college hockey camps.

Playoff Goaltending: Skill vs. Mental

Plenty of critics will tell you that goaltending is 90% mental. Is it really?

Any skilled performance has a mental component. At the elite level in any sport, the difference in skill between Player A and Player B is probably minimal, so what makes Player A more successful? If skill levels are equal, then the mental component can be the pivotal difference, perhaps even enough to overcome a disadvantage in skill.   No better example exists than goaltending in the playoffs. Reporters cling to the teams with the “hot goalie” and every year there seem to be prime examples of goaltenders bringing it in the playoffs (Halak with the Habs and Anderson with the Avalanche are current examples).

In Patrick Roy’s words “For goaltenders everything is playing between your ears. If you can believe it, you can do it. If you’re not confident when you start, it makes a difference.” As a young goaltender, how do you develop this confidence? How do you become mentally tough? How can you put yourself in the zone? These are the types of questions we (at EXACT Sports) continually ask ourselves. Our mental diagnostics are designed to provide a unique portrait of who you are and help you learn more about how to improve the psychological aspect of your game. We designed these tools and they are currently used by the NHL and over 100 NCAA programs (Read about EXACT and the sport psychology done at the NHL combine). EXACT’s new summer college hockey camp program (National College Development Clinic) brings these same tools to high school athletes across the country.  In addition, all camps will be led by current NCAA college coaches. Over 25 different NCAA college hockey programs committed to instruct at our hockey camps this summer, including coaches from programs such as Mercyhurst College, Syracuse University, University of North Dakota, Amherst College, Gustavus Adolphus and many others.

Most players I know spend hours everyday working on their physical skills, but very few (actually none really), give much thought on mental training. The main reason is they probably have never been taught how to develop the mental aspect of their game. Now is the time to start! If you want to surpass the player next to you,  you need to start training your brain too. Start your hockey mental training today.

Into Kendall Coyne’s Mind…gaining the mental edge!

Pre-game preparation or social hour? Many players choose the latter and their on-ice performance suffers.  Elite level players understand the importance of establishing a game-day ritual and sticking to it.

I recently chatted with Kendall Coyne , who has already garnered two world championships at the U18 level (2008, 2009), about her pre-game routine and how she is preparing to shoot for her 3rd straight Gold Medal at the 2010 IIHF World Women’s U18 Championships being held in Chicago at the end of this month. She reported going through the following routine prior to every game:

1. Shut my phone off two hours before game time
2. 30-45 min nap
3. Watch Pavel Datsyuk before I head to the rink
4. Warm up with the team
5. Foam roll my legs and back before I put my gear on
6. Listen to my IPOD and my Game Day playlist
7. Always focus on the game and see myself making a play or something.

In her words, “As I prepare for worlds I focus every lift and every practice on doing what it will take to get gold. I am fortuante enough to be practicing at the rink in which worlds will be held at so every time I go to the rink I treat it like it is day one of the tournament”.

If you speak with any elite or pro player, I am sure they could recite a similar pre-game ritual.  In order to develop a sound game plan you need to target 5 essential components. These include physical, nutritional, tactical, mental and emotional factors.

EXACT Sports studies the importance of the mental and emotional state of the athlete and the resultant effects on performance. Becoming mentally prepared for each game helps relax the pre-game jitters, by reducing performance anxiety and instilling the confidence needed to perform to the best of your ability.

As a player, aim to establish a routine that helps get you “into the zone.” The ability to focus the mind and get rid of daily distractions is key (ie. turn off your phone, forget about any worries at home or school, log-off of facebook). Once you have established the proper frame of mind, begin visualizing and focusing on execution. Create mental pictures of yourself putting a nasty move on a defender, blocking a shot at a crucial junction of the game, opening up for a 1-timer, or winning a key face-off. You want to go into a game with confidence, feeling good about yourself, and focused on executing your game plan.

When combined with proper nutrition and an effective physical warm-up, having a solid mental training plan in place will help instill the optimal level of confidence and mental activation required to play your best hockey.  EXACT Sports is hosting a series of hockey camps this summer with a focus on mental training and development that are designed to get high school athletes ready for college hockey.  The National Player Development Camp (NPDC) will feature on-ice instruction by leading college coaches (D1 and D3) and off-ice training led by leaders in sports psychology. For more information and a schedule of events, please visit www.exacthockey.com.