PHD x Fortitude Mental Performance - Newsletter #2

TOPIC
Newsletter #2

Good Morning Perez Hockey Development Community!

Last newsletter, we heard from athletes and coaches at the highest level of hockey acknowledging the importance of the mental game. 

With the majority of the Philadelphia Flyers recognizing that 80% of the hockey is mental, we believe that it is important to start talking about the ways in which you can carve a small part out of your day to train your mind. 

At Fortitude, we train our athletes in 8 core topics: 

• Athletic identity

• Focus & Concentration

• Goal-Setting

• Visualization

• Self-talk

• Stress Management

• Confidence

• Resilience

We work with athletes to learn the basics of how to utilize each core topic through experiential opportunities. Then, we create customized workouts for them to make it easy to train. Similar to how you may do a squat in the gym to make your leg muscles stronger, these specific workouts are designed to strengthen your mind.

You may be asking yourself: “Well how does any of this help me get better at hockey?” That is a wonderful question. 

Let’s take a look at focus & concentration training. Often times you may see this type of workout called mindfulness or meditation. What we know is that:

• Mindfulness can improve attention and focus.

• Mindfulness can reduce stress and anxiety.

• Mindfulness can enhance emotional regulation.

• Mindfulness can improve cognitive flexibility.

• Mindfulness can improve decision-making skills.

• Mindfulness can improve communication skills.

• Mindfulness can enhance creativity.

• Mindfulness can improve overall well-being.

• Mindfulness can improve athletic performance.

• Mindfulness can improve musical performance.

• Mindfulness can improve academic performance.

Now, you may be asking yourself: “Well, how long must I train mindfulness to experience these benefits?”

We turn back to the science to answer that question for us. Amisha Jha, a researcher from the University of Miami, worked with athletes and elite combat warriors and found that only 12 minutes a day can have these significant impacts on increased performance. 

There are 1,440 minutes in a day. If you were to train mindfulness for 12 minutes that would be 0.83% of your day. What if experiencing the benefits of those 12 minutes of training could make you 8.3% better at hockey? Would you do it? 

I won’t lie to you, training your mind, just like training your body, is hard work. Sitting for 12 minutes of mindfulness day after day after day is no easy task. 

What we hope to do, the same way Danny does with you on the ice or your strength coach does with you in the gym, is create a dynamic mental training experience that helps you get better every day. 

Before we go, here is a quick mindfulness exercise that you can try out: 

The Exercise: Mindful Music

1. The Set Up:

   1. Pick a Song or Instrumental of your choice

   2. Pick one part of the song to focus on (Drums, Guitar, Vocals, etc.)

2. The Task:

   1. For the whole song, attempt to only listen to the part you chose.

3. The Goal:

   1. Every time you lose focus, allow the distraction to happen, accept it, and refocus back on the task. Train yourself to accept distractions instead of trying to control them.

If you are interested in learning more about mental performance training and the work we do with athletes visit us at fortitude.coach and do not hesitate to reach out!

Be Easy,

Ryan & Brian

Fortitude Mental Performance

DISCLAIMER
The views, information, or opinions expressed in the Perez Hockey Development newsletter are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of my employers. The primary purpose of this newsletter is to educate and inform.