PHD x Fortitude Mental Performance Newsletter #3

Good Morning Perez Hockey Development Community!

At Fortitude Mental Performance we believe that experiencing pressure, fear, doubt, worry, and facing adversity are natural unavoidable parts of sport and life. 

Instead of avoiding these experiences, we train our athletes to welcome them and utilize their mental skills. To us, mental toughness is the ability to act in a way that is consistent with one’s values, even when standing face to face with difficult thoughts and emotions.  

Far too often we hear coaches and parents telling their athletes to wake up, don’t be nervous, or to forget about a mistake. While they are likely saying these things with positive intentions, if the athlete receiving the message has never been taught how to do these things then they will unfortunately still experience them. 

So, how do we teach them? 

First, we talk about about a handy dandy tool we all have used: A flashlight.

In the same way, a flashlight can only shine its light on one thing at a time, our brains can only focus on one thing at a time. 

Rather than spending so much time worrying about what the light is shining on and if it is right or not, we teach athletes to quickly switch their focus so that they are focusing on the right thing at the right time, every time. 

Frankly put, I’m less concerned about what emotion is present. 

Heck, even “positive” emotions can get in our way. What I do care about is if an athlete can focus on the task at hand, recognize when they have lost attention on that task, and refocus to what is most important.

In the same way, a flashlight can only shine its light on one thing at a time, our brains can only focus on one thing at a time. 

Rather than spending so much time worrying about what the light is shining on and if it is right or not, we teach athletes to quickly switch their focus so that they are focusing on the right thing at the right time, every time. 

Frankly put, I’m less concerned about what emotion is present. 

Heck, even “positive” emotions can get in our way. What I do care about is if an athlete can focus on the task at hand, recognize when they have lost attention on that task, and refocus to what is most important. 

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In the following video, Novak Djokovic talks about this concept and how it has helped him to dominate the sport of tennis over the past two decades: 

Just like Novak mentions in the video, we can train to shift our focus. Last week, we talked about using mindful music, a great tool for practicing this skill. 

This week, we wanted to give you another exercise to try out:

TOOL
Mindful Breath Counting

The Set Up:

• Find a comfortable location where you will not be disturbed, open up a timer app, and set it to 2 minutes

The Task:

• Count your breath on each inhale and each exhale up to ten. One on the inhale, two on the exhale, and so on.

• When you reach ten go back to one.

• Repeat until the time is up.

• If you become distracted, or your flashlight starts to wander, start back at one.

The Goal:

• Flex the mind-muscle by practicing shifting your focus back to the task at hand when you become distracted and engage with the present moment.

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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.