When elite athletes are performing at their best, they find themselves in a state of zen-like concentration often referred to as "The Zone". To perform well as a goaltender, it is absolutely critical that one be able to concentrate and focus at will. Just like every other aspect of your game, the mental side must be developed over many years with practice.
You don't have years, though. Isn't there a shortcut? Of course! By practicing this technique over time, you will get better at it, but even the very first time you use it, you will see guaranteed results, or your money back!
Goalie coach Jim Park used to tell goaltenders in his famous (and very old school) video "The Puck Stops Here" that he would visualize a puck sitting on a sheet of ice for 15 minutes before every game. Nothing else in his head but a white sheet of ice and a puck. This is how I start my mental preparation technique (I recommend you spend only a minute or two on this), but then I take it a step further. Once I can clearly envision the puck in my mind, I start to imagine opposing players passing it back and forth. As they do so, I visualize myself T-pushing back and forth, staying square to the puck, using perfect technique, my hands leading my body. Next, I start visualizing shots. Every type of shot from every location on the ice. Each time I see myself making a perfect save, controlling my rebound, quickly recovering to my feet. After each save I imagine, I say "Next Save" and move on to my next visualization. If I know the team I am facing, I imagine their best players, and what types of shots they will likely take. I save each perfectly in my mind and move to the next save.
Martin Broduer, NHL legend, uses a similar technique. He is quoted as saying that he has never been beaten by a shot he visualized saving before the game. I recommend that you spend about ten minutes going through this exercise before you get in your car to drive to the rink, and for another ten minutes in the locker room. When you are done with the visualization exercise, open your eyes and say, "I have done everything I can to prepare myself." Your teammates might think you're nuts, but they probably do already (aren't all goalies?). This technique helps to calm the mind and prepares you to enter "the Zone". Though some players may benefit from firing themselves up, remember, they operate in quick and violent shifts, where as we are in it for the long haul. Our job is different from their job, and so is our ideal mindset. A "pumped up" goalie is the first to overreact and make a mistake where a calm focused goalie would not.
Once the puck actually drops, the "Next Save" mantra starts. It is important when the puck is in the other end of the ice to not let your mind wander. Hockey is the quickest game on earth, and especially in a game your team is dominating, it is easy to lose focus momentarily, and end up unprepared for a quick break. To keep yourself dialed in, repeat the mantra, "Next Save, Next Save, Next Save." This simple saying keeps your mind constantly alert to danger and ready to react to whatever comes at you next. As you repeat it (in your head, obviously) you should be aware of not only where the puck is, but where the opponents without the puck are, using your intuition to anticipate chances before they happen.
A second advantage of this technique, is that it allows you to easily forget a mistake and move on to the next play. If you give up a bad goal, your mind can enter a spiral of negativity: I blew the game, my team hates me, we won't make playoffs, I'll lose my scholarship, my girlfriend will dump me and on and on and on. By always concentrating on your next save, you can easily brush off mistakes and focus on correcting them after the game or at your next practice, whenever the time is right.
A final advantage of this technique is that it adds consistency to your game. By repeating the same thing over and over every time you are on the ice, it makes every game feels the same. The most important playoff game is prepared for the same way as a preseason warm up. You will never get too stressed out or nervous, because, like always, you are simply focused on your next save, and you have repeated your routine.
The bottom line is this: if you add two ten minute visualization sessions to your pregame routine, and repeat the phrase, "Next Save, Next Save, Next Save," during your next game, you will undoubtedly play better hockey and make more saves. The more consistently you do it, the better you will get at it, and the easier it will be to find "the Zone" every time that you step on the ice.
The Zen-master in action, Yoda's save percentage is up since trying my visualization technique!!!
You don't have years, though. Isn't there a shortcut? Of course! By practicing this technique over time, you will get better at it, but even the very first time you use it, you will see guaranteed results, or your money back!
Goalie coach Jim Park used to tell goaltenders in his famous (and very old school) video "The Puck Stops Here" that he would visualize a puck sitting on a sheet of ice for 15 minutes before every game. Nothing else in his head but a white sheet of ice and a puck. This is how I start my mental preparation technique (I recommend you spend only a minute or two on this), but then I take it a step further. Once I can clearly envision the puck in my mind, I start to imagine opposing players passing it back and forth. As they do so, I visualize myself T-pushing back and forth, staying square to the puck, using perfect technique, my hands leading my body. Next, I start visualizing shots. Every type of shot from every location on the ice. Each time I see myself making a perfect save, controlling my rebound, quickly recovering to my feet. After each save I imagine, I say "Next Save" and move on to my next visualization. If I know the team I am facing, I imagine their best players, and what types of shots they will likely take. I save each perfectly in my mind and move to the next save.
Martin Broduer, NHL legend, uses a similar technique. He is quoted as saying that he has never been beaten by a shot he visualized saving before the game. I recommend that you spend about ten minutes going through this exercise before you get in your car to drive to the rink, and for another ten minutes in the locker room. When you are done with the visualization exercise, open your eyes and say, "I have done everything I can to prepare myself." Your teammates might think you're nuts, but they probably do already (aren't all goalies?). This technique helps to calm the mind and prepares you to enter "the Zone". Though some players may benefit from firing themselves up, remember, they operate in quick and violent shifts, where as we are in it for the long haul. Our job is different from their job, and so is our ideal mindset. A "pumped up" goalie is the first to overreact and make a mistake where a calm focused goalie would not.
Once the puck actually drops, the "Next Save" mantra starts. It is important when the puck is in the other end of the ice to not let your mind wander. Hockey is the quickest game on earth, and especially in a game your team is dominating, it is easy to lose focus momentarily, and end up unprepared for a quick break. To keep yourself dialed in, repeat the mantra, "Next Save, Next Save, Next Save." This simple saying keeps your mind constantly alert to danger and ready to react to whatever comes at you next. As you repeat it (in your head, obviously) you should be aware of not only where the puck is, but where the opponents without the puck are, using your intuition to anticipate chances before they happen.
A second advantage of this technique, is that it allows you to easily forget a mistake and move on to the next play. If you give up a bad goal, your mind can enter a spiral of negativity: I blew the game, my team hates me, we won't make playoffs, I'll lose my scholarship, my girlfriend will dump me and on and on and on. By always concentrating on your next save, you can easily brush off mistakes and focus on correcting them after the game or at your next practice, whenever the time is right.
A final advantage of this technique is that it adds consistency to your game. By repeating the same thing over and over every time you are on the ice, it makes every game feels the same. The most important playoff game is prepared for the same way as a preseason warm up. You will never get too stressed out or nervous, because, like always, you are simply focused on your next save, and you have repeated your routine.
The bottom line is this: if you add two ten minute visualization sessions to your pregame routine, and repeat the phrase, "Next Save, Next Save, Next Save," during your next game, you will undoubtedly play better hockey and make more saves. The more consistently you do it, the better you will get at it, and the easier it will be to find "the Zone" every time that you step on the ice.
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