What Can My Son do To Not Let Stress Get to Him?

Father of Hockey Player:

My son, who is a 16-year-old ice hockey goaltender, recently competed for a spot on the USA Hockey Southeast Select Team. That same weekend, the head coach at a New England Prep school he is hoping to enter in the fall was also evaluating him. He is "technically" very skilled and better than most goaltenders his age. That weekend however, he didn't stop several shots that he normally would have stopped. He admitted to me after the weekend that he felt pressured to perform well to impress the scouts and coach. As a result, he indicated he played too cautiously and wasn't relaxed at all. He didn't appear to have his normal focus. During regular games, he's relaxed and confident, but during evaluations like these, he's sometimes a bit off his game. My question is what can he do to relieve himself of the stress that will allow him to perform at his best in these situations.

Dr. Cohn’s Answer:

The main problem seems to come from his over concern with the scouts or evaluators watching his game. This is were the main source of pressure is coming from. He has fallen into the trap of paying too much attention to what others think or may think about his performance. In this mindset, it is hard to focus on the game and stop shots. He probably is worried about how they are evaluating him and if his performance is up to par. Impressing the scouts should not be the focus.

I would suggest that he refocus on the game. First, he has to put aside the idea that others are watching or evaluating his performance. Second, he needs to define what is important to focus on for goaltending. I call these the task-relevant cues related to his specific task of goaltending. For example, when playing defense, these would include anticipating the play, watching the puck, reacting to shots, being confident he can stop anything that comes his way, and anticipating the shot. Nothing outside the rink, such as trying to impress others, is relevant to stopping shots.

As I tell my other students, the stress is not coming from the evaluators or scouts per se. It’s his interpretation of the situation that is causing him to feel stress or pressure. Most pressure is self-induced. Again, he needs to focus on getting his job done on the ice instead of thinking about the end results of impressing the scouts. If he can make the switch back into becoming immersed into the game and stopping shots without attaching consequence to his play, he will do just fine.

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