Ep #392: Hockey Mental Toughness – How to Thrive Under Pressure in the Playoffs - Warrior Confidence Hockey - Coach Rich Grogan

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:22):
Champions, the playoffs are here and states are right around the corner.
Pressure.

(00:57):
you
champions, playoffs are here, and states are right around the corner.

(01:20):
Champions, playoffs are here and states are right around the corner and pressure couldn'tbe.
Champions, playoffs are here.
Yes!
And states are right around the corner.
And of course, pressure.

(01:58):
Champions.
It's playoff time.
It's the a playoff time and pressure is at an all-time high.
Are you a player that rises to the challenge?

(02:33):
Champions, the playoffs are here and pressure isn't an all time high.
So are you a player that rises to the challenge?
Do you thrive on the pressure or do you crack and crumble?
Well, it all boils down to your mindset.
Are you prepared for the battle?
Are you ready and

(03:07):
Yeah

(03:30):
We're It's playoff time and pressure is at an all-time high.
So, are you a player that thrives under pressure or you crack and crumble when the game'son the line?
Well,

(03:53):
Ahem.
It's playoff time and pressure is at an all time high.
So are you a player that thrives on the pressure or do you crack and con?
Champions, it's playoff time.

(04:19):
Champions, it's playoff time and pressure isn't an all-time high.
So are you a player that thrives under pressure?
Do you rise to the challenge or do you crack and crumble when the game's on the line?
Let's face it, mindset is what gets you through and sometimes...

(04:49):
Champions, it's playoff time, and that means pressure is at an all-time high.
So are you a player that thrives under that pressure?
Do you rise to the challenge, or do you crack and crumble when the game's on the line?
Let's face it, mental toughness is what separates the average player from those thatthrive, those that strive, those that succeed, and those that battle through.
Well tune in today, because we're talking about that exact mindset tips to help you riseto the challenge, to thrive during the pressure, and stand out and lead your team to

(05:17):
success.

(05:56):
Ahem.

(06:53):
Ahem.

(07:55):
Ahem.

(08:26):
Grains champions, welcome to the Real Rich Grogan.
Greetings champions.
Welcome to the Real Rich Grogan Warrior Confidence Hockey Podcast.

(08:47):
I'm so blessed and grateful you're here today.
Hey, let's face it.
Most players don't fail because of lack of skill.
They fail because of lack of confidence, belief in themselves, discipline, respect, workethic, and leadership.
And most teams and organizations don't fail because of lack of potential.
They fail because of poor communication between the players, parents, and coaches.

(09:08):
They fail because

(09:38):
Greetings champions.
Master coach Rich Grogan here.
Hope you're having a fantastic day.
Greetings, Welcome to the Real Rich Grogan Warrior Confidence Hockey Podcast.

(10:01):
Hey, my mission is to empower you with that warrior confidence to believe in yourself, tostand up for what is right, to do what you know you need to do, to be respectful to first
and foremost yourself, to do the things you need to do, to stand out from the crowd, toearn that ice time and earn those leadership roles.
Now, let's face it.
Most players don't fail because of lack of skill.

(10:21):
They fail because of lack of confidence, discipline, respect.
work ethic, overall that belief in themselves.
Well, today, we're talking about the playoff mindset.
We're talking about the way you can stand out from the crowd, the way you can thriveduring the playoffs as opposed to crack and crumble when the pressure's high.
Well, this is episode number 392, and this episode's titled Hockey Mental Toughness, Howto Thrive Under Pressure During the Playoffs.

(10:51):
So the right hook of reality, and here, bam, coming at your heart.
and strong.
The playoffs are tough, man.
Pressure is sometimes overwhelming.
So what happened to you during the playoffs?
What happens to you during pressure situations?
Go ahead and drop in the chat.
You can say, man, I thrive or I struggle.
And it's okay because as I've told you many, many times before, a champion is not someonewho's never failed before.

(11:17):
A champion is someone who fails over and over and over again but refuses to give up,refuses to lay down, refuses to quit.
a champion of someone who learns from those failures, learns from those mistakes andcontinues to grind, continues to drive, continues to raise their expectations, raise their
standards to that next level.
So, and here's something I tell players all the time, you're going to fail.

(11:39):
Here's the reality of things.
Another right hook.
You're going to fail far more than you succeed, but it's in those failures.
It's in those setbacks.
It's in those moments when you sometimes think, man, am I ever going to make it?
You think, I might as well just give up.
It's never going to happen.
It's in those moments you find out who you really are.
And that's that push, that drive you need to get to that next level.

(12:01):
That's how you overcome that hump in the road, that whatever challenge you're facing rightnow.
And here's the raw, the I guess, raw reality, another right hook.
You've gotten here today because you've overcome every challenge you faced thus far.
Now, if it's not a challenge right now, in other words, if it's too easy, you're notchallenging yourself enough, then you're not going to grow.

(12:22):
Now,
Here's a silly analogy I give all the time.
And talking to teenagers, I said, hey, who wishes your homework was like it was when youwere in kindergarten?
In kindergarten, as a kindergartner.
And sometimes, know, they're well, yeah, what are you getting at here, man?
And I said, well, the thing is, I realize your homework's tough right now, whatever you'reworking on, it gets tougher in the real world.

(12:42):
Hockey practice is a lot tougher now than it used to be when you're first learning toskate, first learning to skate backwards.
Now we're pushing you harder, faster, stronger.
Everything's harder now than it used to be.
Why?
Because you've reached that level.
If you hadn't reached that level, you wouldn't be where you are right now.
You keep pushing yourself to get to that next level.

(13:04):
Well, right now, playoff time, man, that pressure is high.
But you've earned the right to be here.
You've earned the right to get to the playoffs because you've worked hard enough to getthere.
Now, if you're not in the playoffs, that's OK.
It's all right.
You're going to push yourself.
next year to win more games than you did this year.
So next year, you're on a team that makes it to the playoffs.
And sometimes I hear, and they'll get it in the comments all the time, well, I'm just oneplayer.

(13:27):
I'm just one person.
I can only do so much.
True.
But one leader that takes a stand, one leader that stands up, one leader that leads byexample, they put the team on their back.
Now, one player cannot do it all by themselves.
However, one player can make a difference.
And then that one player inspires a second player, then a third player, then a fourthplayer, then a fifth player.

(13:50):
And before you know it, you got everybody working in the same direction.
Everybody bought in on the same goal.
And example, I give open hand fingers, individuals doing their own thing fail.
Now in martial arts, I broke boards, bricks, ice, everything you can imagine.
Now, if I went to break that with my fingers alone, I would break each finger alonebecause individuals fail.

(14:14):
However,
putting that together in a unified fist.
Now you got strength.
Now you got power.
Now you got some major, major force working together for unity, strength, all on the samepage.
And that page, bang, break that board, break that brick, breakthrough.
That's the team mentality.
The fist working together on a unified goal.

(14:36):
That unified goal is to be the best team you can be.
Individuals fail.
Teams succeed.
Teams win.
Teams take championships.
Yeah, teams are remembered, but individuals by themselves ain't going to do it.
But that team starts with one person saying, all right, let's come together.
And I always like to say a thumb is the leader of that fist because it holds it together.

(14:59):
The thumb comes apart, the leader comes apart, and before you know it, everything's comeapart.
And unfortunately, that's what happens to a lot of organizations too.
They start off beginning the season, everybody's unified on what they're going to do tohelp their players earn ice time.
Help their players get as much ice time as possible.
Help their players win as many games as possible.
Help their players get to the playoffs.

(15:19):
Help their players get to states.
And somewhere along the line, if that unified goal isn't continuously reminded andreinforced, before you know it, that fist starts coming apart.
Now you got everybody doing their own thing.
Now you got everybody talking bad about one another.
You got conflict between the parents and the coaches and the players and the organizationand the season's lost.

(15:41):
instead of being such a season to start off with such hope and promise and prosperity isnow turned into a season you can't wait for it to end.
Go ahead and drop in the comments if you've had a season like that before or raise yourhand.
I'll raise both hands.
I've been on both sides of it.
I've had seasons where, and I always like to say, if you get two out of three, and thatthree are the players, parents, and coaches all unified working together, you get two out

(16:08):
of three, that's a pretty successful season.
you are able to get all three all bought in working together.
That's championship seasons.
So a season, my youngest son, well, he's 16 now he's a goalie for varsity.
He's backup goalie, but he's worked his butt off to get there.
He's only been the nets two and a half years.
And you've heard me talk about him before on previous podcasts.

(16:30):
Well, one of his first years playing, he we were in the lowest tier of because it was hisfirst year, call them ankle benders.
It was a
10 or 12 you.
Anyway, he the the team started off.
Boy, boy, they lost their first.
my gosh, eight, nine games.
And when I say lost, they lost bad talking 10 to 112 to two.

(16:56):
mean, horrible score seven and nothing.
It was it was a rough beating for a while, but we kept working together.
We kept good communication with the parents and the players.
We kept motivating them with positive inspiration.
We're getting better.
This time, you know, we actually put it, put the puck in the net a couple of times.
This time, we, we did a better job of keeping the shot countdown.

(17:17):
So slowly, but surely we started working together, but we kept that tight bond.
The rest of the season, we want a game.
Then we want another one.
And you all know how momentum is.
Once that momentum train gets going, boy, it's hard to stop.
I it takes a while to get that, that train rolling.
But once we get it rolling, man, holy cow, it's like a snowball coming downhill, pickingup speed, just getting bigger and stronger as it goes along.

(17:39):
Well, we won that first game, then we won another one, then we had another one.
We went the rest of the season only lost two games and we end up, it not, winning thestate championship for our division.
Unbelievable.
Unbelievable.
It was the team totally transformed.
Now it's kind of funny.
I tell this story.
It was the same year that my St.

(18:01):
Louis Blues
went from the outhouse who they were dead last dead last, I think was January 3rd and thenended up winning the Stanley Cup.
Yes, from the outhouse to the penthouse.
Well, Emmett, my youngest son, that's that was his team.
We went from being dead last losing our first nine games and putting it all together andwent from I guess the outhouse to the penthouse for his little 10u team as well.

(18:27):
But anyway, that's the power of momentum.
That's the power of belief.
That's power of confidence.
But it's most importantly the power of working together, striving together.
Because there were times, know, that fist so to speak, the cracks in the foundationstarted to pull the team apart, but we kept at it.
Now that year, all three, players, parents, coaches, it all bought in, all on the samepage, and amazing things happened.

(18:49):
So hopefully you've had a season like that before.
Hopefully you've had few seasons.
where everything is total disray and everybody's fighting each other and nothing's gettingdone and it's a season you're just like, I'm done with this.
That's horrible, but it happens.
So if you haven't experienced yet, hopefully you won't ever have to.

(19:10):
But if you have, you know how painful that is.
Well, some tips I'm to talk about today is helping you rise to the pressure regardless.
And I'm talking about playoffs because it's playoff time right now for the high schoolhockey leagues.
But anytime you're doing something that is a challenge,
That's the, I mean, that's more pressure than you've felt or faced in the past.
So that's what we're going to talk about.
All right.

(19:30):
So tip number one, your confidence.
Tip number one with that is train your mind like you train your body.
Now, how do you do that?
How do you train your mind like you train your body?
Well, watching this podcast, listen to this podcast is one way of doing it.
It's planting the right seeds in your mind.
It's learning and continuously growing.

(19:52):
It's self-educating.
doing things to help your mental IQ, your hockey IQ, helping you raise your standards,your expectations, listening to somebody who's trying to help you get there.
Of course, listening is one part.
The second part is you actually have to take action.
And how you train your mind like you train your body, when you're at practice, you'repracticing like you're in a game.

(20:13):
Because remember I was saying, how you practice is how you play.
You practice just going through the motions.
When it comes game time, you're just going to go through the motions.
countless professional athletes.
I've had the honor, which I'm blessed to be able to have talked, spoke to who played atexceeding elite levels, have won championships, have won World Series, have won Super Bowl
championships, have won Stanley Cup championships and everything.

(20:36):
They talk about their practice and their preparation was, yeah, they trained hardphysically, but it was the mental part that helped them rise to the challenge, rise to the
expectations they'd set for themselves.
And how they did that was in practice.
They did it in practice by giving it all they got.
So therefore when game time came, man, it was just almost like going through a practicefor them.

(20:58):
The speed was a lot faster, but they'd already practiced and prepared at that level.
And another part of it, back to the mindset, is realizing that, especially in hockey, thefastest game in the world, you're gonna have setbacks, you're gonna have goof ups, you're
gonna have turnovers, you're gonna have plays that like, what the heck was I doing there?
Especially in the playoffs when everything's ramped up.

(21:19):
twice as fast it is during the regular season.
But here's the key, realize that a champion is not, once again, not someone who's neverfailed before, a champion is someone who has failed, but they've worked, they've learned
from it, they've worked to improve it, and they're committed to getting better at it.
So that being said, you make a goof up, you turn the puck over, maybe it leads to a puckbeing in the back of your net, giving up a goal, before you know it, I mean, it happens,

(21:44):
right?
You're breaking out of your zone.
You make a bad pass like, Oh, what'd do it for?
Well, you did it because you were pressured.
Somebody, you know, the forecheck was harder on you than you expected.
You turn the puck over for, know what?
They bury it.
It's the back of your net.
Oh, you skate to the bench.
Coach gets on you.
You sit down.
Here's the tip.
Five seconds.
10 at the max.

(22:04):
You think about what you could have done better.
what you're going to do better and then move on.
The same thing with goalies.
Maybe you give up a bad goal.
You can't sit there and continue to dwell on it.
Every goalie's got their own little thing after they give up a goal.
Regardless if it was a bad goal or a goal that they had no chance on.
know, get their water bottle, take a couple shots, skate around, rethink it, refocus, andget back into the game.

(22:31):
Because if you continue to focus on the air, and this is about training your mind, youcontinue to focus on that air before you know it.
You're going to make another one because you have not moved on.
You're continuing to beat yourself up.
I can't believe I did that.
I'm such an idiot.
I'm so dumb.
I'm terrible.
I'm the worst in the world.
Oh man, don't feed that what I call your bully in your mind with those negative beliefsand that's limited, unlimited beliefs, self doubt, negative thoughts of I'm the worst.

(22:58):
You're not the worst.
You made a mistake.
You're a human being.
Now, what are you going to do afterwards?
That's what separates champions from everyone else because everybody makes mistakes.
But champions are the ones that are able to rise to it.
They're able to overcome it, battle through, succeed, and then prove, hey, it was a goof.
But guess what?
That doesn't define me.
And Zig Ziglar would always say that failures are events.

(23:22):
An event is over.
It ended.
It's done.
Failure is not a person.
You're a person.
You're a human being.
You're a champion.
You're a hero.
You're a leader.
That one failure, or two, or three, or four, doesn't define you.
It's how you handle it, what you do afterwards.
that defines you.
So train your mind as hard as you train your body.

(23:42):
Now, like I always ask, can you do it?
I always like to ask that to get you thinking.
Yes, you can do it.
I'll answer for you.
But the million dollar question is this, are you gonna do it?
Now, I can't answer that for you.
You have to answer that for yourself.
And I'm talking to you as a player or a parent or as a coach.
And we've all got our roles, right?

(24:04):
Yeah.
As a player, we're out there playing.
As a parent, you're the ones encouraging your kids.
You're not beating them up.
They make a mistake.
As a coach, same thing.
They make a mistake.
Get onto them.
Help them correct it.
Help them learn from it and grow stronger.
That way, everybody can work together, especially now during the pressure of playoff time.
So are you going to do it?

(24:24):
Go ahead and drop that in the comments.
Say, yes, I am.
And of course, by dropping the comments, kind of a declaration to everybody, you're notonly telling the world you're going to do it, you're making a commitment to yourself.
Almost in a sense, put it in a writing that I'm going to do it.
I know you're not going lie to yourself, right?
No, you've got integrity, Good.

(24:48):
All right, moving on to number two.
Number two is, and I've talked about this in previous episodes, but it's so important,especially during the playoff times or high pressure times, control the controllables.
There are things you can control and there are things you cannot control.
It's unfortunate.
Now listen, I have done my best to, I don't know, kind of a perfectionist, I always liketo take charge of things and fix everything.

(25:15):
So I've tried to control everything.
even things out of my control.
And how do you think that worked?
Not too doggone good because there are certain, there's simply certain things you cannotcontrol.
I can't control what the other team does.
I can't control what the official is going to or not going to call.

(25:36):
Right?
Yeah.
I can't control the condition of the ice.
There are things out of my control.
Can't control it.
But what I can control, what you can control as a parent, player, coach,
Control one, your emotions.
Yeah, high pressure game.
The emotions are going to run wild.
Keep yourself under control.
And I talked about this on a recent episode.

(25:58):
We had one of our star players who, the other team was keying on him.
And they were a couple questionable shots.
And then he got called for a questionable penalty.
Well, next thing you know, he's throwing his arms in the air and he's doing all this andlooking around.
And after he got back from the penalty box, he's got a penalty.
I'm like, look, is that who you are?
No.

(26:18):
They are keying on you because they're trying to get in your head.
This is a high pressure situation.
It was for division championship.
I mean, stands were packed, but they're seeing him as an all star.
And I said, and he was one of our all stars, is that who you are?
Is that the character representation of who you are?

(26:40):
Throwing your arms all around?
No, yes, everybody in the stadium sees what's going on.
but they're also watching how you respond to it.
They're also watching what you do about it.
They're also watching and saying, is this guy really a character player or is he just, ishe somebody we can get in their head and intimidate?
So I said, the way to get back, you do what you do.

(27:01):
You put the puck in the back of the net.
And he went out there, the next shift scored, next shift scored.
got himself under control, controlled the controllables, and did what he can do, and weend up winning the game.
Not once did he throw his hands up the rest of the game.
Now, I'm hopeful that planted a seed in his mind by saying that, because I told him, look,you're going to play at a higher level than a lot of these guys out here.

(27:23):
You've got that ability, and you're a good leader.
But if the rest of the team sees you throwing your arms up in the air and throwing alittle bit of a fit, they're going to think, well, that's what our leader does.
I guess we do it too.
Absolutely not.
Control the controllables.
You can control how you respond or how you react to your emotions to a bad call or amissed call.
You can control how hard you work.

(27:44):
You can control your attitude, your effort, your mindset.
Going out there with the attitude of, what I call attitude of excellence, that attitude isI am winning every puck battle.
I am winning every battle in front of the net.
I am winning every face off.
And as a goalie, I'm winning every challenge.
They are not beating me.
They're not getting a puck by me.

(28:05):
Now, does that mean because you
go out there with that attitude and that commitment that you're going to succeed 100 % ofthe time?
No.
That might be wham a right hook reality to some of you because I've heard some people say,hey man, with the right attitude, you can do anything and you'll never fail.
That is a bunch of garbage.
The right attitude will help you achieve a lot more than the wrong attitude or a badattitude but just because you have the right attitude doesn't mean you're not going to

(28:29):
have setbacks and failures but you're to go every single time with that attitude that I amgoing to succeed.
And if you have a setback, if you have a failure, next time you go into that battle,you're going in twice as hard.
You're doubly, doubly, you're double committed this time to not coming up short, to notlosing, to not failing.
If you lose twice, third time, even harder, fourth time, even harder.

(28:51):
And if that person hands it to you all night long, that means you're not doing enough workand practice.
That's the reality things.
So, well, that person's just better.
Well, maybe they have a little more skill, a little more talent than you do, but that isno excuse.
for you not to work harder in practice.
Because remember, hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

(29:11):
As I talked about before, skill will get you there, yes.
But it's hard work, it's respect, it's attitude, it's that discipline to do what you'resupposed to do when you're supposed to do it that's going to get you the ice time that you
want.
Wasted talent is literally one of the biggest wastes in the world.
I how many times have you seen players that have all the talent in the world?

(29:33):
they they crack under pressure.
They can't handle the pressure of the playoffs.
They become non-existent during the playoffs.
I I can't even tell you the number of players that I've played with, worked with, coachedthat man man they are outstanding.
Some of the most talented players on the team.
We see it in the NHL all the time but when the playoffs come they become non-existent.

(29:56):
Why?
Because the pressure is so much higher.
People are keying in on them.
They're the person they circle and saying, all right, when this guy's on the ice, I needyou on the ice.
Shut him down.
To me, that's the ultimate sign of respect.
When people key on you, that's another thing I tell players all the time.
You know they're gunning for you.
That is the ultimate sign of respect.

(30:17):
They're saying, when you're out there, we got to have our superstar out there on you, manoa mano, or we're going to match that player.
So what that is is obviously, and then if they put two players on you, that opens upsomebody else on the ice.
control the controllables, control what you can control.
You can control your attitude, you can control your work ethic, you can control yourmindset, I listened to some of the stuff we're talking about here, and you can control

(30:42):
your emotions.
You can't control anything else outside of that.
So focus on controlling what you can control.
Good?
All right, hey, before we move on to warrior confidence tip number three, I wanna remindyou, our how to get more ice time program, the link's in the description box.
Man, you can get our master class video for just nine bucks.
Not only 29, it's just nine bucks.

(31:02):
Get that thing and you can pick up our quick start guide for a few extra bucks.
that's telling you the things we work on or teach you in that master class.
And that quick start guide is going to help you get what you want most.
Ice time, leadership roles.
You want trust from the coach.
Now, will everything in the book get you the ice time you want?
Absolutely.

(31:23):
Yes.
If you're committed to doing what you're told to do, nothing for nothing leads to nothing.
You actually have to put in the work.
I'm not one to promise you you're gonna get the world's all sunshine and rainbows andyou're gonna get championships just because.
You still have to do the work, but I'm telling you what, you're here, you wanna get here.
These programs, my books, are the tools, the bridge to get you there.

(31:47):
But you have to do it.
You actually have to take that step and make it happen.
And I know parents and coaches that are listening, most kids...
players don't listen to podcasts like this, even though I'm talking directly to them.
That's the reason I do that is I hope, hopefully you'll encourage them to listen to thisbecause I know I'm saying the exact same things that you're saying to them, but maybe
coming from another voice, maybe they'll listen a little bit and that's going to helpeverybody.

(32:10):
Also for parents and coaches, I'm hopeful that, well, one, you pick up my program, mybooks and this and that to help you get your superstar the ice time they want and get your
teams and organizations to become the champions that are meant to be.
but at the same time, hopefully you can learn something from this as well.
And of course my book, How to Get More Ice Time, Amazon New Release Best Seller.

(32:31):
If you've not picked up a copy, please do so.
The link for both the program and the book are in the description box.
Grab a copy.
If you have, please give us a good review on Amazon because those reviews help rate ushigher in the search engines and it's just gonna help get this message out to a higher
group, more audience, and more people.
And of course, hockey.
It's kind of that underdog sport, right?

(32:52):
Where we always had to fight for the TV rights, the TV shares and the revenue.
And we're a tight-knit community, man.
That's what makes hockey so beautiful and that's why I love it so much.
And why, you know, those that don't know my background story real quick, started offplaying hockey at four years old, always wanted to play in the NHL.
It never happened.
I played at a higher level than my natural athletic ability ever should have allowed bythe same things I talk about in the books in the program, How to Get More Ice Time.

(33:19):
And then got back into martial arts when that NHL career ended before it ever began.
And it was in martial arts, been in martial arts 40 plus years, trained over in Korea,which really helped with my mindset, with my discipline, respect, work ethic, really took
all those things to a higher level and had a martial arts academy for almost 30 years,sold it, moved to Florida.

(33:39):
I'm down here now where hockey is bigger than I could ever imagined, which is fantastic.
Simply a lot of people are moving down here and hockey has bloomed.
I mean, think about this.
The last five years, the last five years, there's been a Florida team in a Stanley Cupfinals.
The last three years, a Florida team, three out of the last five years, I'm sorry, threeout of the last five years, a Florida team has won the Stanley Cup.

(34:03):
Woohoo!
So it's blown up down here.
So come on down and check it out.
It's beautiful.
Anyway, so that's kind of my story.
Now I'm focused 100%, taking everything I've learned for the 50 plus years in hockey, 40plus years in martial arts, and putting that together with our Warrior Confidence Hockey
Program.
and trying to be the mentor I always wanted and needed in my life to inspire you, theplayers, the parents and coaches to lead with integrity on and off the ice.

(34:28):
To have the mindset, to have the discipline, to have the work ethic, to have the respectand the belief in themselves to be the hero and champion you were born to be.
Woo hoo!
How's that?
Alright.
Alright, well hey, let's move on to Warrior Confidence Tip number three.
And tip number three is flip the script on the pressure.
Now, as I mentioned earlier, pressure.

(34:50):
is going to define you one way or another.
Are you going to be the one that rises to the challenge?
Are going to thrive under that pressure?
Are you going to stand out?
Are you going to lead your team?
Your team follows behind you and take that team to a championship?
Or are you going to be the one that that pressure gets to?

(35:10):
You're going to crack.
You're going to crumble.
You're going to make a mistake.
And that mistake's going to be the end all be all.
And that's it.
You're going to continue to think about that error.
Think about that mistake.
Think about that failure.
And before you know it, you've made another one.
You've made another one.
You've made another one.
Before you know it, the game's over.
You're out of the playoffs.
Season's over.
Ooh.

(35:31):
Have I experienced that before?
Yeah.
More times than I'd like to admit.
And guess what?
If you haven't already, you're probably going to at some point in time.
But once again, I cannot say this enough.
A champion is not someone who's never failed before, because we all fail.
And there's an old saying.
If you're not failing often, you're not pushing yourself hard enough.

(35:53):
Whoa.
Now there's a shot too.
Holy cow.
But the truth is, if it is a challenge now, that means you've overcome smaller challengesto get to this level.
That's why this is a challenge.
And once you overcome this challenge, the next challenge is going to be even harder.
I know it's going, man, does challenges ever end?

(36:14):
Well, I guess if you do nothing, yeah.
But not you, man.
You're made to thrive, strive, to set expectations and standards and reach goals, to keeppushing yourself.
And when you do that, that's the only way to get ahead.
That's the only way to be a champion, just because here's the thing.
If you do nothing, you're not going to excel because I promise you someone else out thereis working twice as hard as you are right now.

(36:38):
You got to continue to put in the effort if you want to be a champion.
If you don't, well, you're probably not listening to this podcast in the first place.
So no worries there.
So
The fact that you're listening means you want to get to that X level.
So flip that script on that pressure.
You're going to flip it around.
You're going to say, I know the pressure is there.
I know it's great.
I know it's strong.

(36:58):
But guess what?
So am I.
I know what I'm capable of because I have put in the work and practice.
I respect myself, my team, my coach enough to give it all I got in practice.
So in this pressure situation, in the playoffs, in states, I'm ready for it, baby.
If I have a setback, if I have a mess up, I have a failure, I turn the puck over, I'm agoalie, or if I'm a goalie I give up a soft goal, it happens.

(37:22):
I'm getting rid of it, shaking it off, thinking about what could I have done differently,and then moving on.
That is how champions are made.
That's how you thrive in the playoffs.
That's how you thrive when the pressure is so high.
You're like, what am I going to do with this?
It's called getting in the zone.
And the zone is you are so locked in.
You're so focused.
And man,

(37:43):
There's another thing, dropping the comments.
Have you been in the zone before?
Drop it in there.
Give me a thumbs up or a fire emoji.
You've been in the zone.
That zone is like everything's in slow motion around you.
You can't hear the crowd.
can't, you can, but you're so locked in, you actually hear the skates cutting on the ice.
You actually hear the puck sliding across the ice.

(38:06):
You are so hyper focused on one thing and one thing only, and that is performing at yourvery, very best.
seems like everything else is moving in slow motion.
It is truly one of the greatest feelings in the world.
Now, quick little story, and I tell this to the high school players a lot, my senior yearin high school, and it seems like everybody, different states do everything different with

(38:28):
the playoffs.
Back in my day, we had from the second and third round, it was the best two out of threefor the playoffs.
Nowadays, it's one and done.
Anyway, it is what it is.
But I remember,
Game one, we're playing a team where the heavy underdogs, you we barely squeaked into theplayoffs and it was, well, some years you have teams that click and some years you don't

(38:51):
necessarily have those.
And this was back in 19, what was it?
88, that's where I graduated.
Got locked in, man.
This was my senior year and we were not gonna go away quietly.
We're gonna give it all we got.
It's always been my attitude anyway.
It's just gotten stronger as I've gotten older.
And but more refined now, because I've learned the power of reading, the power of surroundyourself with a higher level of people, the power of going to conferences and workshops,

(39:19):
the power of the mind, the mindset, stuff I never knew when I was younger.
That's why I try and share it here with you on the podcast and to high school players andjuniors and even pros that I will get an opportunity.
And I say it's a beautiful opportunity to work with.
Anyway, that the game come out and man, I'm locked in and somehow I
I didn't even know how it happened.

(39:41):
I'd scored three goals in my first two shifts.
Had a hat trick in the first period.
We're up three nothing.
And I'm like, I'm just, it seems like everything's happening so easy.
And one of the defensemen comes up to me and goes, holy crap, Drogon, you got three goals,three goals and two shifts?
What's going on here?

(40:01):
And it was like, I snapped out of it.
And I'm like, I do?
I I realize it, but I didn't realize it.
I tell you this because then my mind starts wandering off of the game thinking, man, I'mgoing to probably score six goals this game.
We're going to cruise through these playoffs.
I'm going to win a championship.
Well, before we know it, it's four to three late in the third period.

(40:26):
Get an opportunity for a breakaway and move in opportunity to tie the game up.
And I'm talking there's a minute and a half or something left.
I'm a move, pull it across, the goalie goes down, I go to roof it, it hits a knob of astick.
Trickles to the side.
We end up losing the game four to three.
Now, I'm telling you that because I zapped out of that focus, zapped out of that zone Iwas in and started thinking about things out here instead of focusing in on what my job

(40:57):
was and that's to play the best hockey game I can.
It happens.
So, we ended up
We lost the next game two to one.
I happened to score that goal on a deflection.
That's where I did all my work anyways, in front of the net, taking a beating for bigdefensemen.
But that was it.
High school career was over.
I went on to play at higher levels and this and that, which was fantastic.

(41:19):
But I've never forgotten that because that was one of the first times that I can rememberthat I was locked into that zone.
And that's about flipping that script.
But without the right mindset, I drifted out of it and started focusing on things Icouldn't control.
And before I know it, you know, I had a breakaway.
I did everything right.

(41:39):
Hit the knob of the goalie sticks.
I guess I didn't.
Anyway, we ended up losing.
So I tell you that story because you work on these mindset tips I'm talking about.
You can get locked in that zone.
That zone can work good or bad.
What I mean by that is you get in the self-defeating zone of I'm terrible.
All I do is let in goals, the goalie mindset, or all I do is turn the puck over.

(42:01):
I can't win a face off.
Now you've beat yourself up the other way.
Flip the script.
You can handle pressure situations.
You can control the controllables you can control, and you are a champion.
Now, once again, can you do it?
Absolutely.
Are you gonna do it?
Once again, that's a question that you've gotta answer.
So, quick review.

(42:21):
The three warrior confidence tips.
Number one, where is number one?
Ha!
Got my notes in front of me here and I'm still lost.
Holy smokes.
train your mind like you train your body.
Number two, that's why I write these down so I don't forget.

(42:43):
Control the controllables.
And number three, you're gonna flip the script on how you handle pressure.
Good?
All right.
Hey, thank you so very much for listening.
I really appreciate it.
I'd love it if you shared this.
If you liked it, make sure you subscribe, smack that bell so you get notified of all newvideos and podcasts coming out.

(43:03):
Of course.
Pick up a copy of our How to Get More Ice Time program and our How to Get More Ice Timebook.
And if you want more information on our other coaching programs or to have me come in andspeak to your organization, I'd be more than happy to do that as well.
But let's just start off by subscribing, ringing that bell, picking up a copy, and thendrop something in the comments.
Share your thoughts with me.

(43:24):
Share with me if you've ever been in the zone and you know what I'm talking about there.
Share with me if you've had that, the mindset of
man, I'm no good, I can't do this, I'm a failure.
Be open, share it, but then share that I'm not gonna do that anymore.
I'm not beating myself up because I am a champion.
Sound good?
All right, everybody, hey, I love you.

(43:45):
God loves you.
Please share that love and share your gift with the world, because trust me, the worldneeds it.
And until we talk again, you get out there and do your best, and I promise you'll be yourvery best.
God bless you, God bless your loved ones.
Can't wait to read your comments, and I can't wait to chat with you again real soon.
Have a blessed day, everybody.
Thanks again for listening.
Bye-bye.

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Ep #392: Hockey Mental Toughness – How to Thrive Under Pressure in the Playoffs

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Ep #392: Hockey Mental Toughness – How to Thrive Under Pressure in the Playoffs