Different player in practice

[saveourpens 0]

Anyone else have the same problem? When we do a scrimmage, or practice, I play like I know I can. But come game time, I can't get it together. I play better when I don't care about making a mistake. I know it's all in my head, but does anyone have any tips? I'm two different players, one in practice, and one in the game.

I play varsity hockey, for some backround.

[Wayne 0]

Try not psyching yourself up too much before games. One of the players I coach was not the same playing in big games. We watched his pre-game routines and figured out that he psyched himself up so much that as soon as the puck dropped he crashed...

[Chadd 916]

Play down the importance of the game. You have to approach it just like you do a practice, you will have more fun and be a better player.

[Northside Dangler 9 0]

I have the same problem and I am going to try that thanks Wanye

[mxihockey 0]

I used to have the same problem.. My coaches would always tell my parents "Zac has all the skills he needs to be the best damn player there is, but when it comes to a game he cant put it together." My parents actually hired a sports psyciatrist( spelling?) lol im bad. He came to a couple of my games and studied how I played. Then he came to my house and sat down and talked to me, he taught me these breathing techniques to help you relax before your games, and a "hockey meditation CD" I guess I was just really nervous come gametime and it was affecting my play terribly. Come to find out, the man (George) works with all the Boston college athletic teams on a daily basis. He also worked with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls for about 5 years. Try doing these two things...

1. Before you go to bed every night repeat in your head " I am an extremely talented and gifted hockey player" Or anything you prefer lol..

2. Lay on the floor and put your hand on your stomach, feel your stomach rise up and down like a balloon. Try not to focus on anything else other then it rising and falling. This will take your mind off any other distractions before your game and help you relax. You will also feel a lot more energetic after doing this.( do it for about 20 minutes if possible)

This season has been my best season of all, I am finally playing to my ability and several prep school coaches have taken notice. I owe most of this to George.

Hope this helps a little...

By the way I play AAA hockey for the Middlesex Islanders

[LkptTiger 1]

Confidence, confidence, confidence. Hell - be a cocky son-of-a-bitch. I've always gone into every game - no matter who it is against - with the belief that I am going to be the best player on the ice, and that I will be able to dictate every single move made by every single player every single second I'm on the ice. By the time the puck drops, I have convinced myself that there isn't an opposing player that I can't out-work, that there isn't a guy on the ice who can skate with me, that there isn't a guy who will be able to shut me down, that there isn't a pass I can't make/handle and there isn't a corner or opening I can't snipe.

If you can properly prepare yourself mentally before a game starts, you should be okay - once the game starts, you should be acting primarily upon instinct.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Player-Psyc...y/dp/0773762213 - Terrific book. I read it (four times) back when I was about fourteen. I think it would help you in your situation quite a bit.

[Patrick67 1]

I had sort of a similar problem in terms of playing up to my ability.

Used to be nervous playing in big games, and my ppg average was always way below normal games. Of course your gonna make fewer points in games against really good teams than normally, but my hustle was actually the main problem.

I simply wasn't aggressive enough, so got bumped of the puck too easily. Focused to much on how strong and fast the competition was, instead of focusing on my own game.

Don't know if it's the hormons (not those kind of hormons, lol) or experiance, but the last coulpe of seasons I have been way more aggressive, smacking guy's 10-20 pounds bigger than me around, outhustling them for the puck or drawing penalty's.

Know the problem you guy's mention is a little different, but they derive from the same place: (sub-concious) fear of the competition.

[althoma1 575]

I can relate to this problem. I usually play very well in pick up ice games, outdoors or on the pond and not nearly as well for games that count - I'll hold on to the puck and make good plays in the pick up games, but in the real games I'll rush passes or over pass because I'm too worried about being a team player when I should've held on or took a shot. Teammates who play pickup with me are shocked at the difference they see and encourage me to carry the puck more and shoot more in games and some games I do, but usually only in games where I score early or against a weaker opponent. So there are games when I'll do very well, but there are far too many games when I'm playing well below my abilities.

In rollerhockey I actually don't generally have this problem. I think it's because pyschologically I place more importance on the ice hockey games and in the roller games I relax and just have fun. Plus, there's more room out there with it being 4 on 4 and know offsides so I take my time and make better decisions. Although last year when I played in the A division instead of the Tier 2 rollerhocky I played the year before I did have a few games where I started to rush plays because I put pressure on myself, but the majority of the time I managed to relax and enjoy myself.

I think as others have mentioned just relaxing and being confident is key. I've been trying to do that, but I still need to work on that. The problem is when I focus and really try to play well I usually don't have my best game - I think the key, for me at least, is to just relax and don't worry about not hogging the puck, making a bad pass ect. and just have some fun. I'm only playing bear league now and logically realize it's only for fun and excercise, but still tend to put pressure on myself to play perfectly and that's a problem I'm trying to deal with.

[thejackal 46]

ive had that problem too. other than my lack of skill, i just didnt take my time enough in games to make the most of what i had. the best players hold onto the puck for that extra split second before making the play rather than dumping it off.

btw the complete player is an excellent book. i've had it for a few years now.

[bheidepr 0]

The harder I *try*, the worse I am ....loosen up and get the pressure off yourself....

[Northside Dangler 9 0]

did this tonight and it worked wonders it was fun like drop-in i just didn't really try to get pumped up at all it was great thanks for the advice guys

[Maka 0]

Indeed. I did the exact same thing tonight and tore it up. Hooray for 3 assists.

[CCC8190 0]

Indeed. I did the exact same thing tonight and tore it up. Hooray for 3 assists.

im not attacking you or anything, but didnt you say you had some massive foot/ankle/leg injury about 2 months or so ago?

also, to stay on topic- i just had all state tryouts for AA level and i felt, along with my dad, that i didnt play the way i should be. ill try these techniques as the 2nd tryout is tonight. ill post updates.

[Maka 0]

im not attacking you or anything, but didnt you say you had some massive foot/ankle/leg injury about 2 months or so ago?

Yeah, actually I did. I tried to rehab it for a while and got fed up with it. So now, combined with a full season of Varsity Volleyball, it's in a perpetually slightly swollen state. It still hurts and marginally under optimum output, but it's bearable. It's probably at 75-85% relative to its strength before.

[chippa13 1844]

Practice how you play and you'll play how you practice.

[hockeymom 2]

For those of you interested in "The Complete Player" by Saul Miller... it has been republished with a more exciting name... "Hockey Tough".

Same content and an excellent read on sports psychology... I highly recommend it. I think I've replaced this book at least 5 times because I lend it out and it doesn't seem to ever come back.

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/item/b...ckey+tough'

[chk hrd 164]

Practice how you play and you'll play how you practice.

This will give you confidence which takes the stress off during the game. Hockey is to fast to try and think. You have to have enough confidence to go on autopilot and let your training, instincts and skill take over.

[hockeymom 2]

Some really great advice in this thread. And I think it does come down to confidence.. but, if you didn’t already have that, what would it look like and where could you get some?

I believe it stems from experience and knowing yourself well. The stuff mxihockey described earlier really does work and leads to knowing yourself well. Whether you need to chill or get psyched up… and how to calm or still yourself or pump yourself up – and when is appropriate to do each. LkptTiger gave an excellent description of what confidence looks like to him. So, the question is… what’s your flavour?

There are times when people are just on fire; they have the flow or are in the zone and everything seems effortless. Other games, no matter how hard you try, (and sometimes, the harder you try the more it unravels) everything is out of sync and nothing comes together.

I started to get MissD to name what was going on for her in both circumstances; what each looks and feels like. “Confidence†to her looks like a happy, sarcastic place with people counting on her. Conversely, “out of sync†looks angry and desperate with people down on her. What is starting to look like it works for her…. To move from one mood/response to another one… Is to get sarcastic and silly with herself for on-ice mistakes. (This may only work for people who have had the great misfortune of having lived with me LOL). For whatever combination of reasons, this lightens her load and she starts to get in the zone.

To paraphrase what Chk Hrd said... you need to learn how to turn off the part of your brain that is the critic and secondguesser and get into the game.

[odp 0]

Take it from AI. :lol:

"If I can't practice, I can't practice. It is as simple as that. It ain't about that at all. It's easy to sum it up if you're just talking about practice. We're sitting here, and I'm supposed to be the franchise player, and we're talking about practice. I mean listen, we're sitting here talking about practice, not a game, not a game, not a game, but we're talking about practice. Not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game last it's my last but we're talking about practice man. How silly is that?

Now I know that I'm supposed to lead by example and all that but I'm not shoving that aside like it don't mean anything. I know it's important, I honestly do but we're talking about practice. We're talking about practice man. (laughter from the media crowd) We're talking about practice. We're talking about practice. We're not talking about the game. We're talking about practice. When you come to the arena, and you see me play, you've seen me play right, you've seen me give everything I've got, but we're talking about practice right now. (more laughter)"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUYjD7A75HQ

[Maka 0]

Now how the hell am I supposed to make my teammates better by practice?

[saveourpens 0]

Thanks for all the tips guys! Every scrimmage, even the one my team had today, people are telling me, and sometimes screaming why the hell I can't do that in a game. Seasons over but We have a tournament coming up, so I'll keep all of this in mind.