- Passion– You don’t want to play Hockey just for the sake of playing hockey or because your friends do it or because you just want to win. You want to play Hockey because you love it and you’re passionate about it. If you truly love playing hockey, then it’s not going to seem like work for you, it’s going to be enjoyable.
- Courage– Sidney Crosby said “If you’re not nervous you’re probably not human.” Having courage isn’t about not being afraid it’s about how you respond to fear or nerves. Having courage helps you feel comfortable taking risks, which is not always the easiest thing to do because sometimes taking risks leads to failures which can cause criticism and self-doubt. But courageous athletes don’t mind the risk of failure, instead, they take risks anyway and try everything they can to make sure that risk is going to lead to success. Just remember to have courage to take those risks or play as hard as you can in that championship game and remember “only one thing [in life] is ever guaranteed, that is you will definitely not achieve the goal if you don’t take the shot”, Wayne Gretzky.
- Vision– This means that you literally have the vision of what you want for the future and how you plan on getting there. You’re able to create a long-term goal for yourself, and then set smaller goals to help you work your way up to the long-term goal. Also, literally using visualization is a great tool to help with this. A lot of the Olympic athletes use visualization right before they compete and it helps them get focused. Mohammed Ali, the infamous boxer, has a quote saying, “Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something deep inside of them: a desire, a dream, a vision.” And he’s right, having the vision for what you want in the future is going to help you develop the mindset you need to make that vision a reality.
- Resilient– Resilience means that you are able to bounce back after a mistake, or setback, or adversity. And a setback could be something as small as a missing a serve or something big like playing a whole season and not winning a single game. But being resilient means that you’ll still be able to succeed after you’ve experienced those setbacks. A good way to put this one is to think about the old Japanese Proverb that says, “Fall seven times and stand up eight.” It literally means even if you face a challenge, don’t let it stop you. And even if you overcome that challenge and then face a new one, don’t let that stop you either. As MLL player Ned Crotty advised “Don’t dwell on mistakes because it will only cause more.” There will always be setbacks and we need to be ready to face them head-on.
- Confident- To stay confidence in yourself, just focus on all the good things about you and your abilities. If you dwell on past mistakes or shortcomings, then you won’t feel confidence in yourself. Instead, focus on the positive things. Stan Smith, a professional tennis player, says, “Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it.” And that’s very true. You could put in countless of hours in practice and training and know all the skills you need to succeed, but if you aren’t confident in your skills and abilities, then it’s not going to mean as much and you might not be as successful. Always be confident about your skills and in you ability to improve.