What a Team Mental Game Training Program might look like - Junior Hockey News

Team Mental Game Training Program

I was asked by someone on here (juniourhockey.com) to explain what a program might look like if they were to bring me in or another sport psychology consultant to work with their team. They viewed my website http://www.TheMental-Game/Hockey from my last post and then started asking some good questions regarding expectations. During our conversation it was clear that a discussion regarding a team using a mental training person, not necessarily me (though of course that is your best choice) was in order. So what I want to do is open up a discussion about what a team should expect in working with a sport psychology consultant. Number one is increased performance. Winning is a team effort and mental training can help there as part of the team.

1) Education comes first. Helping players and coaches understand the process of mental training will go a long way to getting teams focused and to understand the importance of MT. This goes along with various dry land training methods like speed training, weight lifting, core work etc.

2) Goal Setting as a team and individual

3) Team sessions focused on team needs. Incorporating MT into practice and play.

4) Integrating individual needs. Some layers need to learn to be more aggressive while some may need to control anger.

5) Learning to deal with pressure, understand stress and move past anxiety.

6) Staying focused during games and practice

7) Increasing self awareness

8) Learning how to utilize emotional intelligence

9) Using Imagery to improve performance

10) Building confidence from the inside out

11) Team Building and Cohesion. Creating chemistry.

12) Motivation- when you need to dig deeper

This is by no means a comprehensive program, just some off the cuff remarks and part of what I discussed with the Junior Hockey.com reader who asked. I've laid out a basic six session workshop for ice hockey teams. This of course can be tailored to meet the team's individual needs with exercised designed for team bonding and additional individual needs.

This isdevotedto helping hockey players and coaches reach their potential. It will also teach players to enjoy the game more. I want to help players use their passion for ice hockey.

So it should be no surprise that the psychology of hockey is an area I have focused on for years. I've worked with professionals, college and youth players on the mental game.

My approach as always is on both thecognitiveandunconsciouslevel, it revolves around what you say to yourself while playing hockey. It's a solid approach. I augment cognitivebehavioraltherapy with hypnosis and otherprotocols. My focus is often on increasing self awareness through emotional intelligence and helping players understand theirunconsciousmind and the role it plays in success or failure on the ice.

I use recorded mp3s of relaxation / imagery sessions to reinforce what we work on and they are available to the players.

If finances allow I do an ESI- Emotional Intelligence Assessment of individual players and coaches. This gives individuals, coaches and myself a valuable report to help players grow. Teams can also opt to have individual sessions to help players go beyond self imposed limitations.

With technology comes innovation. I can do this entire program via SKYPE. Once teams had to incur the expenses of bringing me or someone else in from out of the area; we can now use our computers to link us together. Sure working hand and hand with the team has advantages, but it also has costs. Programs can be run a few ways. We can do season long programs, six week programs as outlined below or we can do the same program over a long weekend. The long weekend is a great way to integrate mental training into a program. The long weekend program works better with the sport psychology consultant in house, but the expenses are limited to 3 or 4 days rather than a season.

I've not talked about costs and it was never my intention of making this a commercial. I simply want to give some structure to what the bare bones of a program could look like to a team. This gives teams some basics to use when assessing other program offers. Most programs will differ in presentation and may focus more in other areas, but this is a comprehensive program.

I of course believe that mental training is important and worth of your investment. Remember Yogi Berra has been misquoted to have said (ok he's a baseball guy so what does he know), 90 percent of sports performance is mental, and the other 50 percent is physical. Whatever you want to label the mental part of sports I can tell you I have rarely come across an athlete that didn't confirm that their best and worst performances were all based on their mental game. I know that sport psychology can help athletes and teams play to their potential. It's all about skills and metal game skills are a huge part of the game. Incorporate them into your season plans. Be glad you did. Please post other questions of contact me in the usual way The Mental-Game

Hockey Team Training Workshop. The Game within the Game- Mental Training for Hockey
	Session	Session	Session	Session	Session	Session
	1	2	3	4	5	6
Date	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Focus	INDIVIDUAL	INDIVIDUAL	TEAM	TEAM	TEAM	TEAM
Tactics	OFFENSE	DEFENSE	OFFENSE	DEFENSE	TEAM	TEAM
EQ	Self Awareness	Self-Reliance	Achievement Drive	Resilience	Flexibility	Strengths
EQ	Self-Confidence	Self-Control	Competitiveness	Focus	Optimism	Weakness
Mental Preparation	Pre-Practice   Routines	Mental Toughness	Pre-Competition Routine	Between events	Competition Routines	Post Competition Routines
	AMP- Motivation	Goal Setting	Finding the Fury	Failure	Killer Instinct	Concentration
	Timelines- Being here, Now	Dealing with FEAR	Outcome vs Process	The Act of Competing	Self Talk	Peak Experience
Skills	Relaxation	Stress Management	Imagery Rehearsal	Coping Skills	Imagery Rehearsal	Putting it all together
Questions	Answers	Answers	Answers	Answers	Answers	Answers