Pre-Game Jitters – Normal For Junior Hockey Coaches

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By M. R. Overbury

Relieve pregame stress:

Parents feel a huge amount of stress when their children compete-often more stress than the child. While transporting their kids to the game, some of that stress assuredly has been absorbed by your junior team members because kids are in tune with how their parents feel and are highly intuitive. Part of coaching a junior hockey team is dealing with this.

These techniques are appropriate for pretty much any aged children and will set you apart from the average junior hockey coach out there. Five and six year olds can be introduced to these ideas and as they help children succeed not just on the ice, but in many other areas of their lives which is what being a Great junior hockey coach is all about!

When kids (and adults for that matter) are experiencing pre-game anxiety, they’re worrying about results.

As a junior hockey coach you need to modify the focus to the present and get everyone doing the best they can.

Do this and you’ll see improvement in performance. Here’s how:

Teach the kids to focus on what they have control over. You can’t control how other people react or what other people say and do. You control your thoughts, your emotions and your performance. Focus here and you’ll see a positive change. Every time you have a negative thought enter your head, let it go. Then you might have to go and get the positive thought and keep it there!

Butterflies. The whole butterfly feeling you get before the game is good. It’s your body preparing for the competition ahead. Embrace the butterfly feeling. It’s your body telling you it’s ready to compete.

In The Zone. Getting In The Zone is really staying focused for an extended time. Staying in the zone improves alertness, performance and relieves anxiety.

Visualize. Nothing weird! People seem to have an obstacle when it comes to visualization because they don’t think it’s ‘normal.’ Get over it and practice. The best athletes in the world use this technique extensively: Crosby, Ovechkin, Woods, and Williams. If it’s part of what makes these stars great….it’s good for you and your team–start today. Offering kids the opportunity to learn what the best athletes in the world do is part of your job as a junior hockey coach. This can translate into every other area of these children’s lives and will have a positive effect.

Just think about what it’s like to be winning, succeeding or scoring. Even a short duration of visualization–and it doesn’t have to involve pyramids or anything, can help calm nerves. Before the game: it should be as simple as ‘close your eyes, feel what it’s like to win, breath in 1,2,3,4,5 hold; breath out 1,2,3,4,5,6. Do that for 2 minutes before the game/practice what have you and you’ll calm nerves and create immediate focus.

During the game: kids should be introduced to the idea of some kind of ‘centering technique’–some thing to ground them when they feel overwhelmed, overexcited or maybe just bummed out during a game. I recommend something simple like a quick thought so they can do it right while they’re shooting: "focus" "lambasta!"or "centre" or something short and sweet that has meaning for them.

Play hard, play fair, compete when the game is on and have fun.

M.R. Overbury is passionate about hockey, kids and having fun. His blog is http://www.juniorhockeycoach.org.

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