E3 - NO MATTER WHAT,SUSTAIN YOUR FOCUS

Everything stands at 0;

The referee acknowledge everything is settled for the match;

The time clock shows 20:00;

And you are focused on the first action of the opponent.

As you have experienced, your focus gets harder to stick around as you see the game advance. You may be thinking about the potential outcome of the game or what might happen in the next minute. Still, your mental attention should remain on your initial objective. Despite the goals, the saves, and the chance for and against, you must maintain your resilience to your mental attention.

Your mind may wander in every way you could think of; it will remind you of the worst-case scenario, especially in high-stake situations. You may even have thoughts about what others might be thinking, how they feel about your performance, and how you are not performing to others’ expectations. You are losing focus on what is essential, the game itself.

You are vulnerable to failure only when your focus is not on the puck. You may be winning the game despite your mental attention not being on point, but that does not mean you won; you should take the warning and get your focus in-check.

By sustaining your focus on what you can control (your movement to make the save), you will go through control and comfort with whatever the scoreboard shows. It is a great quality to control one’s mind.

A part of sustaining your focus is about recognizing these toxic beliefs and acting on them by changing the dialogue in your mind. These thoughts prompt your mind to drift off to an undesirable mindset, reminding you to refocus on what is essential in the now.

You may know that your team is losing by five goals in the third period or winning by three, but that does not change anything. Your teammates may be underperforming, or your coaches may get emotional, but that does not change anything. A great goaltender sticks to their objective, whatever the situation. If you can sustain your focus and keep a number from changing, you will know then that is a good sign of adaptability.

No matter if you are playing with a lead, if you let goals early in the game, or if you are not being called on for saves, your focus should always remain, no matter what.

The clock is ticking

You acknowledge the last minute of the game going through its final seconds. In a losing situation, you may be on the bench watching your team trying to pull an unrealistic comeback.

In a winning scenario (the best place to be), you have more responsibility to act: you have to stop a potential comeback from the other team. These last moments are mostly filled with chaos, scoring chances and mental effort to keep yourself in check.

Your body may be prone to feel early excitement in this winning situation. It comes without control and surges your body with joy, pride and delight. These are anticipatory emotions to your great work. Yet, the final seconds must be played with the exemplary focus you showed throughout the game.

Despite these aroused emotions, work and focus still need to be done. Your mental attention remains the same priority as the start of the game, regardless of the fans and your teammates' eagerness. Holding off this excitement and staying focused on the shot is a mental skill to be learned and trained. Although you are conscious about winning this game, you don't let go of your objective and keep focusing on the action around you.

That feeling may be present occasionally, you will undoubtedly feel an early excitement (if you haven't already experienced it), and it becomes further expressed when you are in crucial time (high-pressure games).

Winning can be a trap, even if it is positive; it is only about getting the feeling related to winning at the right moment and not while the game is underway. It is about training your body and mind to hold off this arousal until the game ends, and you can entirely celebrate then. Again, it is about sustaining your focus no matter what.