It speaks life or death.
If you go on YouTube and watch some of my old hockey highlights, you're going to see a blacked-out version of me.
Cursing like a sailor.
Dropping F-bombs.
Chirping guys.
Going absolutely full-lunatic-banana-style out there on the ice.
That was part of the persona I built.
Because I played in the war zones.
Checking.
Fighting.
Getting to the front of the net.
Protecting my teammates.
Doing the dirty work.
And for me, part of playing that role involved using my mouth.
A LOT.
But if I could go back now, knowing what I know today, there are some things I would do differently.
Because I've come to realize something:
Words are powerful.
There's an old proverb that says:
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue."
Think about that.
Life.
Or death.
Now, I'm not talking about literally killing somebody with your words.
I'm talking about what your words can produce.
You can speak life into your teammates.
You can speak life into yourself.
Or...
You can speak negativity.
Doubt.
Defeat.
Death.
And sometimes we don't even realize we're doing it.
Hockey is funny when it comes to language.
Someone makes an unbelievable move and we say:
"That was FILTHY!"
Someone scores an incredible goal:
"NASTY!"
Someone has unbelievable hands:
"Those mitts are SICK!"
Maybe I'm geeking out here a little bit.
But hey, I was an English/Writing major. Words have always fascinated me.
And hockey has this strange inversion where we take words that normally mean something negative and use them to describe something incredible.
Now listen...
I'm not telling you that you can never call a goal filthy again.
That would be ridiculous.
But I am asking you to start paying attention to the words you use about something much more important:
Yourself.
You screw up a drill.
"I suck."
You miss a scoring chance.
"I'm terrible."
You have a bad game.
"I played like garbage."
You get moved down a line.
"Coach doesn't believe in me."
Say those things enough and what do you think starts happening inside your mind?
So let's change the language.
You have a bad game?
Instead of:
"I suck."
Try:
"I learned some lessons today. I'm going to use them, get better and bring it tomorrow."
Feel the difference?
Because now something powerful happens.
A bad game doesn't destroy you.
A mistake doesn't define you.
A failure doesn't become your identity.
It becomes information.
You learn.
You adjust.
You move forward.
And if you can develop that mentality, you become incredibly difficult to break.
Play great?
Learn and move forward.
Play poorly?
Learn and move forward.
Win?
Learn and move forward.
Lose?
Learn and move forward.
Everything gets turned toward growth.
So as we head into another hockey weekend, I want you to try something.
Listen to yourself.
Pay attention to the things you say when you mess up.
Pay attention to the conversation happening inside your own head.
And maybe even more importantly...
Listen to how you talk to your teammates.
Build them up.
Encourage them.
Guy misses an open net?
Pick him up.
Teammate makes a mistake?
Tell him he's got the next one.
Goalie lets in a soft goal?
Skate over and remind him you're going to get it back.
Speak life.
Because you never know when five words from you are exactly what a teammate needs to hear.
Your voice matters.
Your words matter.
So use them wisely.
And keep moving forward toward your hockey destiny.
Knuckles up,
Bobby Robins, savage motivator, ex Boston Bruin, writer for Wraparound
P.S. There's another side to this.
Eventually, you've got to do more than talk.
A lot of hockey players say they want to get better.
They say they want better hands.
They say they want to make the team.
They say they're going to work harder.
Okay.
Walk the walk.
That's where the Wraparound + Puckaround Combo comes in.
Protect your stick with the Wraparound, grab your Puckaround, get outside or into the garage and start stacking puck touches.
Ten extra minutes today.
Ten more tomorrow.
Then do it again.
Because your words can point you in the right direction...
But your work has to take you there.
👉 Grab the Wraparound + Puckaround Combo and put your words into action today.
Talk less.
Train more.
Get better.
Let's go.