Change your mindset. Change your game.
Last email, I warned you that August was coming to an end and September was fast approaching.
Well…
Lo and behold, here we are.
September.
That mysterious month for hockey players.
The month of uncertainty.
Training camps.
Rookie camps.
Tryouts.
Captain’s practices.
New coaches.
New teammates.
New opportunities.
And the beginning of something every hockey player should be excited about:
A new season.
A new chance.
A new chance to make your dreams come true.
A new chance to take all those visions you had back in June and July and start turning them into reality.
A chance to finally prove what all those summer workouts were for.
The conditioning.
The early mornings.
The stickhandling sessions.
The strength training.
The shooting.
The skating.
Now you get to find out what all that work created.
And whether you’re heading into a professional training camp, junior tryouts, college practices, high school hockey, or youth hockey, I want to give you three mentalities to carry with you into this new season.
1. NO ONE WILL WORK HARDER THAN ME TODAY.
Tell yourself that.
Literally.
As you’re driving to the rink:
No one will work harder than me today.
When you’re walking through the doors:
No one will work harder than me today.
When you’re tying your skates:
No one will work harder than me today.
And when you step onto the ice:
No one will work harder than me today.
But here’s the important part.
You can't just say it.
You have to prove it.
Be first in line.
Finish every drill.
Backcheck all the way.
Battle for the loose puck.
Take the extra rep.
When everyone else starts getting tired, find another gear.
There is something powerful about deciding who you are going to be before the competition even begins.
Make the decision.
Then go become that person.
2. I'M GOING TO BE EXCELLENT TODAY.
When you wake up:
I'm going to be excellent today.
Before practice:
I'm going to be excellent today.
Standing in line waiting for the next drill:
I'm going to be excellent today.
Why?
Because hockey players know how quickly the opposite thoughts can creep in.
What if I mess up?
What if I don't make the team?
What if the coach doesn't like me?
What if I'm not good enough?
Doubt.
Insecurity.
Anxiety.
Those feelings are normal.
This is an intense game.
There are jobs on the line.
Roster spots on the line.
Dreams on the line.
Of course you're going to feel pressure.
But you don't have to let those thoughts control you.
Replace them.
When your brain says:
What if I screw this up?
Answer it:
I'm going to be excellent today.
Don't worry about being excellent next month.
Don't worry about making the team next week.
Don't worry about where you're going to be at the end of the season.
Be excellent today.
Then wake up tomorrow and do it again.
3. EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO ME IS GOOD.
This one can completely change the way you approach a hockey season.
Have a great tryout?
Good.
What worked?
Was it your preparation?
Your sleep?
Your nutrition?
Your hydration?
Your confidence?
Figure it out and repeat it.
Have a terrible tryout?
Good.
What happened?
Were you tired?
Nervous?
Unprepared?
Did you let one bad play ruin the rest of your skate?
Figure it out.
Learn the lesson.
Then move on.
Win?
Good.
What helped your team win?
Lose?
Good.
What did the loss expose that you need to improve?
Get promoted to a bigger role?
Good.
Take advantage of it.
Get knocked down the lineup?
Good.
Now you've got something to prove.
That doesn't mean every experience will feel good.
It means you're going to make every experience useful.
That's a huge difference.
Instead of wasting energy feeling sorry for yourself, you ask:
What can this teach me?
Then you go back to mentality number two:
I'm going to be excellent today.
And mentality number one:
No one will work harder than me today.
That's how you respond.
That's how you grow.
That's how you separate yourself.
And that's what September is all about.
This is when the herd starts separating.
This is when all that summer preparation gets tested.
This is when you establish who you're going to be this season.
So go get after it.
And remember—the players who separate themselves usually aren't just doing what everyone else is doing.
They go the extra mile.
Practice ends?
Your development doesn't have to.
Take another 10 or 15 minutes and work on your hands.
Get your head up.
Use your peripheral vision.
Feel the puck instead of staring at it.
Train yourself to know where that puck is while still seeing the ice around you.
That's exactly where the Wraparound + Puckaround training combo comes in.
The Wraparound protects your stick while you're training off the ice, and the Puckaround is designed to give you the feel of a real puck on off-ice surfaces.
So whether you're in the garage, driveway, basement, or outside the locker room after practice, you can keep stacking touches.
Ten minutes doesn't sound like much.
But ten minutes today.
Ten tomorrow.
Ten the next day.
Do that all season and suddenly you've accumulated thousands and thousands of touches that the player next to you didn't get.
And when you're flying down the ice with your head up, seeing the play develop while the puck feels like it's attached to your stick…
That's when those extra reps start paying you back.
[Get the Wraparound + Puckaround Combo and start stacking your extra reps →]
September is here.
A new season is here.
Set the tone.
No one will work harder than me today.
I'm going to be excellent today.
Everything that happens to me is good.
Now go prove it.
Knuckles up,
Bobby Robins, ex hockey pro, imparting wisdom on a new generation of hockey players...now go make it happen!