Checking In & Developing a Mantra with Gabe Zelico (Sport Psychology Coach)

Hello! Welcome to the Monkey Mind Newsletter where we provide you with the tools to be a more successful and resilient athlete and human. 

CONTRIBUTOR
Gabe Zelico (Sport Psychology Coach)

I’m Gabe Zelico, a sport psychology coach. I’ve been playing hockey for over 20 years, mainly as a goalie. Something unique about me is the hand I was born with, a condition called symbrachydactyly. Essentially, I have one short finger I can move on my right hand, and another short one that I can’t move. Makes hockey a bit difficult! 

I’ve always had a physical disadvantage; studying the field of sport psychology allowed me to gain a psychological advantage. As I started to play for my college team at California State University, Fullerton, my anxiety was through the roof! Fortunately, I was just starting to dive into sport psychology for my Master’s degree, and I applied everything I was learning. It came up big when I faced 100 shots on goal, which I talk about in this 10 minute interview on the NHL Network: https://www.nhl.com/video/zelico-on-facing-100-shots-326885440

Sport psychology training is a fun, unique process that I love coaching athletes through. Below are a few ways to connect with me:

Website: www.zelicoperformance.com. 
Schedule a free introductory call to tell me about you or your team’s mental obstacles, goals, and see if sport psychology training is right for you: https://zelicoperformance.as.me/free-introductory-call

Podcast: The Sport Psychology Of. 
Instagram: @zelico_performance. 
Featured: Different pro athletes advocating for sport psychology training - https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18255976417126075/
Featured: An episode all about how meditation improves athletic performance, featuring the mental performance coach for the Chicago Blackhawks, Dr. Pete Kadushin.

TOPIC
Checking In & Developing a Mantra

Many hockey players talk about the importance of that first shift - starting on time. Sometimes the confidence (or self-doubt) a player feels after their first shift or two determines the quality of their game.

Although this is a problematic mindset (you can still have a great game despite a lousy start), there’s some truth to it. Oftentimes, your best game starts with an excellent shift as you ride that high into subsequent shifts. Whether it’s scoring, making a big save early, or simply feeling like you have your skating legs, this article will go through ways to start on time with confidence more often so you can be a more consistent player.

Without being aware of thoughts bringing down your mental game, you’re not in a position to take action. Applying sport psychology doesn’t happen without awareness. So, it’s important to flex your awareness muscle in order to catch ineffective thoughts as they come up. How can you do this? By consistently checking in with your thoughts.

It’s a simple process. It starts with asking yourself a question, something like, “How am I doing right now?” 

Your answer might be along the lines of “I’m good!” If so, then great - keep doing what you’re doing.

Other times, you might say something like “I’m really nervous” or “This is just not my game.” Good thing you caught yourself thinking ineffectively. Now, you can do something about it.

MENTAL PERFORMANCE TOOL
How to Develop a Mantra

The first time I was ever exposed to sport psychology was watching Braden Holtby, Stanley Cup-winning goaltender for the Washington Capitals. I was at a Kings game sitting pretty close to the goalie’s crease. When Holtby had a break from play in between whistles, he turned around and squirted his water bottle up into the air, creating a stream of droplets. He’d concentrate on it until it hit the glass, then take a sip from his bottle. He did this every. single. time. I was so confused! I researched him a bit more when I got home to find out he was one of the first public advocates of sport psychology in the NHL. 

Within his toolkit was a mantra. A mantra is a word or phrase that anchors your attention to something, like body mechanics, confident boosting thoughts, or the present moment. Here is what Holtby used to anchor his thoughts to the present moment:

• There is no future, there is no past. Only the present, and I’m going to make it last.

Let’s talk about how the brain works and why a mantra is important. 

The brain is incredibly distractible. If I told you to focus on one thought for 5 minutes to save your life, you would fail. Everyone would fail! The brain is a thought generator. When the pressure is on, many of these thoughts revolve around negativity as a result of your mind wanting to protect yourself from threats like failure, embarrassment, etc. 

With that in mind, it’s important to have a reliable tool to constantly refocus your thoughts on something more productive.

Here are 3 different ways you can refocus your thoughts effectively.

The present moment

• This is what Holtby was doing. Breaks in play give your mind a chance to think about what isn’t going well and what to be worried about. Whether or not Holtby repeated his mantra in between plays or throughout the game is irrelevant; you’ll discover what works best for you as you practice. His mantra anchored him to the present moment, sending his brain the message, “I only have the present moment, focus on that” which keeps his mind from putting the spotlight of his attention on the future, where anxiety thrives. 

Instructions on how to perform

• Self-doubt, as it’s aptly named, arises when you doubt your abilities to compete up to your standards. Directly counter self-doubt by reminding yourself of pointers that lead to better performance. Keep this brief. Don’t flood your brain with too much to think about, otherwise you might overwhelm yourself. Keep it to 1-3 pointers. For example, keep your head up, drive into the ice, and communicate. Even if you only remember to focus on one or two of them for your next shift, you’re filling your brain with quality thoughts that lead to better performances. Not thoughts that bring your mental game down.

Confidence boosting thoughts

• Prior successes: think about, in some detail, a recent time you played great. It might’ve been a game last season, or a great shift from pickup over the weekend. This fills your brain with more optimism, less negativity, and you’ll hopefully remember something about that time to replicate in the moment.

• Modeling others: a powerful confidence booster is thinking about what someone else, who you look up to, would do. Whether it’s Connor McDavid or the best player on your team, ask yourself how they would handle the moment you’re in right now. You’re not going to suddenly have the burst of speed that McDavid does, but it can help improve your speed nonetheless. Changing your perspective can work wonders; this is one way to do it.

• Feedback: what do you need to hear and focus on to improve your performance, and ultimately, confidence? Feedback can be external (a coach telling you what went well and what to work on) or internal (you recognize what is going well and what needs to change). Feedback helps players feel confident with a plan to execute, as opposed to not having any direction. Don't wait for a coach or teammate to give you feedback - initiate this process yourself.

To read more about checking in to train awareness despite pressure, click here to read a blog post I wrote, with specifics of when to use this tool. You can also read more blog articles I’ve written - here’s one about Jack Eichel overcoming the massive mental obstacle of embarrassment in front of his former fans…only to end the game with a hat trick.

Feel free to email me with your thoughts on this article and starting your games on time!

Contact: [email protected] 

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