By Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS

Players who aspire to play at the highest level of hockey “get it.” They put in the hard work on and off the ice to gain an edge on the competition. But once the season starts, most players just do what is asked of them by their coaches, instead of going the extra mile. Many of them will not get the pay-off they deserve once they hit the ice in the fall because of self-sabotage. So here are three of the most common ways players sabotage their season.

1. Not setting goals:

The majority of players do not set specific goals when it comes to their on-ice performance. Saying that you are going to “work hard” and “push yourself” is fine, but what exactly do you want to achieve between now and your next game? How are you going to perform your best for all three periods?

You have to be specific about what you are going to do today, this week and in the next eight weeks to move you closer to your hockey dreams.

2. Not taking time off:

I was one of those players and I really felt as though I was gaining a huge mental and physical edge by training on and off the ice every single day. But nagging soreness turned into minor injuries which turned into chronic pain and an entire career filled with frustration.

You get better when you rest – your body needs to recuperate and recover between ice sessions and off-ice workouts so that you can improve upon your past performances. You need to have at least one day off per week in order to keep yourself performing at your optimal level.

Listen to your body and if you feel like you got run over by the Zamboni when you get up in the morning, maybe it’s time to take the day off.

3. Not eating well:

A good friend of mine always says, “You can’t out-train a bad diet.” And he is 100 percent right.

If you are doing all the right things in your training on and off the ice, but eating all of the wrong things the rest of the time, you will not be rewarded for all your hard work. This is not about losing weight or packing on muscle, this is about fueling your body so that you can perform your best.

We all know that eating a whole pizza one hour before training is a bad idea, but eating that same pizza after a hard workout isn’t much better. The general rule of thumb is to eat for what you are doing next. If you have a hard workout in three hours, make sure to eat a balanced meal that will give you enough energy to excel.

If it’s 9 o’clock at night and what you are doing next is going to sleep, you won’t be using up the energy you take in from that large pizza. Performance nutrition doesn’t have to be complicated, but you do need to have a plan.

You can work really hard on and off the ice this season and only see minimal results if you sabotage your efforts. Stay focused on your goals and listen to your body and you’ll be well on your way to having your best season ever.

To discover exactly what you need to do to become the best player possible, visit: http://www.totalfemalehockey.com. Coach Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS, is an expert in the development of aspiring female hockey players. She is the Girls Hockey Director at the PEAC School for Elite Athletes in Toronto and the Founder of Total Female Hockey. You can get complete access to Kim’s articles, videos, interviews and advice on how to take your game to the next level at totalfemalehockeyclub.com.

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