This “paralysis by analysis” is extremely common in girls hockey players. I always struggled with as a young player – my mind was always going a million miles an hour once I touched the puck, but my feet would stop moving entirely. I once read this great quote, “If your head ain’t helping, don’t use it.” A great idea in theory, but I still always had trouble turning my brain off and just playing.

The problem with thinking too much out on the ice is that instead of focusing on the one play you NEED to make at the very moment you touch the puck, you are distracted by 15 other possible moves that you COULD make. Most of the time, that first play you thought of is the right one. So how do we fix this problem that plagues so many girls hockey players?

You need to have a solitary focus on EXACTLY what you want to do next. You have to take a quick look just before the puck gets to you and know exactly what your options are going to be once you receive it. By knowing what your exact goal is in that moment, you eliminate the need to over-analyze.

You need to be like a lion going after his (or her) prey. He’s not thinking about it, he is jumping on it. Deep analysis of the game and all the options that can happen when you’ve got the puck is great to do off the ice, when you are developing your goals and strategies and getting yourself ready for an event. But once you hit the ice, you want to be running on auto-pilot.

It is definitely easier said than done, but that should be the goal for every girls hockey player. Turn off your natural tendency to over-analyze and just let the game come to you.

Do you ever feel like the puck comes to you and you have so many ideas running through your head of what you want to do with it, but you aren’t sure what is the right choice to make and by the time you’ve thought through it all, the puck is gone anyways?

What strategies do you use to clear your mind and yet stay focused on the task at hand?

Share your tips and strategies in the comment section below.

~ Coach Kim