Have you ever found yourself being angry after your team wins because you didn’t get as much ice time as you wanted?

You know you should be excited that your team won, but you are mad that you didn’t get the chance to contribute as much as everyone else. How do you win gracefully when you are glued to the bench when it counts?

I could see this “winning anger” in some of the Team Ontario players’ eyes when they came off the ice last night. Even though they just helped their team with the National Championship, they were mad they didn’t get to play as much as everyone else. I totally know how they were feeling – I have been in that position more than a few times. Your team wins a huge game, a big tournament or even a major championship and you know that you should be happy. But there is just something that doesn’t feel quite right about celebrating when you are a spectator from the bench and the rest of your team is doing all the hard work to win.

You know that you helped the team get to that point – whether you played 20 shifts or only got 3. You know that there is no “I” in team and you should be genuinely happy for your teammates and yourself for winning the big game. But sometimes winning the national championships sucks when you are a bench warmer instead of a go-to player.

You don’t always get to choose the role that you play on the team, but you do get to choose how you play it. You may not get the chance to be the hero, but that doesn’t mean that you stop being a great teammate. It is really hard to cheer on your teammates when inside your head all you are thinking is, “Why isn’t the coach putting me out there? What did I do wrong? Why is she getting to go out on the ice instead of me?”

Coaches know that every player wants to be out on the ice when it really counts. And while you have every right to be angry, you have to do everything in your power not to show it. Do you think that a coach is going to want to put you out on the ice during the last two minutes of the next game if you aren’t supporting your teammates now?

You have to “fake it until you make it”. Cheer for your teammates. You don’t have to become the world’s greatest cheerleader on the bench, but you do need to be happy that your team won – even if it isn’t completely genuine at the time. Because if you want to be the hero for the team the next time around, you’ve got to be a great teammate this time around.

How do you stay positive and happy on the outside when your lack of playing time is eating you up on the inside?

Share your tips for how to “fake it until you make it” below.