“I’d probably say 90% of [hockey] is mental.” -Philadelphia Flyers prospect Carter Hart¹ Carter Hart is the top goaltender in the Canadian Hockey League- earning this title the past two seasons he has played in the league. He is also the top goalie prospect for the Philadelphia Flyers, being called the future cornerstone of the franchise. Not only is he talented as a goalie because of his reflexes and hockey ability, but also because of how strong he is mentally. Like most athletes aspiring to make it to elite levels of their sport, Hart has worked with trainers and goalie coaches since he was 10 years old. What separates him from other athletes and hockey goalies is that he has worked with a sport psychologist since he was young. Hart says that working with a sport psychologist has made him more focused, confident, and calm in the nets- lending to his athletic ability and making him an overall better and mature player. Hart considers the mental s...

Who am I? Answering this question isn’t always easy for we all have numerous roles that identify who we are as individuals. Whether that means you are a sister, brother, teacher, dancer, or friend, the roles that you fulfill encompass the way you interact with the world and how you portray yourself to others. Think for a second about the way that you introduce yourself to a stranger. Most people will begin with their name and follow it with what/whom they are associated with. For example, you will frequently hear an athlete say something to the effect of “I am a swimmer.” Or “I am on the hockey team.” This tells others that they value their identity as an athlete and want to be recognized as one. (Symes, 2010) Pride in one’s identity as an athlete is understandable and should be encouraged.  Athletes are typically healthy individuals who value teamwork and determination, traits that are valued in our society. The danger, though, occurs when there is too much assoc...

I’m sure that we have all experienced a time when we didn’t want to follow through with a task at hand. Either we got bored, felt like the task was too difficult to complete, became burnt out, or couldn’t see the benefits that would arise upon completion. Whatever the reason may be, we’ve been there. The good news is that there are various approaches that can be taken to fix this problem, one of them being, “keeping your eyes on the prize.” Everything that we do is done for a reason. For example, baseball players both young and old are required to go to batting practice. It has become part of their pregame routine to take dozens of extra swings in preparation for competition. The purpose, as told by the Oakland hitting coach Chili Davis, is that “batting practice is a time to create and foster good habits. The guys who do it and do it right are the ones who are more successful.” (Caple, 2014) The same thing goes for volleyball players. “A setter will come close to ...