Stanley Cup playoffs
Fake It Until You Make It
Now Tim Thomas can tell the truth. Now that’s he has led the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup, and now that he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP, he can admit it: he was petrified.
But he never let it show. He used a technique that everyone can use. He Acted As [...]
What Failure Says About You
Marge Schott, former owner of the Cincinnati Reds, once fired some of her scouts, famously saying that “all they do is watch baseball games.”
Yes, and once they watch those games, they must answer this question: Which young players have the best chance of becoming a big-league star? It’s a tricky question in which scouts are [...]
Where Do Unlikely Heroes Come From?
Beware the player who performs best when either far behind or far ahead.
Someone gave me that advice years ago, and it comes to mind as the season unfolds for New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk.
A high-scoring winger acquired last year, Kovalchuk thrived when his team seemed to be out of contention. Then, with his help, [...]
Studying the Brain
Here comes the next frontier in training.
It’s the brain. Evidence suggests that an athlete’s gray matter is fundamentally different from another person’s. And if this is the case, then the brain — more than ever — controls all three aspects of performance: physical, mental and emotional.
In the April issue of Discover magazine, author Carl Zimmer [...]
The Zone
This time of year brings to mind one of my favorite stories from my days of covering pro hockey.
The New York Islanders were deep into the playoffs, and one of their top players, Bryan Trottier, was being interviewed after a victory.
Someone asked Trottier how he felt about the way things were going.
“Scared,” he said.
“Scared?” the [...]
Learning How to Win
“Forget perfect on the first try. In the face of frustration, your best tool is a few deep breaths, and remembering that you can do anything once you’ve practiced two hundred times. Seriously.” — Andrea Buchanan, author, the Daring Book for Girls
Do you have to lose in order to learn how to win?
That’s what the [...]
Creating a Team Culture
“A group becomes a team when each member is sure enough of himself and his contribution to praise the skill of the others.” - Norman S. Hidle
What makes the difference between one successful season …and a successful program?
The answer is culture. What are the shared values in your locker room? The standards? Is the team unified [...]
One Moment at a Time
How do you win a seven-game series?
The obvious answer, of course, is to win four games before your opponent does.
But doing that is tricky. Winning a playoff series is a psychological minefield in which each team must fight the temptation to put the math ahead of the moment.
“It’s all about staying in the moment, and [...]
One Moment at a Time
How do you win a seven-game series?
The obvious answer, of course, is to win four games before your opponent does.
But doing that is tricky. Winning a playoff series is a psychological minefield in which each team must fight the temptation to put the math ahead of the moment.
“It’s all about staying in the moment, and [...]
The Mind of a Champion
“Carelessness does more harm than a want of knowledge.” — Benjamin Franklin
As the Stanley Cup playoffs open, one of my favorite hockey stories comes to mind.
It takes place in the years 1980-83, when the New York Islanders were winning four straight championships.
Mike Bossy was a key player for that dynasty, a highly skilled goal-scorer.
In one [...]
