Creating Your Own Luck

MAKING YOUR OWN LUCK IN SPORT COMPETITION:

LEARNING HOW TO PLAY THE LAW OF AVERAGES TO YOUR ADVANTAGE ©

By Dr. Scot McFadden

As applied to the game of hockey, the Law of Averages states that, over the course of a match good calls and bad calls, good breaks and bad breaks usually balance out. Have you ever wondered why some athletes and/or teams seem to have more “luck” than others? In my view, this “luck” occurs because the athlete or team understands how the Law of Averages works and how to play it to their advantage. The Secret of the Law of Averages lies in understanding the importance of staying determined and competing with relentless purpose whether the breaks are going your way or not in a game. To be sure, the athlete or team that grows discouraged, frustrated and distracted by missed scoring chances, apparent bad calls, etc. will experience very little “luck” in a game. The law of averages does not deliver “good luck” to teams/athletes that give in to negative emotions like frustration and discouragement when the game is not going their way. Let us look at a couple of examples. In an NHL game in November 2011 featuring the St. Louis Blues and the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Blues dominated play for the first 2 periods. In fact, Tampa was held to 2 shots in the second period and none in the final 14:02 of the second. Despite outchancing Tampa 14 to 1, the Blues clung to a 1- 0 advantage after 40 minutes. The collective spirit of the Blues team could have responded in two ways: grow frustrated thinking we are just not getting the breaks tonight or persist together with purposeful determination until ‘bounces’ came their way. The Blues chose purposeful determination continuing to work and dig in and compete until the game ended in a 4-1 victory over the Lightning. The Law of Averages will in time reward such determined play. After the game, Kevin Shattenkirk wisely stated “ it was just a matter of time. We were pressing them. We did not allow ourselves to get down or frustrated and stuck to our game plan”. In another recent NHL game featuring Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa outshot Buffalo 18:1 in the first period yet the game remained tied 0:0. Ottawa could easily have folded at this point thinking we have run into a ‘hot’ Buffalo goalie named Ryan Miller who seemed unbeatable on this night. To Ottawa’s credit, they came out in the second period and continued to attack offensively with relentless determination. The Law of Averages kicked in and Ottawa scored 2 “lucky” goals that deflected in off Buffalo players within the first 5 minutes of the second period. In the end, Ottawa walked away with a deserving 3:2 win in this road game.

Clearly, had the St. Louis or Ottawa teams concluded that ‘this is not our night’, team
determination and compete level would have fallen off. Frustration would have been reflected in their play and the outcome would have been different. Remember, the Law of Averages will play fair if given the chance and is understood by the entire team and coaching staff. Should
frustration begin to take hold of several players in a game where effort and opportunity are not being rewarded, it is essential that the coaches and team leaders pull these discouraged players back into the team circle using language like, “come on boys, work, battle, compete, the breaks will come our way”. In a team sport, one frustrated player can disrupt the effectiveness of an entire line. All players must buy in together and continue to dig in and play with simple relentless determination.

For the sceptics out there, it is important to bear in mind that from time to time you may lose a
game despite badly outplaying the opposition. Conversely, on occasion, you may win despite
being clearly outplayed and outchanced by the other team. However, over the course of an entire season, the Law of Averages will generously reward athletes and teams alike so long as they compete in all shifts of all games with determination, focus and purpose refusing to allow the negative emotions of frustration and discouragement to affect their play. This is the Secret of the Law of Averages. In the end, athletes/teams that understand this Secret will be seen as consistent, mentally strong, resilient and even “lucky”.