How To Quickly Recover After Making An On-Ice Mistake

How to Quickly Recover After Making An On-Ice Error: Forwards & Defense

by Dr. Scot McFadden, Clinical Sport Psychologist

COPYRIGHT © 2020

Many players, after making an on-ice error, feel embarrassed, frustrated, angry and down on themselves.  It is important that you keep in mind the following.  The mistake you made was not intentional.  Why beat yourself up over something you did not do on purpose?  There is an old saying that is helpful to remember:  "The only person who never makes a mistake is the person who never does anything!"  Good hockey players do things.  In fact, even the best players in the world make mistakes.  Have you ever heard of a goalie with a perfect save percentage or a forward or defenseman who never turned over the puck or lost an important one-on-one puck battle?  What is really important now is how you handle the mistake.  Put the error behind you.  Hold your head high and stay strong in your mind.  Compete with strength and determination.  One of the best indicators of mind toughness is your ability to bounce back after making a costly mistake.  You have to decide in your own mind whether the on-ice error is the end of the world or a learning opportunity to get better.  Successful, mentally tough athletes learn to bounce back and compete strong when things do not go their way.

I want to give you an effective, tried and true technique that I have successfully used with Atom, Peewee, Bantam, Midget, Junior A and National Hockey League players.  This proven system allows you to put the error behind you, overcome your frustration and get back on your game. This is what you do.  After making an error, during a stoppage in play, Visualize a correction of the mistake in your mind.  This should only take a few seconds.  You can do this with your eyes open or closed.  See what works best for you.  The mistake is now history so let it go.  Don’t be bitter, be better, stronger and more determined for the rest of the game.  Think to yourself a couple of times ‘STRONG and DETERMINED, STRONG and DETERMINED.’  It works.  As a promising NHL prospect stated, “When something goes wrong, your team needs you to be confident, not some guy who rolls himself into a ball at the corner of the crease feeling sorry for himself.” 

In sport, frustration and determination are opposite ways of dealing with disappointing on-ice events.  Determination produces positive results while frustration will not let you play your best.  When things are not going your way on the ice, some players get discouraged and grow frustrated.  They get down on themselves or their teammates.  Some allow this frustration to spill over on the ice and take a needless penalty.  This only makes matters worse.  Other players have learned to put this negative energy called frustration into increased determination, focus and battle level which means commitment to play your best.  They become stronger competing within themselves and playing a simple game.  Their body language is strong, confident and involved and they never hang their heads.  I often teach players who get down on themselves, after making a mistake they are upset about, to compete with simplicity.  This is because some players attempt to make up for their mistake by trying to do too much themselves on their next couple of shifts and, in the process, do less.  This strong, determined mind set allows a player to quickly get back on top of their game.  Also, make sure your body language on the bench and ice at all times is confident and strong.  Research actually shows that if you look confident and strong you will actually feel that way as well.  Coaches, teammates and scouts love to see this quality in a player.  These mentally tough, resilient players can bounce back and be trusted after committing an on-ice mistake.  One prominent NHL player made the following comment after seeing his ice time reduced in a game after making a couple of costly mistakes.  He stated, “The potential of this situation is going to help my growth.  It’s adversity.  In terms of a career, you’ve got to figure out what you need to do to get out of funks or what works when you are not feeling or playing well.”

Do your best to handle setbacks and disappointments with a good attitude.  This will help your game, your team and impress others.  A player rarely makes it to the next level without mental toughness.