Today my job is to help change the mindset of a very young hockey player who is getting frustrated with his hockey shot. His mindset is to hit the target every time and when he misses shots, he gradually becomes more and more upset. His negative emotions take over his focus (proper technique) and his performance deteriorates. I need to help him change his mindset (the way he is thinking) in order to help him learn how to stay positive so that he can excel in performance... this is not easy to do, so let's begin a challenge!
Here's a young boy in grade 5 who describes the exact same problem and how he changed his mindset:
Obviously this boy is very mature for his age, and maturity comes quicker to some children then others (I know from my own experience lol). Well, it's a lot easier for a child to see someone with a similar size and age, and say, "if they can do it, so can I!"
FIXED MINDSET vs GROWTH MINDSET
In the video, this boy describes a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. If we were to apply the fixed and growth mindsets to our hockey shooting practice, we could say that a fixed mindset expects a perfect score quick and easy, and a growth mindset expects to learn how to gradually achieve the perfect score with hard work.
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
Stay tuned for more about this story and the progress of changing the mindsets of the shooters at Slapshot Alley!