Start Your Season Strong: 3 Mindset Shifts for Confidence on the Ice
- Taylor Cook
- Sep 16
- 3 min read
The start of the season always brings a mix of excitement and nerves. Fresh gear, new teammates, clean ice — and that lingering question in the back of many athlete’s minds:
“Am I ready?”
Confidence at the beginning of the season sets the tone for everything that follows. It influences how you train, how you compete, and how you bounce back from the inevitable challenges ahead. But here’s the truth: confidence isn’t something you magically have — it’s something you build.
As a former professional athlete and now a mental performance coach, I’ve experienced firsthand how small mindset shifts can make a huge difference on the ice. Today, I’m sharing three powerful shifts to help you start your season strong.
Mindset Shift # 1: Focus on the Process, Not the Outcome
It’s easy to get caught up in stats, wins, or how many points you put on the board. But focusing on the outcome creates unnecessary pressure and often pulls athletes out of the moment.
Instead, confidence comes from trusting your process. That means:
For players: focusing on skating hard every shift, finishing plays, and sticking to your role.
For goalies: tracking the puck, controlling rebounds, staying calm after goals.
For coaches: reinforcing habits in practice and rewarding effort, not just results.
When you commit to the process, you play free — and ironically, that’s when outcomes tend to take care of themselves.
Mindset Shift # 2: Turn Nerves Into Fuel
Feeling nervous before the season starts? GOOD. That means you care.
Most athletes see nerves as a sign of weakness, but the truth is they’re just your body preparing to perform. Adrenaline raises your heart rate, sharpens your focus, and gets your body game-ready.
The key is learning to reframe nerves as energy:
Instead of “I’m nervous,” say: “I’m ready.”
Instead of trying to eliminate nerves, channel them into your warmup or pre-game ritual.
Use breathing to keep your body calm while letting adrenaline sharpen your edge.
Confidence isn’t the absence of nerves — it’s your ability to play well despite them.
Mindset Shift # 3: Control What You Can, Let Go of the Rest
There are so many variables in hockey (and all sports) that you’ll never control — refs, ice conditions, opponent performance, even bad bounces. The more energy you waste on things outside your control, the less you have for your game.
Great athletes know where to place their focus:
✅ Their preparation
✅ Their effort
✅ Their response to challenges
Everything else? It’s noise.
When you focus only on what’s within your control, you stay grounded, consistent, and more resilient when things don’t go your way.
Building Confidence All Season
Confidence isn’t something you wait for — it’s something you practice daily.
Start this season by focusing on process, reframing nerves, and controlling what’s in your hands. These shifts will help you play freely, stay consistent, and build trust in yourself on and off the ice.
If you’re an athlete (or coach) who wants to build unshakable confidence this season, I’d love to help. I have 3 spots open for free discovery calls where we’ll:
Identify your biggest performance blockers
Map out strategies you can use right away
Explore how coaching could support your goals this season
Start your season strong. Confidence is built — let’s build yours together.
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