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Hockey Wellbeing and Mental Skills with AKH’s Denise Smith
In these weekly sessions Denise will refer players and coaches to a host of health and wellbeing topics including , mindfulness and visualisation, etc. The self-help focus will again be referring you to various hockey links from around the world showing you another spin on these topics.
Week One – Sports Visualisation
This week we challenge AKH players at all levels to learn about the topic of Sports Visualisation which is a skill you can use in everyday life.
Click here to see Denise’s introduction to Sports Visualisation.
Have a look at the two videos below on youtube that Anna Lawrence and Manoj Daji used as part of a session with our RPC athletes earlier this year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHISQ6xIGZE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KucsxWerkNI&t=7s
Follow this up with having a go at the Visualisation activities on Mind.Olympicchannel.com
In addition for those interested join our staff on the free online course from Yale University in the USA “The Science of Well-Being”
In crisis comes opportunity and this is a great opportunity to learn at one of the world’s premier universities.
Click hereto see this week’s video on Mindfulness with AKH’s Denise Smith.
Denise has some great links for you to view, follow the links below.
Click here to learn how Olympic Athletes use Mindfulness in their preparation and during their competitions.
Click here for an article and video from the USA Hockey Team and how they use mindfulness to control their emotions when dealing with Hockey Officials
Click here to view this video on Mindfulness for Sports Performance – A systematic review, by Mike Noetel – Australian Sport Psychologist
Week Three – Hockey Motivation: Are you really motivated?
True motivation is when you want something so bad you are willing to do whatever it takes to get it or achieve it, even if it means doing things you don’t necessarily want to do. True motivation comes from within. If you really want to be the best you can be, whether be more consistent, play in a higher team, get paid to play hockey or represent your country at a top level.
Now is a great time to put a plan in place and do some goal setting.
Click here for a great article on hockey motivation from the Hockey Performance Academy.
Week Four – Motivation
In this week’s topic Motivation we will cover some different ways that athletes keep themselves motivated. The Olympic Channel has some great information to help you stand out from the crowd. There is a great video talking to different Olympic Athletes about how they keep themselves motivated. Click Here
Three things to keep on you at all times to keep motivated:
- Your playlist – having those killer songs on hand can help you fight a sudden drop in motivation
- A powerful quote – communication is human nature, so having the perfect motivational quote could be just the thing you need.
- A photo of success – got a great pic with your winning hockey team? Keep it saved on your phone whenever you need a boost.
Click Here to have a look at this video on Jerry Tuwai, Fiji 7’s Gold Medalist. He grew up with no electricity or running water. No Rugby Balls or boots. Such an inspirational Olympic Champion.
Week Five – VARK Test
This week AKH challenge you to take the VARK Test to find out what kind of learning preferences you have.
V = Visual
A = Aural
R = Read/Write
K = Kinesthetic.
Once you know your learning preferences it helps you and your coach put strategies in place so you can get the most out of your hockey training sessions. It will also assist you with putting learning strategies in place for school or the work place. The link below takes you to the VARK questionnaire for athletes. Simply go through the questionnaire and choose the answer which best explains your preference. You can select more than one answer if a single answer does not match your perception. You can also leave blank any questions that do not apply to you.
Click here to take the test
Week Six – Yoga
This week we challenge AKH players to try Yoga. Yoga can he help you have the following physical benefits:
- Increased flexibility
- Increased muscle strength and tone
- Improved respiration, energy and vitality
- Maintaining a balanced metabolism
- Weight reduction
- Cardio and circulatory health
- Improved athletic performance
- Protection from injury
Please check out this YouTube channel, Yoga with Adriene. She offers many different Yoga workouts catering for beginners, those with limited time, Yoga for back pain and Yoga for weight loss. She also has a 7-minute meditation video which will help you with visualisation and mindfulness.
