Goals

Throughout this blog I have been discussing my goals and aspirations as a hockey player. Where the last post ultimately dwelled on the some times negative feelings and insecurities that you face in the game, it is important to reflect on your goals that you have set for the season. Thing I realised from yesterday’s post was that it is a tool that I can use. Winners and successful hockey players use everything around them for motivation and success. At the end of the day, I played a strong game with good stride and had a good time playing my position and my role.

I thought that by revisiting and reiterating my goals, I will keep them fresh in my mind, rather than as a lip service thought at the back of my mind. This way my goals will become clear to me and help me find extra motivation to bust my ass for greater success.

When I started this blog, I was very much focussed on trying to get back into shape from a knee injury that had ruined my season before. That goal has now been achieved and I have been able to remain (relatively) healthy and train without any pain in my knees what so ever, so that is one goal that I can tick off from my list straight off the back.

As a team goal, I have set my sights for the playoffs and I hope that everyone else in the team would be working to that same goal. There is a lot of work to be done, but looking at the width and breadth of our roster, we have all the tools to go far. We have had some great players come into making the roster even stronger. I am confident that we will be able to turn tight game to our advantage and that our season will carry on until August.

Individual level I have set the bar high. You can only reach great heights if the sky is your only limit. My personal best has been 13 goals and 5 assists, which equals 18 points during the season. Now that points total has to rise up by an additional 13 points.

Those are just three of my goals. Winning is the most important thing and winning those all important games away is even more important. I know I am faster than most of the defensemen I play against and I can out skate them with ease. But how do you do it? By confidence, by having belief in yourself that you can do it and knowing that you are a great hockey player. That is half the battle. I am sure that my confidence will grow with the new line I am playing on and with the opportunity to move the puck.

These goals are not lip service goals or something I say half heartedly. These are goals that I think about every waking moment of the day. Objectives that are achievable and manageable, that make life worth living for and all those long nights on the rink. 90% of the hard work is done off the ice and I find that often the things that go on the ice is the most easiest part of reaching those goals, but it is still hard work.

To finish I can only describe my mentality by Sisu or by quoting the great Don Cherry: “Remember, it is not the size of the dog in the fight, it is the size of the fight in the dog.”