Physical skill is the Main focus in almost all sports! The core building blocks are – speed, power, coordination. But less visible, and perhaps less considered characteristic, is the power of the elite athlete’s mind. Thats right I said it the mind! In fact, what often differentiates the greatest athletes has more to do with mental strength than physical.
It’s because sport not only demands a lot of the body, but the brain as well.
“With the exception of military combat, it has been suggested that team sports such as Hockey or Soccer place more stress on the brain than any other activity, Well that is according to Dr. Andrew Coutts.
It is high demanding game situations—in combination with factors like training, sleep and stress—challenge an athlete physically and mentally and lead to the development of fatigue. But while physical fatigue has long been considered a factor in performance, diminishing an athlete’s capacity to react, run / skate faster and jump higher, researchers are beginning to understand that a tired brain can negatively affect performance as much as a tired muscle.
Training the Mind and body to handle endurance situation’s like 3 period on a short bench, double shifting or just getting played allot is the key to the Overtime win!