Have you ever felt that you have been overlooked or missed out on selection which then affected your confidence?
In the video below I share 5 reasons why you won’t get selected in field hockey and what you can do about it (or you can just read below if you prefer).
It can be so frustrating when you work really hard for something and then you don’t get the result you want. In fact, it can be soul destroying putting all your time and effort into improving as a hockey player in order to play at higher levels whether it’s to make your regional, state or national team but then you just don’t get noticed.
Often what happens when people get overlooked is that players or parents will blame other factors that are beyond their control. It is very easy to blame external factors and point fingers at others instead of looking at ourselves and asking what we could have done better or differently.
Think of a time that you felt like you were overlooked:
I want you to stop trying to protect yourself and let go of your ego for a few seconds and just answer this simple question for yourself…
“Is there anything else that I could have done to give myself a better chance at getting selected?”
What’s really important is that you don’t keep doing the same thing over and over again hoping to get a different outcome, if things just aren’t working for you.
A common example that I come across a lot is players that obsess about having better skills. Yes I agree that hockey is a skilful game and it is important to have some good basic skills, however I feel that too many players spend too much time focussing on skills that they will 
never use in games or even perhaps they struggle to use the skills they do have under pressure when it matters most.
The most important hurdle
A lot of hockey players have the ability to go further and reach higher levels in their sport but there will always be roadblocks that you will have to overcome in order to get there and the most important hurdle to overcome is your inner game (or what happens in your mind).
Hockey is all about making good decisions but often people overcomplicate the game and try to do all the fancy stuff instead of just keeping it simple. I bet that wherever you are in the world, in any game you watch you will always see players dribbling into flat sticks or giving poor passes that get intercepted.
Why does this happen?
Bad decision making. Decision making is part of the brain process and is influenced by your state of mind. Bad decisions are often caused from doubt, lack of confidence or indecision and is something that most players DO NOT get taught.
That is why it is my mission to change that by helping hockey players all over the world to get into the right mental state to make better decisions and learn to be more confident in order to achieve your goals.
I want to challenge you by asking if you have been guilty of any of these 5 reasons:
My Top 5 Reasons Why You Won’t Get Selected:
1. You ignore mindset training
If you are just hoping that you are going play well without doing any mindset training and mental preparation, then you are taking a big chance and gambling with your success. Most people aren’t actually even aware that there are so many things that you can do to prepare for success and it all starts with training your mind, just as you would train your fitness or skills. There are different levels of brain frequencies and knowing how reach your ideal playing state allows you to get into the zone more often and teaches you how to stay positive no matter what happens. This is the secret formula that top performing athletes use to be at their best more consistently.
2. Hiding away and not taking enough risks
This happens when players have low confidence in their ability and are scared of making mistakes because they don’t want to get shouted at or look bad in front of others. It comes down to the fear of failure and worrying about either letting yourself or others down. Some call this 
“going into your shell”
3. You aren’t standing out
You might be good enough to make a team but remember that everyone wants to play at a higher level so you got to be different and do something that makes you stand out from others. It could be a particular skill that you use effectively in games, repeatedly bursting past your player with speed, showing mental toughness, great vision, the ability to read the game better than others, composure in pressured situations or a player that looks confident on the ball, etc…
4. Making excuses
This is one of the biggest ones for a lot of people and something I have had to learn first hand. You need to learn to be accountable for your own actions and performance. Forget about blaming your size, age, your parents, umpires, coaches, team mates, past injuries, where you’re from, weather, politics, etc…
If you take responsibility for your game and decide to stand up and show what you can do, chances are that you won’t be ignored if you’re that much better than others. Don’t defeat yourself with excuses or reasons why you won’t be selected before you even start. If you didn’t get selected last time, then that doesn’t mean that you won’t be selected this time, unless you prepared the same way as last time.
5. Poor body language
A lot of players struggle to control their emotions like frustration, nerves and anxiety and even without saying anything it shows. Signs of uncontrolled emotion can be seen in body language and we are often not aware of what our bodies are communicating to others. For example when you make a mistake how do you react in that situation, does your head drop? Do you look confident, angry or scared on the field? 
You cannot change your body language when you are in a negative frame of mind, but you can learn how to train your the unconscious part of your brain to be in control which will not only improve your body language and give you more confidence but you will also be more likely to showcase your best hockey skills and perhaps unlock some talent you didn’t even realise you had!
The cause of all these reasons come down to the mental state that you are in, how confident you feel and how you handle fear, pressure and expectations.
I have helped hundreds of hockey players with this. And I can help you too.
In just a few short weeks, you too can develop these inner game skills and you will be amazed at the results! Remember this is not something that we get taught so most people aren’t even aware of these things. Like I said before it’s the difference to reaching higher levels in your sport and is even used by top performing sports people.
If you have felt stuck before or want to find out more about reaching the next level in hockey then request a free strategy session with me by clicking here
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8 Steps To Reaching The Next Level In Hockey
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