If Your Hockey Star is Having Anxiety

These days, it is all too common for young athletes, including and especially hockey athletes, to be overly anxious about their sport of choice and their performance within that sport. More often than not, this anxiety revolves around not making a specific team or not getting picked to be on a team at all.

If your young athlete is demonstrating these anxieties, then your first move should be to check yourself. Are you, as a parent, putting pressure on your child to make a certain team or to “be the best?” You might not be doing it intentionally or in overt ways, but if you are constantly dropping small hints about how wonderful it would be for your child to land a certain spot or be on a certain team, you could be creating pressure and anxiety for your little one. Stopping yourself and instead just focusing on the positive can quell a lot of those anxieties.

In fact, even if you are not putting pressure on your young athlete, being a positive, encouraging influence can be extremely helpful. If you catch your child worrying, stop him by reminding him of all the wonderful things he has done recently and by celebrating. Let your little athlete know that you are proud of him and encourage him to focus on being the best he can be, not on being on a particular team or achieving any one specific goal.

Finally, keep in mind that, when you notice your child worrying, criticism is definitely not going to be helpful. At certain times, constructive criticism can be useful, but when worries and fears are already high, do away with criticism altogether. In fact, don’t even focus on the sport to the point of criticism. When you catch your kid worrying and not being...well...a kid, it may be time to take a step back from hockey and to do other fun activities that don’t revolve around or have anything to do with the sport.

Yes, hockey can be “serious business,” but remember, your child only gets one childhood, and he does not deserve to spend it worrying or anxious over a sport that is supposed to be all about fun.

How to Stay Strong During a Sports Break

Many of today’s young hockey athletes, even the young ones, are super serious about their sports. They play and practice as hard as they possibly can during the on-season and then continue their training throughout the rest of the year.   

However, there will come a time in every athlete- even the most dedicated athlete’s- life when he won’t be able to practice and/or play for a period of time. Whether an athlete is recovering from an injury or just on vacation, not playing and practicing can be rough, and, if the athlete isn’t careful, it can easily lead to a loss of strength and ability, which is every athlete’s worst fear!

Fortunately, however, there are things athletes can do to stay strong when they’re taking a break and to make sure they don’t lose what they’ve worked so hard for!

Eat Right (for the Most Part)

Athletes who are “on a break” are still encouraged to try and eat relatively healthily. It’s important for them to remember that, if they’re not training, they’re not burning the same amount of calories, so this definitely isn’t a good time to overeat!

None of this is to say, of course, that athletes can’t enjoy the occasional splurge or treat, just like anybody, but they should try to make somewhat healthy choices most of the time, and, no matter what, they’ll want to make sure they are getting enough protein.

Without adequate protein, the muscles can start to break down, which can actually inhibit strength and make those gym sessions harder once an athlete resumes his routine.

Continue Taking Supplements

Another piece of advice for athletes on a break is to continue taking their healthy, doctor approved supplements. Many athletes make the mistake of stopping supplementation because they’re not training and don’t think it’s necessary.

However, getting out of the supplementation routine can reduce some of the good effects the supplements have had on the body thus far and make it harder to get back into a routine. For best results, athlete should resume their normal supplementation routines even when they’re not following their normal diet and/or training schedule.

Remember, Breaks are Okay!

Finally, it’s important for athletes to remember that breaks from all that training and practicing can actually be a good thing. While it’s hard for many athletes to “let go” for a little while, sometimes it’s necessary.