OK, it is the night after another Ottawa Senators melt down. To be honest there is no one to feel sorry for. This is all self inflected.
After a conversation this afternoon with a good friend and hockey lifer I went back and reread a few sections of Break Free From Suckville by Dr. Bhrett McCabe
This book is a must read for any athlete or coach because struggle never sleeps. It gives you a logical explanation of struggle, why it happens, but more importantly how to break free from it.
Maybe I should send a copy to DJ Smith?
Doc McCabe makes many key points in the book, too many to mention, but here are a few that maybe of interest to you.
Just because we have the skills and talent to succeed, does not mean we will.
Many athletes and coaches get married to this, but watch out IT IS A TRAP!
Skills and talent matter, what matters more is how you use them to face the uncertainty of competition. Ottawa has not figured that part out yet. Not sure they ever will.
When you get stuck on these it becomes like a beauty contest. More about the image.
Successful competitors & coaches manage the struggle better. It is that simple.
They use struggle to launch success.
They take care of business, while dealing with struggle and that comes with teaching.
Struggle has a purpose behind it and Coaches and athletes must understand that. The Senators do not that, is why they are not getting any better.
Their enemy is now self doubt and not the opponents they face every night.
If you know your enemy then we build a plan to beat it.
I do not see that with the Senators. All I see a dysfunctional organization at all levels.
Keep in mind that struggle never lives in isolation and this struggle is very public right now.
Struggle is dirty and exhausting to athletes and coaches. It brings many psychological elements into play.
Doubt, Frustration, Confusion, Anger, Belief in Self, and Trust in the Process.
Tonight they go in Carolina to play the Hurricanes. They are a big, fast, and skilled team who are well coached in all three zones and compete very hard each night for each other. Good players want to be Coached, but good players also know if a Coach is any good as well. You can not fool them.
Rob Brind Amour is a very good Coach.
As for Ottawa they need find a way out of Suckville, and it must come from the players and no one else. It is that simple.
Until next next time.
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