Hockey season has started and golf season in my part of the world is coming to an end.
I took a lesson in August from my instructor. We have been working together for about three years and has been down the road of traditional golf instruction. The results have been good and he has made me better.
On my most recent visit he approached me with a new idea from a golf professional he has been following for a couple of years. The concepts are simple, all you need is an open mind and a lot of trust. As I have said before ” trust fuels confidence”. My confidence has risen. I have gained about 12 to 14 yards with my driver, and about 8 yards with my irons. It has made golf really really fun again and I am so looking forward to next year. The plan for the off season is to continue to work on my strength and flexibility so I can execute the concepts.
Moving on to hockey, the Ottawa Senators have played seven games and have a 4-3-0 record. Under new Coach Travis Green the team seems to be playing with more structure and responsibility in the defensive zone. It also helps that they have a true number one goalkeeper in Linus Ulmark. Although recently he has been nicked up.
I get a different vibe from this group than I did in previous years. The challenge with this group will be do they have discipline to execute Coach Green’s hockey philosophy. As Coach Saban said about discipline ” can you make yourself do the right thing even though you do not want to do it and can you stop you yourself from doing the wrong thing even though it is easier”. Athletes maybe physically skilled but do they have the mental skills to match the physical skills? It is basically taking the experiences and learning’s and merging them together with character to form a structure on how to respond to the challenges and opportunities that are presented to them.
Management has brought in veteran and character players like Ulmark,Cousins, Perron, Amadio and Jensen to help make this happen. Everyone will be watching the shiny toys like Stutzule , Chabot, Giroux, and Batherson. Personally I am watching the five new guys because they will have a greater influence on the team than the shiny toys.
The fingerprint of this team will get tested every game and with every challenge they encounter. These will result in changes and refinement of the team maturation process. This process will get tested during every game. It becomes more effective the more it is tested. They need to embrace these tests not fear them.
Let’s see how things go for them this week.
Until next time.
Follow on X @betweentheears2
Trust Fuels Confidence
Between The Ears 