By Dr. Shayne Baylis, Doc Hockey
Do you know who the highest NHL drafted player from the Ottawa area was? If you are thinking 1981 and the L.A. Kings, then you might be able to recollect the name Doug Smith. Not only a great 67’s alumni, but a great person with an extraordinary story and inspiring message who I recently had the pleasure of meeting.
Hockey development has taken many different avenues to improve a player’s performance – skating treadmills, new composite sticks, energy gels and oxygenated water, for example – but the mental side of the game often plays a huge role in a player’s performance.
Even an athlete’s personal life can have an effect on his game, as seen most notably with Tiger Woods. Hockey politics can also affect a player’s psyche, such as not getting fair ice time, being criticized for every mistake, or when your confidence is affected because your scoring touch is missing.
Doug Smith was challenged mentally, as well as physically, when he was in a major ATV accident where he broke his shoulder blade and lost function of one of his arms. At this time, he had to prove to the Buffalo Sabres that he could pass the physical to stay eligible to play. His major obstacle was regaining the external rotation of his arm.
After he was unable to do it by exercise and rehab, he took more of a direct focus on visualizing shoulder muscles and nerves firing together, with his wife doing the physical movements.
His biggest challenge, however, was when he was diagnosed as a paraplegic after falling into the boards and breaking his neck. Besides having to do physical preparation for recovery, there was a lot of other mental visualization, meditation, and support that he partook in to keep thinking clearly and progressing towards his goals.
Improvements were slow – from small toe movements, to sitting up, and then to catching a ball off the wall. He kept focused by meditating, doing physical activity and receiving support from those around. He eventually was able to regain full body function with some limitations.
As Doug was exposed to meditation and visualization, I too was given the same opportunity as a child. My father was a counselor and did sports psychology for the OHL’s Niagara Falls Thunder.
I would go to sports psychologists to help me develop a preparation plan for games. I was taught to visualize a green glow of a rink and then I would picture plays I would do on the ice during that game. I would do this for 15 minutes before every game, and if I had a bad period, I would visualize what I wanted to change during the intermission.
Slowing your breathing in through the nose and down into the lower part of the lungs and stomach and exhaling out through the mouth is another strategy. It is so easy to get stressed with the pressure to succeed and these approaches allowed me to stay focused and relaxed.
Everyone should read The Trauma Code by Doug Smith. The principles can be used to heal an injury, for stress relief, and personal growth. It does not only help you when you face obstacles, but to get the most out of life, where happiness becomes effortless. It creates an awareness that the subconscious mind has valuable information that affects your performance. Be aware of it and use methods to relax and control the emotional roller coaster we are exposed to as athletes.
Visit thetraumacode.com for more information.
~ SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM ~
We need your help to keep producing the local sports news you can’t find anywhere else!