Elite Hockey HQ

Chapters intomental reps.

Translate the book's most highlighted sections into on-ice ready routines. Drop them straight into practice, assign them to leadership groups, or reach for them on the bench when momentum swings.

Open the drillsAll resources
  • Drills3Each with a run sheet and bench cues.
  • Chapters3Of Mind Gym, turned into rink work.
  • Shortest drill1 minShort enough for the bench.
  • Game-time cues6Lines to say out loud when it counts.
Why it works

Built for the rink, not the classroom.

  • Actionable

    Built so you can run the book’s concepts rink-side in under five minutes.

  • Coach-Friendly

    Print, drop into your practice plans, or assign to leadership groups.

  • Searchable

    Every drill is indexed so athletes can surface the right reset in seconds.

The drills

Chapter by chapter, rep by rep.

Every drill carries its own run sheet and bench cues, so you can hand a chapter to leadership and know exactly what gets said out loud.

Prime Your Inner Game

Build the 60-second reset ritual Mind Gym introduces to clear noise and refocus on the next task.

1 minute

60-Second Centering Breath

Use controlled breathing plus a one-word cue to reset confidence between shifts or before faceoffs.

WhenDeploy between shifts, during timeouts, or whenever your heart rate spikes.

Run the drill

  1. Plant both skates flat, sit tall, and close your glove over the stick to create an anchor point.
  2. Inhale through the nose for a 4-count while silently saying “expand.”
  3. Hold for 2 counts, choosing your next play in a single word (e.g., “attack,” “calm”).
  4. Exhale through the mouth for a 6-count while lowering the shoulders and feeling the bench beneath you.
  5. Open your eyes and repeat the action word out loud before jumping the boards.

Game-time cues

  • Pair the inhale with pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth to slow your breath.
  • Reset your grip each repetition to signal the physical release of the previous play.

Build Unshakable Confidence

Translate the book’s confidence playlist concept into a pre-game visualization you can repeat anywhere.

5 minutes

Three-Clip Confidence Tape

Stack three 20-second highlight memories to anchor the belief that you can answer any momentum swing.

WhenRun nightly or pre-game; repeat the first clip between periods for a quicker dose.

Run the drill

  1. Select three clips: a skill play, a toughness moment, and a leadership moment.
  2. Close your eyes, play clip one in your mind, and narrate what you saw, heard, and felt in first-person present tense.
  3. Repeat for clips two and three without rushing—the sensory detail locks in confidence.
  4. Finish by standing tall, tapping your chest twice, and saying your personal power phrase.

Game-time cues

  • Load your clips into your phone’s favorites folder so you can review the real video on the bus.
  • If you do not have video, sketch the moments quickly in a notebook to make the images sticky.

Turn Setbacks into Fuel

Mind Gym teaches the “mistake ritual”; this drill helps you execute it in under two minutes after tough shifts.

2 minutes

Rapid Game-Tape Reframe

Capture the lesson, lock in the adjustment, and re-enter the game without replaying the error.

WhenUse in the tunnel after a turnover, on the bench, or immediately post-game.

Run the drill

  1. Name the mistake in one neutral sentence (e.g., “I turned the puck over on the breakout”).
  2. Identify the controllable (e.g., “scan before I receive” or “keep knees bent”).
  3. Visualize executing the correction once in your mind at game speed.
  4. Verbally trigger your next-action phrase and step back toward the ice or whiteboard.

Game-time cues

  • Keep the reframe card in your stall so staff can point to it instead of piling on verbal feedback.
  • If you are a captain, walk the player who made the mistake through the same steps to model the reset.
Weekly rhythm

Keep the language alive without adding meetings.

Use these beats to keep the Mind Gym language in the room all week.

  1. Pre-practice primer

    Pick one drill to theme the day. Text the cues to leadership and have them run the first rep in the room.

  2. In-game reset

    When momentum dips, cue the drill name on the bench and walk athletes through the first step out loud.

  3. Leadership follow-up

    Close the day by asking captains which cue stuck. Log the best language so you can reuse it the next time.

Quick-start coaching cue

One drill, every block.

Pair one drill with each training block this week. Announce it in the locker room, walk leadership through the first rep, and close the loop after the final whistle so the ritual sticks.

Pick a drillOpen library