Guiding Principle #2 - Be Positive!

A positive attitude will help you achieve great success! - Found in a fortune cookie

Project Positive Energy. Have Fun Doing It!

No loser talk. Only the language of winners.

Every team has energy.

The question is: what kind of energy are we bringing?

Positive energy does not mean pretending everything is perfect. It does not mean ignoring mistakes, avoiding hard conversations, or accepting poor effort. Positive energy means choosing a response that helps both you and the team move forward.

It means bringing confidence, enthusiasm, encouragement, and determination to the rink every day.

And most importantly, it means understanding that your energy affects everyone around you.

Your Energy Is Contagious

Walk into a dressing room with a smile, some enthusiasm, and excitement to play hockey and people feel it.

Walk in complaining, dragging your feet, criticizing teammates, or acting like you do not want to be there and people feel that too.

Energy spreads quickly through a team.

That is why we want every player to think about a simple question:

What am I bringing to the team today?

You will not always feel great. You will have bad days. You will make mistakes. You will lose games. You will have shifts where nothing goes right.

That is hockey.

But you can always control how you respond.

Positive players do not allow one bad shift to become a bad period. They do not allow one mistake to become five more mistakes. They reset, refocus, and get ready for the next opportunity.

No Loser Talk

One of our standards is simple:

No loser talk. Only the language of winners.

Loser talk sounds like this:

• "We can't beat this team."
• "The refs are terrible."
• "My linemate never passes."
• "I always mess this up."
• "This game is over."

Winner language sounds different.

• "We've got this."
• "Next shift."
• "Let's get one back."
• "Good idea. Try it again."
• "Keep going."
• "Let's fix it."

The words we use matter because words influence thoughts, thoughts influence actions, and actions influence results.

We can hold each other accountable without tearing each other down.

There is a huge difference between saying, "You have to get that puck out," and saying, "You're terrible."

One helps a teammate improve.

The other simply makes the team weaker.

Your Body Language Talks Too

You communicate even when you are not saying anything.

• Head down after a mistake.
• Slamming the bench door.
• Rolling your eyes at a teammate.
• Throwing your arms up when someone misses a pass.
• Slouching on the bench.

Those actions send a message.

So does confident body language.

Head up. Shoulders back. Eye contact. Engaged posture. Ready for the next shift.

When things are going badly, that becomes even more important.

Anyone can look confident when the team is winning 5-0.

Strong teams show confidence when they are down 2-0.

Strong players stay engaged after making a mistake.

Strong teammates encourage someone who is struggling instead of piling on.

Have Fun Doing It

Hockey is supposed to be fun.

That does not mean practices will always be easy. It does not mean we will not compete hard or demand a lot from each other.

In fact, some of the most enjoyable moments in hockey come from doing difficult things together.

• A hard practice.
• A huge penalty kill.
• Blocking a shot.
• Coming back from two goals down.
• Celebrating a teammate's first goal.
• Laughing in the dressing room after working your tails off.

We want enthusiasm. We want personality. We want players who enjoy being at the rink and enjoy being around their teammates.

Fun and competitiveness are not opposites.

The best teams have both.

Be an Energy Giver

Every team has energy givers and energy takers.

Energy givers encourage teammates, celebrate good plays, communicate, compete, laugh, help, and respond positively when things go wrong.

Energy takers complain, blame, sulk, criticize, and make everything about themselves.

Our goal is simple:

Be an energy giver.

• You do not need to score goals to do it.
• You do not need to wear a letter.
• You do not need to be the loudest player in the room.

Sometimes projecting positive energy is as simple as tapping a teammate on the pads after a mistake and saying:

"You're good. Next one."

That is how strong teams are built.

• We bring joy, fun, encouragement, and an indomitable spirit to everything we do.
• We encourage each other.
• We hold each other accountable.
• We never blame.
• We never tear down.

Positivity is contagious. We choose to spread it.

Today’s Assignment:

1. Think about the following questions (no need to post anything): What you can do to be an energy giver and bring positivity to the team? Are there things that I do that may be taking away from the positive energy of the team?
2. Complete today’s workout on the TeamBuildr app. Be sure to mark each exercise complete as you finish it. Depending on your schedule (other sports, work, etc.) it is okay to complete the exercises on another day or even substitute an alternate workout provided that the difficultly level is similar. Please make note of any substitutions or switches as part of the daily check in item in the TeamBuildr app.