M å l v a k t s f o k u s: Become an animal!

I love metaphors, I always have and I always will. They give me as a coach an opportunity to express myself in fun, memorable and sometimes even inspirational way. They allow me to say something that you have already heard but in a new way, perhaps even in a way that resonates with you more than before.

Humans are supposed to be at the top of the food chain but often when we want to express ourselves, we compare us to animals. For example we can have cat-like reflexes, speed of a cheetah, strength of a bear, eyes of a hawk, and so on. The thought of that fueled my inspiration for this post.

A week back I made a post about the importance of practice and I will continue on that theme for another short post, about motivation. I will also share a couple of videos about training that I found on youtube!

The journey of an athlete is a long one, for many it is even a passion and a life long pursuit or greatness. I believe we are all destined for greatness, but success does not come easily and it does not happen over night. Take this lion cub for example.

Cute, right?

This is basically how you will be looked upon at the start of your journey, whether you play wing, centerman, defender or goalie. You haven't quite yet learned how to utilize your claws, your teeth aren't fully grown, you are clumsy instead of stealthy and your roar is nothing but adorable. This is not something you would fear going up against.

In time though, your teeth will grow and even your mere presence will have a huge impact on both your allies and foes.

Imagine being at Madison Square Garden to watch the New York Rangers play against their rival New Jersey Devils and seeing Henrik Lundquist skating towards the net. It is impossible to not be affected by his presence in the rink, I know I would be in complete awe just by watching him skate on to the ice.

Henrik Lundquist?

In time, this is how your opponents are going to look at you. Your name will be whispered in hush-tones and your team will draw strength just by knowing that you are there. Your roar will not be adorable but fierce and your claws will be feared, as long as you are willing to work for it.

Do whatever it takes to stay motivated and get to work!