Mistakes are Data: Why Skill Development Demands a Growth Mindset

By Tyrell Buckley – Apex Hockey On-Ice Performance Coach and Owner, Buckley Mental Performance

Have you ever felt frustrated on the ice or stuck trying to progress at a certain skill? Whether it is edgework, crossovers, stickhandling at speed, or puck protection, every hockey player runs into challenges. How you interpret those challenges or mistakes can make a significant impact on your development as a player.

“Think of a skill that regularly challenges you on the ice.” Tight turns, backhand passes or backwards crossovers could be that skill for you.

When a hockey player trains in a fixed mindset, the mistakes they make serve as proof they are not and cannot become good at a particular skill. There is minimal trust their effort would change the outcome. This belief can lead to avoiding specific skills that challenge them, playing it safe in practice, or losing proper focus when drills are uncomfortable for them. If a player adopts a fixed mindset, it can limit development and the ability to reach their highest potential.

At Apex Hockey, we want to unlock your true potential. Our coaches believe players enhance their ability most effectively when they are able to adopt a growth mindset, where skills can be developed through work ethic and using feedback effectively. When players train with a growth mindset, they lean into the challenge of uncomfortable drills, learn from mistakes, and use them as information on what they can focus on during the next rep to get better. It is a skill to consistently train and perform in a growth mindset.

“How can you adopt a growth mindset towards the challenging skill you thought about?”

Apex Hockey values the importance of creating a training environment where important on ice skills can be developed through high effort and effective feedback. We want all our players to become resilient when it comes to their pursuit to improve on the ice. Our coaches do not view skills as fixed traits within each athlete during our on-ice sessions, but rather strategically develop practice plans that allow for repeating the skills of focus. Getting outside your comfort zone allows skill development to thrive and advance to new levels.

“Can you welcome feedback, value mistakes, and appreciate the process even more?”

Whenever you train on or off the ice, ask yourself the following question. Am I avoiding this skill because it is uncomfortable or am I willing to make mistakes and focus on the process of getting better? Choose what hockey mindset you want to respond with!

Link to Buckley Mental Performance Website

Tyrell is a Student in Mental Performance Consulting who works on mental skills, such as confidence, focus, emotional regulation, and resilience with individual athletes and teams through his services at Buckley Mental Performance.

References

Brady, A., & Alleyne, R. (2017). Resilience and growth mindset in sport and physical activity. In Positive psychology in sport and physical activity (pp. 102-114). Routledge.

Brady, A., & Hughes, S. (2013). Exploring the impact of a best future‐self intervention on the well‐being of early career sport coaches: The mediating role of mindset. In Oral presentation British Psychological Society, Division of Sport & Exercise Annual Conference, Manchester, December.

Dweck, C. (2016). What having a “growth mindset” actually means. Harvard Business Review, 13(2), 2-5.

Jowett, N., & Spray, C. M. (2013). British Olympic hopefuls: The antecedents and consequences of implicit ability beliefs in elite track and field athletes. Psychology of sport and exercise, 14(2), 145-153.