You Gotta Believe!

When you are up against the best team in the league, what kind of mindset do you take into the game? In the back of your mind, is there a bit of doubt whether or not you can do it? Young players often go into such a game assessing their chances of winning. It is human nature to some extent and I suspect that it is quite natural even for professionals to do a similar pre-game analysis.

In Psychology 101 you are taught about the concept of “Self Fulfilling Prophecies.” A self-fulfilling prophecy is a statement that affects behavior causing the prediction to come true. The key here is that the original statement or belief is not a truth, but rather an opinion. However, the opinion influences the way a person or group perceives the situation and ultimately how they respond to it.

The classic example in sport is going into a game doubting if you can win, even if this doubt is hiding somewhere in the back of your mind deep down in your subconscious. That doubt leads to actions supporting the belief. Perhaps you concede a 50-50 ball or pass up on an opportunity to take a shot. When you fall behind in the forth quarter you put your head down acknowledging the pending defeat instead of digging down deep to work harder next shift. Lacrosse is a game of momentum, and subtle beliefs can affect whether you get swept away by the opposing team’s surge or stand up and turn the tides.

Although self-fulfilling prophecies typically refer to beliefs affecting an outcome in a negative way, the opposite is also true. You see it every weekend in confident teams. They find a way to win. They create their own reality. Look at Buffalo. On February 16^th, a night after loosing to Toronto 11-8, with a banged up roster and top scorer Kevin Dostie and goaltender Mike Thompson out, they squared off against an undefeated Minnesota Swarm. They battled back from a 9-6 half time deficit in what might have been the defining moment of their season.

In the NLL any team can win on a given night. It is the team that shows up ready to battle and believes in themselves and their teammates that typically walks away victorious. It is therefore so important to not only think you can succeed, but know that you will.

The mindset I found to be most successful and liberating as a player involved focusing on effort. You must be confident that you will win, but focusing on the outcome can be distracting. You focus on each individual shift. How am I going to help my team in the next 30 seconds? An in-game mentality that focuses on effort and finding ways to contribute, gives you a overwhelming sense of confidence.

Every game is a challenge. Situations present themselves and you must find a way to overcome. That is how the improbable becomes reality. That is why we play the game.