It is patently obvious that the Flames’ biggest enemies are the Flames. The issues plaguing the team are largely psychological. I am not saying they need more positive thinking either. They need more realistic thinking. They can think about the positivity or the negativity or they can focus on what they can do and can control.
Their issues are not only that they wilt when something bad happens, but they also wilt when something good doesn’t happen, like after they dominate a team for a period of time without scoring.
Giordano, Backlund, Monahan, Gaudreau, and to a lesser extent Bennett are the same players who lead the “Find-a-way Flames” of 2015.
Since this season the group's ability to maintain confidence as they persevere through adversity has been a roller-coaster ride, to say the least.
Stating that coaching is the problem with this group and the personnel who have joined them oversimplifies the problem.
Coaches coach the players, the players coach the team.
Ultimately the issues fall at no one else’s feet. Coaches and managers can employ management and coaching techniques that enable more psychological resilience. Their abilities to assist the players pretty much end there. The manager can select a coach and the coach can select ice time.
I think lack of psychological context is one of the flaws in evaluating coaches on player utilization. There is a balance of trust and rapport that the players need with each other to achieve success, and ultimately the coach is the one who can enable or disable that to happen.
I have no idea what Geoff Ward and Treliving have or have not done or tried. Obviously, some tactics have worked and not worked at different times.
To say the least, they are in need of a psychological reset in a period of history when that ability to enact that reset has never been more constrained.
If they are going to find answers within their dressing room, which really is the only option, they need to figure out a way to make better decisions individually and collectively.
Out of the variety of options to solve their psychological ailments, Stoicism seems like the answer the players and team need.
Stoicism is the ultimate operating system for any person or team to thrive in high-stress environments and make better decisions.
As much as they have been playing garbage hockey, if they can reframe their psychology and play not expecting to lose or win, just put in the effort without over-thinking, they can do a 180 with the season.
Acknowledge their fears, then put the trash in the trash can. Play clinical hockey by reacting to circumstances with a stoic workmanlike approach, acknowledging the reality of the situation they are in within and between games.
If this is accomplished they can up to their abilities and not down to their frailties.
I liked Gio's look and approach in the warmup. Stoic-like. Now maintain it.
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I also don't think that Tre or Ward should be fired into the sun.
You identify on your team who'll walk through fire, step in front of a bullet, do what's necessary to win , TRY .....just try....don't be afraid to fail.....just try dammit.
Over time you build a culture.
Positive post .....thanks OP.
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Stoicism is the warehouse of tools used to develop mental toughness.
Quote:
The day after the Los Angeles Kings clinched a spot in the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals by beating the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 7, there was one phrase that kept popping up in articles describing the team’s path through the playoffs - mental toughness. It may be one of those sports psychology terms like “grit” or “momentum” that cannot be clearly defined or proven other than saying, “you know it when you see it.” For the first time in NHL playoff history, the Kings won three Game 7s on the road as well as being 7-0 in elimination games this postseason. With their “back against the wall”, “nothing to lose” and a need to “dig deeper”, they seem like the working definition of mental toughness.
Stoicism on Fire: A Path to Mental Fortitude
