Last night, I asked the question to some of the people at the rink if I was being to critical. The rink owner asked if I was talking about myself. What I meant was my team, but him asking that question entered my mind.
Am I too critical of myself?
Last night and into today I have thought about that. Lets look at the facts. I am a beginner/intermediate goaltender. Any shot that isn’t a deflection, redirection, odd man rush, or breakaway I feel I should stop all the time. If I don’t stop it, then I cast doubts on my ability after the game. Sometimes, during the games, I tend to get down on myself a little. However, I can also say I have done better at not doing that in the last year. I am succeeding in keeping myself in a positive mindset through the entire game. It doesn’t matter how many “bad” goals I give up. I emphasize the word “bad” because it is subjective. A bad goal to me may not necessarily be a bad goal to others. Staying positive is a main key to goaltending. Goaltending is mostly mental. If you believe you can stop the next shot or make the next save, you have half the battle won right there.
So to answer that question…yes, I guess I am a little to critical of myself. However, I feel that part of that drives me to do better.