By Lisa Brown
If you’re like me, ringette tryouts make you nervous. They can be ESPECIALLY nerve-racking if you have a new coach or team to impress.
But, nerves can be a positive thing IF you know how to make them work for you. So I rounded up some good advice for you!
BARB BAUTISTA, forward on Team Canada Ringette and National Ringette League:
“I get nervous when I have to play with players I don’t know at ringette tryouts, because I can’t predict what they’re going to do on the ice. So I make a special effort to talk to the new players until I’m comfortable with them.”
LAURA WARNER, captain of Team Canada Ringette 2001-2007:
“If I don’t know the coach, I’m pretty disciplined about making sure I’m doing the little things right, like marking the other centre. This takes my mind off what the coach is thinking. I get into the game and my nerves fade away.”
LISA BROWN, three-time World Ringette Champion:
“To calm myself down, I prepare for each ice time by listening to music. I always listen to the same song from the movie Flashdance. I use this song because it says, ‘Take your passion and make it happen.’ I usually hit the ice pretty pumped up.”
Of course, the best advice of all is to have fun.
When I get nervous before tryouts, I like to do what Lisa does as well, and listen to some pump up music and focus on what I have to do. Put your heart out on the ice and give it all you got. The nerves turn into adrenaline and eagerness to get on to the ice. Plus my coach always says that it is good to have a bit of nervousness. Thanks for the other tips!
Great tips! I”m manager in my daughters’s room, and I like to tell them to visualize what they want to do on the ice BEFORE getting on it. To take some quiet times in the room, close their eyes and see themselves picking the ring, skating hard, breaking away, aiming at top corners or in the 5 holes… talking to your teammates on the bench or on the ice in between whistles to establish a game plan is great too, but at the same time, be aware of what the coaches are looking for, listen to them attentively, be polite and helpful in the room. My eldest daughter used those tips to impress evaluators for her ringette sports-program, and she got accepted and starts in Sept 2014 !
Hi Josee,
Visualization is a fantastic idea and I’m so glad you are doing it with your players. Great news for your daughter!
Lisa