Mental Toughness: The Importance of Psychological Preparations for Penalty Shootouts in Ice Hockey

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to investigate for the first time whether specifically targeted psychological and match-like training improves the effectiveness of shooters and goalkeepers during penalty shootouts in ice hockey. Participants were 58 male ice hockey players (36 shooters and 22 goalkeepers) at national elite level, representing all the teams in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Their average age was 27.29 years (SD = 4.80). The shooters performed together 185 shots at shootouts during the current season, of which 62 (34%) resulted in goals. Goalkeepers guarded the goal during the season against 228 shots during shootouts, of which they saved 158 (69%). The participants were categorized into three levels in terms of preparation for shootouts: a) Low; No special preparation, b) Middle; Sporadic preparations, and c) High; Intensive psychological preparations and specific match-like training. The results for the shooters showed that the middle-level group gained more than twice goal efficiency (34.15%) compared to the low-preparation group (15.50%), and the high-preparation group (70.83%), in turn, gained just over twice as much efficiency as the middle group. The goalkeeper results were somewhat less remarkable, yet showed that the high preparation group (77.81%) had 8% better rescue efficiency compared to the low-preparation group (60.90%). To conclude, the results of the current study suggest that it is beneficial at ice hockey elite level to carry out specially designed training as a preparatory feature for future shootouts. Future studies may show how these experiences can be applied in lower divisions and in junior leagues where nervousness and stress can be assumed to be a major negative factor.