Hype Level: How to Find and Hold Your Ideal Level of Excitement
- Every goaltender has a unique ideal Hype Level — identifying yours is the first step to consistent peak performance.
- Breathing directly controls Hype Level: shallow breaths elevate arousal while controlled breathing helps restore calm and focus.
- Mastering Hype Level means sustaining your optimal state not just game to game, but period to period and whistle to whistle.
- Pete Fry, a former WHL goalie drafted by the New Jersey Devils, works with goalies from minor hockey to the professional level on mental performance skills.
- The gap between an average performance and a game-winning one often comes down to consistent arousal regulation, not physical skill.
Goalie Mindset expert Pete Fry is back with more key mindset tips that will help you become a better goaltender. Pete played in the Western Hockey League for the Portland Winterhawks and the Victoria Cougars. He was drafted by the New Jersey Devils. Today he works with goaltenders of all levels, from minor hockey to professionals, helping them achieve more on the ice through developing their mental skills.
Pete will be hosting a series of in-person and online seminars this summer – full details are at the end of this article.
We all know what it feels like when we are playing our best as a goalie, that zone where when we find that perfect balance between energized and engaged without going too far and losing the calm, control and poise we want to feel and project to teammates and opponents.
But how many of you know how to reach that optimum balance on a regular basis, how to find it not just from one game to the next, but to hang onto it within a game, from period to period, whistle to whistle, no matter what is happening in that particular game, good or bad?
Pete Fry calls it “Hype Level” and finding your ideal, then mastering the ability to consistently get to that it can be the difference between average performances and a game-winning one.
Understanding Hype Level
Hype Level refers to your level of excitement during a play.
Every goaltender has a unique Hype Level that allows them to perform at their best. Some thrive in a high-energy state, while others excel when they remain calm and collected. The key is to identify your optimal Hype Level and then learn how to maintain it throughout the game.
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