The Ride to the Rink: Jessie Thompson on Overcoming the "I Don't Wanna" Days

Lee MJ Elias [0:00 - 0:45]:hello, hockey skaters and goalies around the world. Welcome back to another edition of the Ride to the Rink. We are so happy you're here with us today. We got great people with us. Jesse is here from the Washington Capitals. Haley is here from the PWHL and Olympic team. Haley, I never get tired of saying that. Today we're going to be talking with Jesse about a great topic about what happens when you maybe don't feel like going to hockey or you don't want to go to hockey. Doesn't mean you don't love hockey. We're not saying you don't want to be there all the time, but you woke up today and for whatever reason, whatever's going on in your life, you just don't feel like going today. So Jesse's got some great tips and some great thoughts to support that. Jesse, talk to the kids for a few minutes. 

Jessie Thompson [0:46 - 1:44]: Absolutely. So sometimes I wake up and maybe I didn't have what I wanted to for breakfast or maybe I had a frustrating conversation with my sibling and I'm just not motivated. So what I want everybody to think about is if you don't want to play hockey today, what is something that you do want to do or what is something that you are excited about? It can be so small. It can be that you are excited to get a snack from the snack bar at the rink after the game's over. Focus on that. It might be you're so excited to see your coach. Focus on that and say hey to your coach in such a positive way. When you get to the rink, I want everybody to think about one thing, big or small, that you are really excited about and let that take over. Let that be your positive mindset. And no matter what happens on the ice during the game, be excited about that one thing. And that's going to help you in your game today. 

Lee MJ Elias [1:45 - 2:54]: Yes, it's great advice. It's funny because kids, you can use in hockey. Use it in anything. You know, as I became a grown up and I always say, don't grow up, it's a trap. But you know, one of the things I do in my own life, kids, is that when I, you know, don't want to do something, I try, as Jesse said, to kind of find an outcome for myself of, hey, if I do this, I'm going to reward myself with this treat or events or, you know, sometimes it's crazy things like I'll read my book because I love to read kids. I know that's not your favorite thing to do all the time. But you find something to challenge yourself to get through those moments. And let's be honest here. I'm going to turn it to Haley here. 80 to 90% of the time, it's. It's worse in your mind than it is when you actually get out there. Now, again, look, Haley is someone who plays at the highest possible level in hockey. All right? So Haley's challenged every day. She has to bring her best every single time she's on the ice. But Haley, I imagine, as much as you love the game, there are still days you wake up just thinking, oh, that's the sound, right? Oh, I don't want to do this right now. How do you compartmentalize that? How do you battle through that? 

Hayley Scamurra [2:54 - 3:50]: Oh, absolutely. I definitely have those days. Especially, you know, in the pro hockey life. You get a little monotonous sometimes, and you're like, oh, man. Like, up again, same routine. So I think for me, I really focus on my teammates. I know that, you know, maybe they're excited to be there, and I'm excited to, like, get to talk to them about their day before or, you know, just connect with them on a different level and maybe just talk, not hockey, while I'm there. I think that's a big one for sure. And a big one that I also follow is just give a hundred percent of what you have that day. And maybe that's 80%, but you're giving 100% of that 80%, right? So I think that's always a big one because we're not always at 100%. Maybe we didn't have a good night's sleep. Maybe we didn't feel properly. Things happen, life happens, and that's okay. But as long as you're giving 100% of everything that you have that day, then you can be proud of yourself for sure. 

Jessie Thompson [3:51 - 4:23]: You know what? It's not. It's not bad to ask for help. It is so good to say, you know, for all those kids that are in the car right now, it's totally okay to say, you know, hey, mom, hey, Dad. I think I need a little more encouragement before the game today, or I think I might need an extra high five after the game. If you know what you might need, ask for it. That is such a strong thing to do and say, I want you to cheer so loud if I score a goal today, that'll make me so excited. Ask for it. The people around you want to support you and help you through this. 

Lee MJ Elias [4:23 - 6:41]: You know, Jesse, that's a really great point, because I can say As a coach, too, that when a kid comes in really mopey, right? And don't get me wrong, kids, like, I'm. I'm empathetic like you have. You have every right to the problems of your age, right? If you're 7, 10, 15, 25, you. You have every right to the problems of that age, okay? And really, we should not be judging you as adults for dealing with the problems that we all dealt with when we were that age. But when you walk in mopey and don't say anything, you know, it's tough for us, right? But if a kid walks in and said, man, I had a tough day at school, and I'm just dragging a little bit. Well, as a coach, I actually appreciate that because now I can make this environment kind of fun for you, right? And I can think about that when the drills also, as Haley said. And Haley, this is also tremendous advice. Nobody can bring 100% all the time. It's not possible. Okay? I wish it was, but it's not possible. There's things that happen, you know, from sickness to illness to just having a bad day. But giving everything you have in that moment is really great advice. Give me 100% of what you got right. Coaches. It's our responsibility, kids, to help create that environment, and hopefully we're doing that. But we need as much information as Jesse said as possible. All right? If you. If a kid comes up to me to merge these points together and says, look, I only got 60% today, that's just where I'm at, then give me 100% of that 60%. That's a good interaction, kids, between the coach. I'm going to say it again. If you walk in going, I'm not feeling. You know, if you don't say anything, I can't coach to that. Your parents can't coach to that. Jesse, to your point. So. And the last point I want to make to it, 1. Hayley made the best teams. Kids and everyone is important in this. Lift each other up. When I see a teammate having a tough day, I want to help my teammate have a better day, right? Be the player that lifts up your teammates. Don't be the player that pokes and prods them when they're down. You're not helping your team if you do that right? And believe me, you will eventually be the player that needs to be picked back up by your teammates. It's. It's just the truth. So just really great advice across the board. I talked there for a long time, so I'm gonna let you guys say anything you want to say to close this out, and then I'll do the finisher. 

Jessie Thompson [6:42 - 6:54]: Oh. Well rounded, I think. Give what you can give. Be the best person you can be and be the best teammate you can be. And don't be afraid to ask for help, because all the people around you want you to succeed. 

Hayley Scamurra [6:55 - 7:15]: Yeah. In terms of lifting each other up, it can be something simple. If you see a teammate sitting by themselves, just go sit next to them. You don't even have to, like, you can just say h. And if they don't feel like talking, that's enough. Your presence next to them is enough. Give them a little tap, you know, on the shoulder pads or the pants or whatever. Like, those little things can be hugely beneficial for someone who's maybe in a little bit of a slump. 

Lee MJ Elias [7:15 - 7:33]: I love it. I love it. Ladies. It's just great advice. Kids, we hope you enjoyed this one. And remember, wherever you're at on your hockey journey, we believe in you. All right? You should, too, though. You got to believe in yourself just as much as we do. That's going to do it for this edition of the Ride to the Rink for Jesse and Haley. I'm Lee. We'll see you next time, kids. Remember, have fun, skate hard, and skate on. Take care.