Higgins, Komisarek & the Mental Approach

[Habsfan84]

As the sixties came to an end, Rejean Houle found himself as the first overall draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens. Entering the Montreal Forum was a life long dream for the young French superstar. But to this day one of the main things that has fermented inside Houle’s memory bank is what he didn’t see that fall day in 1969 when he entered the hallowed dressing room.
Beyond the room there was no gym, no fitness equipment, and above all no tools to help the Canadiens physically train themselves. The Canadiens weren’t alone in their lack of attention to conditioning, and it didn’t seem to affect their play, after all they were the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Times have certainly changed over the years. Players have gone from taking training camp as the time to get in shape to being at their best throughout the entire year. When it comes to physical conditioning there no longer is an off season, as everyone pays more and more attention to training, diet, and exercise.
No two players exemplify this new approach to physical conditioning more than Chris Higgins and Mike Komisarek of the Montreal Canadiens. Higgins phenomenal physical conditioning is second to none on the team, and Komisarek has been able to transform his physical gifts into an imposing presence on the ice.
A large part of their success must be attributed to the 3E Institute located in New York. During their summers away from the game, both Higgins and Komisarek make daily visits to their headquarters in Huntington to work on their personal conditioning.
Along with New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro and Calgary Flames forward Eric Nystrom, Higgins and Komisarek work on improving their conditioning. This program however, is not limited to their summers; labeled “a lifestyle change” by Higgins the 3E Institute monitors their pupils year round, often on a daily basis, as they strive to achieve their set “markers”.
But the 3E institute is about much more than physical conditioning, and while this aspect of their training has received the most attention from fans and media, it is the mental part of their program that puts Higgins and Komisarek at the vanguard of a new philosophy about conditioning.
The 3E Institute provides an integrated approach that help’s people fulfill their life’s highest potential through exercise, education, and empowerment. It is this focus on the mental approach that sets the students of the 3E Institute apart from many of their NHL counterparts.
Gary Parks, the Institute’s Mental Conditioning coach, couldn’t be any prouder of his two prized pupils, who have both emerged as the foundation of the Canadiens future.
Speaking to Habs World, Parks discussed the tenants of his teaching, and how this approach has benefited Chris Higgins, Mike Komisarek, and his other successful students.
Parks explains the philosophy he imparts to Higgins, Komisarek, and all his students as “an innovated approach I came up with called "The human performance code". The basis of it is that "you can only perform up to your deep belief about yourself". Once you start to perform above that belief, (example a player who believes he will score 20 goals and is on a pace to score 30), he will self sabotage their efforts to get back to the level of their belief. A belief is similar to a thermostat setting. Once the temperature hits it, the heating unit turns off.”
“The challenge is that most players and coaches focus on improving play rather than raising the internal thermostat,” Parks explains. “If the internal thermostat of a player is raised, their performance will HAVE to reach it. Playing better than you believe does not efficiently raise the thermostat. In fact, one way that the mind self sabotages our efforts is by INJURY. The probability of injury increases when a player is playing above their deep belief.”
“The work that I have done with both Chris and Mike, along with All Star Goalie Rick DiPietro, is helping them raise their "thermostat". We also went over the proper way to approach a game and a season mentally.”
For Parks the key to all of this is to "play simple, you must think simple".
Stressing this simplicity Parks preaches that “one of the most important parts of the program is to have each player fully understand "what makes them great". These "ingredients" must be known as easily as knowing what equipment a hockey player must wear to play. Once again, most athletes are brought up with the focus on "what they do wrong or what they need to improve on", although it is necessary to do, it should not be done at the expense of what makes you great.”
“Chris and Mike know what makes them great,” asserts Parks. “It is not to say that they are cocky, just confident.”
Parks provides us with a simple example. “If you made a great pasta sauce for someone and you did not know all the ingredients you put in, what are the odds of creating it over and over again? Slim. However, if you knew each ingredient, then you can create it over and over again with Confidence.”
Stressing the mind’s extreme efficiency, Parks believes that “it listens to what we say. We also worked on how to communicate with ourselves. Words and phrases play a big part. An example of this is the word "Challenge" rather than Problem.”
A strong emphasis in Parks’ philosophy is the use of “markers” as opposed to “goals”. “Once we hit a goal”, explains Parks, “our focus and energy will decrease. If we make an accomplishment a marker, we will be energized to move forward. Chris and Mike understand that and practice that.”
Parks explained to Habs World that he approaches each individual differently as well as tailoring their needs to each player’s position.
“For Rick, it is all about the power of three: See the puck, stop the puck, control the rebounds. That is all he has to focus on. The rest of his skill will come through. For Rick, the shortest period of time is not a shift, but rather 'one shot at a time". When you focus on the shortest amount of time, you can increase your intensity.
With Mike and Chris, it is more about focusing on one shift at a time. Each player learns the fundamentals of ‘controlling what you can control and letting go of what you can't control.”
“The ingredients of each player are different,” confirms Parks.
“Mike's ingredients include: Strong, physical, able to see the ice well, great hitter.”
“Chris's would be: Agile, strong, great shot, great positioning in front of the net, relentless.”
Speaking to Mr. Parks, I told him that for me, one of the most impressive aspects that both Higgins and Komisarek possess is their ability to play through pain; Higgins with his broken collarbone last year, and Komisarek being the Habs current iron man despite being the team’s most physical player.
The ability to play with pain “comes from drive and determination to reach their vision,” explains Parks.
“When a player has a low or poor vision of what they want to accomplish, then injury and pain will take a greater toll. If a player has a higher standard, they can deal with the pain to play through.
It is similar to most of us who work. If you really had to get to work, you would do whatever it takes to get there, regardless if you were feeling sick. If you didn't really need to go in, we might decide to take it easy.
These players all MUST get to work!!! That is what makes them all a winner.”
I couldn’t but remark to Mr. Parks how impressed I was with Komisarek’s constantly improving level of play.
“Mike's ‘Mental’ progress has been amazing,” explains a proud Parks. “He understands the importance of patience, his ingredients and what he controls. This helps transform his mental attitude to the physical game we all see. I am not at all surprised and to be honest, either is he. This is the way he is meant to play.”
If the success of Higgins, Komisarek, and DiPietro is any indication it won’t be long before more players come looking for Gary Parks as they look to unlock their own mental tool chest.
Habs World would like to thank Gary Parks for taking the time out to share with us some of the aspects of his teachings and how it related to Chris Higgins and Mike Komisarek. Gary’s teachings are not limited to professional athletes and can be used by any of us looking to better our “mental conditioning.” For those of you looking for more information about Gary and the 3E Institute please go to www.3Einstitute.com