School, Sports, Sport Fandom
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault looks on after being scored against by Chicago Blackhawks’ Frank Nazar during second-period NHL hockey game action in Montral Monday, April 14, 2025 (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Written by: Simon Taylor
Mindfulness can be an effective tool for staying grounded—but its impact can shift depending on arousal levels and emotional investment.
In low-to-moderate stress (like pre-exam nerves), mindfulness may calm the body and focus the mind.
In high-stress situations (like a tough game or overwhelming emotion), it can be harder to access those same tools.
The key isn’t perfection—it’s noticing where your attention is (past, present, or future) and responding with flexibility.
Self-compassion and experimentation are crucial when strategies don’t work as expected—coping is a practice, not a test.
What to Consider When Reading
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, do you try to use the same coping tool every time—even if it doesn’t work?
How often do you check in with your attention: Is it in the past, the future, or the present moment?
From Blizzard to Broadcast
In 2015, I had been close to attending Laurentian for Sport Psychology, but during my school visit, it was -34 and a white-out blizzard. I decided to complete a degree in Sport Media at Toronto Metropolitan University (then Ryerson). I graduated in October 2019, and a few months later, the world shut down. When the pandemic hit, the sports media landscape shifted overnight. Unsure of my path, I turned to a career counsellor—and found my way back to sport psychology.
Discovering Mindfulness
Of all the topics that I learned during that time, mindfulness was always a theory that jumped out to me. During my first degree and the time before returning, I always found it hard to focus on the present and not get bogged down thinking about the future. When I decided to continue my education with a master's degree, I knew that I would focus my thesis on mindfulness in some regard. In the end, it was golf and mindfulness that I decided to explore.
The Intervention
With the help of my supervisor, I created a 5-week mindfulness intervention, focusing on readings, meditation and acceptance. The study's findings were encouraging, as all members of the intervention group saw an increase in their mindfulness scores and psychological flexibility—our ability to stay present and adapt our behaviour to what matters—improved across the group. However, during the feedback, I heard from a few participants that they had trouble during some meditation sessions. They couldn't remain in the moment, which was very frustrating, leading to a cycle where the meditation actually had the opposite effect.
A Night of Highs and Lows
Fast forward to last week. I am working to complete my Mental Performance Coach Certification and have a final exam in one of my courses. To calm my nerves before the exam, I did a 20-minute body scan, which reduced my nerves to the point I almost fell asleep. I felt very calm going into my exam. That night, the Montreal Canadiens (my favourite sports team) were playing with a chance to clinch the playoffs for the first time since 2021 and the first time in front of their fans since 2017. They really weren't supposed to be in this position yet. They are a rebuilding team—a franchise pressing reset to focus on future success. So it could be forgiven that they had looked nervous in their last two games against rivals Ottawa and Toronto, both playoff teams with more experienced players. Just a few days earlier, Montreal's playoff odds were 99.9, but now they had fallen to 93.3 after their losses and 5 straight wins by the team behind them in the standings. No pressure, though Montreal's game tonight was against one of the worst teams in the league, Chicago, with a bunch of new young players playing their first couple of professional games. In reality, a team like Chicago is very hard to play against at this time of year. Their singular focus is on the game at hand, trying to play spoiler; they know they only have a few games left and a long summer to recover. They can give it their all.
On the other hand, Montreal has to worry about the team chasing them in the standings, making the playoffs, winning the game, and staying healthy and ready for game 1. The game started, and a player making his debut for Montreal, Ivan Demidov, took over, getting a goal and an assist in the first 13 minutes. Then, with just over a minute left in the first, Montreal took a penalty. 2-1 Montreal now. Then another penalty, 2-2. The third period was underway, and Chicago scored again 3-2. They were beating Montreal to every puck, and Montreal looked nervous. The Habs tied it up late in the 3rd to force overtime. No score through 5 minutes of OT, and we were off to a shootout. Nowhere to hide your nerves, you vs the goalie 1v1. As a fan, I knew this wouldn't bode well for Montreal; they would be too tight to make the proper moves. My worries came to fruition as Chicago won in a shootout, and now I would have to wait 48 hours to know the fate of my favourite team. I lay in bed trying to sleep, but couldn't stop tossing and turning, mad at my team for losing, angry that their success had such an impact on me, and worrying about the next 48 hours.
I thought back to a few hours earlier when I had used the body scan to help reduce my nerves before my exam and how it helped me almost fall asleep. During that session, the voice on the recording felt so calm that I wasn't even aware when he was talking and when the meditation had ended. Now, after the game, his voice felt grating, and I couldn't focus on what he was saying. I couldn't get calm; I was so frustrated. I only made it 10 minutes through before I had to turn it off.
What It All Means
The next day, I met with Kim to plan my tasks for the upcoming weeks. While we were catching up, I told her about my night and the game. She pointed out what I had overlooked, that so much of my night encompassed the work done around mindfulness. First, before the exam, I could stay in the moment and focus on the task. Then, in the game itself, the players in Chicago were able to fine-tune their focus on the game that night; all they had to focus on was beating Montreal and making life challenging for them. For Montreal, as I stated earlier, their focus was everywhere, but mainly the past and the future. Demidov was the only player who didn't seem to be affected by Montreal; in his debut, he embodied what mindfulness calls a 'beginner's mind'—a fresh, uncluttered awareness of the present. And then, post-game, I couldn't sleep because I worried about the future. Would the Habs make it in? What would social media say if they didn't? What would my friends say to me? I couldn't enjoy the playoffs knowing they had been so close.
This was an interesting lesson for me. Sometimes, it seems like coping strategies such as mindfulness can be a cure-all. Still, in reality, it's only a step towards being able to stay calm under pressure. It is easy to use mindfulness when stress arousal is low. Still, when arousal gets above a common level, it can take a lot of work to remain in the moment. Even NHL players fall victim to it.
Takeaway
The purpose of this blog is not to discredit the use of mindfulness; it is beneficial and one of my favourite strategies. Instead, the point is to be kind to yourself if a particular coping strategy is not working on a given day. Strategies are not a one-size-fits-all. Keep working to find what works for you.
Next time you feel off, ask yourself: 'Where is my attention—past, future, or now?' That single moment of noticing can be a decisive first step.
If you're curious about which strategies work best for your stress or performance goals, we're here to help. Let's figure it out together.
Simon Taylor
MSc. Performance Psychology
