“Using mental models helps shape behaviour, set an approach to solving problems and speeds up the learning curve.”

Who better to give a presentation on goal scoring than Marcus Gustafsson, who played for University of Maine from 1995 to 1999 and not only holds two school records for most points in a game and mosts assists in a game, but scored the game-winning goal in overtime for the University of Maine in the 1999 NCAA National Championship final!

In his Virtual Hockey Summit talk, Gustafsson, the founder of Hockey IQ Program and a level 4 certified coach with USA Hockey & level 1 in Sweden (his home country), introduced the four steps to building a player’s goal scoring mental model.

This 35-minute video talks about the all important three S’s, the difference between green, yellow and red shots, and provides a goal scoring self-evaluation sheet coaches can start using with their players today.

First things first, what is a mental model?

“It’s an explanation of someone’s thought process about how something works in the real world,” explained Gustafsson. “Using mental models helps shape behaviour, set an approach to solving problems and speeds up the learning curve.”

If these terms are new for you, you’re not alone. But you can benefit a lot from hearing Gustafsson dissect his four step process. His presentation includes coaching tips and a lot of video to support his theories.