Special DElivery: Flow State

No matter what you do, we all experience those moments when we just feel our efforts are pure. No over-thinking, just happening. That sense of being in control with seemingly autopilot authority is most associated with athletics: The quarterback making all the reads and delivering the ball on target and on time; the pitcher keeping hitters off-balance with an array of pitches perfectly sequenced; or the goaltender making every save look easy no matter the difficulty or situation.

What do you call those moments? That feeling? From an athlete’s standpoint it’s often referred to as “being in the zone”. Most people still identify with that reference. But when Oscar Dansk stopped by the Scripps pre-game show set at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday during Welcome to Impossible Knight to honor and acknowledge members of the inaugural Golden Knights team, he used the term “Flow State”. Daren Millard and I hesitated, feeling we knew Dansk’s meaning, but not being certain.

A quick search reveals that a Flow State is, “A mental state of complete absorption, intense focus, and energized enjoyment where you become fully immersed in what you are doing.” Often described as, “Being in the zone”.

Flow State is a concept introduced by psychologist Mihaly Csikscentmihalyi. Key characteristics include:

• Action-awareness merging
• Loss of self-consciousness
• Altered time perception
• Intrinsic reward

The brain in flow involves Transient Hypofrontality – a temporary reduction in activity in the prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain responsible for over-thinking, worrying and self judgement. At the same time, your brain releases a surge of performance-enhancing neurochemicals like dopamine and norepinephrine.

So, that’s a lot. And Millard and I were not in the zone with that reply. But Dansk was in a Flow State that night on October 27, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena. He stopped all 25 shots on goal in blanking the Colorado Avalanche 7-0. The rookie netminder recorded the shutout in just his third NHL start and gave the Golden Knights their first clean sheet in franchise history.

I find it fascinating from a technology/training/performance standpoint. The sports science aspect of athletics has evolved and grown as the business has grown – for players and owners alike.

Players have more to gain by investing in and understanding how to approach training for peak performance – both physically and mentally. Better on-ice results give players in their prime access to bigger contract dollars and longer-term agreements. Extending careers can mean millions of dollars in earning potential. And for teams, providing their players with the resources to measure both individual physical and mental trends, such as recovery needs and work-to-rest-ratios, gives them the best chance of team success. As with most things VGK, the team is forward-thinking and elite in its integrated approach to the relationship between peak performance and the players’ mental and physical profiles.

Player awareness intrigues me, though. The more you understand what goes into getting you to that Flow State, the more likely you can perform optimally more often. Players have always sought peak performance, creating game-day schedules as a countdown to competition. I came into the game when it was routine for goalies to be sullen loners on game day. “Leave them to themselves” was the theory – goalies are different.

As I was tinkering with my approach my senior year at Cornell, I decided that I was “just going to have fun” as we entered a road game at Harvard. After falling behind 3-0 in the first period, I realized my pre-game mindset was a work in progress and needed some fine-tuning. But it was a hunt-and-peck proposition, with no real guidance. Just journal, review and tweak.

As with everything, knowledge is power. Players would eat the same things on game day, drive the same way to the rink, put their gear on in a specific order. And many still do. All to be at their best. Call those quirks, superstitions, rituals, or habits. Turns out they are simply rudimentary mile markers on the complex road to the Flow State.