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“I was the biggest, thickest onion you could ever imagine, like [I’m just] gonna power through things. I don’t need friends,” says Rachel Llanes says, describing the isolated position sports can force on an athlete.
She says that by working with a high level performance coach (non-sport specific) and curating a tight-knit circle around her which she calls her “tribe,” she feels more in control of herself than she ever did before.
Mental skills, like decompressing stress in a healthy way, are just like physical skills which need to be taught and practiced over time. Llanes illustrates, “if you have an empty bottle, it will keep getting fuller and fuller until it’s overflowing and I had no skills to deal with that. The lid comes off and you blow up.”
Now, Llanes understands what things in her life will lead to these emotions, why they lead there and most crucially, what she can do proactively to avoid those things. She empathizes with other athletes out there in similar positions: “It’s hard to take yourself out of your perspective and try to figure out what you need. I think something needs to happen where you’re think ‘I can’t keep going this way,’ and you ask for help.”
She mentions she used to pride herself in finding all the ways she could handle stressful situations alone, but strongly believes that opening up to her friends cracked through her walls and allowed the flow of relief and growth she really needed.
“Control what you can control.” –Epictetus
Llanes has a platform with her new position with the AHL and her business to convey these critical messages to athletes who are in the infancy of their career.
She notes the importance of not only getting a well-rounded training program as a developing athlete, but seeking out different voices that offer a diverse array of experiences. She tells her athletes: “I’ve gone through what you are about to go through to get to your dream. My take on it is a little bit different; it’s through my experiences and thinking about the human first approach and making sure these guys are good people first and foremost and that they’re aware of themselves and what they can control.” In fact, she painted “control what you can control” onto the Barracuda weight room wall to ensure everyone who enters hears the message.
Using this philosophy herself, Llanes reconnected with her “why” for playing hockey which slowly unfolded into a new longing for the game she hasn’t felt in a long time. “I feel so hungry to play,” she says. “I miss the grind, I miss the team, I miss that hockey life where that’s all you get to focus on is just being a player, dealing with the soreness and playing back-to-back games. I love that life.”
She adds some details about her personal training regime on top of her full-time job with the Barracuda and her business. Whether it’s going all-out on an assault bike, bringing someone on the ice with her to train or messaging her skills coach and former teammate Melanie Jue, she continues matching her physical and hockey IQ abilities to the current professional landscape.
“No one’s going to tell me I’m too old, no one’s going to ever tell me I’m out of shape.”
“Women’s hockey is at an all-time high and being a strength coach and knowing exactly what I need all year to train, it’s a cheat code,” Llanes says. “I feel like if I were called to play a game today, I’m 100% ready.” With a redefined her relationship with hockey and motivation to return as strong as ever, it’s no wonder she serves as an excellent role model for others.
Since I often myself struggling with feeling ‘too old’ for my sport, I asked Llanes for her perspective. She answered, “I’m not going to stop playing because I’ve taken care of my body. I put myself in a better position to take full control of that so no one’s going to tell me I’m too old, no one’s going to ever tell me I’m out of shape.”
Back to work, right after playoffs. Bolden and Llanes will be hosting a hockey/fitness camp!
More info HERE: https://t.co/lK5UUupvtqpic.twitter.com/M5Cm7Mux14
— PHF (@PHF) March 10, 2017
Immediately inspired by this, I inquired further on advice for any current older players still clinging to their dream. The group that didn’t think professional hockey was a realistic option until recently, but maybe feel it’s too late for them to try and make a career out of it.
“There are plenty of opportunities for anyone who is ready to step in.”
Her advice is: “Always be prepared. If a pro team called me today and asked me to play for them I am more than ready to compete at my best. I live for that professional athlete life and even with my time away from it, I know I am ready to step in at any time because it’s just what is ingrained in me.
She continues, “being prepared also means being adaptable to anything your team needs and finding success instead of excuses. Just observing PWHL games this season shows me that there are plenty of opportunities for anyone who is ready to step in. The pro game is very different from college and it takes a lot for players to adapt to the workloads and compete level.”
Finally she adds, “as a vet, find ways to stay ready for every opportunity and continue learning from your mistakes and making changes to your game. Just because you’ve been doing certain things that have brought you to high levels of hockey doesn’t mean it will keep you there.”
Llanes’ career shines as the perfect example for this advice. If longevity is the goal, then willingness to be adaptable is key. For Llanes, hockey was never about chasing the spotlight, it was and is about adaptability and playing as long as possible. It’s about accepting and mastering challenges presented to her all the way back to her dad and earning her equipment with the basics. It’s about setting a long-term goal and figuring out the day-to-day objectives to reach it.
Team USA camp? College scholarship? Coaching and playing in China? Olympics? No matter which chapter of her life, Llanes always trained and prepared for the team she wanted to be on next.
Llanes reflects on what playing professional again would mean to her: “Playing pro again would be another opportunity to continue learning. What I crave the most is learning from my mistakes and being able to compete at the highest level.” Although she decided not to declare for the 2024 draft, the sky remains the limit.
Whether it’s continuing through the strength and conditioning field, finding a place in any number of professional leagues around the world or taking a swing at next year’s draft, Rachel Llanes wants us all to know that she isn’t slowing down any time soon and is ready for anything.