Riley Novak's DISC Profile

Like all DISC Styles, your style has certain traits that can work for you, or might hold you back, depending on how you manage them. Keep in mind that a strength can be "over-done" and become a weakness.

Working For You	Could Hold You Back
Determined: At his best, Riley plays with a steady determination throughout the game, and never gives up on himself or his team.	Determined: Riley's strong determination can sometimes go overboard and lead to trying to force good performance.
Logical & Realistic: Riley's tendency to think in realistic terms can be a strength when he is making decisions on the ice.	Logical & Realistic: Riley's tendency to look at things in realistic terms can lead to losing optimism when things aren't going well on the ice.
Competitive: Riley is quite competitive and has high expectations for how he and his team perform on the ice.	Competitive: Riley is quite competitive and can become frustrated, and perhaps self-critical, when not playing up to his expectations.

Motivators & Temperament

Motivated To Compete And Improve Riley's Steady/Dominance DISC Style is a favorable blend of competitive and determined tendencies from the Dominance side, combined with somewhat less intense and more patient tendencies from the Steady side. He is motivated by the competitive aspects of hockey, and an ongoing desire to make steady improvement in his skills and performance.

Competes With Steady Perseverance Riley's determination and persevering nature are at the core of his hockey temperament style. At his best, he competes with steady determination throughout the game, and never gives up on himself or his team. While he is a strong competitor, his emotions tend to be somewhat less volatile than the ultra-intense style players.

Dealing With Frustration Riley is not as prone to deep and sustained anger as the ultra-intense style players, but he can become quite frustrated if he and his team are struggling on the ice. To be at his best: He would likely benefit by using short positive self-talk phrases to help him quickly turn frustration back into positive energy.

Playing Style

Balanced Playing Style Riley uses his uniquely balanced Steady/Dominance DISC Style to make smart decisions on the ice. At his best, he plays situationally – aggressive when he sees opportunities to make a bold play, and be more conservative when it makes sense to just protect possession of the puck.

Determination Can Go Overboard While Riley's natural determination is a strength in many ways, his instincts are to "try even harder" when he is struggling on the ice. This tendency can sometimes lead to playing "tight" and trying to force good performance. To be at his best: By being aware of this tendency, Riley can take a few deep breaths during breaks in the action to help stay loose, and ready to respond at his best to the action on the ice.

Needs To Understand The Logic Riley likes for "things to make sense," and the clearer he understands the coach's instructions for the game, the more apt he is to follow them on the ice. He feels it's just as important to outsmart opponents and make fewer mental mistakes, as it is to try to beat them with better skills and conditioning.

Interaction With Teammates

Leads By Example Riley appreciates teammates who share his desire to work hard and put forth their best efforts towards having a winning team. He is not as much of a "rah-rah" type player as some of his more outgoing teammates. He is more of a "lead by example" type encourager, and his teammates will rarely doubt his desire to win.

Will Defend his Opinion When Riley has a strong opinion about something, or thinks he is the one who is right about a situation, he can be quite persistent in defending his opinion. He is not necessarily an overly assertive "in your face" type communicator, but he will not easily give up in defending his opinion.

Enjoys Being Part Of The Team Riley enjoys the camaraderie and good-natured ribbing that is part of a team-oriented atmosphere. With that said, he feels everyone needs to be serious and focused during team meetings, practices, and pre-game warm-ups. Overall, his teammates will respect his competitive spirit and dedication to their team.

Approach To Improving His Game

Will Pay The Price Riley will usually respond well when coaches push him to keep developing more of his potential as a hockey player. He'll view time and energy spent working on puck skills, tactical decision-making, and physical conditioning as part of paying the price needed to become a better player.

Practicing On His Own Riley likes to feel he is competing even when he is practicing on his own, or with others outside of formal team practices. Spending part of his informal practice time scrimmaging with others, and/or using drills that simulate competitive game-type situations, will help capitalize on his competitive nature. The more he feels like he is actually competing when he is practicing, the more likely it will help him keep improving.

Needs Measurable Goals Riley is a competitive and results-oriented thinker, and would likely benefit by having clear, specific and measurable goals to work towards, as well as well-defined action steps towards accomplishing them. This strategy can be a strong motivator towards helping him focus on his ongoing growth and development as a hockey player.