Archive for December, 2009
Let’s Play Hockey Parent Jeopardy!
December 22nd, 2009 | 
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The Art of Timing and Spacing
- The ability of a player to be, exactly in the right place on the ice, at precisely the right moment in time to support or defend against an offense of attack.
A Closer Look into the Read and React Process
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Hockey from the Neck up Article
By Paul O’Donnell
Of all the cognitive skills that the motivated player will need to climb ever-higher in hockey’s food chain, none will be more important than the ability to effectively read and react to the play after the puck is dropped. Whether you are an elite player with aspirations of a D1 scholarship, or just an average player, struggling to make your high school’s varsity team, nothing will derail your dreams faster than a poor understanding of the read and react process by the time you reach the high school or midget levels.
Many genetically gifted hockey players born with the right amount of white, fast twitch muscle, exceptional hand-eye coordination and above average peripheral vision find it easy to make the jump to the next level, while relying primarily on their superior physical skills. Unfortunately, unless their name is Sydney Crosby, Wayne Gretzky, or Bobby Orr, there will always come a time during a player’s hockey development when almost every other player whom they compete against will be just as fast, just as strong, and just as accurate as themselves. For the player who has been unwilling to hone their read and reaction skills to this point, the wake-up call may be just as short and abrupt as their hopes for future hockey stardom.