The Most Important Assessment for a Hockey Player - Part II

In Part I of this article I talked about the rationale for off-ice
hockey training. And this always has to be geared towards improving
your on-ice performance.You need to know that you are faster,
stronger, fitter and more resilient to injury. Otherwise you might
question all of your efforts in the gym, particularly during the
off-season. But let's assume you were following a quality program and
got some decent results.Does it end there now that the season is in
full swing? Do you simply focus on your practices and games? Well as a
hockey player you can focus on the game itself. Sure you'll have some
in-season workouts and may have an occasional mid-point assessment but
the type of assessment I'm referring is done by someone in the
stands.This assessment is to look at your on-ice performance during an
actual hockey game. I'm fortunate to be able to watch a number of our
players play. I have WHL season tickets and get out and watch some
bantam and major midget games as well. And this tells me a lot of the
hockey players we are trying to help.It tells me:1. What is their
warm-up like? Are they moving in all planes from side to side,
forwards and back as well as turning in and out? Are they working on
various speeds and builds up to develop acceleration? Is the movement
smooth and flowing or does it look restricted and choppy?2. What does
their skating look like? I'm not expecting you to be a skating coach
and be able to break down all the technical aspects of the stride. But
you should be able to distinguish a strong skater with a weak one. You
should be able to spot a skater that makes it look effortless as
compared to one who looks like they're skating in sand. What is their
body position like when they skate? While skating what do the head and
torso do?3. What is their overall strength like? Are they strong on
the puck? Can they pin the puck against the boards and keep their body
position on the penalty kill chewing up valuable seconds? On the power
play are they an immovable force in front of the net? Conversely can
they move others out from the front of their net?4. What are their
energy systems like? Are they explosive and win battles for pucks? Can
they stay out for a penalty kill and not be gassed? And how does this
all affect their play in the 3rd period? Namely does their strength
last and does their skating look as good in the third as it did in the
warm-up?5. What is their mental state like? How do they react after
getting scored on? How about when they get high sticked and the ref
misses the call? Do they take a retaliation penalty? Are they a leader
on the team? If so is it by action? Or by word? Or both?Can you see
the loads of feedback you can get from watching a hockey player in an
actual game? Do you see all the aspects of their performance that may
not be available to you on the gym floor or in a performance lab? And
can you see the enormous value the answers to all these questions have
in terms of being able to fine tune and customize a hockey training
program?So I encourage you to watch yourself play. Have some videotape
your games. Try and answer the above questions. And if you work with a
coach or trainer ask them to come check out a hockey game as well.