In Part 1, we considered how the ability to automatically execute high quality technique is more important for Hockey than the ability to execute perfect technique.  Let us consider why this is the case.

In Part 1 when I said roughly that “Pavel Datsyuk is special because he executes technique at a world class level without even thinking about it”, I undersold him.  It would be more accurate to say “Pavel Datsyuk is special because he executes multiple techniques simultaneously at a world class level at an NHL pace without even thinking about it”.  When you watch NHL players play, it looks easy.  When you think about it in the way that I just explained it though, it seems really, really hard (it is!).

But, that challenge leads back into our topic, but we’ll look at it in a different way.  What is the more common limiting factor for hockey players, imperfect technique or inability to play at the pace of the highest levels of the game?

This is an important question because, if we are training a player to play as well as their potential allows, it may determine our focus during training.  If perfect technique is needed, we might just keep things simplified and allow the player to repeat the technique until all inefficiencies have been eliminated.  If pace of play is most important, we may push the pace and complexity of training to more accurately mimic in-game challenge.

So what is the answer?  The answer is that more common limiting factor for aspiring Hockey players is pace of play.  And, skills that stay high quality when a player is focused on the game and not the technique set the foundation for a high pace of play.  These “automatic” skills free up the brain to think about finding the best strategy to make things hard on the opponents and to support teammates.

The good news is that training which strives for perfection also helps to build our automatic control system.  As a result, we can make skills higher quality and more automatic at the same time and for a lot of the skill development process for a given player, we do not need to choose which of these to strive for when practicing.

However, the human body and mind responds to challenges they are repeatedly asked to execute.  If we make those challenges include complex, multi-part, and intricate movements, players will have to get better at automatically controlling each part of those.  Skating and stickhandling at the same time is a good example.  However, for advanced players this is simple, so, in that case, we build to dynamic lateral skating mixed with complex stickhandling (all executed at a pace beyond the comfort zone). 

Yet, even that level of complexity in practice doesn’t match the complexity of a game.  The game asks us to execute all of that super-complex movement skill while reading and reacting.  In controlled yet complex drills, there is a plan for each stage of the drill.  This allows players to focus on those movement challenges.  This illuminates the development value of game-play and simulated game-play in practice.  It is a final layer of training, which combines complex movement and read-and-react challenges together.

What does this all mean?  Should coaches stop implementing over-simplified technique drills?  No, we do still need to build quality technique.  In order to do so we do need drills that allow players to focus their minds on the specific basic techniques we need to build and to do this until they have a very strong (but not necessarily perfect) ability with the fundamentals.  However, there simply becomes a point where it is no longer highly productive to work that “last mile” toward perfection with “separated” skills.

Instead, with advanced players, it becomes more productive to put those skills together into combined “overall” tasks.  At some point each skill becomes “good enough” to start training it in concert with other skills.  We need to be more cognizant of searching for that point in Hockey player development.  We are preparing players to thrive in games.  Games challenge all skill categories at once. This is even more true against the best teams or at the highest levels where the pace challenges players mental and physical abilities to the maximum.

One of Minnesota's premier hockey trainers, Andy Blaylock joins the YHH Staff to write about the dynamics of training, both on ice and off.  Andy is the General Manager of Competitive Edge Hockey in St. Louis Park. His content will emphasize the importance of high quality in-season and off-season training. In addition to running his own private clinics and camps, Andy has trained several organizations including Andover, Anoka, Edina, Hutchinson, STMA and Wayzata.

Andy can be reached via email at Andy@compedgehky.com