The Nature of Our Game - Part 2

In my previous post, I suggested that a close study of our game helps us define the true demands placed on our players. This is so. And, I also suggested that it helps us determine the physical and mental characteristics required to play the game well. Then, a little later in this entry, I'm going to describe how the nature of our game even dictates what might be proper when it comes to equipment selection.
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Let's start with the challenges players typically face as they attempt to play this game called hockey...
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To begin, forwards usually work and rest in something close to a 1:2 ratio. In otherwords, on most teams, a wave of forwards normally skate a shift, and then that group goes to the bench and rests as two other lines skate their shifts. The same can often be said about defensemen, although lots of teams primarily use 4 regular D, thereby working and resting them in a 1:1 ratio. (Please allow me to deal with goaltenders at another time, and in quite a lot more depth.)
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At the youngest levels of play, it might be difficult to drag skaters off the ice until they've logged several minutes out there. However, at more competitive levels, shifts are often kept closer to 30- or 40-seconds. (Hey, work your buns-off and get off!) That said, following any high level player for the duration of a shift will show that his or her tempo constantly changes. I mean, the skater will likely cruise for several seconds as he or she watches some far away action, and then he or she will quickly burst -- all-out -- for the time required to get a particular job done. In effect, then, a characteristic shift is usually composed of a series of alternating coasts and bursts.
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Furthermore, we have to take into account the overall length of a hockey game -- in that a regular skater is going to take quite a few shifts in each of three periods.
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So, how do we use this information to prepare a skater for the workload he or she will have to ultimately face in a game? First, most physiologists will suggest that hockey players should train in something close to a 1:2 or 1:3 work:rest ratio. Secondly, a player can simulate a typical shift -- both on-ice and off-ice -- by alternately going easy and working hard at a given exercise. (This sort of bursting and coasting simulation can even be accomplished while performing an activity like rope skipping.) Third, it's highly recommended that players give even more attention to the explosive portion of a typical shift, and this can be accomplished with short sprints, as well as weightlifting, plyometrics and the likes. Fourth, some aerobic endurance is helpful to get a hockey player through the long game. How much of this kind of conditioning is good for a player is open to some debate. (If there's a question about this type of training, it might be the fact that aerobic workouts have to be done for a relatively long time, and at a reduced pace, so that the player's body might learn to work slower than is really desirable.)
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In my long ago Physical Education classes, I learned a formula that works rather nicely when it comes to designing a conditioning program, the gist of which adjusts three factors to achieve drastically different results. That said, let's use the three variables (listed below and to the left), and adjust them to the activity of rope skipping to achieve exactly what we want:
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..............Simulate Shift..... Simulate Burst........ Simulate Game

..........................(Anaerobic)....................... (Aerobic)

Intensity....Alternating......... All-out.................. Moderate

Resistance.. None............... Use weighted rope?... None

Duration.... 30-seconds........ 8- to 12-seconds....... 20-minutes+

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Then, while the above helps a player ready for hockey game action, I said previously that the nature of our game dictates the physical and mental qualities that are likely to be the most desirable.

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So, when it comes to the ideal physical make-up, I'm going to point to the size of the rink and the rules having to do with all the rink lines as huge determining factors. For, one only has to consider the fact that a player hardly ever gets to impact the game by racing from one end of the ice to the other. Rather, most critical plays are really characterized by short sprints, quick reactions in either of four directions, and tussles in fairly confined areas. That said, I'll suggest that, while some straight-ahead speed is great to have, the best players are usually quick, agile and fairly strong in closer quarters.

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As an aside here, my guess is that more than a few readers will want to debate two of my suggestions to this point -- namely the characterization of a typical shift, as well as the claim that quickness is more important than straight ahead, rink-long speed. If you do have an argument, though, all I can suggest is that you grab some game video-footage, and spend a little time trying to discern what seems to matter most.

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I'm guessing you or I could fill a book on the most desirable mental qualities required to really play our game well. But, just to make my point -- about how the nature of hockey influences even this area... Could we agree that players in our game need to be unselfish, mentally tough, able to skate with the team's game-theme or tactical plan in their heads, and able to read plays and react with the proper hockey principles?

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Then, about gear selection... My previous post drew some contrasts between two fictitious games played on drastically different surfaces. So, alluding to the extremely small rink that seemingly suited Sumo-sized players, does it make sense that they would probably need to be protected with knight-like armor? And, in contrast, wouldn't you agree that those "motor scooters" playing on the football-sized field -- where little contact is possible-- would only require minimum protection? All that agreed upon, I'll suggest that hockey players -- competing on a rink that's somewhere between those extremes -- require gear that both protects them well from frequent contact, but that also allows them to be quick and agile. Furthermore, I advise my players to be especially concerned with the gear that affects their footwork and hand movements. In other words, light skates, light gloves and light pads in certain areas are especially helpful in facilitating quick feet and quick hands.

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Just to make my point (to the nth degree), let's consider the way the natures of three different skating sports influence the skate-blades used in each... In speed skating, where straight-ahead speed is the main objective, long and flat blades suit the sport just right. Figure skating lies at the other extreme, where smaller radiused blades best accommodate lots of turns, spins and such. Then we have the blade that's ideally matched to a hockey skater's unique needs, in that it's curved enough to allow quick cuts and turns, but flat enough to propel the player on some long, straight bursts.

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Lastly, for now, I'm going to leave with the suggestion that the most desirable skating motion might not be exactly as some might currently see it. So, stay tuned for some ideas that should really get you thinking.