Finally, we’re going to talk about what we do on the ice during games.
How should we think when we’re on the ice?
Thinking starts with our eyes. We need to keep our eyes up and be constantly scanning the ice so we can move quickly to the best positions.
READ and ANTICIPATE
When we’re on the ice, we want to read and anticipate the play. (Sometimes you’ll hear this called “Read and React”. I prefer Read and Anticipate because anticipating is faster than reacting.)
There are three questions that you should be constantly asking yourself that will make this decision easy for you.
- Where is the puck?
- Where is the pressure?
- Where is the open space?
The answers to these questions will almost always determine where the play (and the puck) will be going next. Remember, hockey is all about speed. Anticipating where players and the puck will be going next allows us to constantly be moving to the right spot on the ice faster than our opponents.
MOVE FULL SPEED
When you first come on the ice, MOVE FULL SPEED to join the play.
When our team has the puck, you want to support the puck offensively. MOVE FULL SPEED to the open space with your stick available to receive a pass.
If you have the puck, you must MOVE FULL SPEED to protect the puck and either move to open space or pass the puck to a teammate who is moving to that space.
When the other team has the puck, you want to MOVE FULL SPEED to either pressure the puck by closing the open space or by taking away passing opportunities so that your teammates can pressure the puck.
When you’re coming to the bench, MOVE FULL SPEED to get off ice.
No Sloths!
Like everything else, learning to read and anticipate the play is a skill. We’ll practice it until we can do it quickly and automatically.
READ the play and ANTICIPATE where you want to go. Then MOVE FULL SPEED to get there.
Today’s Assignment:
- Complete today’s workout on the TeamBuildr app. Be sure to mark each exercise complete as you finish it.
IMPORTANT: If you have other sports, camps or are doing a different workout that you’d like to substitute on any given day that is okay. Please make a quick note of what you did that day under the ALTERNATE Workout in TeamBuildr. It is still important to complete the stickhandling and shooting every day that it is scheduled. But it is okay to move it to another day of the week when you aren’t quite as busy. Even when you’re on vacation, you should still be trying to find time to get in your workout.
- Think of an example of a game situation where you can read and anticipate the play. Discuss it with your parents and post your answer to the team WhatsApp group.