Development

***For information on summer development camps click on the player development link.

Repitition and practice is key in the success of player development.

Player Development: The 10, 000 Hour Rule

The Problem:

There are some constants when we want to become a maestro in music, dance, coaching, playing or basically anything in life. One of these constants is the 10, 000 hour rule. It has been found that to be amongst the best requires that we spend
a lot of time to acquire the skills and understanding of any discipline.

The rule states that it takes 10,000 hours spread over 10 years but most of this time must be put in before the onset of
puberty.

To focus on hockey this means that you must start as a child and learn the proper techniques and habits early in your development because we get good at what we practice. It also takes 10,000 repetitions to develop movement
patterns that become entrenched i.e. after you learn to walk you no longer have to think about it like a toddler does. So we get very good at what we practice and if we practice with good technique we do things efficiently and if we
practice with poor technique we get really good at being really bad. i.e. Most players my age were never shown how to handle the stick properly and are Bottom Hand dominant. This causes the shoulders to be tight, makes moves such as a toe
drag almost impossible, causes problems taking passes and makes shooting very inefficient.

Now players get on the ice with teams and depend on the coach to design practices that are efficient and supply enough repetitions with good technique to develop these individual skills. The players who want to excel will take the lessons they learn in practices and do a lot of reps on their own because not many teams get enough practice time for all that individual work.

To play the game well doesn't only require individual skill development, a player also needs good playing habits and game understanding as well as a high fitness level.

Hockey specific development has to address both Health and Skill Related Fitness. If you aren't healthy it doesn't matter how good or strong you are and if you are very healthy and fit you also require the hockey specific training.