EYES UP STICKHANDLING AND A 5G PROCESSOR

EYES UP STICKHANDLING. At Pro Performance Hockey we believe that, after skating, the number 1 skill needed for a player to become great is the ability to handle the puck without looking at it. We stress to our clinic participants that in order to “process” the game at high speed you cannot break the flow of information to the brain. Every time a player looks down to see the puck that player stops seeing what is happening all over the ice and they break the flow of information to the brain.

Let’s take a closer look at this:

First of all, what is processing in hockey? Simply put, processing is the ability of the brain to analyze a situation and respond to that situation in the best possible way. So what does a puck carrier need to analyze? The list of things a player needs to analyze is incredibly long. The following is only a partial list of things players need to be processing during a shift:

What period is it? What is the score? How long have I been on the ice? Should I change soon? Where are all my teammates locations on the ice? Where are all the other teams players locations on the ice? What angle and speed are all of these players moving at? Should I be playing in a defensive mode or offensive mode? Am I on a 1v1, 2v1, 3v1, 3v2, etc.? What move am I going to use to get by this player? Should I shoot the puck or pass the puck? If I am going to shoot, what type of shot should I use? Where is the goalie located in the net? Should I shoot high or low, left or right or five hole? What are my best options considering all these circumstances? Etc…etc…etc…etc...

As daunting as this may seem it is not even the most challenging part. Consider this. All of the information above is going to change completely in the next one second!! The brain will have to re-compute all this information over and over and over again until the end of that players shift. It is incredibly impressive when you see a successful player considering what they need to process and the speed at which they need to calculate all this information.

ALL OF THIS PROCESSING IS IMPOSSIBLE IF A PLAYER IS LOOKING DOWN AT THE PUCK!!!

At Pro Performance Hockey we spend a great deal of time working on a players ability to stickhandle with their eyes up. Anyone who has ever tried to stickhandle with their eyes up, skate at full speed, try to figure out their best possible options all while someone is trying to knock you to the ice, will tell you that it is extremely difficult.

Without possessing this very necessary and critical skill a player has little chance of succeeding in this game. In order for the modern player to be successful they will need to process the game at higher and higher speeds. Like today’s best phones that process at a “5G” rate, today’s players must learn to process the game at a “5G” rate. Players that cannot keep up with this mental pace risk being left behind. If your player is processing the game at a 1G to 4G rate, or even worse, at a “dial up” rate the problem may be their lack of ability to stickhandle with their eyes up.

Thank you,

PRO PERFORMANCE HOCKEY STAFF