1.6 Hockey Homework
What Is The GameFlow Engine?
The GameFlow Engine is how we will take a brand new skill and turn it into a natural part of your “GameFlow”.
The entire goal of making any read, and performing any tactical skill, is to eventually not have to think about it at all. Meaning, we can play the game purely in a “flow-state” where we are just doing what comes natural. We can play fast without overthinking.
If you can think and anticipate the game faster than your opponent can, you will hold a massive tactical advantage over them regardless of any discrepancy in skating speed, stickhandling ability or other physical skill. Being able to think and react faster than your competition is one of the greatest advantages you can have in all of sports.
By crafting a system around making reads and skills automatic, we are giving ourselves a sure-fire way to transfer the knowledge you pick up in this course and apply it into a real-life game.
This system will progress each skill we focus on through three phases of development. Each phase will build on the last and it will ultimately culminate with you having an opportunity to try out the skills in a live-game setting.
Isolation Phase
This phase will teach you how to do the skill in a high-repetition controlled setting.
We will be focused on executing the coaching points correctly and accurately. During this phase we will start slow, and will increase the speed and pressure as we go.
This phase is the least game-like out of the three, but sets the foundation for game-transfer.
Application Phase
This phase will allow you to try the skill within common game patterns and sequences.
We will take the coaching points we previously isolated and combine them with multiple other skills and reads.
This will be more game-like but still semi-controlled to get more repetitions of the desired skill.
GameFlow Phase
This phase is all about recall. Meaning, can you find the skill inside of the chaotic, transitional mess that is a typical hockey game?
This is where small area games and scrimmages are key for development. Once you have the foundation in place from the isolation and application phases, now you turn your attention to finding places to use the skill on your own, with or without coaching cues.
