The Essence of Hockey

The essence of hockey is skills, speed, creativity and teamwork. When all of these elements come together the result is a great sense of accomplishment and pride. Coaches and players are engaged in the process of developing all of these parts in order for the masterpiece to emerge and re-emerge as the play flows and situations rapidly change.

What is it about the game that creates so much passion on the part of players? Initially it is the sense of speed and freedom on the ice. Young players instinctively know that they are improving every time they skate. This motivates them to return. As they develop stick skills and add them to their tool kit they can now play the game better and begin to use their imagination as they create opportunities and learn new things on ice.

From the stands or the bench we measure the players and teams by the win loss record but that does not begin to tell the story of why players keep coming back. All sports require the athletes to master many skills in order to compete successfully but hockey is different due to the complexity of the playing environment, high level of skating ability required, and the ability of players to improve significantly with the right attitude, training, and focus.

The continuous speed of the game and transition nature of play also differentiates hockey from other sports. Midget players are skating at speeds of 21-25 miles per hour. College and professional players are even faster. The ability to process information and react to it at these speeds in a confined area provides a great sense of accomplishment and joy to players.

When a play develops coming through the neutral ice area and progresses into the offensive zone attackers and defenders are playing a high speed version of chess with each trying to anticipate and react to their surroundings. One mistake or one misstep by a defender and the attack situation quickly changes and becomes more urgent for the defenders. The anticipation increases for the offensive players as they advance on the net with a numerical advantage and new options available. Time and space is running out and the players adjust attack and defend. Suddenly the attacker becomes a defender. The game quickly reverses direction and just as quickly the roles reverse. At 45 seconds of play the heart races, the lungs scream for more air, and the legs get heavy until a line change brings rested players on to continue the battle. Every 45 seconds the players’ change and game moves on. Back and forth until a goal is scored and then we line up and do it again.

There is something special that occurs when players enter the arena totally enclosed by a wall and glass. The outside world is left behind and during the next sixty minutes the players, like artists working on their canvas, are using their skills to create, challenge and test their opponent’s skills. As they move up the ice they create great plays that almost succeed and then maybe another situation that does. Watching scrimmages or games an alert observer will hear players verbalize their joy when things go right and frustration when they fail. No time to think about either because the game goes on and another opportunity is happening right before their eyes.

Hockey is a continuous series of challenges or problems looking for solutions. The more skills a player has the more solutions he or she can bring to the game. The more skills a player develops allows for more creativity and artistry on the ice.

Youth hockey coaches are charged with the responsibility of helping their players develop passion for the game by helping them master the skills they need to become creators of dynamic and exciting on ice solutions. It is the joy of competing against others and testing our skills each day that is the essence of the game. It is what a hockey player lives for each and every day.

Hal Tearse

Coach in Chief, Minnesota Hockey

September 2009