Hockey sense can be somewhat difficult to define but I think most hockey coaches would state that it is your ability to anticipate the play in order to react to it, either in an offensive or defensive manner. Wayne Gretzky would probably be considered a player with a very high level of hockey sense. If we know what hockey sense is, how can willing players improve it? If you think you have to be born with hockey sense I would suggest that you are not doing your homework on getting better as an athlete. To play at a high level you need an abundance of hockey sense. As a coach, in order to maximize your players ability you need to give them the tools to improve their hockey sense every practice and game. It is not enough just to be strong and a fast skater. You have to know where you are going on the ice and be able to anticipate the play.
Luckily there is a great product that will improve a hockey team’s hockey sense. That product is the Weiss Tech Hockey Playbook. If you are a coach that is looking for an easy-to-follow guide on how to develop your team then the Weiss Tech Hockey Playbook is for you. With the Playbook you will be able to give your players video homework so that when they come to practice you will be able to reinforce the drills that you have already asked them to study. Then when you take the players through the drills on the ice your practices will be more efficient and effective. The Weiss Tech Hockey Playbook covers everything from defensive zone coverage, breakouts, offensive attack, forechecking, backchecking, powerplay, penalty kill, faceoffs and even contains a glossary so you and your players will be speaking the same hockey language! Every drill has a video and text explanation (just like the HockeyOT exercises) that make it easy to follow for all types of learners. Your players will like being able to watch video explanations instead of having to read through boring pages of written playbooks. Coach Weiss has put alot of time into designing this great tool and this should be the season that you use this information to take your coaching to the next level!
To see an example of the video explanation for one of the drills from the Weiss Tech Hockey Playbook check out the video at the top of this article.
Dr. Chad Moreau is the President of HockeyOT.com, an online training site dedicated to improving the fitness level of hockey players of all levels. He was the former Strength & Conditioning/Nutrition Consultant for the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) and the Long Beach Ice Dogs (ECHL). For more information please visit hockeyot.com.
