Multitasking and Hockey Coaching

You don’t believe the above title and the subject of the video below have to do with hockey?  Please have a look at that video before you read my impressions down below.

– Dennis Chighisola

Now, understand that Mr Carr is talking about ALL human beings here. And I mention that because it often seems to me that we grownups (like hockey parents and coaches) don’t translate such knowledge to young (or even older) hockey players. The truth is, the very challenges Nicholas Carr describes in the video impact greatly on a hockey player’s ability to focus — in skills training and in game related tactical execution.

Far too often I’ll witness coaches inundating young students with a host of things to consider when they’re attempting to try a new skill. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Give young players a batch of things to think about and they’ll accomplish none of them! In fact, in my motor learning studies, I was taught to begin with the “grossest” or largest problem, help an athlete overcome that, and then move on to the next grossest problem.

I also always adapted Mr Carr’s line of thinking to the early part of my team’s hockey season, only asking my players to concentrate on one or two areas of our system or game-play technique during a given game. In other words, while we might be practicing a wide array of tactics and strategies behind the scenes, I’ll ask my players in an early game something like, “Let’s just concentrate on our breakouts tonight.”

Again, any new information we discover having to do with all mankind really does have to do with the way we should handle hockey players.