Magic Tricks
This is part of the many ideas that I’ve wanted to address with the Youth hockey team that I coach but either just simply ran out of time or there were bigger issues to address.
So in this talk I want to speak to you about deceptions in hockey and how they are like magic tricks.
So why do we use deceptions at all? In a game where time and space is in very short supply, a quick deception can buy you the time you need to make your next move, or allow you into the space for a more effective shot.
At the simplest level, deceptions are simply about giving no information about your next move. At the highest level, deceptions show the opposite or a conflicting move.
In terms of giving no information, you have been taught up to this point to use your whole body into the mechanics of movements and stick work. To look and focus where you pass and to be intentional about your moves. All of this is good, but unfortunately everyone at your level does as well and have seen what those movements look like. Therefore you need to start removing some of the tell tale signs. This could just be a sudden pause in the movement chain to break the cadence of the move.
This could also mean just shooting with your arms instead of involving the lower body. This trades a harder shot for a quicker one with less information for a goalie. As I’ve mentioned separately before and will expand more on later, at higher levels, goalies are prediction machines first and so the less information you feed them, the harder it will be for them to predict where the shots will go.
As a side note, also the reason why decent backhands are effective. When was the last time you saw goalies practicing against backhands during their practice?
In terms of how magic works, there are some strict rules about magic tricks.
- Set up by showing the normal
- Set up with the proper angle
- Commit fully to the act
- Never show the same audience the same thing
For a magic trick to be believable, you first set the scene by showing or implying normalcy, this sets up the expectation of what is to happen. Then set up with the proper view angle, a magic trick will seem very silly from another viewing angle or from too far away. If you don’t commit fully to the act, you risk giving away the deception with your body language. And finally, once you show the trick, you can’t show it too often to the same audience as they will be now looking for the trick and be ready for it.
I’m hoping this is now enough to extrapolate your own ideas of how to bring deceptions to your game.
Half way back
We’re gearing up as a family to take a trip to Korea & Japan. It’s exciting for my kids as they love travel and the idea of travelling half way around the world.
I have a bit of mixed feelings as it will probably be the last time I see my Grandmother who’s also my last remaining Grandparent. It might also be the last time I visit the place that I was born in and with such little time to spend there it feels like I won’t be able to take it all in.
I don’t have many memories left of my childhood in Seoul, but of the ones I have I remember spending time with my grandparents on my dad’s side. I remember hanging off of my grandpa everywhere he went, until it was lunch or dinner time when it was the only time he was strict with me because I was such a picky eater and he had been through a war famine or two. That’s when my grandma would sit in between us and have him lower his voice. I miss her and I can’t wait to see her.
