Not Lost in Translation
In our last blog we discussed that being an all-around athlete and indulging in other sports while in the hockey season are great for the mind and body. Not only does it work on other muscles that are supplementary in hockey, it allows young athletes to view sports in a different light, as what they learn in secondary sports may open their eyes to a new perspective on their main sport, and vice versa.
Many skills can be translated over to hockey from other sports. It is arguably the only sport that a player can master while being very proficient in everything else. A lot of hockey players can play baseball, but not many baseball players can play hockey. Same goes for Basketball, Soccer, Football, and many others.
Soccer offers the ability to work on one’s legs in both agility and stamina, the running, cutting, footwork with the ball, and defending all translate to hockey quite well. Taking these skills to support great stride and edgework will make for an elite skater.
Basketball is played with the same number of players, and systematically, fluid concepts translate well from sport to sport. Many times, it is moving and flowing around the perimeter, and use of quick passing to create triangles for 3 on 2 situations, and ultimately trying to find a 2 on 1, or a player lost withing the defense in a critical area.
Lacrosse is now becoming widely popular across the country, and is a sport littered with athletes who chose to play hockey before discovering lacrosse. Similar systematic breakdowns as basketball apply, as well as the hand eye coordination while moving and cutting like soccer make for fun and creative plays on the field and the ice.
Even just watching or studying these other sports can help athletes open their eyes to new concepts that they can use on the ice. It’s plays like these that make the boys and girls hockey tournaments in Michigan so much fun, as these plays are displayed all weekend. We know its hot but our 2022-2023 schedule is starting to fill. Don’t be left out.