Skills That Translate
The biggest challenge for steady improvement in skills and realizing potential is improving the skills that translate to the next level. That does not mean a setlist of useful skills; it is more about the individual and what they can bring to the game at the next level.
Each individual will have some skills: skating, shooting, general hockey sense, speed of awareness, and movement, that they can step up, whist also have some habits and skills that do not translate to that next transition quite so well. Identifying any individual's abilities that genuinely translates to higher-level play is key to ensuring that the change is successful. Playing to one’s strengths is a vital component of any successful athlete; everyone has strengths and weaknesses; it is the ability to play the game in a way that accentuates the strengths and minimizes the flaws that separate the great athletes from the good ones.
Our job as coaches is to help each player identify these skills and not run a cookie-cutter system for the masses.
This does not just apply to primary skills either; the higher level you play, the higher level of the opponent, and there will be occasions where such skilled opponents neutralize the primary skills; what happens then? Being able to solve that problem, finding a way to succeed, is where great players excel.
Being able to recognize those translate-able skills is essential for development and progression. Skating skills are an integral component of any player. Still, that extra ability to skate under pressure in tight areas, anticipate an opening using quickness or agility that others do not is a skill that will translate well. This allows a player to progress and thrive at any level as well as continually dictate.
Similarly, hockey sense is a translatable skill, to see the game unfolding before others, find the right positions and make the right plays that others cannot see; that is a skill that shines at all levels. Hockey sense differentiates the exceptional players and one that translates readily to the next level of the game.
These skills, the ability to go beyond the base level expected that translate to the next level. Accurate shooting, even under extreme pressure, speed of thought, and awareness of the game at all times, are the things that lift a player beyond the norm. These skills will translate moving up and enable that individual to adjust and progress at the new level.
Having the ability to adapt to the environment and make the most of the translatable skills at their disposal is the sign of a successful player who will make continual progress within the sport. Understanding the abilities that make that individual capable of playing at the next level is the key to successful progression. One of the more vital components of training that anyone hopeful of rising to the highest levels should recognize and study with their coaches and fully grasp the skills and abilities they possess that are translate-able for the best possible chance of success.
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