Process or result

[jds 20]

I am fascinated with the process of learing and training for the skills of a sport, in this case, hockey possibly more so than the result , in this case, playing the game.

I love practising my skills and learing new things. Training to improve myself as a hockey player. I love playing in a game as well but think I might enjoy the training and the journey more than actually playing a game. I think this translates to gear whoring as well where one covets equipment that might improve one's ability to play the game. Having the best stick or skates is in reality part of the process of improving rather than actually playing. Anyone else out there who likes the process/training/gear more than actually playing a game or is it tied together somehow where the game is more satisfying because of the preparation. Kind of deep but, whatever. Discuss.

[uclahockey707 1]

Man, I love both parts. I really enjoy practicing, getting better, learning new skills, and lifting in the gym (hockey specific workouts), but I have to say, most of all, I just love playing the game and having a blast while doing it.

[Rocketking 0]

Especially for a hockey player I think this idea is critically important.

My reasoning is that process over result is most important.

To begin with I think about how I would feel about doing something in a game that I could not reliably repeat. Yes, it would be nice but its more of a gift from the hockey gods if I can not have some reliability to be able to do it when needed.

So I (even at the age of 47) still thrive on competing with myself at practice sessions. And doing that elevates how effectively reliable my skills are when I am in a game situation. I love practicing stick handling, skating, shooting, passing and I have little doubt that this have paid off big time for me in what I have been able to produce in games.

Hockey is such a VERY complex and difficult sport to play (compared to other main sports), so that is IF you dont invest the time you will never (usually) be able to acquire a competency level to compete and that will be very frustrating for you when you do play.

My last supporting point is that in game situations, even if you have reliably good to very good or elite skill the determination of the game's outcome and your stats are still more measured by desire to overcome/succeed/win. If you don't (or lack the conditioning and can't) or are unwilling to press you limits for physical discomfort (pain) then you will more than likely not win or have good game results.

That last point is not a single qualifier for success, because there are players whose skill by itself totally allows them to dominate, but it is the great enable that (at least IMO) makes the final equation to determine how you will do in a game situation.

You have to have a true LOVE (for practice and innovation) to bring the skill out, and then the heart to make them stand up.

Yeah, this is a deep thread, but hockey IS a cerebral sport.

If people doubt that then explain how some guy 6'1-2" who weighed 170 lbs soaking wet was able to totally DESTROY ALL records for this sport?

[Chadd 916]

The payoff when everything comes together is the moment for me. The deke that you've been working on that gets you past a guy in a game. The hours of working on powerskating finally hits home when you pull away from a defender or track down the other guy on the back check, those are the payoff moments. That is what makes the training worth while. Without those moments, the work is just that, work.

Having the best stick or skates is trying to take a shortcut or showing off, neither will make you a better player. Sure you may be more confident with $600 skates but they aren't going to make you faster than the $400 model. I'm all for experimenting with equipment, you need to find skates that fit properly or the right flex for you shooting motion, but the vast majority of the time, you improve more by practicing than you do by purchasing.

[All Torhs Team 0]

I had a coach last season that SPECIFICALLY had us practice on powerplays day in and day out. Our power play was top knotch, if the other team committed a penalty, it was a for sure goal on our team.

After practicing the same plays at practice 3 times a week, it was a good feeling too execute them on ice during games. Not only did you do it for yourself but you finished for coach who has been pushing our work ethic in practice, and for your teammates who have shown equal dedication at early morning practices.

[usahockey22 0]

The payoff when everything comes together is the moment for me. The deke that you've been working on that gets you past a guy in a game. The hours of working on powerskating finally hits home when you pull away from a defender or track down the other guy on the back check, those are the payoff moments. That is what makes the training worth while. Without those moments, the work is just that, work.

Having the best stick or skates is trying to take a shortcut or showing off, neither will make you a better player. Sure you may be more confident with $600 skates but they aren't going to make you faster than the $400 model. I'm all for experimenting with equipment, you need to find skates that fit properly or the right flex for you shooting motion, but the vast majority of the time, you improve more by practicing than you do by purchasing.

I completely agree. Practicing hockey is still fun, but it's practice. Making things happening in an actual game, being instrumental in a great play, etc., is the real thrill of hockey, and that's why you practice.

As for practice over purchasing, that's completely true as well. It's entertaining to read things on here like "want a better slapshot? upgrade to the s17...", but it's just not a real solution. I actually got my first OPS recently after years of reading the hype on here and using an old z-bubble or t-flex shaft. I did notice some extra kick in my slapshot, but that's about it. Nothing I couldn't have achieved perhaps with some extra practice on my form or weightlifting.

Anyway, that's a tangent. But yea, the game of hockey itself is what makes it great, training and practicing is to that end.

[farhanshak 1]

i love both components. the practice and then seeing it pay off on the ice.

practicing shooting pucks in the backyard and working on accuracy and being able to beat the goalie.

practicing and working hard in the gym to not get tired on the ice and battle in the corners.

i haven't been gear whoring much, but if i see something for a good deal (too good to pass up) that i really want to try i will binge on it. but its the performance in the game for me that pays off the greatest. if i have a bad game i usually make myself work harder outside of it (practicing points above).

its always satisfying contributing in the game. i have actually learned to not blow all my money on equipment (because then i cant afford to pay to play haha).

most of my gear purchases i find are made during off season, during on season, i want to get on the ice as much as possible and play as much possible and practice as much as possible.

[gxc999 7]

I agree with the gist of this thread. I usually work on doing something that's new or difficult for me just in bare feet, dekes, working on shots I've never used before, backhand blind passing etc. Once I get it down, then I practice on ice, then I try to incorporate. I admit, I'm a little squeamish about doing things in game that I've never done before.

[Chadd 916]

I admit, I'm a little squeamish about doing things in game that I've never done before.

I rarely push my abilities on the ice. I'm usually on defense lately and I try to play as simply and as safely as possible.

[chippa13 1844]

The payoff when everything comes together is the moment for me. The deke that you've been working on that gets you past a guy in a game. The hours of working on powerskating finally hits home when you pull away from a defender or track down the other guy on the back check, those are the payoff moments. That is what makes the training worth while. Without those moments, the work is just that, work.

In the same vein, when something goes from thought to instinct. When you realize after the play that you just did it, there was no thought. To steal a line from "Pistol":

"How did you know he was open?"

"I just knew."

[Law Goalie 147]

There was a great quote from Michael Ignatieff in an Adam Gopnik New Yorker piece a while back, if I can find it...

"What is that form of knowledge? Last night [my wife] and I were watching the Detroit Red Wings' goalie, and he knows something: what is it that he knows? [...] The great ones have a skill that is just jaw-dropping, and I'm trying to learn that."

He is, of course, speaking of politics, and in a very carefully-calculated way (since his 'Canadianness' is a subject of such scrutiny), but it's a very apt description of the phenomenon of 'just knowing something.' It is a skill, in the sense that it can be practised, learned, and improved; the effect is sublime.

[NYRSinceBirth 0]

The payoff when everything comes together is the moment for me. The deke that you've been working on that gets you past a guy in a game. The hours of working on powerskating finally hits home when you pull away from a defender or track down the other guy on the back check, those are the payoff moments. That is what makes the training worth while. Without those moments, the work is just that, work.

Having the best stick or skates is trying to take a shortcut or showing off, neither will make you a better player. Sure you may be more confident with $600 skates but they aren't going to make you faster than the $400 model. I'm all for experimenting with equipment, you need to find skates that fit properly or the right flex for you shooting motion, but the vast majority of the time, you improve more by practicing than you do by purchasing.

This. Game play is what I enjoy the most. But the practice what makes it happen. You might get lucky with an untrained deke depending on the opponent, but breaking a guys ankles, finding the holes, the perfect passes, only happen when you just do it, not think about it. This is why I appreciate practicing, but gametime execution rules for me.

[kovyperron5727 0]

Man, I love both parts. I really enjoy practicing, getting better, learning new skills, and lifting in the gym (hockey specific workouts), but I have to say, most of all, I just love playing the game and having a blast while doing it.

My favorite parts of hockey is working very hard on my stickhandling and speed, then burning a dman wide or with a sick move in a game. Nothing in this world is even compares imho