Can Training "Above The Neck" Enhance Performance in Ice-hockey?

Welcome and thank you for visiting my LinkedIn Blog! My intention with this avenue is to share some of the research and my thoughts on how we can utilize emerging training and coaching methods from visual-cognitive research, motor learning and sports psychology as it applies to variables that influence skill learning & retention, game performance and even injury management. Much of the research has been out there for a considerable time and the implementation of these methods are becoming prevalent and not only in high-performing organizations.

In the first of a series of articles I will present is about how performance in a very dynamic sport such as ice-hockey can benefit from training and enhancing the intangibles often commented by coaches, experts and tv-pundits.

Introduction

All facets of skill execution and sports performance rely on how we perceive our environment. More specifically, game situations and what cues it provides for our subsequent decisions and actions. Our attention is critical in this regard and can aid us to process and understand what is going on and decide on the appropriate movement execution. Research has shown this can be improved, not only in isolation but potentially also improve performance in sport.

Ice-hockey is one of most challenging sports not only from a bio-energetic point of view but also when in comes to visual-perceptive and cognitive demands. These parameters has previously been identified to be critical in elite athletes. For example, dynamic visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, stereopsis, visual tracking and the eyes ability to quickly and accurately switch from a near-to-far target and vice versa, are all parameters studied in this athletic population. Attempts has been made in improving these skills and to seek if a relationship exist to on-ice performance.

Methods

A pilot study that involved professional hockey players investigated the affect of sports vision training program on sports-related skill performance. This study was undertaken during the pre-season camp and was incorporated into the regular training regimen of the team. The training comprised of wearing stroboscopic spectacles and was used during on-ice skill training as well as off-ice training. These wearables interrupt our vision by alternating between clear and foggy view at different frequencies. The flicker rate for clear vision was set to 100ms and for the foggy state settings could be adjusted from 67ms to 900ms, allowing for progressive overload of the visual-cognitive system. This obstruction of vision has been found to improve attention, anticipation timing and likely also processing speed, all critical qualities for this dynamic sport. Assessment of hockey position-specific skills were performed before the athletes were randomly assigned into two groups. The strobe training group were asked to train minimum 10 mins each day for 16 days the intervention lasted, whereas the control group carried on with regular training and practice routines. Assessments where again repeated 24hrs post the last training session.

Findings and Discussion

The re-assessment revealed significantly different patterns of improvement between the groups. All the participant in the strobe-group improved on average 18% on the position-specific skills assessment and in the control group only two out of the five athletes improved but the group as a whole did worse compared to the pre-training assessment.

This was the first study to investigate the enhancement of visual-cognitive skills quantified as improvement in sport-related task using stroboscopic spectacles. The highlight of this study was maybe the fact that it was conducted in a real-world setting, with professional athletes during preparation for a competitive season. The lack of strict laboratory control provides ecological validity and makes it possible to infer these findings to similar settings. However, the amount of training using the wearables were not controlled although a minimum requirement of 10 minutes was instructed. This would have been of interest to monitor and see if a dose-response relationship existed. It should be kept in mind that the tests that the participants went through in this study were all isolated and unopposed which is contrary to the very dynamic and random environment a competitive game presents.

Practical Application

 The game is for many the first AND the best teacher but we can only spend so much time in the rink, on the field, pitch or court. This is particularly true for collegiate and professional athletes. The significant relationships observed between training visual-cognitive skills on improved sports performance is promising. This can potentially allow for additional quality training and does not necessarily need to be performed in the practice venue.

As already stated, this was a pilot study but and I will do my best to present more research on the topic in order to paint a greater picture on the potential benefits of this method of training.

In the next article I will talk about if a battery of visual-cognitive and motor response assessments can be used to predict game performance in Ice-hockey.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and please feel free to comment on the topic!

#TrainingAboveTheNeck #VisualCognitiveTraning #StroboscopicTraining #IceHockey #NHL #SportsPerformance #StrengthAndConditioning

Reference

Mitroff, S.R., Friesen, P., Bennett, D.,  Yoo, H., & Reichow, A.W. (2013).  Enhancing Ice Hockey Skills Through Strobosopic Visual Training. Athletic Training & Sports Health Care, 5.