The Next Step for Learning Hockey

The next step for a child to learn is for HIM to realize that he needs to take in more information in order to execute correctly... and he will. He wants to improve and that motivation will drive him to develop cognitively and help him learn how to attend to key elements of the instruction and help him in his attempts to imitate complex maneuvers. Also, he will soon begin to see that he can perform maneuvers that many of his peers continue to struggle with. That will motivate him.

I have the picture in my mind of a boy who came to our clinic who plays prep school hockey at a very high level. He is a very accomplished skater. We demonstrated some maneuvers that even he, at his level, could not do. His face lit up with a big grin as if to say, "Cool, something new and challenging!" Without prompting he became the coach's "shadow" as he followed awkwardly behind, attempting to copy every move and establish in his head the key features that he needed to attend to in order to master the complex maneuvers. He didn't wait for someone to yell at him and correct him. He jumped into the lesson like a hungry wolf thirsty for the knowledge. And in very short order he mastered a complex maneuver he had never done before.