Some statistics indicate that 80% of physical actions are initiated with the eyes. We repeatedly tell hockey players that half of quickness is in their head ie their focus and immediate reaction to the loose puck or to a turn over. Visual skills and response time are as important as developing quick feet or raw speed. Aside from some eye testing to provide us with a base line, we will have many "visual workouts". Through various drills and the use of special equipment, players will work on improving a number of visual skills.


Some of the visual skills the players will work on in the program are as follows:

• Tracking - the ability to follow the puck or a player's movement on the ice smoothly and accurately with both eyes.
• Fixation - the ability to quickly locate and focus on the puck, a player, or the options available based on the positioning of all players on the ice.
• Depth Perception & Assessment of Speed - the ability to judge relative distances of other players and their speed on the ice for accurate passing, angling, checking and shooting. We will also look here at the ability to deceive other players watching us, for example, by the positioning of our stick and by quick alterations in our speed.
• Peripheral Vision - the ability for a player to monitor and interpret what is happening in his/her side vision at the same time as the player attends to tasks specific to his central vision.
• Maintaining Focus - developing the ability to retain a focus on the puck and reading options around the player while receiving a hit or being pursued by a checker.
• Eye/Hand Coordination
• Eye/Foot Coordination
• Foot/Hand Coordination
• Reaction Time
• Balance & Timing
• Visualization - the ability to form mental images while practicing and in preparation for games to improve performance. This will overlap with the area of sports psychology and mental training.