Training for Hockey IQ

I was recently reading an article about a product that I had heard a lot of people talking about called the Hockey Intelligym.  As coaches, we are always talking about the best way to improve hockey intelligence, aka hockey IQ.  Those are the skills that allow players to read a play "before it happens" or make split second decisions which result in a chance to be created. 

It used to be thought that "hockey intelligence" was something someone was born with - that it couldn't be developed or taught.  However, that turns out to be incorrect.  There is a product out there that was originally used to train military pilots that has been adapted to train the instincts of hockey players.

So here's how it works.  It is essentially like a video game that is designed to train a hockey player's reaction to certain situations.  It forces them to "see a whole play" rather than focusing on one small aspect.  It is a computer program that you can download from the company's web site - and then pay the monthly or annual fee in order to use the product.  It is suggested the players use the product for at least 2 session of 30 minutes each week.

USA Hockey began using the Hockey Intelligym to train it's U-18 team players about 3 years ago.  In that time they've seen their record improve from a winning percentage of 29% to 70%.  Granted, that is not entirely contributed to the Intelligym, but according to everyone involved it has had a dramatic impact.  They say that people see results on the ice within the first few sessions of use.

For all the money that gets spent on camps, clinics, and skills - this may be a good addition to the off season program and help in developing the mental side of your player's game.  I just figured I would throw this information out there.  If you want to know more, please click here to visit the USA Hockey Intelligym site.