Are you tired
of wasting time? Sure, we all are. You know, the kind of time that the San Jose
Sharks fans will never get back. Likely in your case, it’s probably all those hours
you’ve spent in the penalty box. Well, this week you are in luck. I am going to
be the first person to ever tell you how to stop wasting time for good. Sure
other important people in your life have said to you repeatedly to “stop
wasting time” or the more touching and personal request “stop wasting my time”,
but those were just ‘wasted’ words. Why? Because no one told you how to
actually do it. Having observed you over the winter, I know for a fact you miss
the net a lot, when it comes to only doing what is necessary.

This is not about telling you what Junior or NHL teams to watch, or about pointing you to the ‘right’ tryout camps that won’t waste your time, as well as hard earned cash. No…no. I won’t even waste that time. What I will tell you is the key, or secret, to not wasting time is found in a time-tested, over-used sports cliché. No it’s not the ‘time and space’ phrase (to bother using these two words in the same sentence is a waste of time – they really mean the same thing). The cliché I will use is…you must ‘read and react’. The simple task of responding with right action or the next right thing to the visual and physical cues hockey players receive in the game, is the secret to only doing what’s necessary. As a coach I use the phrase ‘read and react’ to mean observe and then respond.

“That’s it?” you may ask…That’s it. The ‘old woody’ of a phrase ‘read and react’ is terminology that gets slapped around in the world of sports, and is used to describe what hockey players must successfully do when dealing with in game situations, and quite frankly, everything they must do from the moment they step into an arena. An athlete who is skilled at reading and reacting can make every teammate, coach, owner, and most importantly, himself happy.

Hockey
players in order to be successful must be constantly observing their in-game
surroundings, and then physically respond to what they see as offensive or
defensive opportunities during game play. On and off the ice, players must be
able to direct their muscles, and therefore their bodies, based on what they
see happening around them. An athlete must possess what are called good
‘visual-spacial’ skills while a game is in progress, and this process is
directed by…you guessed it, your brain. The brain to muscle response must be
instantaneous, allowing a highly trained athlete’s body to react to the
movements of the puck, teammates, opponents, fans and referees.

And oh ya…without
thinking.

Let me throw
you a different pass. In the game of football, a scrambling quarterback must
read, not only what his receivers are doing down field, but what his opponents
are doing and how close he may be to the line of scrimmage or the side-line.

All of this while running with the ball in hand. He doesn’t have time to waste
time. How does he do this? The same way you will if you were attacking the
offensive zone 1 on 3 with defenders coming at you! The quarterback must read
all this in-game stimuli and then react to it, making a successful play for his
team. In hockey your brain must signal to your body to do the same.

To do this
you must develop and trust the non-thinking part of your brain. In other words,
your ‘read and react’ part. Your Intuition, specifically the intuitive part of
your brain, should trigger you to respond in game or practice situations without thought, without over-thinking.
When this happens correct automatic functions and physical actions just seem to
flow, and are performed naturally. When this occurs I call this the result of developed
‘intuitive sense’.

If you are
spending time thinking, when your body should be reacting, you are at risk as
an athlete of doing more than what is necessary. Responding to what is going on
around you instead of thinking about it, is the key to keeping where you are in current
time, on track to do only what’s necessary. You know,
what’s necessary. Like having plenty of time to do the important things in life.

Like not
thinking while you read my articles and over reacting when you’re done…

NEXT WEEK’S
PRACTICE – Get Your Brain To Score, Even If You Can’t

Status: In a
shoot-out right now…

Get
in touch with Steve! He will work with any coach or team to help them do the
next right thing, both on and off the ice.

Steve Pronger is the author of the book ‘Your Brain
Is Out To Screw You’ – The Men’s Guide To Doing The Next Right Thing. Hockey people
can get their copy of this must have book at Amazon.com or the Amazon

Kindle Store.

Get more info about Steve and his book at: www.yourbrainisouttoscrewyou.com

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