The Physical & Mental Components of a Hockey Game

While hockey is often viewed as a purely physical game, with large athletes skating and checking each other around the ice, the mental components of the sport are equally important. A player with a head for the game but no physical tools will struggle, but so too will a gifted athlete who cannot get his head around the mental side of the game.

  1. Strength

    • Hockey is a physical game, making size and strength ideal physical attributes for competitors. While smaller athletes can compete with larger ones, it is easier for a bigger and stronger player to make do without the other attributes that help a hockey player than it is for his smaller counterparts.

    Speed and Endurance

    • Speed can prove lethal for an attacking player as it makes him capable of beating the defensive players with his quickness. As valuable as it is to be able to move with pace, however, hockey players must have endurance, as a great player can't contribute effectively if his shifts on the ice must be cut down in number to match his gas tank.

    Agility

    • With the players on the ice moving at high speeds on the slick ice, the ability to change directions quickly and precisely allows a player to elude the opposition. Players who are not agile will often fall victim to being outmaneuvered by their more-nimble opponents, particularly in leagues that don't allow checking.

    Stick Skills

    • As the only way to legally fire the puck on target, and in many leagues the only legal way to remove the puck from another player's possession, a hockey player must be comfortable with his stick. Even the most quick and agile player can't contribute effectively if he can't use those skills to set up accurate shots or passes.

    Confidence

    • Confidence is an essential part of every hockey player's makeup. As the game moves at such high speeds, indecision can mean slowing down for just a split second, but that instant can prove costly. A confident player will trust in her instincts and not be slowed by indecisiveness.

    Hockey Sense

    • A player must be hockey-smart to play well on the rink. A player's hockey smarts show in an ability to take physical skills and manifest them on the ice effectively to create opportunities for the team while shutting down the opposition.

    Vision

    • A player's "vision" sounds like a physical characteristic but is in fact a mental element of the game. Vision refers to an ability to observe what is happening and from that deduce what is about to occur. This vision allows players to know that a shooting lane or passing angle is about to exist, and respond to the likely play even before it has happened.