Today I want to add something (technically, two somethings) into the hockey lexicon. We’ve all been nibbling at it in some shape or form, and now is the time to give these items proper names and talk about them in depth. I hope to bring this principle to your attention and hope this brings a positive step in the right direction.
This post is inspired by legendary former soccer manager Arsene Wenger’s autobiography, which had this little nugget:
“In training sessions, we emphasized technical abilities above all. Passing the ball is communicating with another person it’s being in the service of another person. It’s crucial. For the pass to be a good one, the player has to put himself in the position of the person who’s going to receive it. It’s an act of intelligence and generosity, what I call technical empathy.” — Wenger, pg. 73
In this case, empathy is thinking in terms of what’s best for your teammates and the team as a whole.
Empathy vs Sympathy
Though the words appear in similar contexts, they have different meanings. To oversimplify:
Sympathy is sharing the same feeling as another.
Empathy is understanding and being sensitive to the feelings/experiences/thoughts of another.
With empathy, you can imagine or understand how someone might feel, without necessarily having those feelings yourself (Eg. the mental exercise of "putting yourself into another's shoes.").
Ice hockey (and most sports) is a game of performance empathy. The best recognize the circumstances of their team and teammates. They then use their empathy to make the game easier for their teammates and help others succeed. Favorite teammates often have a feel for the way another person likes to play… to put themselves in their skates.
More generally put… Treat others how you would want to be treated.
Technical Empathy
Technical empathy = Asking yourself to consider what it would be like to receive your own pass.
Ask yourself questions:
What would it be like if you were to receive your own pass?
Did the weight or location of my pass set me up for success?
Did the pass lead me into traffic or expose me to potential injury?
Ideally, the player passing the puck passes to a teammate how they would like to receive it. For the pass to be a good one, the player has to put himself in the position of the person who’s going to receive it. When thinking this way, players will naturally make decisions and execute actions that help their teammate’s next action.
I have to make sure that when he receives the ball… it’s on the right foot, it’s in the right space, and it’s in a situation where he can then do the same as what I did (to make the next play smoothly).
Playing with technical empathy allows players and teams to link together almost seamlessly. Players are working to make each other’s situations better. Each pass or movement leads to a more advantageous situation.
Each pass received results in an immediate series of questions:
“Is this an attack puck or possession puck?”
“Can I immediately view the play? Is there an immediate play I can execute?”
“How much space and time do I have?”
“What is the level of pressure? Where are my supporting teammates?”
Related: Improv(ing) Your Team-Play
Often at the amateur level, players will pass to their teammate’s body rather than handedness. A great starting point is for players to understand the handedness of your teammates. What is the correct side to pass the puck to?
Players have their preferences of which foot they want the puck passed to. Artemi Panarin prefers to have a puck passed to his back foot rather than front foot. Artemi Panarin receives this pass by default so often that he has to be asking teammates to pass the puck there.
Panarin shows his teammates where he wants the puck by where he holds his stick. When watching him play you’ll notice he normally skates around like this:
And when he wants the puck to his front foot, you’ll notice that he puts his stick there.
He is communicating via body/stick language to show his teammates where he wants the puck passed to make it easy on him.
Tactical Empathy
Tactical Empathy = Asking yourself to consider what it would be like to be affected by your own movement/positioning.
Ask yourself questions:
How does my movement/positioning affect my teammates?
How does my positioning affect my opponent?
How does a player off the puck influence the play?
Expand further into tactical empathy we can break this into two sections:
Team In possession
Team Out of possession
Tactical Empathy: Your Team In Possession
Tactical Empathy (in possession) = Asking yourself to find ways to best support/provide an option to a teammate(s) when my team has the puck.
Ask yourself questions:
“Where is the easiest passing lane for my teammate? Can they easily see me when they look up“
“How does my movement open space for my teammate?“
“How does my movement affect the opposition?“
“Where do I need to move to be a strong passing option?“
“What can I do to make it harder to defend my teammate who has the puck?”
The most obvious tactical empathic area is ‘puck support.’ Being available and working to get open for a teammate or clear space for a teammate. Another example is using movement to open up space for a teammate.
Tactical Empathy: Your Team Out of Possession
Tactical Empathy (out of possession) = Asking yourself to consider what it would be like to be affected by your own defensive movement/positioning.
Ask yourself questions:
“How can I influence the player with the puck?”
“How can I support my teammates who are actively defending?”
“How can I support/protect my changing linemates?”
“What can I do to force the opponent into poor ice?”
For example, an effective forechecking hinges on one key component… cohesion.
A forecheck started by a player who is not supported by his teammates is nothing more than a glorified cone the opposition has to simply work around.
If supported well, the player starting the forecheck can push the play into their teammate(s) where it’s difficult for the opposition to maneuver through.
Examples of Unempathetic Play
There are many situations of unempathetic play. Here are a few to noodle on:
Suicide passes up ice into a dangerous situation with the potential for injury
Passing too hard for the situation. Often so hard that a teammate couldn’t possibly react.
Trying to beat the opposition 1v1 in a non-advantageous situation
Passing your problems to the next teammate. Failure to improve the conditions of the puck.
Handcuffing your teammate into pressure or a poor position where it’s hard to make the next play.
You can go on and on.
Being an Empathetic Player
Ice hockey is a team sport and that involves being the best teammate you can be. There are many ways to do this technically and tactically. What are some more ways that you can think of?
When watching your next game, analyze and consider whether or not decisions made by the players are empathetic for their teammates. The more empathetic the players (and thus team), the better chance that team has of winning,
Even evaluate yourself right now:
As a player, would you enjoy playing on a team with yourself?
As a coach, would you want to play for yourself?
Further Reading