Background: The process of talent identification in ice hockey occurs during middle adolescence when players are selected to participate in “off-season” evaluation camps, where coaches observe their fitness levels and status of development. Recently, the Quebec ice hockey federation opted for a holistic approach by evaluating players based on three criteria: (1) fitness, (2) skating abilities and (3) personality traits and psychological assets. This study aimed to analyze the discriminant validity of a multi-dimensional talent identification testing protocol in competitive ice hockey. Method: Data were collected from 160 adolescent hockey players who took part in Team Quebec summer evaluation camps. Off-ice fitness, skating abilities and psychological variables were measured on two consecutive days. Descriptive statistics, group comparisons (gender, positions) and discriminant analyses (selected versus non-selected) were performed. Results: No differences were observed among males in which selected players were similar to non-selected. Results from discriminant analyses also showed no discriminant function for male players. For females, selected players displayed higher fitness, on-ice agility and psychological characteristics. Nine performance markers were significantly discriminant. Conclusions: A holistic evaluation protocol allows for the discrimination of selected and non-selected players in elite ice hockey. Developing more discriminant tests is a promising avenue of research in male ice hockey. Knowing the factors that are associated with team selection in competitive ice hockey allow to focus on the specific attributes to work with young promising players.

Background: Despite the exhaustive body of literature on the demands of ice hockey, less is known about the relationships between functional performance testing protocols (on ice and off ice) and performance in a game situation. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of these associations. Methods: This review aims to identify on- and off-ice testing currently used in the scientific literature and their possible transfer to game performance as well as identifying research gaps in this field. Results: The 17 selected studies showed that off-ice and on-ice fitness test results can be modestly transferred to the player’s selection as well as global and advanced performance indicators. Conclusion: This review of the literature reinforces the importance of strength and conditioning coaches administering previously validated fitness tests. Regarding the academic research, it is also proposed to use performance markers that are directly related to the players’ on-ice performance to represent more accurately the relationship between the players’ fitness level and their work output. Three research gaps were also identified in relation to targeted populations, choice of performance markers and data measurement methods.

The teaching profession has been studied and discussed from a problem-oriented point of view and cultivated by a problem-oriented scientific tradition. Years of research have enabled a better understanding of difficult teaching conditions and teachers’ ill-being; an ideological and scientific shift, however, appears necessary to enrich and broaden our present knowledge. One particular question arises: which determinants optimize teachers’ professional well-being? In response, our study seeks to identify indicators that allow teachers to create, maintain or restore a state of professional well-being. Our research objective thus aims to describe teachers’ indicators regarding the “optimal functioning” that characterizes professional well-being (Seligman, 2011). The research protocol targets physical education teachers insofar as they are now recognized as leaders and models for promoting healthy lifestyles in schools and communities (MEQ, 2001). The methodology involved 5 focus groups composed of 37 teachers from 7 regions of Quebec. As the findings indicate, this approach allowed us to paint an integrative portrait of teachers’ indicators relative to professional well-being. Two categories have proved effective in terms of professional well-being: the first is Self and includes 4 variables: meaning, positive emotions, engagement and vitality; the second is Others and includes 3 sub-categories: students, colleagues and school administration. The sub-categories comprise 6 variables divided as follows: positive relationships, learning, collaboration, transfer (specifically for the two first sub-categories), followed by vision and valorization for the third sub-category.

Elite sport is all about making the right decision, at the right time, under pressure and in any context (Vickers, 2007). Many tools are available to train decision-making skills. One used commonly in elite level sports is video feedback. However, with young players, this tool is rarely used due to time constraints and athlete-coach ratio. Nowadays, an alternative to video feedback is used in the form of a perceptual-cognitive exercise (Zentgraf, Heppe, & Fleddermann, 2017). This exercise has significant effects on decision-making skills when used during warm-ups, but cumulative effects have not been measured (Holding, Meir, & Shi, 2017). Also, perceptual-cognitive exercise has mainly been studied in experimental contexts, leaving few considerations for athletes and coaches' reality. Therefore, this study aims to help a coach integrate perceptual-cognitive exercises in his training program. The first objective is to describe the clinical supervision process offered to a youth coach. Sub-objectives involve (a) understanding the different phases of the clinical supervision and (b) measuring players' performance as indication of change. The second objective is to describe players and coach's perceptions about quality and effectiveness of such program. One female coach participated in the study, as did her 27 young female players (M=12,25 ± 0,28). They completed a six-week perceptual-cognitive program, twice a week. To jot down the supervision process, a log-book was used by the researcher during 16 weeks. Players' performance was measured with Stivi software for response time and decision accuracy during practice (n=13). Decision accuracy in game was measured with observation grids, three times: week one, six, and three weeks post intervention. As for actors' perceptions, focus groups were used with players' (n=2x8) and an individual semi-structured interview was used with the coach (n=1). Findings indicate that the clinical supervision process presents three phases. In the programming phase, results show that building sequences alone for perceptual-cognitive exercises is complex and time consuming, and thus unlikely to be attempted by the coach alone. In the interaction phase, the six week program was easily integrated to the training schedule. Also, the coach noted positive changes in her players, such as search for information at play and verbal support to partners holding the ball. Also, results show a slight decrease for response time and increase for decision accuracy. Finally, during the evaluation phase, performance measures enabled an objective analysis of advantages and limits of the proposed program.

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