The Specificity of Motor Learning Tasks Determines the Kind of Skating Skill Development in Older School-Age Children

Abstract

The specificity of motor learning tasks for skating development in older school-age children has not been sufficiently explored. The main objective was to compare the effects of training programs using change-of-direction (COD) speed exercises and partial skating task (SeqT) training on speed and agility performance in U12 ice hockey players. Thirteen young ice hockey males (13 ± 0.35 years, 41.92 ± 9.76 kg, 152.23 ± 9.41 cm) underwent three straight speed (4 and 30 m with and without a puck) and agility testing sessions before and after six weeks of COD training and then after a six-week intervention involving partial skating task (SeqT) training. The statistics were performed using magnitude-based decision (MBD) analysis to calculate the probability of the performance change achieved by the interventions. The MBD analysis showed that COD training had a large effect (11.7 ± 2.4% time decrease) on skating start improvement (straight sprint 4 m) and a small effect (−2.2 ± 2.4%) on improvement in agility with a puck. Partial skating task (SeqT) training had a large effect (5.4 ± 2.5%) on the improvement of the 30-m sprint with a puck and moderate effect on agility without a puck (1.9 ± 0.9%) and likely improved the 30-m sprint without a puck (2.6 ± 1.3%). COD training on the ice improves short starts and agility with a puck, while partial skating tasks (SeqT) target longer 30-m sprints and agility without a puck. Therefore, both types of training should be applied in accordance with motor learning tasks specific to current training needs.

Training with a Heavy Puck Elicits a Higher Increase of Shooting Speed Than Unloaded Training in Midget Ice Hockey Players

“…One of the principal questions of this research application is the time span of the intervention taking into account that this study used six week periods for training modification as in previous studies (Melugin et al, 2021; Novak, 2020 ; Stark et al, 2009). This period is considered an optimal time to improve motor development with no stagnation effect in respect to psychological aspects (Silva-Moya et al, 2021).…”

“…Thus, evaluating the wrist shot and the snapshot is necessary to assure the players shooting skills. Shooting in ice hockey is not a fundamental motor skill (Novak et al, 2020), therefore, it requires long term learning and systematic practice (Logan et al, 2012) to automatize this skill (Novak et al, 2020). The demands for the automation of these skills are very high for youth players (around 12 and 13 years of age) because they have to distribute their motor control between skating, controlling the puck with passes, and shooting in one moment (Clark and Metcalfe, 2002;Novak et al, 2020).…”

“…Shooting in ice hockey is not a fundamental motor skill ( Novak et al, 2020 ), therefore, it requires long term learning and systematic practice ( Logan et al, 2012 ) to automatize this skill ( Novak et al, 2020 ). The demands for the automation of these skills are very high for youth players (around 12 and 13 years of age) because they have to distribute their motor control between skating, controlling the puck with passes, and shooting in one moment ( Clark and Metcalfe, 2002 ; Novak et al, 2020 ). This general requirement for motor control may lead to the presumption that shooting techniques should also be practiced in a variety of conditions such as different puck weights.…”

The Biomechanics of Ice Hockey: Health and Performance Using Wearable Technology

“…In ice hockey, the ability to shoot a puck at speed encompasses complex biomechanical considerations. Firstly, shooting is not a fundamental motor skill [33] as it necessitates long term learning and systematic practice [34]. One commonly used method to increase shooting skills is to vary the weight of the puck.…”

Fast Eccentric Movement Tempo Elicits Higher Physiological Responses than Medium Eccentric Tempo in Ice-Hockey Players

“…Off-ice ice-hockey conditioning requires knowledge about the specificity of the desired training conditions [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ], where, e.g., the ice-hockey take-off is performed in a more extended period (0.33 s) than movements such as sprint ice skating (0.08–0.25 s), or single leg hops (0.124 s) [ 23 ]. Since ice-hockey players spend approximately 39% of the match in a two-foot glide position [ 24 ], their on-ice sprint conditions are related to bilateral squat and jump performance [ 4 , 25 ], thus resistance training that includes squats can improve on-ice sprint skating [ 26 ].…”