Reply To: Game Intelligence / Decision Training

[DaveM]

Backtracking a bit here……..my guess is that silence is the best way to teach anticipation because it can't really be taught. I would call anticipation an instinct rather than a sense or a skill, and they (students, players etc.) already have it. The job of the teacher / coach is to set up the environment that hones it and activates it, rewards it when it's used properly, provides feedback when it's not.

On the flip side, I enjoy asking players "why" and "what if" questions about the game, and then giving them lots of time to respond without giving them the answer (off the ice, of course). I learn a lot about what they know and don't know, or how they view the game, and I don't think they get asked to do this enough. Comprehending the "why" adds meaning to why we practice what we do. The silence and the situations set up by the coach / teacher are the art of coaching / teaching. Just my two cents….