I’ve noted that many coaches, especially at the elite levels, are focusing on more and more of the mental aspects of the game that their athletes are playing. Frankly, I am a firm believer that any coach in youth sports should be focusing on the mental aspects of the game that they are teaching nearly as much as the physical aspects of the game whether they are coaching at a competitive level or not. I think, and have written before, that I think that education and athletics should go hand in and hand and as a result I have been searching for ways to help show my kids the path to mental and academic focus to the sports in which they participate. To that end I found a book called The Physics of Hockey
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The Physics of Hockey was written by Alain Haché, a scientist and a hockey enthusiast. This is a pretty good read that I recommend for any fan, student or participant of the sport (coaches, parents, refs and players included). Mr. Haché explores the sport from the perspective of a scientist and breaks down the science of the game for a non-scientist. Not only is he a scientist, but also a player, student and fan of the game and mixes the scientific formulas with interesting stories and anecdotes about the game of hockey.
If you are a science fan, then you are probably going to love the formulas and their application to real world scenarios. You’ll probably need at least some experience with high school physics to appreciate the formulas, but the book also provides an interesting read for any student of the sport age 12 and up if you simply skip the formulas and their details and read the anecdotes and the application of the theories and formulas to the sport.
As the parent of a goaltender, I was particularly interested in the entire chapter that is dedicated to the science of goaltending and I will be having my 12 year old read the book. I hope that as a result, my son will gain some appreciation for the science of physics as well as enhance his mental approach to the game.
