Watch The Puck!
By Catherine Scullion
A recent study claims to have found the secret to wonder saves in ice-hockey. It seems that basics are central – keeping your eye on the puck is the key to a clean sheet.
Research by Derek Panchuk and Joan Vickers of the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Kinesiology, found that a shot would be saved 75% of the time if the goalie’s eyes rested on the puck for at least a second before it was smashed in their direction. Panchuk admits that the result seems fairly obvious but claims it is a performance indicator in the game, “you look at the eye movements of novice goaltenders, who scatter their gaze all over the place and have a much lower save percentage than the elite goalies."
Vickers has devoted her research career to the concept of Quiet Eye, the critical moment where eyes must perceive and brain process information before the final movement, which may result in a goal, a hole in one or disappointment. The research team is constantly pioneering new equipment to aid their investigations. This study, to be published in Human Movement Science, utilized a wireless camera arrangement capable of recording eye, body and puck movements to within 16.67 milliseconds of each other.
The researchers hope their findings will have immediate impact on sports at all levels and believe they will make a significant difference. ‘Having optimal focus is just as important as being in optimal physical shape.’ Good news for the couch potatoes among us then. They plan to further investigate ice-hockey techniques with study of different types and distance of shot and move on to various other sports.
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Image: Jason Anthony/SXC
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