When coaches talk about having a practice without pucks, it’s usually a sign that they are not happy with a team’s performance and the result is a workout heavy on skating.
But the Centre de développement PAC in Mascouche has put a new twist on the term with a training program that uses virtual reality to simulate a variety of practice and game situations.
“The system teaches players to read and react,” PAC partner Eric Tobon said as he watched goaltender Loucas Demers use his blocker to steer a shot into the corner before getting back into position to handle a low shot on his glove side. “The program allows us to assess a player’s strengths and weaknesses and we tailor a workout to address those concerns. If a goaltender is weak on shots from the left, we can give him more shots from the left.
“Later, we can show him the results and we can compare this session to his previous performances, the results from other players at this centre as well as players using this system around the world,” said Tobon.
Players wear a virtual reality headset that gives them the feel of playing in an arena although they perform in a relatively small area on a plastic skating surface. There are various levels of difficulty and endless scenarios.
“We can put players in front of the crease, we can create a power play where the forward has to make the right decision on whether to pass or shoot,” said François Cloutier, a PAC centre partner who has experience coaching hockey at Collège St-Jean-Vianney and with the midget AAA Collège Esther-Blondin Phénix.
Centre de développement PAC uses the Sense Arena off-ice training platform, which was originally conceived in Czechia (Czech Republic) as a training aid for basketball, but one of the early developers was a hockey fan and the focus changed. One of the investors in Sense Arena is Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak.
Tobon said players typically train at the centre for an hour every five days. The virtual reality sessions last 30-35 minutes, more than enough for the players to work up a sweat. These sessions are supplemented by weight and cardio training and mental exercises directed by Nancy Poulin, a certified neuro linguistic programming coach.
The centre began operations this year and one of its first athletes was goaltender Ève Gascon, the first woman to play regularly on a Midget AAA hockey team in Quebec.
Gascon is playing on the men’s team at Collège St-Laurent and has her sights set on the Canadian women’s Olympic team in 2022. She led Canada to a silver medal at the world U-18 women’s championship in January and next year she is headed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth on a scholarship.
Related
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
