In any game or sporting activity, there are thousands of decisions that we make, some conscious and some subconscious. The French philospher Albert Camus states " Life is the sum of all decisions"
Whether they are the right or wrong at any particular time, only time together with the final outcome will tell.
One of the most intriguing book out there is Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman who is a professor of psychology at Princeton University. In his book he states that there are two decision making pathways in our brains:
The Fast Thinking pathway(System1) which runs on intuition/gut instinct, a simple example of which is brushing our teeth in the morning. This pathway has great benefit that its tireless, it is permanently buzzing away beneath our conciousness.
The second pathway is the Slow Thinking pathway(System 2) which as it states is slower and relies on logic and reason. An example would be reverse parking in a tight spot. This system is the safety valve of the brain and it steps in when it senses that the System 1 is being misled.
You do need the instictive decision making as it is ingrained in us through evolution while at the same time you do need the reasoning. The key is understanding these two systems and being aware of their strengths and weaknessess.
In a match situation, as a player, your opponent hits the hockey ball to his team-mate. At this very moment, you do not have the time to think as the ball approaches you at 120km/h. You will have half a second to react to it. Your brain will have to make a decision about placing the hockey stick at the correct spot in order to intercept the pass. The brain will have to rely on the System 1 to achieve this. As explained briefly in the book, Secrets of the Indian hockey Dribble, muscle memory is extremely important.
How would System 2 relate in a hockey match?
An example of this would be the coach who on the sidelines watches the match unfold. He or she will monitor, comprehend, analyse how the match is unfolding before applying neccessary steps by imparting information to the players on the pitch. The coach at this point would be using reason and logic to out play his opponents (Slow Thinking or System 2).
Furthermore, each player at the half time interval will have the time and opportunity to think how his/her game has been
Its a great book and is worth reading about how we make decisions.
Whether they are the right or wrong at any particular time, only time together with the final outcome will tell.
One of the most intriguing book out there is Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman who is a professor of psychology at Princeton University. In his book he states that there are two decision making pathways in our brains:
The Fast Thinking pathway(System1) which runs on intuition/gut instinct, a simple example of which is brushing our teeth in the morning. This pathway has great benefit that its tireless, it is permanently buzzing away beneath our conciousness.
The second pathway is the Slow Thinking pathway(System 2) which as it states is slower and relies on logic and reason. An example would be reverse parking in a tight spot. This system is the safety valve of the brain and it steps in when it senses that the System 1 is being misled.
You do need the instictive decision making as it is ingrained in us through evolution while at the same time you do need the reasoning. The key is understanding these two systems and being aware of their strengths and weaknessess.
In a match situation, as a player, your opponent hits the hockey ball to his team-mate. At this very moment, you do not have the time to think as the ball approaches you at 120km/h. You will have half a second to react to it. Your brain will have to make a decision about placing the hockey stick at the correct spot in order to intercept the pass. The brain will have to rely on the System 1 to achieve this. As explained briefly in the book, Secrets of the Indian hockey Dribble, muscle memory is extremely important.
How would System 2 relate in a hockey match?
An example of this would be the coach who on the sidelines watches the match unfold. He or she will monitor, comprehend, analyse how the match is unfolding before applying neccessary steps by imparting information to the players on the pitch. The coach at this point would be using reason and logic to out play his opponents (Slow Thinking or System 2).
Furthermore, each player at the half time interval will have the time and opportunity to think how his/her game has been
Its a great book and is worth reading about how we make decisions.