THE TECHNOLOGY OF STICKHANDLING TRAINING IN HOCKEY
Stickhandling training session takes place on the playing field with controlled dynamic illumination used for generating paired illuminated areas simulating opposing players with sticks. Each pair consists of the leading zone of the certain size simulating the opponent, and the driven zone of the certain size, which emulates the blade of the opponent's stick. The coach or the athlete selects the mode of the training programme. Paired illuminated zones or their parts highlighted with a some colour are unallowed for a stick or athlete's entering. The illuminated unallowed zones move purposefully obstructing the athlete's movement responding to his direction changes with certain inertia to depend upon the sensorimotor reaction time. The athlete is to evaluate the simulated game situation, then he compares his technical and speed capabilities with the paired unallowed zones movement, performs a decking and makes a stroke, holding the puck between the pair zones, or between the leading and the driven ones in a pair, not passing between the leading and the driven zone in a pair. The paired illuminated zones and athlete's movements are recorded with the video camera located at a certain height above the playing field. The video image is transmitted to the hardware and software system, which records the athlete's errors. If no errors occur and if the stickhandling is successful, the speed of the paired illuminated zones is raised and their inertia is decreased till the athlete, while decking, fails to make a stickhandling of the simulated opponents. Such factors as the number of the errors committed by the athlete while decking, the maximum speed of the paired illuminated zones movement and the minimum time of their inertia help to evaluate the athlete's technical qualification status.