Despite more than 10 years producing the most comprehensive equipment reviews in the game, the arrival of Sense Arena, the new virtual reality (VR) training tool for goaltenders, presented InGoal with a problem because it was like nothing we'd ever seen before.
Each gear review is a long process of looking at features goalies have mostly come to expect in their equipment, to see how they perform over a wide range of ability and experience levels and personal preferences while trying to clearly describe the form and function of what are typically incremental changes to a line with a piece of equipment whose functions and people's expectations of performance are relatively well-defined.
Not with Sense Arena, a game-changing training tool in a category of its own.
Unfamiliar with VR, we were wowed by the purity and reality of our first experience.
We weren't alone.
"You put it on and you appear in net basically in an NHL arena, and you look around and it's really like being in a pro rink," said Carolina Hurricanes goalie Antoine Bibeau, who is heading into his seventh pro season. "The tracking and everything, it's super realistic, it's like you're on the ice."
"I didn't know what to expect," said Los Angeles Kings prospect Matt Villalta. "As soon as I threw on the goggles, I was like 'oh my gosh, this is super real.' I couldn't believe how real it was, perfect size dimensions, everything."
That wow factor continues as you start to work through drills.
You've stepped into a new world of off-ice training. The puck travels at you as it would on the ice. You have to track shots and read releases, deal with shooter deception, deflections, flash screens and more. We got that "where have you been my whole life?" experience almost from the moment we put the headset on and grabbed the controllers.
So where do we begin a review?
When CCM brought out the new AXIS line we could look back to Premier II that preceded it for comparisons. When Bauer released Ultrasonic, the innovations stood out relative to the 2S Pro model. But with Sense Arena, as an off-ice training tool there is no comparison.
What else do we have that is similar? Goalies bounce balls off the wall and catch them, or work on reaction drills such as the ones offered by BlazePod. But neither of these involves reading a shooter and tracking a puck. Aside from some hockey specific apps for handheld devices that are more like video games than training (but have their own benefit), nothing compares. And when we wondered about price and value, we again have no off-ice training tool as a comparison.
Founder Bob Tetiva sees Sense Arena as more than just goalie training.
"Brain training is what we call Sense Arena," Tetiva told the InGoal Radio Podcast, "And for goalies it translates into your ability to read the release, be clever facing screens, and work on your box control and your skills that are not that physical like skating or endurance."
InGoal has been testing Sense Arena for more than a month now with both elite youth goalies and experienced coaches while also speaking with a number of professional goalies and coaches using it. We'll share some of our experiences so far, understanding that as a subscription software model we will continue to see many improvements and additions over time. In fact, we've already seen one new software release in our short time with the system that represented a dramatic improvement to the video shooter function (more on that later).
The System
Virtual reality has been around for a while now but remains relatively new to most of us. If you are experienced with VR and already own the Oculus Quest there is a Sense Arena option that will get you into the system without purchasing the headset and hand controls; you can get just the controller sleeves and license for the software separately. However, most users will be selecting Sense Arena's Goalie To Go system that comes complete with all you need to get started and a slightly reduced license fee for the Sense Arena software.
The System arrives in packaging befitting a top-notch piece of technology, packed in a hard shell case with foam inserts cut out for each individual part that leaves you feeling a little bit like you're carrying secret plans in a spy movie or a rare artifact that needs to be protected.
Sense Arena users have access to a web interface where they can set up their profile (you want the right name on that beautiful scoreboard in the virtual arena). It also lets you set up your age group so when you see your scores in training you'll be compared to the correct group of peers.
More than just a profile, the interface lets you check on your most recent diagnostics report (more on that later), graphs of how benchmark performances have changed over time, and a calendar of all the training you've completed so you can track your progress.
Getting Up and Running
Getting started is not as simple as opening an app on your phone. You need to create an Oculus account and connect it to the headset, and also download and run software for installing the Sense Arena app on the headset. The Sense Arena team has provided clear instructions on how to set up the headset and they do recommend adult supervision for younger users and include age-appropriate disclaimers on the box as well. We found set up straightforward, but do allow for an hour on a laptop with a USB-C connector to get it all set up for the first time.
Diagnostics
The Diagnostics is a set routine of six regular Sense Arena drills that you complete (five of them twice), that cover the range of skills tested in the system. These include direct shots in a goalie warm up, challenging deflections, screens and backdoor shots. It takes about 10 minutes to work through them all. There's no need to complete the Diagnostics every day; it's probably best to only do it every few weeks or even once a month but of course you are in complete control and can work through it as you see best.
When finished, the goalie gets six statistics: save percentage, save expectancy, reaction time, angles, puck tracking and play tracking. These statistics are recorded for when you return or if you wish to look them up in the web interface. It also gives you rankings showing you where you stand among the global population of Sense Arena users.
Simulated Drills versus Video Drills
Drills and shots are presented to the goaltender in two basic formats. In the simplest form there are only simulated players taking shots. You can see in the screenshot above they are basic body forms and sticks. These allow the goalie to work on movements and track pucks and make saves that presumably are less intense in terms of processing requirements for the Oculus headset, so all the drills can be presented immediately on request. Sense Arena is limited of course by the amount of memory and processing power of the headset.
In fact, when we first started working with Sense Arena, we completed several sessions before we even realized there was another type of drill beyond the simulated players. While reading a release is not really possible working with simulated players, tracking pucks and making saves is still very possible.
In these drills the goalie sees a player on video take a shot in a realistic situation. This is not a single video used to stand in for a player; it is a wide number of videos so you feel like you are in a real practice, unsure of what the player will do next. Players are both left and right handed and vary their shot location slightly as well. As the puck is released from the video player's stick it is replaced with the simulated puck and the VR system takes over and the puck comes at you, though honestly, you can't tell that it has happened, especially at higher shot velocities. You just see a puck coming and react like you would on the ice.
While the initial system we tested wasn't perfect, the most recent software update has been a dramatic improvement to the degree we much prefer working with the video shooters over the simulated players in almost all cases now.
Drill Settings
Each drill can be tailored to your needs with a variety of options. They are found in a sidebar menu to the right of the main drill details. If, like us, you are not used to VR, you could miss them for a few days like we did. To find these options, you need to physically turn your head to the right after selecting a drill and you'll find the options panel there.
These options include things such as:
Age group: even though you establish an age in your profile, many of the drills allow you to try different ages. Beer leaguers, nobody will know when you choose the youngest age (those kids are good nowadays!) but we think this will be particularly useful for younger goalies who want to see what pro shots look like, or want to warm up by challenging their visual system before heading to the rink.
Box Control Lines
The light grey "box control" lines adjust as the puck moves in the drill, guiding the goaltender in deciding the best way to fill the space.
We really loved the ability to draw angle lines or box control guides on the screen in a drill.
For years, goalie coaches have taken ropes on the ice and tied them to the corners of the net to show goaltenders how they can fill the net efficiently. While the concept of "box control" isn't new, the terminology and attention it has gotten in recent years is, but for the most part these are incomplete exercises on the ice. You can get a feel for your net coverage but shooting pucks is a challenge when using ropes — though we have no doubt it has been tried. Now imagine being able to have the heads up display of the box control ropes on the net while you're going through a drill. That's exactly what Sense Arena can bring to your drills.
Simply select this option in the drill option panel and you'll have dynamic angle and box control guides overlaid on your view while you make saves.
Drill Results and Analytics
After a drill is completed, you are presented with a summary of your performance. It includes a high-level look at things like save percentage, the number of saves you made and where you rank in your age group. It also allows you to drill down into more detail by selecting an option for reviewing detailed stats, seeing a heat map of where the shots went on net, or you can review every shot from either the goalie's or the shooter's perspective.
The more detailed statistics for a drill may also change with the individual drill but include measures of your reaction time, how well you tracked the puck and how well you were on-angle, as well as a 1-5 star rating for each. This aspect was perhaps the most surprising for us. Think your puck tracking is good? The results may surprise you. It reminded us of a coach saying once..."are you looking at the puck or are you really looking at it...is it a rough black dot or can you read the logo?" Just the analytics alone telling us we needed to focus from the release through the save made a significant improvement on our tracking and on our reaction time, two things you never get an objective measure of on the ice.
We love data and found ourselves hoping that in a future release Sense Arena might include additional ways to download our data for review.
You can also choose to see a heat map after the drill which is a visual representation of each shot showing you exactly where it went on net and if it went in or not. It gives you a good idea of the quality of shooters you face in Sense Arena. You'll see a fairly widely distributed spray around and even over the net at the younger levels, but some pinpoint accuracy at the pro level that left Ranford a four-time Stanley Cup Champion, shaking his head.
You can also now replay each shot from both the shooters' and the goalie's perspective in the latest software release. Being able to see what the shooter sees is a valuable exercise to review your performance and we were surprised how much we liked reviewing the goalie's perspective as well because you are actually offset from them by a bit and can see things such as head position relative to the post.
Video capture of the new replay feature that lets you review a drill from both the shooter's and the goalie's perspective.
Skills Training
The second category of drills is titled skills training, and consists of 13 individual drills that can be modified to suit your needs through the options panel. Skills training takes things beyond the basic saves of a warm up by introducing movement, screen shots (both stationary and flash), fake shots where the video shooters employ deception to the release, multitasking, and even saves where you have the options of the virtual lights being turned off as the puck gets halfway to the net, your peripheral vision being taken away, or even the lights flashing like a strobe, something that might be a great option to add to all drills rather than just this one.
You'll feel like the video based shooters are right there with you in drills like this one where some deception is being added with a drag shot.
If you are directing your own training for the day having gone through some warm-up drills, this is an excellent place to carry on. The need for reads and tracking moves to a more challenging level when the shots are no longer direct.
The multi-task drill in particular is an example of something that is possible in Sense Arena but tougher to replicate on the ice, even though coaches like Mitch Korn have found ways to challenge goaltenders in a similar way by using coloured pucks. In Sense Arena, this drill includes shots while basic math problems are presented on the screen; the goalie has to solve the problem to know which numbered shooter will take the next shot, forcing them to employ two cognitive systems at once. It reminds us of sports psychologist John Stevenson challenging goalies to count backwards by 7 from 100 while facing shots to push them out of the conscious mind and into trusting their training.
An Opportunity
We've seen an uptick in the number of people using synthetic ice surfaces at home, especially during the pandemic. They are great but unless you have enough room and a talented shooter at home (and the extra cost of protecting the room or garage where you've installed the synthetic surface), you are largely restricted to movement drills on an unfamiliar-feeling surface. Done well they are certainly helpful but we imagine this as a perfect pairing with VR training. With the more realistic feel of moving in your gear combined with the virtual shots of Sense Arena, you could take your home-based training to a new level. We haven't yet had the opportunity to test this so we reached out to a coach who has.
Dave Stathos runs a training centre in Ottawa, Ontario using synthetic ice. He has been using Sense Arena with his students in their full gear on his synthetic surface.
Cognitive Drills
With all the attention Sense Arena has received in recent weeks, one area that is almost never reported is the 15 cognitive drills available in the system.
As goalies worldwide recognize the potential and importance of cognitive training they have begun to use a number of tools, including NeuroTracker, Vizual Edge, concentration grids, and newer versions of the old DynaVision reflexive light board. Many goalies now include neurocognitive training weekly or even more frequently as part of their overall training.
The drills included with Sense Arena in some cases provide challenges not available in the other systems, and in others they try to put their own spin on familiar drills. Reactive light boards are typically a three-foot square space on the wall, but in Sense Arena the board wraps around the goalie in a semi-circle requiring full shoulder checks to touch the farthest lights, again something that's unique to VR and takes advantage of the medium in a creative way.
The training plan module prepared by Los Angeles Kings Goaltending Coach (and InGoal Premium Member!), Bill Ranford
Guided Training Plans
In addition to being working from the Diagnostic screen and the Manual menu, the newest release of Sense Arena added guided training plans from Ranford, current pro and former NHL goaltender Marek Schwarz, and Filip Sindelar, former pro now coaching in the Czech Junior extraliga. More contributors are coming, including from Brian Daccord, the Director of Goaltending Operations for the Arizona Coyotes and also a Sense Arena consultant.
The plans are an eight-day series of drills that the goaltender is walked-through to direct their training. Ranford's includes a four-day progression to create a foundation of using the hands, three sessions on deflections, screens and rush attacks to develop footwork and hands, and finally on the last day a fun reflex competition session. His pros are using Sense Arena regularly now.
"I really think after surgery it would have been the perfect tool to keep working on my game and to keep my brain active without putting any wear and tear on my body and my hips," he said. "The fact you can also do it in your living room, without going down, just working on your tracking or your box control. It's amazing. I'm shocked by how realistic the whole thing is."
Sense Arena is equally at home with pros, young goaltenders and beer leaguers. This really is a product suited for everyone who wants to stay sharp, improve their skills and have fun.
Young goaltenders often don't see shots in training that can mimic what they will see as they move up, for myriad reasons, whether it's shooters who simply can't hit their spots, or pull back on shot velocity for safety reasons on young goalies. With Sense Arena they can challenge themselves with shots at any level they're comfortable with, making improvements that will help them when they do move up and face faster, more accurate shooters.
Don't take our word for it. Just ask Merzlikins, who only learned of Sense Arena in the past few months, and was left wondering what might have been if he had it during the NHL pause.
"I just wish I would have Sense Arena in lockdown," Merzlikins said on the InGoal Radio Podcast, "Because that would be the thing I would do every single day, all day long."
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