Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonathan Norris
Exactly. Evading D has little to do with pure speed or pushing power, acceleration and deception are far more important.
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A lot of offensive success in the game at the championship elimination level will come down to perceived agility resulting from consistently accurate predictions the moves of your opponent as well as dealing with how quickly they develop countermeasures to your counter-defensive strategy.
I would imagine teams like 610 achieved multiple six and seven cycle rounds not only because of mechanical ability, but strategic prowess that allowed the drive team to predict the actions and reactions of their opponents faster than any defense could keep up with. Speed of thought behind the glass is just as critical as speed behind the bumpers at this level.
The shrinking of the loading safe zone coupled with the third dimension to the scoring safe zone will continue to result in good coaches and strategists being able to pack as many scenarios into their heads to deal with the 2-minute blocks.