A team united by a vision

The Chinese Paralympics ice hockey team was going through their paces in the Guoxin Sports Center ice rink in Qingdao, Shandong province on July 10. They completed the workout which included shooting and tactical formations guided by the loud directions of their coach.

Most of the team members had previous experience in a range of disciplines, including cycling, taekwondo and other sports. For new arrivals to ice hockey, certain adaptations are a must including the most obvious, staying on the ice for several hours a day. The tactical planning involved turning defensive formations into a rapid and fast-moving attack giving the opposition little time to adjust. The aspect here is a unified approach. For this they often deploy the gegenpresse. This sees teams press their opponents, especially when the puck is in opposition territory. This, if it works, disrupts plans for a counterattack and gives the team chasing the puck an advantage.