Stick it to ’em Local company develops computer game to improve stick-handling skills Halifax News Net

Dean Dachyshyn of Skillz Systems in Bedford shows off a training ball that’s part of the company’s new computer game that helps hockey players improve their stick-handling skills.

By Yvette d’Entremont – The Weekly News
Bedford-based Skillz Systems officially launches its revolutionary stick handling training system next week, but the product already has the thumbs-up from Hockey Nova Scotia, Hockey Canada, and both pro and youth hockey players.
QuickStickz is described as an interactive stick handling training system that turns any hockey stick into an ultimate video game controller.
The product’s creators were determined to find a better way to help improve the stick handling skills of young players.
Work started about two years ago, and the project received a welcome shot in the arm after receiving start-up funding from an InnovaCorp competition win.
Since then, they’ve never looked back. The product has been endorsed by Buffalo Sabres assistant coach James Patrick and Phoenix Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett.
 “It’s not a coincidence that the best players in the world also happen to be the best stick handlers,” Tippett is quoted as saying on QuickStickz promotional material. “It takes hours of practice to master the skill of handling the puck.
“QuickStickz will give players of all ages the opportunity to reach their full stick-handling potential.”
The company has sent systems to eager young hockey players in Canada and the United States ahead of their Dec. 1 launch because hockey enthusiasts recognize the potential the product has for helping them improve their game.
Initially developed by Tim Burke and Stephen Hankinson,  Dean Dachyshyn and Paul Behner  joined them to help bring QuickStickz to market.
Three of the four are hockey dads who saw an opportunity to help people interested in improving their stick-handling skills in a more hands-on, entertaining way.
“Stick handling has taken a back seat to other skills over the years, like skating, shooting and passing,” said Dachyshyn, a hockey coach with the Halifax Hawks PeeWee AAA team.
“To become a great stick handler you need practice, and kids aren’t really getting that anymore. We used to play hours and hours of road hockey where you’d get that eye/hand coordination, but kids today are raised on Wiis, Play Stations, and other computer games.”
Dachyshyn said stick handling is also typically viewed as a “boring” activity. Even when young players grudgingly practice the skill, they don’t often do it very well. Using the correct technique is key.
“What we’ve done is taken kids’ love of hockey and their love of videogaming and combined the two,” he explained.
Using a favourite hockey stick, a computer and Internet access, QuickStickz can be played virtually anywhere and at anytime. Dachyshyn said the system’s camera tracks the custom stick- handling ball and then instantly feeds the information to the training software on the player’s computer.
Whenever the player moves the ball on the ground, the onscreen puck picks up their movements on the computer screen. Another benefit of the system’s design is it forces players to keep their heads up while looking at the screen, something that will eventually transfer to the ice. The Internet-based system includes hockey specific drills as well as video games that aren’t hockey related.
Players can keep track of their high scores for each drill online, and can also see where they rank nationally. The system sells for $199, with a free one-year VIP membership.
“It hasn’t happened overnight, but now we’re here and ready to take it to the rest of the world,” Dachyshyn said. “We are looking forward to setting the hockey world on its ear with this revolutionary new training.”
More information about QuickStickz is available on their web site, www.quickstickz.com. The company officially starts taking orders on Dec. 1 via the web site or by calling 1-877-QUICK-55.
ydentremont@hfxnews.ca