Cognitive Training for Youth Hockey: Engineering the Modern Player with ReactForge Founder Satoshi Takano

🧠 What if the biggest advantage your young hockey player could gain… wasn’t on their stick, but in their mind?

This week on Our Kids Play Hockey, we dive deep into one of the most misunderstood and under-trained parts of the game: Hockey IQ — the ability to read, decide, anticipate, and act faster than the play itself.

And joining us is one of the world’s leading innovators in cognitive performance for athletes: Satoshi Takano, founder of ReactForge Cognitive Performance Institute and the creator behind the groundbreaking video platform ReactView. From a 200-square-foot basement to a 12,000-square-foot facility training over 1,500 athletes, Satoshi’s journey is as remarkable as the results he helps players achieve. 

Together, we unpack:

• 🧩 What Hockey IQ actually is (and why 95% of the game happens WITHOUT the puck)
• 🎯 How players can train decision-making, scanning, and situational awareness
• 🧒 When parents should start thinking about cognitive development — and the signs your child may benefit
• 🚦 Why some kids take off when parents simply “say less”
• 🤖 How AI and video annotation tools like ReactView are transforming coaching forever
• ⚡ Why training faster than the game is the secret to slowing the game down for young players

Satoshi also shares stories from the early days — when he trained his son alone in the garage, hauling strange equipment into the rink while other parents stared — and how those experiments shaped the system helping NHLers today.

Whether you’re a coach trying to teach smarter hockey, a parent navigating development choices, or a player wanting to understand the game on a deeper level… this episode will change the way you see the sport.

🎧 Hit play — and get ready to rethink everything you thought you knew about Hockey IQ.

📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: How Cognitive Training Builds Smarter Hockey Players: Insights from Satoshi Takano

Follow Satoshi: @ReactForge / @reactviewapp

 #HockeyIQ #YouthHockey #CognitiveTraining #ReactForge #HockeyParents #PlayerDevelopment #OurKidsPlayHockey #HockeyCoaching #SituationalAwareness #HockeyMindset

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Our Kids Play Hockey is powered by NHL Sense Arena! 🏒🥽

Heading into 2026, hockey families are asking: How do we get better? More ice time isn’t always realistic — but smarter training is. Sense Arena uses VR and mixed reality to build hockey IQ, confidence, and decision-making for skaters and goalies at their own pace.

🎯 Visit SenseArena.com/OKPH and use code OKPH to get 50% off plus $25 off an annual plan or headset bundle.

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