FAQ

  1. Official HockeyTracker User Guide.  For questions related to all the features that HT offers and how to use them visit the Official User Guide 👉 https://www.reddit.com/r/hockeyplayers/comments/erw961/the_official_hockeytracker_user_guide/
  2. Watch app fails to install/Watch App Not Showing.   The Watch app requires WatchOS 7, an update Apple shipped in September 2020. If you’re still running an earlier version of WatchOS, you’ll need to update to install the free update through the Watch app on your phone (you can check this by going to the Watch app on your iPhone and then General -> Software Update).  Note that some older watches like Series 0-2 cannot update to WatchOS 7 as Apple as dropped support for them.  If you’re running a recent version of watchOS but HockeyTracker isn’t showing on the Watch, there are steps to try:
    1. Do you have auto-install enabled for Watch apps? Did it maybe not auto-install? Is it in the middle of installing? Go to the Watch app on your phone and scroll down to see if HockeyTracker is available for install. As you scroll down you’ll pass Apple’s apps first, then currently installed third party Watch apps, then third party apps that have yet to be installed (and those in the middle of being installed). You should see HockeyTracker in one of those last two sections and that’ll give you a clue as to what is going on.
    2. It may sound obvious, but have you rebooted your phone and Watch? Many users say this solves the issue.
    3. If HockeyTracker isn’t anywhere in those lists, try deleting and reinstalling the HockeyTracker iOS app from the App Store.
  3. Subscription Expired Message.  If you think that your subscription should still be active but you get getting an expired message. Please try these steps:
    1. Go to this link and see if HockeyTracker is listed as an active subscription:  manage subscription url
    2. On the app, tap the “already subscribed” button on the home screen, then when the prompt comes up tap “Restore”, then tap “already subscribed” once more and see if you can get into the app.  
  4. The Watch App shows 0 values or says that HealthKit Permission Needed.  This is usually a HealthKit authorization issue.  First, on the iPhone goto Settings -> Privacy -> Health -> HockeyTracker and make sure all the permissions are turned on.  If still getting this dialogue, delete the iPhone app (but make sure you opt to KEEP your data), this will also delete the Watch App, then try reinstalling.  HealthKit authentication on the watch is known to be buggy and sometimes reinstalling fixes the issue.  If this issue persists, try going again to Settings -> Privacy -> Health -> HockeyTracker, then switching off all the permissions, then navigating back to Settings, then go in again and switch them on, this usually solves the issue.  To make sure everything is working smoothly, start a little sample workout and move your arm around a little to trigger movement and see if the readings start to show.
  5. Workout Or Some Stats Not Showing After Game.  During your game your watch is taking literally 1000s of samples.  Usually our iPhones are out of range in the locker room, so when the Watch and iPhone are back within range all of these samples need to transfer and sync to the iPhone over Bluetooth.  This can take a long time, and the longer the game, the more samples, the longer the sync.  I’ve had games where my workouts didn’t show up fully until 1-2 hours after the game.
  6. Heart Rate Sensor Not Reading.  Check that you do not have power save set to on (in the Apple Watch settings).  When you turn power save on, it will disable the heart rate sensor from reading.
  7. Duplicate Workouts.  Sometimes duplicate workouts will inadvertently show up in the app.  This is related to a bug on Apple’s  end and is not addressable by HockeyTracker right now.  Just delete any duplicate workouts you see by swiping left to delete.  Note:  If you see two identical workouts, deleting one will not affect the remaining workout.
  8. Does the Watch need to be within range of the iPhone? No, your iPhone can be in the locker room or car and the workout will still be tracked on the watch.
  9. Will you be making HT for Fitbit, Garmin, Android or any other wearable? At this point I am focused on Apple Watch & iPhone, but down the road, with some success, hopefully we can expand to reach these other platforms.  In the meantime, I will say that you can pick up a refurbished Apple Watch and pair it with a refurbished iPhone fairly cheaply from https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/watch 
  10. No V02 Max.  Note that in order to calculate HockeyTracker uses your resting heart rate (as is set by Apple during period of inactivity).  Series 0 Apple Watches are not capable of resting heart rates.  Read more here.
  11. My app crashes.  If you experience any crashes please describe the crash and email it to me at hockeytrackerapp@gmail.com.  In addition, it would be very helpful to send me your crash report by following the below instructions:
    • iOS instructions
      • Navigate to your device Settings > Privacy > Analytics > Analytics Data.
      • Scroll through this list to find HockeyTracker events. The list is alphabetical.
      • Tap one of these events.
      • Tap the share icon at the top right.
      • Email it to hockeytrackerapp@gmail.com
  12. Syncing with Activity App.  As HockeyTracker leverages Apple’s HealthKit, you will receive credit in the Activity App on iPhone for your Move and Exercise rings from any workouts logged using HockeyTracker.  Your HockeyTracker workouts will show up in the Activity App in grey.  (Note it can take up to an hour for your workout saved on your watch to be transferred into HealthKit and be seen in the Activity App).
  13. Getting Calories from HT to Count Towards Activity App’s Move Goal. There are a ton of apps that can count toward ring credit on your phone (even the raw data from your iPhone and Watch themselves), and Apple does a lot of work to make sure that if multiple things are running at the same time they even things out instead of giving you double credit.  When they do this, they do it in order of priority, which you can tweak. This is the most common cause of your Activity app saying “you burned 240 calories” when HockeyTracker says “you burned 500 calories” — HockeyTracker has been assigned a lower priority so Apple is ignoring its data.  To tweak this and give HockeyTracker priority:
    1. Launch the Health app on your iPhone
    2. In the Health Data tab, head over to the category of data you care about (say, Active Calories, for example)
    3. Under the graph you’ll see an option for Data Sources & Access, tap that
    4. Tap the Edit button in the top right
    5. Drag HockeyTracker up in the list, then hit Done

    Apple usually doesn’t give retroactive ring credit for past days, but if you recorded today, you should see your ring credit change within a minute or so at most.

  14. Getting Accurate Shift Times.  If you want your shift time and ice time statistics to be as accurate as possible start your workout on your watch right before your game starts. I usually start mine while I’m still in the locker room so I won’t forget, however any warm up activity will get logged as well. In other words your first few shifts and ice time may include warm up samples.  Also utilize the pause button on the watch to pause the workout during stoppages for injuries etc. as well as in between periods.  This will assure optimal integrity of the shift data.
  15. How To Delete Shifts?  You can delete a shift on iPhone (for example if your warm up was counted as a shift) by Long Pressing on the shift.  NOTE: that if you delete a shift, only the shift itself gets deleted from your workout, the heart rates, distance, calories etc. that were logged during the shift do NOT get deleted.
  16. What is Recovery Score?  HockeyTracker 3.2 features this addition of Recovery Score.  Recovery Score is measured on a 0-100% scale and is intended as a guideline of how well-recovered your body is and ready to take on stress. 
    • Recovery Score is calculated based on your most recent Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and Resting Heart Rate values as compared with your 30 day average of each.  HRV is your average heart beat variation in milliseconds.  Generally speaking a higher HRV indicates that your parasympathetic system is doing its job helping your body recover and regulate, where a low HRV indicates that the body is under stress from exercise, psychological events, or other internal or external stressors.  For more on what exactly HRV is see here.   Apple controls when HRV readings are taken and generally seems to take one in the morning, afternoon, and evening.  Some days users only have 2 readings, other days they might have 4 or 5.  You can trigger a fresh HRV reading using the Breathe App on the Apple Watch (Green Icon) which will walk you through a one minute breathing exercise.  Take note however that we have found that HRV readings triggered from the Breathe App seem to be higher than the HRV readings taken during the course of the day.  Perhaps this is because when we use the Breathe App we are focusing on our breathing whereas we might not be during normal daily readings.  
    • Resting Heart Rate is your heart rate while at rest.  Your heart rate tends to be lowest while you sleep, so if you wear the watch at night, you may get a lower resting heart rate than if you only wear it during the day.  Generally speaking a lower resting heart rate is a sign of better cardiovascular health as it means that your heart is not working very hard while you are resting.  Extremely fit athletes might have resting heart rates in the 40s or lower.  
    • As mentioned above, Recovery Score uses both HRV and resting heart rate.  So for example if your HRV is higher than your 30 day average and your resting HR is lower than your 30 day average you will have a high recovery score indicating that you are well rested and ready to take on stress. 
  1. What is the Hockey Fitness Level (HFL)?  Hockey Fitness Level is a ratio using your weight, max speed, and heart rate (at the time of your max speed) that gives an indication of your fitness level.  In other words, given two players who weigh the same, one player who can skate at 20MPH at a 150 BPM (heart rate) is theoretically more conditioned than another who can skate at 20MPH at 170 BPM.  Going a step further and factoring in player weight, a player who weighs 200 lbs and can skate at 20MPH at 150 BPM is also theoretically more conditioned than a player who weighs 170 lbs and skates at the same speed and heart rate, given that the 200 lb player is having to generate more energy to move more weight.  So factoring weight allows for more exertion for a given heart rate and speed.
    • The HFL number needs some context for comparison:
      • A hypothetical maximum HFL would be a player who weighs 250 lbs and skates at 35 MPH while maintaining a 120 BPM HR (HFL  = 1276)
      • A hypothetical minimum HFL would be a youth player who weighs 80 lbs and skates at 5 MPH at a 210 BPM HR (HFL  = 5)
      • The average player who weighs 170 lbs and skates at 15 MPH at a 170 BPM HR would be an HFL of 112.5.  
      • TLDR: if your HFL is < 112.5 you would generally be below the average hockey player, and visa versa if you are above.  The closer you get to 1276 however, you may well be a robot! 🤖
    • Note:  Hockey Fitness Level requires a weight sample, so to have calculated, you will need to add a recent weight sample by going to the Health App and -> Health Data -> Body Measurements -> Weight -> Tap the + sign in the top right and add your weight.
  2. What is Heart Rate Recovery (HRR)?  Heart Rate Recovery is a good measure of overall conditioning and cardiovascular health.  Generally, HRR is measured after performing strenuous exercise for a given period of time and then measuring how far your heart rate drops in either 1 or 2 minutes after stopping that exercise.  HockeyTracker is currently using a 2 minute interval to calculate HRR.  So for example if your heart rate during exercise is 180 BPM, and 2 minutes after you stop your heart rate is 110 BPM, your HRR would be 70.   The higher the HRR the better.  While it’s best used as a comparison between workouts to gauge your own progress, generally if your HRR is higher than your age (e.g. having a 40 HRR at age 30) it is an indicator that you are in good cardiovascular health.
  3. What is Skating Efficiency?   Skating efficiency is a measure of how aerobically efficiently you skate based on your speed and heart rate.  HockeyTracker specifically looks at your top 10% speed values and your heart rate during each of those samples.  By comparing your SE values over time, you can gauge how your aerobic fitness is changing. If your skating efficiency is trending upward, aerobic fitness is improving.  As an example of a very efficient skater who has a max speed of 20 MPH at 150 BPM heart rate; Skating Efficiency would be calculated as:  (1760 yards x 20 / 60) / 150 = 3.9.
  4. What is a good VO2 max value?  VO2 max is the measurement of the maximum amount of oxygen that an individual can utilize during intense, or maximal exercise. It is measured as milliliters of oxygen used in one minute per kilogram of body weight.  HockeyTracker calculates your VO2 max based on your heart rate during hockey and your resting heart rate.  Some examples of average VO2 Max values are:
    Males under the “fair classification” and aged:
    Age: Vo2 Max:
    20-29: 42.2 ml/kg/min
    30-39: 41.0 ml/kg/min
    40-49: 38.4 ml/kg/min
    50-59: 35.2 ml/kg/min
    60-69: 31.4 ml/kg/min
    70-79: 28.0 ml/kg/min
    
    Females under the “fair classification” and aged:
    Age: Vo2 Max:
    20-29: 35.5 ml/kg/min
    30-39: 33.8 ml/kg/min
    40-49: 31.6 ml/kg/min
    50-59: 28.7 ml/kg/min
    60-69: 26.6 ml/kg/min
    70-79: 23.8 ml/kg/min
  5. Slack Channel.  If you have any other questions feel free to join our Slack Channel
  6. What do the Session Types Mean? Generally speaking there is a distinction between those session types that track shifts: namely game, pick up and pond and those non-shift session types:  goalie, ref, coach, practice, stick-time, and open skate.  The session types also play a role in the calorie calculation.  Aside from these differences, they are mainly for purposes of just marking what type of session it was for your own use.
    1. Game: A league game with refs etc.
    2. Pick-Up:  A scrimmage game without refs when teams are chosen and there may or may not be enough players per team to have line changes and shifts.
    3. Pond:  A pick-up or scrimmage outdoors on a frozen pond, there may or may not be enough players for line changes and shifts.
    4. Stick-Time: This is where a rink will permit players to skate and shoot around on their own, similar to a practice but not as organized.
    5. Practice: This is where generally skating and stick handling drills are undertaken as well as break out drills etc.
    6. Open Skate:  This is purely a skate at an ice rink, i.e. skating around in a circle (no sticks or pucks).
    7. Ref: Where you are the referee for a game.
    8. Coach:  Where you are coaching a practice.
    9. Goalie: A game or pickup as a goalie.
  7. How is Speed Tracked?  Because hockey is mostly indoors, HockeyTracker tracks your movement based on the positioning of your wrist around the rink.  So if you move for example 100 feet on the ice in 5 seconds, then we can assume that you were traveling about 20 feet per second or 13.64 MPH
  8. What is Average Burst?  I started out with an average speed metric that tracked the average speed that you skate during your entire session. The problem is that when we play hockey, we’re sometimes standing around, barely moving, or moving very slowly (during stoppages penalty kills etc.). Because of this inherent intermittent nature of movement during hockey, average speed as a metric isn’t very interesting given that the slowest movements makes the overall average skew low. To address this, I’ve come up with an Average Burst metric which attempts to isolate only those samples where you were actually skating and full-speed or close to it, and average those. I think that you will find that Average Burst is a much more meaningful metric especially as a comparison in between skates.
  9. How are Calories Calculated?  First we start with a MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) value based on the session type (i.e. game, practice, goalie etc.) that is multiplied by the ice time (derived from shifts, if applicable).  Secondly, we factor in a player’s weight.  Finally the final calorie number is tweaked based on your Effort Level (time spent in the various heart rate zones), in other words if the workout was bit more intense the calorie number will be a bit higher.  
  10. Heart Rates Not Being Sampled.  Go into the Apple Watch app on your iPhone (black app icon) then General and make sure that Workout Power Saving Mode is not switched on.
  11. Does HockeyTracker Work for Sled Hockey?  Yes, since HockeyTracker tracks you based on your movement in space, HockeyTracker will track your speed and distance just as accurately as normal skating.
  12. Does HockeyTracker Work for Street, Ball and/or Field Hockey?  Yes, since HockeyTracker tracks you based on your movement in space, HockeyTracker will track your speed and distance whether you are running or skating.