The Hockey Brain
Skills5 min read

Turn a prompt into a reusable AI skill

How to package a one-off AI request into a repeatable procedure your whole workflow can call.

Start

One-off prompt

  • "Write an opponent report"
Extract

Define the skill

  • Inputs
  • Tools (SQL)
  • Output format
Store

Skill library

  • Named + versioned
  • Documented
Reuse

Call it anytime

  • Same quality
  • Any opponent
Promoting a good prompt into a reusable, versioned skill.

The 30-second version

  • A "skill" is a documented prompt plus the tools and inputs it needs.
  • Capture the questions you answer weekly first — that's where reuse pays.
  • Version skills like code: name, inputs, tools, expected output.

Spot the repeatable work

The best skill candidates are the reports you produce on a schedule: opponent prep, post-game summaries, a scouting profile. If you have typed the same kind of prompt more than twice, it should be a skill.

Write down the contract

A skill is more than a prompt. Document its inputs (which team, which date range), the tools it may call (a read-only SQL function over your gold tables), and the exact output format you expect. That contract is what makes the output consistent.

Version it like code

Give the skill a name and keep it under version control alongside the rest of your stack. When you improve the prompt or add a guardrail, bump the version so you can trace why last month's report looked different.

Build it yourself

  1. 1Pick one report you produce repeatedly.
  2. 2Write the prompt, then list its inputs and the tools it needs.
  3. 3Pin the output format (headings, tables, length).
  4. 4Save it as a named file in your repo and reuse it next week.

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