The beginning of the off-season is always a tough time. In sports, the plan is to win a championship each season. Unfortunately, as we know, only 1 team gets to win.
When athletes and staff have been working and competing on a daily basis for 7 months straight, the off-season is welcomed with open arms. Although we would like to still be working, we will take the rest at the same time. This is the time to get away from the game and recover mentally and physically from the daily grind. It is also time for a hockey player to think about goals for next season. As a player, what do you want to improve on in the off-season? Do you want to get faster on the ice? Do you want to be stronger on the puck? Better conditioned?
For me personally, this is the time for me to re-focus and re-energize. Most importantly, I am looking forward to spending some time with my family and welcoming our new son into the world real soon. I am also looking forward to relaxing a little bit and finishing up some unfinished books and articles that I have started. I will also start posting more on the blog.
From a training perspective, I will start working with players who are in town in a few weeks. I am already looking forward to getting our guys going for next season. The longer off-season will only help us come back stronger next season.
For my own training, I am taking a radically different approach. I just registered for the RKC workshop in San Diego in August. I am really excited for this as this is something entirely different for me. I wanted to do something different from a continuing education perspective this off-season unlike in the past where I go to a seminar and listen to lectures for a few days (although I will go to the Perform Better Summit in Long Beach). At the RKC, I am going to get a hands-on coaching experience unlike any other. Besides learning how to teach Kettle bell lifts properly to my athletes, a huge reason that I signed up for it is the challenge. I really wanted to do something outside of the norm in my own training. Training and preparing for this workshop will be unlike any training I have done before. I am looking forward to it and I will keep you posted as I go along. Thanks for reading the blog.
I am actually starting this post on the plane on the way home from Nashville. I am looking forward to getting home so I can spend a few days with Hillary and Will before we head back to Nashville for game 6. It is a pretty hectic time right now around the Skahan household as Hillary could go into labor any day/week now. We are excited to have another baby boy during the playoff season as my son Will was also born during the playoffs back in 2006.
There has been some outstanding content posted since my last update. The forum also has some good discussions including a discussion on favorite books. I really like these discussions as I will sometimes pick up a book on someone’s recommendation.
Scap Exercises by Mike Potenza. Mike gives some interesting scapula stability exercises both on a stability ball and the wall. We are always working our lower traps and other scapula stabilizers with our players. These will be a good addition.
Anterior Core Variations by Darryl Nelson. Darryl shows video of some anterior core variations that he uses. What I like about Darryl’s videos is that they almost always show a group of hockey players training. It definitely shows that Darryl is not just writing about training hockey players, but actually training them.
Off-Season Weight Gain: Eat that Elephant by Kevin Neeld. Kevin gives practical, real-world, common sense advice on proper weight gain for hockey players during the off-season. Great stuff as usual from Kevin.
Youth In- Season Introductory Program by myself. This is an addition to our Youth Hockey Program section. This program was done with a midget AAA program that I worked with a few seasons ago. I would probably still use most of the exercises and progressions today.
Identifying Strength Qualities For Your Training Program by Mike Potenza. In this article, Mike talks about strength qualities and how them into a program for any player at any current level. This is a really good in-depth article that shows how smart Mike is.
Grier Persevered to Carve Out Lengthy NHL Career submitted by Mike Potenza. Mike posted this up as he thought it would be a good addition to the site. This is a great article that talks about a Mike Grier who is currently playing with the Buffalo Sabres. The article talks about Mike’s career and how important Mike Boyle’s work with him was. It still is actually as Mike continues to train with Mike Boyle each off-season.
Changes to the In-Season Program by myself. This season, I made some small changes to our in-season program. In this article, I talk about what those changes were. I think they were beneficial.
With professional players, it is not uncommon for them to have their own routine before games. They fully believe that their own routine (and sometimes superstitions) will help them give them the best chance for success.
For some players who are still young and really haven’t established their own routine yet, we will do a pre-game warm up one hour before the puck drops. This is done in a hallway outside of our dressing room whether it is at home or in an opposing arena. Here is an example of what we may do pre-game using a 10-15 yard distance and a small agility ladder (4 boxes):
Movement Prep
High Knee Tuck
Heel to Butt with Opposite Arm Reach
SLDL
Cradle
Lunge Walk + Forearm to Instep + Arm Reach/Thoracic Rotation + Hamstring
I hope everyone has enjoyed the week. You have to love this time of year. The frozen four is being played this weekend as well as the Master’s. The NHL regular season is winding down. We have a huge weekend here with the team. Hopefully by Sunday, we will know that 1- We are in the playoffs, and 2- Who we are playing.
Here is what we had this past week on HockeySC.com:
Strength Training Fundamentals by Darryl Nelson. Darryl gives some good common sense advice on a proper Strength program for hockey players from a functional perspective. Really good piece here from Darryl.
Early Off-Season Program by Kevin Neeld. Kevin presents us with a 2-day strength and conditioning program for youth players who are just making the transition from in-season to off-season training. Good stuff from Kevin.
Long Term Athletic Development by Dr. Steven Norris. This was submitted by Darryl. I haven’t watched it yet, but I plan on it soon. Here is what Darryl had to say about it – “This is excellent stuff. Dr. Norris is the ‘brains’ of Canada’s “Own the Podium” initiative for the 2010 winter Olympics…they set a record for most gold medals won in a winter games”
Finally was ACL Rehab Phase 2 from myself. This is phase 2 out of a 4-phase program that was successfully used to help rehab a player from an ACL surgery. When compared to phase 1, you can see some of the progressions that we made.
Thanks for the continued support- Sean, Mike, Mike, Anthony, and Kevin.
I am trying to update the blog as frequently as I can. It has honestly been difficult getting some posts up. Our travel schedule has been hectic as we have been to Dallas, Nashville, Chicago, back home to Anaheim, Calgary, and now San Jose in the last week. I am actually typing this post on my Ipad as I am enjoying some down time here in San Jose. I hope you liked the Shoulder Mobility article that came up this past Monday.
HockeySC is rolling along pretty good with awesome forum content including discussion on aerobic training and returning from concussion protocols.
Here is what we have added since my last update:
– Video of the Week- Stiff Legged Sled Drag by Kevin Neeld. In this video, Kevin shoes a nice posterior chain exercise variation.
– Audio Interview with myself. Anthony and I talked about what is going on with the Ducks from a strength and conditioning perspective at this time of year.
– Supplement Recommendations for Hockey Players by David Lasnier was up next. David takes a look at supplements such as Vitamin-D, Beta-Alanine, and Greens supplement and how they are beneficial to hockey players. Good stuff from David.
– Next up is Hang Clean Videos by myself. These are some videos of some local pros and major junior guys doing hang cleans.
– Hope you all are enjoying the site. Any questions let us know.
At the beginning of every season, we will do a Functional Movement Screen (F.M.S.) with each member of our team. It has become a part of the whole overall testing and assessment process. The process of using the F.M.S. has evolved as I have learned new strategies and techniques from season to season to help us incorporate corrective exercises into our program. During the first few seasons that we implemented the F.M.S., we simply screened our team and then implemented our in-season program. Now, we are taking a much more individualized corrective exercise approach as I felt that we needed to incorporate some corrective exercises to help the players with F.M.S. issues and prevent players from having problems.
We have seen some trends in the scoring the F.M.S. over the past 5 years. The hurdle step pattern has been one that has shown some asymmetries. Mike Boyle has written and talked about this pattern and his hockey players for a few years now. We have definitely benefited and implemented some of his ideas and progressions.
Another part of the F.M.S. where we will see some asymmetries is the Shoulder Mobility Screen. Every season, we will have some shoulder mobility asymmetries with some of our players. Many times, these players may be new players acquired by our team through trades or through free agency. With these players, it is not uncommon to hear them describe having a previous injury which may have been a separated shoulder, an AC sprain, or a dislocation/partial dislocation earlier in their career. They may have undergone surgery to correct one of the previously mentioned injuries or they may have rehabbed it without surgery. Either way, the injury has caused them to lose some mobility and/or stability in the shoulder joint and in the thoracic spine. Therefore, we may have some differences in right versus left side in our shoulder mobility screen.
The Thoracic Spine is an area that we are continuing to learn more about. Many hockey players display some thoracic kyphosis and will also show signs of Janda’s Upper Crossed Syndrome. Tight pectoralis major and pectoralis minors, combined with weak upper back muscles are common. There are many factors that may of lead to these imbalances such as prolonged sitting, improper training programs, or simply playing the game of hockey. Along with previous injuries, these imbalances are another reason why we may see some asymmetries in the shoulder mobility screen.
Something that I have learned from listening to and reading Gray Cook’s materials is that one of the biggest predictors for injury is previous injury. The most important aspect of our jobs as strength and conditioning coaches is injury prevention and recovery about which you can learn more here on the products and tools we use to do it. It is important to try to ensure that a previous injury will not become a current injury. Making corrections in faulty patterns by correcting tightness and/or weakness is beneficial to preventing further injuries.
With the shoulder mobility assessment and its corrective strategies, I’ve realized that making progress will not happen overnight. These are not exercises that can be done once or twice and then forgotten about. We have found that using the corrective strategies that have worked for us usually have to be done on a daily basis.
How do we incorporate the corrective exercises? With a long schedule consisting of many practices and games, players will develop their own routines to help them prepare on a daily basis. We will simply have the players who have exhibited asymmetries on the Shoulder Mobility screen add some of the corrective exercises into their daily pre-practice and/or pre-game routines. As a result, we have seen small increases in shoulder mobility as we go along. It is not uncommon to hear our players say that their shoulders feel better.
Here is a sequence of exercises that we do with our players. Each part of the sequence needs to be done in order and no parts can be missed. The proper order needs to be followed to allow us the greatest chance of success.
Soft Tissue Work- We will use many different methods to address thoracic spine mobility including the foam roller, the Stick, and 2 tennis balls taped together. We will address the posterior shoulder girdle, the upper back, the pectorals, and the lateral aspect of the rib cage. Sue Falsone, Physical Therapist from Athlete’s Performance, gave an outstanding presentation at last summer’s Perform Better Functional Training Summit that covered the Thoracic spine. She discussed several methods of increasing mobility in the t-spine. We have successfully borrowed and implemented some of her ideas from her talk.
One thing I remember learning from a Gary Gray course that I took 7 years ago was that he said “Use the other 2 planes of to help get more motion in the less mobile plane.” In the case of the thoracic spine, increasing mobility in the sagittal and frontal planes will help with gaining mobility in the transverse plane, while increasing mobility in the transverse and frontal planes will help with gaining mobility in the saggital plane. We will look to increase mobility in all 3 planes of motion using the easiest and most efficient methods. We will also work on flexibility for muscles that can become shortened and tight including the Pectorals Major and Minor, latisimus dorsi, and subscapularis.
Here are some of the exercises and progressions that we have used to help us gain more mobility and stability in the thoracic spine and glenohumeral joint:
Standing T-Spine Rotation- This exercise is borrowed from Michol Dalcourt. I really like this one because we are standing.
Quadruped T-Spine Rotation- This is another exercise that we have used to help prevent the lumbar spine from moving so that the rotation is primarily at the t-spine level.
Standing Wall Slides- This is the easier progression of the wall slide. The back of the head, shoulder blades, and butt are touching the wall. We are simply keeping them against the wall as we slide our arms up the wall until our hands and elbows can no longer stay in contact. A much more difficult version of this exercise is also standing, but in addition to the head, shoulder blades, and butt, we try to keep the lower back flat as well.
Seated Wall Slides- this is a more difficult version of the standing wall slide as we are now in a position where the lower back is flat against the wall which will allow for a more kyphotic thoracic spine to take place. This will put the athlete in a position where the anterior muscles need more length and the scapula retractors more strength to get the shoulder blades to touch the wall.
Integration-
One of the aspects of the F.M.S. that I like is that asymmetries in one of the screens can result in an issue in another screen. For example, with an athlete with shoulder mobility 1’s and 2’s, it is common to see a 1 or a 2 in the Deep Squat assessment. We will try to correct the Deep Squat after we have seen some positive results from our Shoulder Mobility exercises. Sometimes by just working on shoulder mobility, we have seen positive changes in the deep squat. If we still have some issues with thoracic spine extension, we will incorporate this:
Toe Touch Squat With Alternating Arm Reach-
With hockey being a collision sport, injuries to the shoulder joint are not 100% avoidable. However, if we can make positive changes by helping our players feel better, I am all for it.
Here is a recent interview that I did with the New England Hockey Journal. I am excited as this was published back home in the printed edition as well. I will also be submitting articles to them on a monthly basis.
A special thanks goes out to my friend Sean Glennon who arranged for the interview to take place with Eric Beato, the editor for the magazine.
This is my favorite time of the year as the days are getting longer and it is getting warmer outside. Personally, my family and I are preparing for our new addition this May. We are really looking forward to it as parents and brother. Professionally, the team is making what seems like to be an annual playoff push. Every game is important as we try to climb the standings for a chance at making the playoffs.
What I also like about this time of year is that all of the information on all of the strength and conditioning, physical therapy, fitness, and coaching seminar information is being published. There are many to choose from all across the country. For myself, I am going to be going to at least 2 as an attendant and 1 as a speaker. Maybe I will see you at one of them?
As a speaker, I will be at the Roger Neilson Coaches Clinic. This is will be held June 10th through June 12th in Windsor, Ontario. I am truly honored and humbled to be speaking at this event. If you look at the list of the past speakers who have spoken at it, you can see why. My topic is on In-Season Strength and Conditioning for Hockey. With the fact that I am with our players for a good 8-10 months out of the calendar year, this phase of training is very important for injury prevention and performance enhancement.
As an attendee, I will be attending Kevin Wilk’s Recent Advances in the Treatment of the Shoulder and the Knee July 15th through July 17th in San Diego. This is a seminar that I really wanted to get to last summer. Now, it looks like the dates and the location of the course line up perfectly. I really think we can learn from smart physical therapists. Shoulders and Knees are definitely areas that we want to reduce the chances of injury with our players.
The Perform Better Functional Training Summit returns to Long Beach August 26th through 28th. This is one seminar that I really haven’t missed in a long time. With the number of quality presenters to choose from, this is a can’t-miss. I am really looking forward to seeing people such as Dan John, Gray Cook, Mike Boyle, Todd Wright, and Vern Gambetta speak.
Along with going to seminars, it is important to go and visit other coaches who are doing things better than you in some areas. With the NHL scouting combine being June 3rd and 4th in Toronto, I will try to visit with some people in the Toronto area who will be in off-season training mode with the players that they train.
We added some great content this week at HockeySc.com.:
– Improving Shoulder Mobility by myself. In this article, I talk about the Shoulder Mobility screen from the Functional Movement Screen. I list some of the exercises and progressions that have worked well in my coaching situation.
– Teaching Circuit Phase 1 by Mike Potenza. This is an article with several videos showing examples of what Mike does with youth players. It is a teaching circuit as technique and coaching cues are critical to help the young player establish a low athletic position with proper posture and technique.
– Training Around an Injured Arm by Mike Potenza. These are the types of articles that I really enjoy. These are real-world programs that are being administered under situations that are different for everyone who is working with hockey players. This is a simple 3-day program that will help a player with an injured arm stay strong and healthy everywhere else in his body. Good stuff from Mike.
– Beginner Off-Season Strength Training by Darryl Nelson. This is a good program for a beginner. I really like the simplicity of these program as it features many good “bang for your buck” exercises. I like to follow a similar template to this.
Hope you all are enjoying the site. Any questions let us know.
