seanskahan

Toe Touch Squat With Alternating Arm Reach

Hockey, Strength and Conditioning 1 Response »

Jan 212011

The Toe Touch Squat with Alternating Arm Reach is a mobility exercise that I really like. This is a progression to help correct a faulty deep squat pattern from the F.M.S as I originally saw it in one of Gray Cook’s publications. What I really like about it is that we can work hip mobility and then add in some thoracic extension which help our Deep Squat and Shoulder Mobility Screens.

I think it’s important to note that this is a different movement from the traditional back squat or front squat. While we may advocate some lumbar flexion in the mobility exercise, we will not allow it with our double leg strength exercises.

Do Something Everyday

Motivation/Inspiration No Responses »

Jan 172011

When it comes to fitness, I think it is important to do something everyday to help you achieve your goals. It doesn’t have to be a 2-hour workout consisting of strength training and conditioning. It could be as easy as a 20 minute walk or as hard as a kettle bell workout. It all depends on your current level of fitness. For some, maybe it is getting off the couch and doing some house work or riding the stationary bike for 30 minutes? Either way, do something to get moving.

When I think of the athletes that I am fortunate to work with, they rarely get total days off to rest. Usually it is a game, practice, travel day, or a strength and conditioning session that helps keep them busy. It is also why hockey players may be the most “fit” athletes.

Speaking of doing something everyday day, I’ve spent some time recently updating the blog. With the help of Kevin Neeld, I think I’ve made the site look better and I have also added a Recommended Resources page and a Testimonial page. Check them out. Thanks! Sean

This Week at HockeySC.com

Coaching, Education, Hockey, Strength and Conditioning No Responses »

Jan 142011

It has been a while since I posted a recap of what is going on at HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com. Before I get into the most recent content, I want to give you a brief overview of what we have going on so far in 2011.

– We added Darryl Nelson to the staff. Darryl is an excellent addition to the site as he has done an unbelievable job coaching with the US National Developmental Program over the years. There are many players who Darryl has coached that are now playing in the NHL. We are really looking forward to reading Darryl’s contributions.

– We are going to provide our members with a youth hockey training section that will consist of workouts and videos so that youth hockey coaches can easily implement the programs into their teams’ training programs. This is going to be a great section.

Here is some of the content that has been posted since my last update:

4 Summer Phase 1 Without Olympic Lifts by Mike Boyle. This is a program that Mike did last summer with his athletes who don’t olympic lift. I really like reviewing these programs as I know what it is like to have athletes who can’t do certain lifts. Great program from Mike.

My Road to the Top by Mike Boyle. This was an article that Mike originally put on his blog. I felt that this was a must for the site. Any young strength and conditioning coach who wants to train hockey players needs to read this. Mike talks about how hard work allowed him to be successful in this profession. Funny that there is no mention of the Internet on his road to the top.

In-Season Core Phase 3 by Sean Skahan. In this program, I outline what we are currently doing with our players for our in-season core training. We would like to put up more real-time programs to show what we are currently doing at different parts of the year.

Last but not least is our video of the week which is Mike Potenza’s Table Stretching. Mike shows some great stretches that he uses with his guys. We use many of these variations with our guys as well. Great video from Mike.

Thanks for your support,

Sean, Anthony, Mike, Kevin, and Darryl

Learning From Mistakes

Coaching, Education, Strength and Conditioning 2 Responses »

Jan 112011

I am a big believer in strength and conditioning coaches being able to do the things that they ask their athletes to do. I also believe that a strength coach’s philosophy is based on personal preferences from what has worked or hasn’t worked for them in the past. Not only with the athletes that they are coaching, but also themselves.

Back in 1999, I was a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at a Big Ten university. I was 2 years removed from my last college football season. At the time, my training regimen consisted of performing similar routines to what the athletes who I was coaching were doing. Within my program, full back squats, power cleans, and pulls from the floor were part of the regimen. The thing about it was that I was not able to back squat or pull from the floor heavy with the form I had. I had good form until the weight got heavier on the bar. I can remember forcing myself down in the hole when I probably shouldn’t have been using that amount of weight on the bar. Was this stupid? Yes it was, but I continued to push through. Knowing what I know now, this was the definition of putting strength on dysfunction or maybe trying to screw a square peg into a round hole.

A few months later, I got a lumbar discectomy at the L4 and L5/S1 levels. Before the surgery, it was so painful that I couldn’t walk or do other activities of daily living without pain. (Those who have undergone this know what I am talking about.) Back to knowing what I know now again- I probably wouldn’t have done the surgery without trying extensive physical therapy, stretching, A.R.T., and/or massage therapy first.

The point of the story is that you have to learn from your mistakes. I know that I will do my best to make sure that the athletes I coach will never have to go through something like that. As a result, we don’t back squat or pull from the floor. In my opinion, there are different and safer methods to get strong and powerful. Most of the athletes that I work with have done well without doing some of the exercises that I think have a good chance of being dangerous. Most of them are playing their sport in the highest level that their talent level allows. Most importantly, this helps me with designing programs for those who have undergone the process of lower back surgery or who experience low back pain. There are some exercises that will never be included in a program for those individuals.

Now before you read this and ask yourself if I have ever coached back squats or power cleans before? The answer is yes- plenty. However I have seen plenty of people who back squatted or cleaned properly have to go under the knife as well. As a coach, you have to ask yourself if the perceived advantage of an exercise is worth the injury potential.

Goals For 2011

Motivation/Inspiration 4 Responses »

Jan 052011

A discussion on the most recent episode of the StrengthCoachPodcast inspired me to write this post. Anthony Renna and Mike Boyle were discussing goal setting and how important it is to write down your goals. If people like Anthony and Mike are advocating goal setting, I think it is worth trying it out. Goal setting is crucial for attaining success.

Writing your goals down has been promoted by several of the self-help gurus for years. I have been personally writing down my goals now for 4-5 years and all I can say is that it works. I really can’t imagine not having goals.

At the beginning of 2010, I had a list of goals that I wanted to accomplish. Although I personally didn’t achieve all of them, I did get to achieve most of the goals that I set. I really believe that if I didn’t set these goals and develop a plan for achieving them, I wouldn’t have accomplished them.

When I actually set them, I wrote them down on a daily basis in my notebook. I wrote them as if I already had achieved them. What happened was that the more I wrote them down, the more I believed that I was going to accomplish them. I felt like I was going to be unproductive if I didn’t achieve them.

From a professional standpoint, the Stanley Cup is always the goal. 30 teams in the NHL begin each season with this goal in mind. Even though this is a big goal every year, it is probably the most difficult trophy to win in all professional team sports. I am realistic to know that there are so many factors that come into play for winning the cup. As a result, I don’t feel as unproductive if we don’t win it. I also wish I could write down my goal of winning the Cup everyday and win it in June.

Some of my personal professional goals for 2011 include continuing to update this blog more frequently, developing an information product for hockey, speaking at more at seminars and conferences, writing more articles, and continuing to grow HockeySC.com.

As a strength and conditioning coach, I believe it is important to be as strong and conditioned as you can be. Although pro hockey players are some of the most fit people in the world, I don’t think it is unreasonable for a strength and conditioning coach who works with them to try his best get to their levels. I do have some physical goals that I look to improve in 2011.

Now that I have written my goals down, I will be writing all of them down on a daily basis and coming up with a plan to achieve all of them. I really have zero excuses.

What are your goals for 2011?

Merry Christmas

Strength and Conditioning, Uncategorized No Responses »

Dec 222010

I know its been a few days since my last post. I’ve been on the road the past 8 days with the team as we have made some stops in Washington, DC, New York, North Carolina, Boston, and now finishing up in Buffalo. It has been a long trip and I am looking forward to heading home to see Hillary and Will and spend some quality time with them over the Christmas break.

One thing that I do and look forward to doing on these long road trips is networking. During this trip I got to meet up with several friends in the strength and conditioning field including Rob Harris, Mark Nemish, Anthony Renna, and Pete Friesen. All great people who I always learn from. It is always great to connect in person with people.

Also, you probably notice that there has been some changes made to the site here. Kevin Neeld did a great job with this as I think it looks much nicer and it is actually easier to use.

I want to take this chance to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all who visit the blog. I look forward to providing much more content in 2011.

Thanks again- Sean Skahan

This Week at HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com

Coaching, Education, Hockey, Strength and Conditioning 2 Responses »

Dec 102010

We had another great week here on HockeySC.com. With hockey season in full go, we hope that you continue to read and watch our content that at we are putting up on the site each and every week.

First up is Lateral Speed Drills: Ring Technique by Mike Potenza. Mike shows some good videos of his lateral speed progressions with the rings on the floor. It is primarily an off-season progression, but he will do it during the in-season phase. We have used this progression in the past as well. Good stuff from Mike.

Next is Kevin Neeld’s Preventing Shoulder Injuries During Pressing Exercises. In this piece, Kevin writes about some issues he may see with some of his athletes including short a short pec minor and/or rotator cuff instability. The video shows a brief activation exercise for the rotator cuff before pressing exercises. Good stuff from Kevin.

Last up is an example of a program that I have used called Lower Back Reconditioning Phase 5. This is a 3-day program where we actually backed off from a 4 day program with an emphasis on strength development to a more strength-endurance program. I do plan on writing an article on the whole process of the reconditioning process from this type of injury.

We hope you enjoy the site and will continue to log on and interact on the forum.

Thanks!

Sean, Anthony, Mike, Mike, and Kevin

How Did You Design This Program?

Coaching, Strength and Conditioning 2 Responses »

Dec 062010

I was asked this recently. It really is a good question and one that I needed some time to think about.

The answer is that it is an evolution. My philosophy has evolved since the first time I ever wrote a program. The philosophy is an on-going process of making choices on what I feel is best for my athletes. It is also the result of filtering things that I don’t necessarily agree with.

The key as a strength and conditioning coach is going out of your way to ensure that your athletes are doing what you feel is best for them. Looking back at my programs from over 10 years ago, I wouldn’t use them with anyone today. However, they could still get strong and most likely wouldn’t get hurt, but, there is a better way and that is how we are doing things now.

Pat Riley, the former LA Lakers coach said “If you are not getting better, you are getting worse”. I always have this in the back of my mind when it comes to learning and implementing.

This Week at Hockey Strength and Conditioning

Coaching, Education, Hockey, Strength and Conditioning No Responses »

Dec 032010

We have some great content added to HockeySC.com this week. We are getting some really good contributions from some really good coaches.

First up is “From the Ground Up” by Dan John. This one was originally on Strengthcoach.com and we liked it so much that we decided to put it up on here. Those who read this blog know that I am a huge fan of Dan John and his writing. Dan writes about a really simple and easy program that he had done in his ninth grade physical education class. It is simple, but very effective. A really good read from Dan John.

Next up is Mike Potenza’s “In-Season Lifts: Core Movements, Strength Movements, and Complexes”. Mike gives us a look at what his philosophy is on exercise selection during the in-season phase. This is a really good systemic overview of what exercises Mike chooses during the in-season phase.

Next is Jim Reeve’s “The Disconnect of Culture”. This is an article that is along the same line as “Diversify Your Athletic Lifestyle” article. I think that the development of hockey players has to include being athletes at other sports or activities besides hockey. Jim does a great job in this article in bringing about the importance of doing other activities in off-ice training besides “hockey-specific” workouts.

Next is a piece the John Buccigoss from Espn wrote called “Producing Elite U.S. Players Starts at the Bottom”. I originally read the piece on-line at Espn.com. I emailed John and asked if we could put it up on the site. I have always read John’s columns because I enjoy his view on today’s game and he is a hockey guy. In this article John looks at possible reasons why there aren’t more U.S. elite players in the NHL today. He also interviews Kenny Rausch, who is the manager of youth hockey for U.S.A. Hockey. This is a really good piece as we would like the site to have a direction on youth hockey development from a strength and conditioning perspective.

Next is my own, “Neck Strengthening For Hockey“. In this article, I outline what my philosophy is on strengthening the neck extensors. With the amount of head injuries in hockey today, proper neck strengthening is important for the prevention of whiplash associated with them.

We hope you enjoy this week’s new content in addition to the forum activity that is going on.

Thanks again,

Sean, Anthony, Mike, Mike, and Kevin

Older Entries Newer Entries