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Thoughts on Cross-Ice Hockey- A Parent’s Perspective

Oct 142013

I have always been a proponent of implementing cross-ice only games at the mite level of hockey. I believe in what USA Hockey is doing through the American Developmental Model (ADM) and I am a big believer in young hockey players also being young “insert another sport here” players. Also, I believe that young kids shouldn’t subject themselves to the same rink specifications of NHL or international leagues. Although I also believe in practicing what you preach, I must admit that I am guilty of questioning whether or not cross-ice games would be good for my own son.

My son started to learn how to skate when he was 3. He participated in learn to skate and hockey programs and then began playing cross ice at age 4. When he was 5, he played at the full-ice mite recreation level. The year after that, he played at the travel full-ice level. Although he played in 2 complete years of full-ice hockey, he also competed in several full-ice tournaments. While his games were played in the full-ice format, all of his practices consisted of drills and games done in small areas. Practices were done twice per week and they always followed the ADM principles.

At the time, I though the progression was fine. My son is a little bigger than most of the other kids his age and I would consider him to be average to above average in skill and skating. To him, it seemed like full-ice hockey wasn’t a big deal.

After his first year of travel hockey, we found out what was going to take place this season- one half of his games the season are going to be played in the cross-ice format, and one half of the season is going to be the full-ice format. This is taking place because USA Hockey is mandating that mite level hockey is all cross-ice. However, there is a transition period going from full-ice hockey to cross-ice hockey so kids in my son’s age group who have played full ice don’t have to make such a drastic transition. For my son, the reality is that because of his birth year, he must participate in this. If he was a year older, he would be eligible to play up to the next level. For him, I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing and most importantly, he could care less.

After much anticipation and wondering how it was going to go, we played in a recent cross-ice holiday weekend tournament. After watching the tournament, I wanted to share my thoughts (Again, this is all new to a large group of kids around southern California):

Pros:

– More time with the puck- It seemed like the puck came to all of the players more frequently while more aggressive players got the puck much more

– Players had more opportunities to display individual skills. Kids had more opportunities to make moves and beat their opponents one on one

– Quicker decisions- The game was fast and it seemed like there wasn’t much room to make plays. Kids had to make quick plays

– One minute and 30 second shifts which were controlled by the sound of a buzzer- This was great. Equal ice time for everyone and both teams changed at the same time. Brilliant.

– No off-sides calls- I do like this even though the kids aren’t learning the off-sides rule.

– Kids seemed much more confident with the puck- Don’t know if it was because of playing against a weaker team or not, but was still good.

Cons:

– When the puck went out of play, the clock kept ticking. The ref didn’t have a back-up puck to continue play

– The higher skilled players are still the higher skilled players. Yes, the lower skilled players got more puck possession time, but the higher skilled players still touched the puck much more. The higher skilled players still scored the most goals but I will say that since puck possession seemed higher per player, everyone had more opportunity to score goals

– Lots of goals were scored and there were face-offs immediately after each goal. Retrieving the puck and conducting a face-off is time consuming. I like the pick-up hockey format where the team that gets scored on plays the puck out of their net. This would allow play to keep moving. If the score isn’t being kept, then who cares?

– Growing pains are going to happen. There were many times when it seemed like the facility was trying to figure it out while it was going on. For example, some referees didn’t know some of the rules and the locker room situation was crammed. I guess if you have 4 teams playing on the ice at once, you will need more locker room space.

All in all, I think this is going to be great. There are lots of concerns from parents about possibly delaying their sons/daughters development. However, when I offer my opinion on this, I tell them to think long term. Don’t worry about their child being the best mite but rather think about him being the best bantam or midget. When I think about my own son, I think he will benefit from this. Since he is already a little bigger than most of the kids, he will learn how to handle the puck in small areas under pressure from the smaller and quicker players. When I think about how much more time that he will have the puck on his stick versus times in a full-ice situation, it is a no-brainer. Also, I don’t think 4 months out of their hockey development where they are put in competitive situations that suits their abilities is going to hurt them. It can only make them better- especially when they return to full ice competition.

Lesson From the Old Ball Coach

Coaching, Motivation/Inspiration, Strength and Conditioning 1 Response »

Oct 152012

I was inspired to write this post by a segment that was on TV Saturday morning. The segment was a behind the scenes look at the University of South Carolina Football program. As I was flipping through the channels, I happened to see some weightroom footage that forced me to stay on the channel for more than a few minutes.

During the segment, Head Football Coach Steve Spurrier was shown working out. In the segment, he mentioned that he works out 5-6 times per week. He also talked about how important it was for him to get his workouts in. At the age of 67, the fact that Coach Spurrier gets in 5-6 workouts per week is pretty impressive. They did show him performing exercises such as rear delt flyes and dumbbell curls while also showing him walk on the treadmill and ride a bike. Who cares? The fact that he is making that kind of commitment at his age is very impressive.

What I was also really impressed with was how important he thinks exercising is not only for himself, but for every coach in the profession. Coach Spurrier talked about how when he speaks to other coaches at clinics, he preaches the importance of exercise and how coaches shouldn’t be overweight while coaching their kids. He encourages overweight coaches to “Get on the treadmill”.

I agree with coach Spurrier not only from a health prospective, but also from a standpoint of being able to coach. I think a coach needs to be able to demonstrate proper form and execution. In the case of a football coach, maybe that is demonstrating what a player needs to do on a specific play?

In the case of the Strength and Conditioning Coach, we are professionals on the subject of exercise; specifically strength and conditioning. So, Strength and Conditioning Coaches need to be able to demonstrate proper form in exercises- not only in the weightroom, but also on the field demonstrating agility, acceleration, and plyometric drills.

I’m not saying that you need to be as strong or as fast as your athletes. However, you should be lean, strong, and in condition. Your athletes are going to respect you more if you are able to “Look the part” and be able to do what they do even if it is slower. Be fit enough to coach.

Those Who Have Influenced Me

Coaching, Education, Strength and Conditioning 3 Responses »

Jul 302012

I was actually hesitant to post this but ended up thinking “what the heck”. The reality is that I am sometimes guilty of caring what people may think. Some may think “who is this guy who is writing about mentors and stuff”, or “who gives a s#%t who his mentors are?” Anyways, if you are at least reading the blog, I know that some of you are friends or maybe you are at least a little interested.

Most of the people that I am going to talk about are coaches who are or have been coaching or teaching in the trenches. That really means a lot to me. Although some of them do have an internet presence, some of them don’t. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t phenomenal at what they do.

I was recently inspired to write this by 2 recent blog posts/articles that are currently on the internet. The first is What it Means to be a Boyle Guy by Kevin Neeld. Obviously if you know me, given by the title of my post, you know there is a really good chance that I will talk about Mike. However for another look at Mike’s impact on another coach, check out Kevin’s article. The second article that helped inspire me to write this is Your Life and Lifting Goals by Dan John. This is just another Dan John article. I say that seriously because all of Dan’s articles are gold. It is an outstanding piece. In the article, Dan talks about a mentor of his by the name of Dick Notmeyer who impacted Dan early on in his lifting career.

This post is about some of the people who have made an impact on me professionally in a positive manner. Of course, I would like to mention my parents, my wife Hillary, or even my uncle Bill who bought me my first weight set- you know the plastic grey ones that were filled with sand. Or, I could easily mention all of the coaches (primarily hockey coaches over the past 11 year) who have influenced me. However, this is about strength and conditioning professionals for now.

Avery Faigenbaum Dr. Faigenbaum is currently a Health and Exercise Science Professor at the College of New Jersey. He was one of my exercise science professors at the University of Massachusetts at Boston back in 2006. Back then, the exercise science curriculum at UMB was only geared towards the ACSM health fitness instructor track. There was also an Athletic Training/Sports Medicine track in which I was a part of for a semester or so. That is when Avery came in as a professor at UMB. What he brought to the Exercise Science department was a new concentration called “Strength and Conditioning”. As a result, I eventually switched to the Exercise Science track. Since I was currently playing football at UMB, it would have been extremely difficult for me to accumulate all of the clinical hours that were required for the athletic training track. I figured that since I liked to lift weights and train for football, it would be pretty awesome if I could make a career out of it. It was Avery that really made learning about this stuff fun. He is really passionate about the field and he actually got me pretty fired up to do well in his classes.

When it was time to apply for my senior year internship, there were 4 schools that strength and conditioning majors could apply to for internships. I applied at Boston University. Although I was intrigued by the thought of interning at Boston College, which is the only Division 1-A football program in Boston, I still applied at Boston University because of the next person that I am going to talk about.

Mike Boyle

I applied at BU because I recognized the name of the contact person on the list of available schools. In my mind, Mike was the guy who worked with Cam Neely to help him get back on the ice after he suffered a career threatening injury. I can remember reading about Neely’s rehab in the Boston Herald or seeing some stuff on the TV when he was working out with Mike and thinking that what Mike was doing would be a cool job. Cam Neely’s knee and hip were big news in the Boston sporting news back then. I really didn’t know what Mike’s role was in the actual process, but I knew that he was doing something that I wanted to do.

(Side note- I consider myself very fortunate because I actually do get to do that now.)

I actually never interned for Mike at BU. I interned for Glenn Harris who is the Director of Strength and Conditioning and is also someone who taught me a lot about coaching. I did get to intern for Mike at Sports Acceleration North during the summer of 1998 right after I graduated from UMass Boston. I don’t think the present system at MBSC is much different from what it was back then. We coached day and night for 4 days per week. It was non-stop coaching and it was a blast. I can’t tell you how valuable that experience was for me. You learn very quickly in that environment. We had different types of athletes who came in on a daily basis ranging from the NHL players in the am to the hundreds of high school kids who played all different kinds of sports all throughout the day.

What’s interesting about the whole Sports Acceleration experience (now MBSC) was that there were other interns who were starting out there as well. Mike Potenza, who is currently the San Jose Sharks Strength and Conditioning Coach, was also an intern, as well as Darryl Nelson, who is the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the USA Hockey National Development Program.

I owe Mike a lot when I look at my strength and conditioning career so far. With Mike it is usually “Do this, not that” when it comes to advice from him. I can still remember a story about Mike vividly. During the summer of my internship, I also played on a staff basketball team that was in a league after work hours at the same facility. When I first started coaching that summer, I was a really quiet and shy person when it came to being a coach. Maybe I was a little overwhelmed or even intimidated by some of the athletes. However, I was a pretty aggressive basketball player who always competed even though I probably wasn’t very good. Mike said to me one day “I want you to coach like you play basketball”. I must say that it kind of clicked after that. I got what he meant and as a result, I was a more confident coach.

Al Vermeil- To me, Al Vermeil is the ultimate Strength and Conditioning Coach. Al was the strength and Conditioning Coach for the Chicago Bulls during the Jordan era and he was also the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the San Francisco 49ers in the early 1980’s. He has several NBA championship rings and 1 Superbowl championship ring I believe.

When I was an assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Boston College, our staff brought in Al for a 1-day seminar on strength and conditioning principles. Through his speaking, his passion for teaching and the field was contagious. I remember during that day, I had a hockey player come in and do a lift that he missed the previous day. I asked Al if he wanted to coach him up. Al was more than willing. Before you know it Al had his sleeves rolled up and was on the platform coaching the player in the hang clean. His coaching and energy was inspiring.

After our seminar, Al was someone who I always stayed in touch with. It wasn’t uncommon for me to be on the phone with him for at least 45 minute or so asking questions. I can also remember him sending me his 300+ page training manual which I still look at today.

I think what I will always remember about Al though is that on the night that the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007, there was a message on my office phone voicemail from Al . In the message, Al sang “We are the Champions” by Queen. You really can’t make that up.

Pete Friesen For those that don’t know, Pete is the Athletic Trainer/Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Carolina Hurricanes. Like those above, he is also a great person. When I made it a goal of mine to work as a Strength and Conditioning Coach in the NHL, I would always some people in those positions. Pete was always one of the guys to get back to me. In fact, I still have those emails saved in a folder on my Hotmail account. He was one of the first people to introduce me to the FMS and foam rollers.

Pete is a lifelong learner and he is also an outstanding presenter who brings energy in everything that he does. I was absolutely honored and humbled to be able to introduce him to the attendants at the BSMPG seminar this year.

What Pete does really well is that he gets his guys to buy in. In fact, I heard him take the Hurricanes through a core/warm up routine before practice one day. I say hear because our weightroom is immediately next door to the visiting team’s locker room. You could feel Pete’s’ enthusiasm for what he does coming through the wall. What I also respect about Pete is that he has been doing this for a long time as he worked with the Hartford Whalers before the franchise moved to Raleigh NC.

Dan John Lots of people are Dan John fans these days and rightfully so. For me, not only as a coach but as a person who is trying my best at not being skinny-fat, Dan John has been instrumental. I’ve been reading Dan’s stuff for a few years now on T-Nation and at DanJohn.net. There is something about his writing that makes it seem like he is sitting right next to you. For me though, it was at the RKC where I really got to get more of Dan. Dan was my team leader who made the entire 3-day weekend an unbelievable experience.

When I look at the above list, what is most common is that they are all great people. They get it. I’m not sure if I know exactly what “it” is yet, but I am certain that they have it.

One thing about me is that I am not a big fan of big-timers. You know who they are, the guys or girls who act like they haven’t met you before or they have no time for you. You will never get big-timed by any of these guys. They get to know your name and get to know you as a person. To me, that is worth so much more than how a person’s success is perceived to be.

What is also common about all of them is their passion for what they do. Each person’s energy and enthusiasm is visible when you around them. They inspire you to be a better person and strength and conditioning coach.

Another reason why I think this article came to me was that there are actually young people looking to intern for me or work at our annual prospect camps. Maybe I am at a stage in the career of a Strength and Conditioning Coach or something. All I know is that I hope to be the best person that I can be and not big-time anyone ever (If you think I have in the past, I apologize).

I must say that there are several others that deserve honorable mention. Glenn Harris, Paul Chapman, Mike Poidomani, Chris Doyle, Todd Wright, Cal Dietz, Robert Dos Remedios, Charlie Weingroff, and Pavel Tsatsouline are all coaches that I truly respect and I am very thankful to them for taking the time to teach me.

The Score Takes Care Of Itself

Coaching, Motivation/Inspiration 2 Responses »

Jul 052012

I find myself reading more books about coaching and leadership these days. I really enjoy reading about successful coaches who are good planners, motivators, innovators, and effective communicators. I find myself thinking that although the strength and conditioning profession involves having very strong and current knowledge in training methodology; being able to communicate and lead effectively is more important. You can be the smartest person in the world, but if you can’t communicate and apply the knowledge that you possess to your athletes or clients, then you aren’t any good. That’s reality. Also, and I think that this is more important than being a smart coach and an average communicator- if you are a jerk, then you aren’t any good either. I really believe in the quote which I first heard from Mike Boyle, “No one really cares how much you know until they know how much you care”.

One of the books that I am actually re-reading is Bill Walsh The Score Takes Care Of Itself. What I find fascinating about Bill Walsh’s career and coaching style was that he didn’t come across as a yeller and screamer when he was coaching. I’m sure that there a more than a few former 49er and Stanford players who would disagree with me, however, I think the public perception was that he was a cerebral coach. He was the ultimate planner and he broke everything down to the smallest detail when it came to operating his teams.

Sure, we can say that he was the coach of the 49ers, which was a team that was stacked with talent during Walsh’s years. However, good coaches get the most of out of their players. More importantly, they get them to play as a team. Today, (although I am a Patriots guy), it is hard not to think about Coach Belichick and the Patriots. Tom Brady, like Joe Montana, wasn’t the best prospect coming out of college. Belichick, like Walsh did with Montana, continues to get the best out of Tom Brady. It is the day in and day out of coaching that helps him be one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

What does this have to do with strength and conditioning? Like I said in a blog post before, we need to see ourselves as leaders when it comes to working with our athletes. We need to be effective communicators and motivators to help our athletes be successful and get the most out of our time with them. Anyone can write a program and give it to their athletes. However, it is the good ones who can apply what’s written on the sheet of paper effectively and get results.

Here are some quotes that I got from this book that had to do with hard-work, dedication, and teaching:

– When talking about a season-ending loss to the Dolphins- “The memory never leaves you and acts as both a positive and negative force, spurring you to work harder and harder while also creating a fear inside that it might happen again.”

– “If you’re up at 3 A.M. every night talking into a tape recorder and writing notes on scraps of paper, have a knot in your stomach and rash on your skin, are losing sleep and losing touch with your wife and kids, have no appetite or sense of humor, and feel that everything might turn out wrong, then you’re probably doing the job.”

– “If you’re growing a garden, you need to pull out the weeds, but flowers will die if all you do is pick weeds. They need sunshine and water. People are the same. They need criticism, but they also require positive and substantive language and information and true support to really blossom.”

– “The ability to help the people around me self-actualize their goals underlines the single aspect of my abilities and the label that I value most- teacher.”

Triphasic Training Review

Coaching, Education, Strength and Conditioning 5 Responses »

May 012012

I want to do more book reviews on my blog. Similar to when I go to seminars, I like to take notes, highlight the best takeaway information, and then organize them into a review. Like a previous blog post, I write these reviews and descriptions to help me get some of my thoughts about the subject on paper (or computer).

The first book I want to talk about is Triphasic Training by Cal Dietz and Ben Peterson. Before I get into the book, I wanted to take the time to mention Cal. I’ve known Cal now for the past 12 years. Back in 1999, Cal graduated and moved on to the University of Findlay from his Graduate Assistant position at the University of Minnesota. I was fortunate to be able to replace him at Minnesota. Cal was then re-hired as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Olympic Sports at the University of Minnesota a few years later right after I graduated and departed for the University of North Dakota. Since then, Cal has done an unbelievable job with U’s athletic department. The teams and individual athletes that he has coached have been very successful.

Along with being a successful strength and conditioning coach, Cal is a very bright and is also a really good person. Most of the time when I speak to Cal about strength and conditioning or what he is doing with his athletes, I honestly feel dumb. There are times when I really have no clue what he is talking about and things are just way over my head. When it comes to being a good person, I know from a personal perspective. I will never forget being at the Rochester Mayo clinic in Minnesota for a major surgery that I had to have done back in 2005. It was a scary time for me and my family. Cal and his wife Karyn, a former USA hockey Olympian, made the trip down from Minneapolis to come visit me as I was recovering. I thought that was really neat and it is obviously something that I will never forget.

Triphasic Training is a really good detailed description on the methods of Cal’s strength and conditioning philosophy. What I like most about the book is that the information is laid out in a very comprehensive manner that even I understood. Cal tells stories and makes comparisons to some of the athletes that he has coached to make points more clear. What is triphasic training? From what I am taking away from the book, it is how Cal manipulates the “tri phasic” actions of applying stress to the body. Eccentrically, Isometrically, and Concentrically. There are so many ways that the strength and conditioning coach can apply stress and you will learn several of the methods that Cal uses. Not only will you learn the methods, but more importantly, the why.

To be honest, there are times when I feel a little overwhelmed by the whole Russian training methodology. Sometimes I feel that I need to read up on all of the author such as Verkhoshansky, Medvedev, etc. Or, just read Supertraining over and over again. For me, Triphasic Training has made understanding what those guys are talking about a little bit easier.

The concept of block periodization is something that I could see working in the collegiate setting or in an Olympic training type environment. Having your athletes available to train with you for up to 48 weeks per year makes such a difference. The more time that you have with your athletes, the more you can do. From my understanding, block periodization is spending more time on one fitness quality over others. For example, in a strength block, the athletes would be spending more time with higher loads and less volume. In an endurance type block, there would be more of an emphasis on higher volume with lighter to medium loads.

I guess I am more of a concurrent periodization coach while also alternating strength and accumulation phases. We always work on getting stronger, getting faster, getting more powerful, and getting in better condition. For my situation, the reality is that I don’t get the opportunity to train my athletes year round. With the exception of 3-4 of our players, our guys are gone from season’s end to the next season’s beginning. So, I don’t get to spend 48 weeks per year with them.

Our job as strength and conditioning coaches is to apply stresses to our athletes in the safest and most effective ways as possible. Triphasic Training is a great resource for learning the way that one of the best in our industry does it. Get Triphasic Training here.

Kevin Neeld’s Ultimate Hockey Training

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

Nov 062011

My friend Kevin Neeld recently released a new book on hockey training a few weeks ago. I was actually able to read and review it. It is an excellent resource for anyone who works with hockey players. It is definitely a book that anyone who trains hockey players should read. Also, as a bonus in this package, you can get some examples of some warm up routines that I use with my athletes.

Check it out here:

Ultimate Hockey Training

My RKC Experience Part 2

Coaching, Motivation/Inspiration, Strength and Conditioning 11 Responses »

Aug 262011

Part 1 of this was the why I did the RKC cert and what I did to prepare for it. Now I want to cover the weekend.

I drove down to La Jolla on Thursday night so that I could check into the hotel and check in for the RKC. I checked in, got my book, and then looked to see which team I would be on. As I was registering, I bumped into Jim Hooper, RKC. He is the owner of Balboa Fitness in Newport Beach. Earlier on in the summer when I was first getting started in my training, I went to Jim’s facility and spent some time with him so I could work on my technique. Jim really helped me establish a solid foundation so I could move forward with my training. When I saw Jim on Thursday, he informed me that I was on team Dan John. This team was once mentioned on 7m and is a pretty popular team in the state. I can’t tell you how fired up I was to hear that. I have been a follower of Dan for a few years now. From his book Never Let Go, to all of his articles on the internet about strength and conditioning, I have pretty much read all of his material. There is something about the way that he writes that really keeps me interested as the reader. I have never met him in person, but I was definitely hoping to at least bump into him over the weekend. Now, considering the fact that there is over 120 people registered for this certification and I believe 8 or so teams, I was lucky and very fortunate to land on Dan’s team. Instead of just bumping into him, I was going to spend 3 full days with him getting coached by him. To me, that is just awesome.

To be honest, and I think many of the attendees would agree, I thought we were going to do the Snatch test on Friday morning. I think many of us really wanted to get it out of the way so that it isn’t hovering over us during the weekend. I think we were all pretty surprised when we found out that we were going to do it on Sunday morning. My first thought was how the heck was I going to be able to do the snatch test on the last day? I could only imagine how sore I would be at that point. Oh well, what are you going to do?

The first thing that we did on Friday was perform the chin up/pull up test. I don’t know if it was the momentum and excitement around the group, but it really felt easy. Then we were instructed to grab specific kettlebells and bring them to the field. That’s when the process and outline of the weekend started to unfold.

I really liked how the certification was laid out. What would happen is one person would speak to the whole entire group, and then we would go back to our individual teams and work with our team leader and assistants. I recall on Friday morning it was mostly Pavel. Pavel first started to talk about the Swing. As the weekend went on, you definitely know why the Swing is addressed first and foremost. I was really impressed with Pavel. He was very direct in his overall communication with us. He also appears to have a very open mind. Although he founded this organization, he is very open to new ideas. What also really impressed me was that when
he was talking about people who couldn’t get their hips extended all the way through during the Swing, he has them do Glute Bridges or the “RKC Shoulder Bridge” in Pavel’s terms. He also said words like “Glute Amnesia”. This really impressed me because he is talking about some of the things that I want to always teach and correct with my athletes. We do a lot of glute bridging. Also, what does he prescribe for those who can’t extend their hips all the way up during the glute bridge? Hip flexor stretching. I just wanted to write that because to me Pavel is someone who I really admire and respect because he has been there and done that. He has the beginners mind and he just wants to make sure his students and more importantly, their clients can do the lifts safely. He doesn’t have a negative, grumpy attitude and disregard terms like “glute amnesia” like some others in this profession.

All throughout the weekend, Brett Jones was the guy who was the one who was directing the order and flow of the whole entire group. Although he prescribed many swings to us for disciplinary reasons, Brett was really funny. This guy knows his stuff as well.

The weekend went on as we were instructed by many team leaders on the lifts. From what I recall, Brett Jones spoke about the Get-Up, Dan John spoke about the Goblet Squat, Clean and Front Squat, Franz Snideman spoke on the Press, and Dave Whitley spoke on the Snatch. These were the lifts that we are expected to know how to teach and also be able to do properly on Sunday morning (in addition to the Snatch test). I really liked this format because we got the person who was known for being good at teaching those exercises. For example, Dan John is very passionate about Goblet Squats, Cleans and Front Squats. He would be the guy that I would go to right away if I wanted to learn to do them properly.

All weekend long, the main instructor would teach the lift and then we would go back to our team and practice. This is where I think being on Dan’s team was unbelievable. Dan is a great coach. He made things simple for us. What I really liked about his coaching was that we got Dan John’s coaching methods, not necessarily the “RKC” way or the way Pavel would coach it. Although the methods are most likely pretty similar, Dan’s personality and coaching methods may be a little different. This is just another reason that I was impressed with Pavel. He empowers his team leaders to do their job as effectively as possible.

Sunday morning came real fast. I can remember my hamstrings just being sore since Saturday morning. I would imagine that we had performed at least 1500 swings at this point. Also, my triceps were sore from pressing and my “abs” were sore from planks. I wouldn’t say I was fresh for my strength testing.

First up was the Get Up. I used a 24k kettlebell and it went very well. Then it was double 24 kettlebells for the rest of the lifts up until the Snatch test. I did 5 Cleans, then 5 Front Squats, and then 5 Presses (all with about
5-10 minutes rest in between). Then it was on to the Snatch test. At that point, the thought of being sore was long gone. In the back of my mind, I knew I could get 100 reps in less than 5 minutes. I was kind of nervous because on the day before, my grip was slipping a little on the decent in the Snatch technique section with Dave Whitley. Would it slip during testing causing me to drop it and not pass? When it was my turn to go, I just visualized myself being in my back yard at home which is where I did my Wednesday Snatch workouts. 10 reps each side followed by putting the bell down x5 was the plan as it was always done this way in my backyard. I wouldn’t say that the Snatch test was easy, but it wasn’t as hard as the last time I did this. The bell was flying up there for me and my grip wasn’t even an issue. The reason is that my Swing got much better throughout the weekend. The last number that I heard before I put the bell down was 4:30. I passed the Snatch test.

What I think is even better about this certification is that you need to show that you can teach the lifts to people. They actually get local volunteers to come in and be taught how to use kettlebells appropriately by us the students. I and fellow team member Taylor Lewis had an interesting person. Our main issue was trying to get her from a squat style Swing to a hip hinge type. She learned the movement and Taylor and I passed.

The last part of the weekend was the Grad Workout. This consisted of us finishing off the weekend with a really hard workout. With 2 kettlebells (a 24k and a 16k) we did 5 presses followed by 10 swings. When we were done, we took 5 big steps and then put them down. We went for the length of a football field (probably more actually).

After the grad workout, it was back to our teams where were given our certificates in a little graduation ceremony with the other team members. This is when I realized that I accomplished my goal.

This whole experience for me was life-changing. I feel that I was pushed beyond limits in a real safe manner. Also, Dan John is the real deal. He is truly a great person and coach. One of the first things that he said to us was that once you are a student of his, you are a student of his forever.

Dan John- A Strength Coach’s Strength Coach

Wooden On Leadership

Coaching, Education, Strength and Conditioning No Responses »

Jun 202011

I am a huge John Wooden fan. I completely admire and respect the way that he conducted himself as a basketball coach. He won several national championships as the coach at UCLA and left an unbelievable legacy.

I have read several books about him during the last 5 years or so. When I read these books (or any other book for that matter), I always try to learn something that I can apply in my situation. Not only as a strength and conditioning coach, but also as a person.

One of my favorite books about coach Wooden is Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization. The book actually contains copies of several of his own private notes that he kept when he was coaching. This is one of the books that I continue to re-read over and over again.

Here are some quotes and thoughts that I think are good for strength and conditioning coaches, coaches, or anyone else who leads people.

“The coach must never forget that he is, first of all, a teacher. He must come (be present), see (diagnose), and conquer (correct). He must be continuously exploring for ways to improve himself in order that he may improve others and welcome every person and everything that maybe helpful to him.”

– You must teach your athletes and clients to do things correctly all of the time and continue to learn and evolve so that you can help them get better. To me, this is what I love about the profession I am in. This is what it is all about. We continue to teach the little things over and over again on a daily basis and I am always looking for ways to get better.

“Develop the same sense of responsibility in every player regardless of the amount of time they may get to play. The varsity squad is one team, not regulars and substitutes.”

– This is a key for strength and conditioning coaches working in team sports. Although it is probably more difficult at the professional level, every player needs to get their work in. It requires a really good job of communicating the importance of it to them.

“Success is not a destination, it is a journey.”

– I love the simplicity of this quote. It is actually on a sign on the wall in our weight room.

If you are a coach or a leader and haven’t read any if John Wooden’s books, you should. I would love to see John Wooden coach today. I really think that he would be successful. Some may disagree, but I think he would do a great job in today’s game.

Leg Circuit

Coaching, Hockey, Strength and Conditioning 1 Response »

May 042011

Here is an example of a leg circuit that I use with hockey players. I learned about the leg circuit years ago from Vern Gambetta videos and from Mike Boyle. It is still a great tool for us today. I really like it because it really focuses on developing leg power, strength, and endurance- both bilaterally and unilaterally. It serves as a good transition from or conventional strength and power work to more circuit based work.

What I also like about the leg circuit is that it is a great tool for youth players. When I begin working with a youth team or individual, we will start with the leg circuit. I am always coaching proper form and technique with each aspect of the circuit.

When we have the ability to perform the leg circuit properly with body weight, we will then add resistance. We will progress to a weight vest or dumbbells and then progressd to a bar with added weight as necessary.

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