Here is part 2 of an 11 question and answer interview that I did with Chris Collins of Onsidehockeytraining.com
May 092011
May 032011
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.
Mar 212011
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.
Feb 032011
Neck Strengthening For Hockey
Since hockey is a fast game with frequent changes of direction and collisions, injuries to the head and accompanying neck strains will sometimes unfortunately happen. When I mention head injuries, I am referring to a hit to the head by an opposing player or when a players’ head may hit the ice or the glass as a result of a hit from an opposing player. I know that this may be referred to as a concussion. However, with the uncertainty of what a concussion may or may not be, I will leave the definition and diagnosis to the doctors and medical professionals. Concussion or not, an injury to the head and/or neck is a serious matter.
Recently there have been a high number of pro players who are out of the lineup or have yet to play his season because of post head injury related symptoms. There is currently a head injury epidemic in hockey and also in football. As a result, rules are being implemented and equipment is being modified to help combat the problem.
In my own experience with seeing these episodes, it was usually a player who was in a vulnerable position when contact was made by an opposing player. When the player was hit, it might have been a shoulder or an elbow to the head. In all of the cases, I don’t believe that there was anything that could have been done to prevent them from happening.
Each situation that I have seen varied in its severity and recovery time. Some players came back to the lineup quicker than others while others may have taken longer. I have also unfortunately had to see a player have to retire from the game because his symptoms weren’t improving. Each case and the recovery process ran its course differently with each individual.
The most difficult time for the athlete who is recovering from these injuries is the time that it takes to become symptom free. Symptoms may include dizziness, sensitivity to light, nausea, headaches, depression, and/or an overall bad feeling. These can last for weeks and/or months at a time. During this recovery time, the athlete cannot participate in anything that increases heart rate or perceived exertion. It is a “wait and see” time. Team doctors and athletic training staffs have strict protocols in place that may clear or not clean an individual for activity while in the recovery process.
One of the most difficult situations as a Strength and Conditioning Coach is working with a player who gets cleared to resume training again after an episode like this occurs. The player wants to hit the ground running (or the ice skating) and get back in the lineup as soon as possible. It is important for the athlete and the strength and conditioning coach to be patient during this process. The longer that the player has been out of the lineup, the more patient you have to be as it may take longer.
From a physical standpoint, one of the first things to happen while the athlete is inactive in the recovery process is the loss of lean body mass. Adding lean body mass onto an athlete (especially one who has had the weight on before) can be done easily with a sound strength training program and adherence to proper nutrition. Where it is more difficult is when they may be cleared to resume activity during the competitive season. It can be very hard to add lean body mass to a player while in-season. The volume of skating in practices combined with the strength and conditioning work can be a difficult obstacle to overcome.
The whiplash associated with a head injury will almost certainly cause trauma to the neck muscles. There are several muscles that can be affected including the trapezius and several other supporting muscles that help support the weight of the head. To help with this, we will enlist our massage therapist to help those muscles relax and release the spasms. This is one of the most important aspects of the recovery process.
One thing that I have learned is that proper neck strength can help lessen the severity of the whiplash effect from any hit involving the head. Although we don’t have any neck machines in our training facility, I think we are doing neck injury prevention training almost on a daily basis. We will accomplish this through the Olympic lift variations that we do such as the hang clean, hang snatch, and dumbbell snatch. In my opinion, if we are Olympic lifting, we will help prevent the effects of a head injury by trying to limit the whiplash effect by getting our neck extensors and stabilizers stronger. If you ask any athlete a day or two after doing Olympic lifts to point out where they are sore, more than likely they will have some sore traps and upper back region.
What do we do with players who don’t Olympic lift? With these players, we will have them perform dumbbell shrugs, manual resisted isolated neck exercises and/or isometric neck bridges. (We will also perform these exercises in addition to Olympic lifting for some individuals.) Here are some videos of those exercises:
Manual Neck Extension– We will stick to doing manual neck extension only. We will not do any flexion or rotation. We are very cautious as we don’t want to provide too much resistance while the athlete is performing the movement. We will provide 10% of max resistance only and instruct the athlete to perform extension in a smooth, fluid like fashion.
Neck Bride on Stability Ball– This has to be done with a partner who is spotting. We will simply put a stability ball between a wall and the back of the players’ head. We will start with a 15 second hold and progress accordingly. We will not progress this to a wrestler type bridge on the floor or with the stability ball on the floor.
While I certainly can’t say that we can prevent head injuries in hockey, we certainly can help prepare our athletes with the ability to have a strong neck to help lessen the severity of the whiplash effect. Collisions on the ice or on the field (football) are similar to car accidents. As a strength and conditioning coach, it is our responsibility to help prevent injuries in the safest manner. Strengthening the neck is a priority for us.
Jan 242011
Jack Lalanne passed away last night at the age of 96. He is a true legend when it comes to the fitness field and lifestyle. I honestly thought he would live another 10-20 years or so.
I don’t know when this video was shot, but since it is in black and white, I would say it was a long time ago. Please do me a favor and take 3 minutes out of your day to watch this clip. Jack is right on the money here.
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
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.
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
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
Nov 242010
Hey everyone, I hope you are doing great with your Thanksgiving day preparations. With the holiday and Friday also being the biggest shopping day of the year, I thought I would get this out today.
Anthony Renna and the StrengthCoach Podcast are giving away a year-long membership to Hockeysc.com (amongst other prizes) in honor of the 3-year anniversary of the show. Anthony has done an unbelievable job with this over the last 3 years. It has become a huge part of my own continuing education process. I will upload it to my iPhone and listen to it on my dog walks in the early mornings. Check out StrengthCoachpodcast.com for the details.
Here is the content that has been added to HockeySC.com since my last update:
Jaime Rodriguez added Rules For Training a Hockey Team. In this article, Jaime gives 10 rules that are needed to help train a hockey team successfully. Really good, real-world common sense stuffed from Jaime here.
Next up is an example of Kevin Neeld’s 2 Day Per Week In-season Program. This is a good look at how Kevin designs programs in-season for young players who play on the weekends. I’m a big believer in young players being involved in a strength training program versus some of the “dry land” methods that I see in parking lots outside of rinks before practices today. Good stuff from Kevin.
Mike Boyle posted More Support for Unilateral Training – a Facebook Exchange. This is great real-world information. Even though it is a dialogue between Mike and a football strength and conditioning coach, the information can be applied to hockey players. It is always great to see this kind of information applied in the team setting.
Last, but not least, is Dan Boothby’s Developing a Yearly Strength Training Program for Ice Hockey. For those who don’t know Dan, he is the Strength and Conditioning Coach for Hockey at Northeastern University. Dan is a great guy who has done a real good job since his arrival at NU. This article is a really good in-depth look at what he does with his team.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and thanks for your continued support.
Sean, Mike, Anthony, Mike, and Kevin