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Lead By Example

Coaching, Education, Hockey, Motivation/Inspiration 6 Responses »

May 262010

I was recently on a flight from Long Beach to Boston. On the flight, I watched the movie “Invictus” which starred Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. Morgan Freeman’s character was Nelson Mandela, while Damon’s character was the captain of the South African rugby team named, Francois Pienaar. In the movie, they both met for tea where Mandela was getting to know more about Pienaar’s leadership philosophy. Mandela asked “How do you lead the rugby team?” Pienaar’s answer was “By example”.

Of course, I have and you have most likely heard this before, but hearing it again, prompted me to write and post this. I really think it is crucial for any leader of any group/organization to lead by example. For example, in sport, captains of any team need to lead by example. They don’t necessarily have to be rah-rah type leaders, but they must lead by example in terms of character, work ethic, professionalism, etc.

In our business, I also think it is crucial for the strength and conditioning coach or personal trainer to lead by example. For example, are you able to complete the workout that you are asking your athlete/client to do? Have you experienced what they have? Do you look the part? Are you in adequate condition?

For me personally, I am realistic in knowing that I get to work with some of the most elite athletes in the entire world. I will probably never be in the type of condition (strength, power, speed, anaerobic, aerobic). However, I will do my best in trying to experience what these guys go through. I will try to get in the best condition that I possibly can so that my athletes will see me as leading by example. What do I do? I try to adhere to a healthy lifestyle where fitness and proper nutrition are important. Also, I play pick up hockey once a week and I have recently signed up for a hockey league. What do you do?

Learning and Networking

Coaching, Education, Hockey, Motivation/Inspiration, Strength and Conditioning No Responses »

May 202010

Even though it’s the off-season here in Anaheim, I am staying busy while working with a few of our players, continuing my education, and networking.

Based on some of my past blogs, I obviously view continuing my education as a very important aspect of my development as a strength and conditioning coach. Another aspect that I think is important is networking. Getting to know other coaches and trainers who may do a better job than me at something or getting to know a different perspective on things is important. Last weekend and the next 3 weekends, I have plenty of opportunities for both education and networking.

Here is what I have been doing and will be doing:

1- May 15^th– 11^th Annual College of the Canyons Strength and Conditioning Clinic- I had the opportunity to speak at the 11^th Annual College of the Canyons Strength and Conditioning Clinic last weekend. I really had a blast giving my presentation and meeting most of the people there. Robert Dos Remedios is a great coach and a great guy who did an unbelievable job organizing the clinic. Stay tuned for a future of episode of “Snatches and Beer” which features Robert and I talking about training while enjoying a beer. Good stuff.

2- May 22^nd and 23^rd– BSMPG Hockey and Basketball Conference- This weekend coming up, I have the opportunity to speak at the Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group Hockey and Basketball Conference. I am really psyched and honored to speak at it; as most of you know, Boston is where I consider home. I am really looking forward to seeing some of the other talks including those by Matt Nichol (formerly of the Toronto Maple Leafs), Jack Blatherwick, Bill Hartman, and Mike Boyle. It looks like an unbelievable lineup of speakers and will no doubt provide plenty of networking opportunities.

3- May 27^th, 28^th, and 29^th– Annual NHL Scouting Combine- The following weekend, I will be in Toronto for the annual NHL scouting combine. This is a great opportunity to catch up with most of my colleagues in the NHL. We have a meeting scheduled where we will be having some speakers present to us including Mike Boyle and John Pallof.

4- June 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th– Perform Better Functional Training Summit- The weekend after the combine is the Perform Better Summit in Providence, R.I. I think I’ve been to the Summit each year since Perform Better started doing them. In my opinion, these are the best continuing education options presently available. It seems that Perform Better is always adding different speakers and concepts. This is another great opportunity to interact and share ideas with other coaches and trainers. Stay tuned for my preview of the Summit where I will outline who I am going to go see speak.

New Content at HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com

Hockey, Strength and Conditioning 2 Responses »

May 182010

Hey Everyone, here is an update of the newest content we added

last week on HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com.

Articles:

“Goaltender Development”- Devan McConnell

Off-ice training is crucial towards goaltender development. In

today’s game goaltenders must be the most athletic players on the

ice. A good training program will build the fundamentals of that

athleticism and provide the transfer of the highly specialized

skills necessary to be a successful goaltender.

This Week on HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com

Hockey, Strength and Conditioning 3 Responses »

May 102010

Here is an update on some great content added the last 2 weeks:

Articles-

“Hockey Related Concussions: From Evaluation to Return to Play”-

Jeff Cubos

http://www.hockeystrengthandconditioning.com/members/Hockey_Related_Concussions_From_Evaluation_to_Return_to_Play.cfm

“Maxing Out Without Burning Out- How to calculate an athlete’s

max 365 days a year”- Ben Peterson and Cal Dietz

http://www.hockeystrengthandconditioning.com/members/Maxing_Out_Without_Burning_Out_How_to_calculate_an_athletes_max_365_days_a_year.cfm

“Goaltender Development”- Devan McConnell

http://www.hockeystrengthandconditioning.com/members/Goaltender_Development.cfm

Videos-

“Side Lunge Start”- Kevin Neeld

http://www.hockeystrengthandconditioning.com/members/Video_of_the_Week_Side_Lunge_Start.cfm

“Dumbbell Complex”- Michael Boyle

http://www.hockeystrengthandconditioning.com/members/Video_of_the_Week_Dumbbell_Complex.cfm

Programs-

“In-Season “Road” Workouts”- Sean Skahan

http://www.hockeystrengthandconditioning.com/members/InSeason_quotRoadquot_Workouts.cfm

As always, there have been some great discussions on the forum

including:

“How Goalies Can Drop Faster response”-

http://www.hockeystrengthandconditioning.com/members/cfmbb/messages.cfm?threadid=40215497-24E8-5ED2-F165BF1DAC4BCFF1

“A Question About Something Mike Boyle Said”:

http://www.hockeystrengthandconditioning.com/members/cfmbb/messages.cfm?threadid=6B12BBD4-24E8-5ED2-F18453F1F66806FB

Thanks to everyone for participating and if you have any

questions, let us know.

Michael, Kevin, Mike and Sean

http://www.HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com

This Past Week on HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com

Coaching, Hockey, Strength and Conditioning No Responses »

Apr 262010

Hey Everyone,

Hope you are doing well. Here is a recap of the articles, videos

and programs this week on HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com:

Restoring Proper Hip Function: Part 2- from Kevin Neeld.

“Part 1 of this series addressed restoring adequate

range-of-motion in the hips and teaching the athlete to

dissociate between hip and lumbar spine movement. I’ll spare you

another article introduction and jump right into the nuts and

bolts of PART 2: Developing appropriate progressions for

improving hip flexion and adduction movement patterns.”

This Week on HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com

Coaching, Hockey, Physical Therapy, Strength and Conditioning No Responses »

Apr 172010

Some great new content up on HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com

this week:

-Video of the Week- “Corrections for Hip Extension Exercises” from

Mike Potenza- The position of skating causes the quad musculature

to become overworked and tight, as a result the Vastus Lateralis

can make hip external rotation common during some bent knee and

straight leg hip extension exercises. Here are some videos that

show how we correct exercise technique in San Jose to help

utilize the entire hamstring group properly.

http://www.hockeystrengthandconditioning.com/members/Video_of_the_Week_Corrections_For_Hip_Extension_Exercises.cfm

-“Diversify Your Athletic Lifestyle” from Sean Skahan looks at why

it is important for young hockey players to be an athlete at

several sports. Developing skills and having fun playing other

sports can have a positive effect on any hockey player at any

level.

http://www.hockeystrengthandconditioning.com/members/Diversify_Your_Athletic_Lifestyle.cfm

-“In Season Training-Something is Better Than Nothing”- Mike Boyle:

Kind of a lousy title for an article but, it’s true. I often talk

to coaches who say “we don’t train in-season, we don’t have a

weightroom”. I think I have a simple, low cost solution.

http://www.hockeystrengthandconditioning.com/members/In_Season_TrainingSomething_is_Better_Than_Nothing_2.cfm

-Also, Check out the Endeavor Hockey Assessment Form that Kevin

Neeld uses with all of his hockey players. They started

implementing this recently so they don’t have enough data to draw

any conclusions, but it should be interesting to see what

commonalities they observe after testing all of their off-season

players this Summer.

http://www.hockeystrengthandconditioning.com/members/Hockey_Training_Endeavor_Hockey_Assessment_Form.cfm

Any questions, let us know,

Kevin, Michael, Sean and Mike.

http://www.HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com

Do Your Glutes Work?

Athletic Training, Hockey, Physical Therapy, Strength and Conditioning 8 Responses »

Apr 112010

There are several strength and conditioning coaches and trainers who prescribe isolated glute max muscle “activation” and/or strengthening work. These are exercises such as glute bridges, 1-leg glute bridges, quadruped hip extensions, and others where the emphasis is on the quality of the muscle contraction. There are also several coaches and trainers who think that activation exercises are a waste of time and think that this concept is just a fad. What I have found is that they may think that if their athletes are doing exercises such as squats, lunges, single leg squats, split squats, etc, then they are strengthening their glutes and the activation exercises are unnecessary. I am one who does prescribe glute activation exercises. We will do glute max isolation exercises on a daily basis with our players.

First, I think it is imperative to note that my job is to help keep the best players in the lineup on a nightly basis. I understand that injuries such as fractures, concussions, and lacerations are beyond my control. However, I am on the cautious side when it comes to soft tissue injuries. We will do everything that we possibly can to help prevent injuries from happening- even with healthy athletes.

I was first introduced to the Prone Hip Extension Test by Al Vermeil at a seminar we hosted at Boston College back in 2001. A few years later, I was able to attend a course on the Janda Method. That’s when I learned how to administer the test properly. This test has helped us identify athletes who don’t use their Gluteus Max’s when completing hip extension movement. In a proper sequence of muscle activation, the hamstrings would fire first, glute max second, opposite side lumbar extensors third, same side lumber extensors fourth, opposite thoracolumbar extensors fifth, and same side thoracolumbar extensors sixth. Several times, the gluteus maximus may not turn on at all. Sometimes, we will see a difference in right vs. left side function. In my opinion; this is a recipe for disaster. Players who are continually going out and performing in their sport with this kind of pattern have a good chance of getting hurt. Lower backs, hip flexors, and groins, can be affected by this. Think about it, a player who can’t fire his glute max in order to help produce a significant amount of hip extension is going to find a way to do it without them. Hamstrings, and lower back are the likely candidates. These muscles may over work and strain. I would also be worried about the athletes who are doing squats, lunges, single leg squats, and split squats, with this weakness too. They are figuring out a way to do those exercises without their glute max.

This Week on HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com

Athletic Training, Coaching, Hockey, Strength and Conditioning No Responses »

Apr 092010

We added some great content this week on HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com.:

– “Shopping For the Right “Dryland” Training Program” from Mike Potenza.

As the summer gets closer, parents and young hockey players will hear about many camps and programs available for off-ice training. Shopping for the right “Dryland” training program can be made easier by asking a few questions. Coach Potenza lists what questions to ask and why to ask them.

– Answering to a forum post, Jaime Rodriguez shows sled variations at Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning for the Video of the Week.

– Sean Skahan breaks down 4 phases of “In-Season Core” work.

Also, the Coaches Forum is jumping. Lots of great discussion already, including “Testing Hockey Players”. Find out the answers to:

What are the best tests to use in the beginning of the season for college and pro hockey players to determine anaerobic capacity, power, and strength.

Does anybody have their players perform the test multiple times during the season and post season to compare the strength and conditioning to the pre-season?

Hope you all are enjoying the site. Any questions let us know.

Michael, Sean, Mike, and Kevin.

Random Thoughts

Athletic Training, Coaching, Hockey, Physical Therapy, Strength and Conditioning 2 Responses »

Apr 012010

1- HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com is up and running. If you train hockey players, you have to check it out. We will start posting content on a weekly basis real soon. I am really excited about it as there are several strength and conditioning coaches and athletic trainers from all levels including the NHL, AHL, major junior, and others.

2- I got a pair of Vibram Five Fingers a few weeks ago. Honestly, I wish I got them sooner. I’ve been training with them and have been on a few walks with them. I believe they have helped me with some neurological symptoms that I have had in my left foot. Surgery for a bulging disk back in 1999, and another surgery that I had to remove a non-cancerous mass in my spinal cord at the cervical level, has given me trouble with sensation. I really believe that the Vibrams have helped wake up some proprioceptors and muscles that may have been shut down in my foot. I am actually able to move my pinky toe by itself. Something I haven’t been able to do for a long time.

3- Another thought on my training, I really love Jim Wendler’s 5-3-1 program. I continue to make gains in strength on this program as I keep going up on my Military Press and Bench Press. My “Actual Max” has gone from 155 to 190 in the Military Press while my Bench has gone from 225 to 265. (I do not squat or deadlift, see #2 above). Not bad results. Something I may look into with my junior hockey players this summer. What I really like about it is the simplicity of it. It is a basic program that is really easy to plan out.

Continuing Education

Athletic Training, Coaching, Hockey, Motivation/Inspiration, Physical Therapy, Recovery, Strength and Conditioning No Responses »

Mar 202010

First, I want to say thank you to all of you who read the blog. I’ve recently heard from some friends who are readers. It’s great to know that you enjoy the information.
Continuing education is an important aspect of improving in any profession. As I mentioned on the blog before, I believe it’s important to always be learning new information as it is changing often. I really like the quote by Pat Riley, “If you’re not getting better, you are getting worse”.
During the season, for continuing education, I will spend most of my time conversing with and visiting other coaches as well as checking out some of the sites and blogs on the internet. During the off-season, I try to get to as many live seminars that I possibly can. Here is a list of the seminars that I plan on attending this off-season:

May 22nd- 23rd, 2010
The 2nd Annual Boston Hockey Summit and Basketball Symposium. I am fortunate to be a speaker at this event.