HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com

 Athletic Training, Coaching, Hockey, Motivation/Inspiration, Physical Therapy, Recovery, Strength and Conditioning  No Responses »
Mar 112010
 

I want to tell you about an incredible new site that I am part of that you absolutely need to check out of if you train hockey players.  It’s called http://www.HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com.

I have partnered with legendary Boston University Hockey Strength Coach Michael Boyle, Mike Potenza (San Jose Sharks), and Kevin Neeld (Endeavor Hockey) and assembled “The Greatest Collection of Hockey Strength and Conditioning Coaches on the Planet!”

Our advisory board is a Who’s Who of Hockey Strength and Conditioning including Chris Pietrzak-Wegner (Minnesota Wild), Jim Reeves (Mind to Muscle), Brijesh Patel (Quinnipiac), Cal Dietz (Univ. of Minnesota), Chris Boyko (UMass), Maria Mountain (Revolution Sport Conditioning), Tim Yuhas (Yuhas Performance), Matt Nichol (former Toronto Maple Leafs), and Kim McCullough (Total Female Hockey).

There are a ton of articles on the site already with topics ranging from Strength and Conditioning, Programming, Youth Training, Injuries, Female Training and Coaching.   There are webinars, audio interviews and videos up as well, all about hockey!

Each week, we will be adding videos, articles and programs to the library and with this group, you know the Coaches Forum will be jumping.  Each month, there will be webinars and audio interviews added as well.

Right now until March 31, we have an incredible offer: Only 1 dollar for 30 days, then $9.95 a month after that.  I don’t know how long the $9.95 a month is going to last, so you should jump on this opportunity.   It’s only a buck, and you have until March 31.”

Hockey Speed Can Be Summed Up In One Word: Acceleration

 Hockey, Strength and Conditioning  6 Responses »
Feb 222010
 

The NHL’s fastest skater competition is held every season on the day before the All-Star Game. During this event, each individual skater is timed on how fast they can do one lap around the ice. 

Although each player who participates is certainly fast, I don’t think it determines who the fastest player in the league is. I’ve never seen a player skate a lap around the ice in a straight line during a game. This reminds me of the NFL scouting combine where they conduct the 40-yard dash. Very rarely do football players run in straight lines.

Hockey is a game of stops, starts and frequent changes of direction. The ability to accelerate, decelerate, then stop and accelerate again as quickly as possible is a huge characteristic in the game’s fastest players. 

Acceleration, or the ability to accelerate faster than others, is what the game’s fastest players are able to do. Very rarely does a player get up to his top-end speed, which is measured in the NHL’s fastest skater competition.  Coaches such as Boston University Hockey Strength and Conditioning Coach Mike Boyle and Washington Capitals Exercise Physiologist Jack Blatherwick have been promoting the need to develop acceleration for years and I totally agree with them.

So how do you develop acceleration?

First, I think it’s important to think about what characteristics the faster players in hockey have in common.  From my practical observations, they are all built like a track sprinter or a football running back. Big and strong quads, glutes and hips are characteristics of sprinters in hockey and other sports. When I recall some of the players that I have been fortunate to work with who were some of hockey’s best accelerators (Paul Kariya, Andy McDonald, Todd Marchant and Teemu Selanne come to mind), they are all very strong and powerful athletes. 

Acceleration is the ability to go from a dead stop to a sprint in as little time as possible. In our off-season program, we will always do drills to help players improve their acceleration ability. 

These drills are always done before any strength training or conditioning exercises. The focus of these drills should be on the first 3-5 steps, which should be done as fast as possible. Then the recovery should be as long as necessary for each athlete.  Speed work should never be done when an athlete is tired or when they haven’t recovered from the previous repetition. Some of the drills that we do with our players include lean-fall and funs, tennis ball drops, and partner chase sprints.  All of them emphasize the first 3-5 steps.

I have found these drills also are very easy to implement with a young team that I currently work with. We’ve simply done them in an empty space in front of the rink. 

The point is that hockey players need to be incorporating sprinting exercises into their strength and conditioning program. Implementing short sprints into your program combined with a strength-training program that emphasizes leg strength will go a long way in developing a young hockey player.

Kettlebell Slideboard Split Squat

 Hockey, Strength and Conditioning  No Responses »
Jan 252010
 

One of my favorite exercises that we use with our guys is the Slideboard Split Squat. It has become a staple in our program. What I like about it is that it allows us to get great single-leg load without loading the spine.

In this video, we use the kettlebell as a way to load it. We have used a barbell, dumbbells, and 2 kettlebells to load this. With our frequent travel schedule, we will also use the Valslide in place of the slideboard on the road so that we don’t miss a beat.

How to Choose a Strength and Conditioning Coach or Personal Trainer

 Coaching, Hockey, Strength and Conditioning  1 Response »
Jan 192010
 

Here is another short article geared to the parents of young hockey players crowd:

How to Choose a Strength and Conditioning Coach or Personal Trainer

Today’s hockey players are becoming bigger, stronger and faster while becoming more fit than they were in years past.  In addition to participating in other sports, young players also are participating in strength and conditioning programs either at their school, with their team, or with private training companies that are in the communities. 

Strength and conditioning coaches and personal trainers for youth sports have gone from almost unheard of to a common necessity. The business has expanded so much that there are now several training facilities within most cities.

With the sports training market becoming very saturated, there are more options to choose from when it comes to selecting one for your son or daughter.  Like any other businesses, there are some very good ones, some average ones, and some not so good ones.  What I have listed below are some quick guidelines on making a selection for a strength and conditioning coach or personal trainer.  These are based on observations and opinions about today’s hockey players and performance:  

  • Make sure that the trainer(s) has a degree from a four-year college or university. A master’s degree would be a plus. Preferably, their degree is in Exercise Science, Kinesiology, Biomechanics, or another major related to Exercise and or Sports Medicine. 
  • Make sure that the trainer is certified by a reputable certification agency. For Strength and Conditioning Coaches or Personal Trainers who work with hockey players, the Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach (C.S.C.S) certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is probably the most reputable certification.  Another good certification is any certification provided by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (N.A.S.M.). 
  • Ask for testimonials and/or references from athletes that they have coached.  They should be able to provide current or past testimonials from people who have trained with them.  If they can’t provide you with any testimonials, ask for references.  If they can’t give you any references, find another trainer.  Also, make sure that the trainer actually trained and worked with an athlete whom they say they have. 
  • Don’t get caught up in the “bells and whistles” about the facility.  Most of the good strength and conditioning coaches and personal trainers out there can get results without the high-tech equipment that might be considered “hockey-specific”.  Also, they might not need a large facility the size of a Wal-Mart. 

In today’s world, it is easy for anyone to get a personal training certification from a non-reputable source and then partner up with someone with a lot of money and start up a sports training business. I always prefer an individual or company that started out with close to nothing and then grew their business by getting positive results from their athletes and clients. 

As a parent who is paying for the child to participate in a strength and conditioning program, you must do your homework when trying to choose one.  Hopefully these guidelines and recommendations will help you make the right decision.

DB Complex

 Hockey, Strength and Conditioning  1 Response »
Jan 122010
 

This is a version of a complex that we use. We will use this towards the end of the off-season and we will also use it extensively in-season, especially when we play a game within the next 48 hours. I originally learned about complexes from legendary strength coach Al Vermeil during a seminar that we had at Boston College back in 2002. Al picked it up from Istvan Javorek. Al has used this as an evaluation tool with a barbell. We will do 3 rounds of this. The following exercise will be done for 6 reps each: Upright Row, Muscle Snatch, S.L.D.L., Squat and Press, and Bent Over Row.

Winter Olympics

 Hockey, Motivation/Inspiration  2 Responses »
Dec 312009
 

There has been some great news around the team during the last couple of days.  Six individuals on our roster were named to their respective countries Olympic teams for the games in February.  We’re still hoping some more get added when team USA is announced during the Winter Classic.   

I’ve been very fortunate to be around some of these guys since they were 18 years old.  It is pretty neat to see how far they have come since they were drafted as kids not too long ago.  I also remember the 2006 Olympics when we had some of our players come back with medals.  I then learned how proud our guys were to play for their countries.   I think there is a good chance that some guys will be bringing home medals again.

Reap the Benefits of Proper Stretching

 Athletic Training, Hockey, Physical Therapy, Recovery, Strength and Conditioning  1 Response »
Dec 182009
 

I’m frequently asked when players should stretch and what types of stretching they should do. The answer I usually give to both of those questions is, “It depends.”

It depends on a number of factors: Is it for before practice? After games? At home? All of these questions need to be addressed before giving advice on proper stretching protocols.

Stretching is very important to any hockey player. Over time, if you aren’t stretching frequently, overuse injuries, such as muscle strains and pulls, can occur because your muscles are too tight.

In hockey, the muscles that have a greater chance of being injured include the adductors, hip flexors and lower back. That’s because hockey players skate with their knees, hips and spine bent. When they’re not on the ice, they’re usually sitting on the bench while they wait for their next shift or they’re sitting in their locker room stalls during intermissions.
The movements performed in hockey, combined with prolonged sitting, can contribute to the shortening of the muscles in your body. To prevent this from happening, some simple daily stretching techniques need to be implemented into your off-ice program.

Dynamic Stretching: This is done before practices and games, and it’s characterized by simply executing different types of movements. We really refer to it as our “Dynamic Warm-up.” During this time, the athlete is actively stretching and warming up the muscles used in that particular movement. We might do a specific exercise, such as a body-weight squat, for 8-10 reps.

Active Isolated Stretching: Founded and endorsed by massage therapist Aaron Mattes, this type of stretch we do within our strength-training workouts and with individuals who may need extra attention on certain muscle groups. When we’re in a strength-training sessions, we’ll always stretch the opposite muscle group of the one we’re strength training between sets. For example, if we’re working our upper-back muscles in an exercise such as a chin-up, we’d active isolate stretch our chest muscles between sets. Here, we hold the stretch for six seconds, relax, and repeat. We do three repetitions.

Static Stretching: This is usually what people refer to when they think of traditional stretching. Here, we hold our stretches for a period of 20-30 seconds. Again, we’ll stretch our groins and hip flexors, as well as other muscle groups that can traditionally become tight in hockey players such as the IT bands, quads, hamstrings and chest. Static stretching is done primarily after practices and games, because when you stretch after activity, it’ll help bring the muscles back to a lengthened state after being used in the game or practice.

What I’ve learned about stretching is that it shouldn’t be too easy; it should be almost uncomfortable, but not painful. Most people will stretch within their comfort zone and work muscles that don’t need to be stretched, while the ones that do are often neglected.

No matter what method you use or when you use it, stretching can be very beneficial for the overall performance and well being of a hockey player.

Glute Bridge

 Athletic Training, Hockey, Physical Therapy, Strength and Conditioning  No Responses »
Nov 232009
 

The Glute Bridge is a huge part of our daily program. We are always re-educating our guys on the glute bridge and it’s successive progressions. In our minds, the more we do exercises that isolate and strengthen the glutes, the less chance we have of getting injured. This is a glute isolation exercises that we do as part of warm up. We have always started with 8 reps of 3 second hold. Our focus is now on sustaining more of an isometric contraction for longer periods of time. Now, we will start with 3 reps of 10 second holds.

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