I hope everyone had a merry Christmas.   My family and I had a great few days of just hanging out together.

Recently at HockeySC.com, we had some good content additions to the site.  On the forum, we also have some good discussions ongoing about CNS in-season training and team heart rate monitoring.  Don’t forget to check out the forum when you log on.

As far as new content goes, here is what has been posted since my last update:

Youth Hockey Training Blueprint Part 3 by Kevin Neeld.  In this article, Kevin looks at the thought process behind designing the workouts.  I really like how he explains his template and how you can substitute exercises if you don’t have a piece of equipment for another exercise.  You must design workouts that make sense in your facility.

AC Joint Injuries in Hockey by Anthony Donskov.  This is another good piece submitted by Anthony.  AC joint injuries are common in hockey and can be very painful.  Anthony brings this common injury to our attention and explains how we can work around a separation and also how we can prevent them from happening.

Off-Season Phase 4 Strength Training by myself.  Here is an example of what I have done in the past during phase 4.  You can print the 4 phases and have a good 12-weeek off-season program.  A reminder that these are just what I have done in the weight room.  They don’t include our speed, plyo’s, and conditioning.

TRX Core Exercises video by Mike Potenza.  Mike provides us with some core progressions from a frontal plane and anti-rotation perspective.  There are some good movements in this video.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year’s eve!

Reminder to check out my Products page to get yourself a copy of my 2 new DVD’s- Kettlebell Lifting For Hockey and Slideboard Training For Hockey

Thanks!

Sean Skahan

I hope everyone is doing well, especially with the holiday season amongst us.

We have had some more great content additions at HockeySC.com.

First up is Kevin Neeld’s 2-Day In- season Training Program phase 3. This is a continuation of the previous 2 phases that Kevin has posted. I like how Kevin sets up his workouts with adding in some corrective exercises and progressions that almost hockey players surely need at some point.

Next up is Mike Potenza’s In-Season Workout: Rate of Force Development. This is a 3-day program that includes core training, Olympic lifting, strength, plyo’s, and assistive movements assuming that there are no restrictions. This looks like a solid, 3-day program. Looking at this, this would be a program that Mike would use with guys who don’t play as much.

Next up is Eric Renaghan’s The Joseph Pilates Method: Contology. This article gives a brief history on Joseph Pilates and his methods. What I really like about this article is that there are some exercises provided which don’t require any special equipment.  Really educational piece from Eric.

Up next is the first ever HockeyStrengthandConditioning Podcast episode 1. In this first ever episode, Anthony interviews Mike Potenza of the San Jose Sharks. In this interview, Mike talks about his approach to strength and conditioning at this time of year for his team. I am really excited about this new feature on the site. This kind of content is really what makes Anthony really good at what he does. Look for more episodes in the future.

Last is a video of How Diet Soda Causes Weight Gain. This is a really interesting educational video. It is more like an entertaining chemistry lesson. You may need to watch this more than 2 times or so. What it looks at is the levels of acidity and alkaline and how much is included in nutrients and where they are on the scale. This is really interesting and is honestly a little over my head which is why I need to watch again.

Look for an announcement for the release of my 2 new products that will be available soon on my blog. You will be able to purchase them right here through a PayPal account. I can tell you that I created 2 DVD’s that were made based on my thoughts and experience from coaching thousands of high level athletes including hundreds of hockey players.  You will not be disappointed.

I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a great holiday season!

Sean

Hey everyone, I hope all is well.  I hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday last week and hopefully a long weekend to follow.

I actually got to watch my 5-year old son play in his first holiday tournament.  This was a mite-B tournament that Will played in.  He was actually the second youngest on the team as he played with mostly 7 and 8-year olds.  Believe me, I am not a parent who is pushing hockey on him.  He absolutely loves it.  I think what he loves the most is the camaraderie with his teammates both on the ice and in the locker room.  Right now he is participating in an in-house league where he really having a blast.  I don’t know if he will play in a tournament again for a while.  I think he would rather play with kids his own age.  It is amazing what a difference in a 5-year old and an  8-year old is.

During the past 2 weeks, we had some great contributions to HockeySc.com.

First up was Mike Potenza’s Off-Ice Skating Strength Exercises.  This one is an article/program with some accompanying videos. This piece got my wheels spinning. I really like these exercises and most importantly the why these exercises are done.  The low-position is imperative to maintain in hockey. Players need to demonstrate the ability to stay low during the course of a shift and game.  These drills can be beneficial for players to learn how to stay low for longer periods of time.  I like them so much that I am considering adding these progressions to our program.  Thanks Mike!

Next is Mike’s Skater Crossover-Step Lunge.  This is a video which shows an interesting exercise that is a way to increase strength in the crossover aspect of skating.  As you may already know, I am a believer in strengthening and using the crossover off-ice to help strengthen it on the ice.  Here is a link to an article that I wrote on it- Improving the Crossover Step in Hockey.  I like this exercise that Mike put up but I am not sure of how it would workout logistically.  You need to have progressively higher boxes.  If you do, then this would be a good addition to your program.

Next up was my Off-Season phase 3 strength program.  I put these programs up so that the readers can see the progressions from phase to phase. What is also interesting is that you can see the changes that I made
from the 2010 off-season to the 2011 off-season.  Some exercises are still there, but there have been some changes.  Same movement patterns but different exercise selections.

Kevin Neeld’s Athlete with Bilateral CAM Impingement is up next.  This is almost like a case study where Kevin is working with an athlete (lacrosse player) coming off of 2 surgeries on each side of his hips. Kevin does a good job showing on video what is going on currently.  This is an interesting piece.  Good stuff from Kevin.

Next up is Darryl Nelson’s Christmas Break program.  This is a simple 3-day program that can be done over the holidays while a player is home on break from their team.

Jamie Rodriguez submitted Clarkson In-Season phases.  I really like to see real-life programs.  I know Jaime is doing a great job at Clarkson and is making an impact on the program.

As you can see, there has been some awesome information being shared at HockeySC.com.  I don’t think there is anywhere else where you can access to some of the best people in hockey strength and conditioning.

Thanks for your support,

Sean

I hope everyone is doing great.  It has been a while since my last post on what is going on at HockeySC.com.  I really like the contributions that we are getting from coaches like Anthony Donskov, who I got to spend some time with on a recent road trip.  In addition to getting some good content from Anthony and the usual lineup of coaches, our forum is pretty busy.  There are always good discussions going on including some recent ones about vibration training, reducing inflammation in the diet, and barefoot training.

Here is what has been posted recently at HockeySC.com:

Quarter Sprints by Darryl Nelson.  This is an interesting progression or regression, depending on how you look at it.  Basically it is a sprint program where the distance and time to complete the sprint is higher at the beginning (starts at 40 yards in 6 seconds) and lower at the end (5 yards and 1 second).  I like this type of metabolic work.

Hockey Hips Assessments Webinar by Kevin Neeld.  This is a webinar that Kevin also did for StrengthandConditioningwebinars.com.  Good stuff here from Kevin.

Five Exercises that Hockey Players Should Do in the Weight Room by myself.  This one was posted here on my blog here.  I wanted to add it to the HockeySC community in case a member didn’t get a chance to read it.

Strength Training for a Hockey Player with a Uni-lateral Lower Body Injury by Mike Potenza.  These are the types of programs that I really like.  These programs are more real-world programs that strength and conditioning coaches need to know how to design.  Like Mike, I am also faced with circumstances where a program like this has to be incorporated.  I also know how important it is to have an injured athlete on a good program that works.  The strength and conditioning coach is going to be spending a lot of time with the injured athlete, so it is imperative that it is worth the time spent.

Why Shoes Make Normal Gait Impossible by Dr. William Rossi.  This was an article submitted by Northwest Foot and Ankle.  The more education that is made available about the foot and ankle is going to help us moving forward.  This shows more “support” for barefoot-like footwear.

Half Get Up with a Cup of Water by myself.  This is a video that shows a different variation of the Get Up.  I love Get Ups and have been using them now quite a bit with my athletes.  We have used this version with some athletes who are returning from shoulder surgeries and injuries.

2- Day In-Season Training Program Phase 2 by Kevin Neeld.  This is a continuation of Kevin’s in-season program that he uses with the 16u-18u team that he works with.  I like the exercise selection in these workouts.  Not much different from what I would do.

Thanks for your support!

Sean

We had another good week here at HockeySC.com.

Here is what we have added at HockeySC since my last update:

First up was Mike Potenza’s Frontal Plane Core Exercises.  This is the video of the week from last week.  In this video, Mike shows 3 good frontal plane core exercises that he uses with medicine balls and dumbbells.

Next up was my own Off-Season 2011, Phase 2 Strength Training program.  This is what I used this past summer with my hockey players.  This phase is highlighted by complex training methods where we are pairing strength exercises with explosive exercises.  I’ve actually been programming this phase for the last 4-5 off-seasons.  I see absolutely no reason why to change this.  I really like our results from this phase.

We re-posted the 1962 training camp letter from the Toronto Maple Leafs.  This is an actual letter from the Toronto Maple Leafs to a player during the off-season that has been copied and circulating around for a while now.  It is amazing how far we have come, but yet, this shows that players were required to come into camp in ok shape.  This is a must-read.  I’ve actually posted this on the wall in my weight room for all of our players to see and get a laugh.

The video of the week is Darryl Nelson’s Mini Bands.  Darryl shows us some really good exercises to use with the mini bands.  I really like the upper body drills.  I am guilty sometimes of thinking that the mini bands are just for the legs.  Great practical video from Darryl here.

Our Youth Training video is the Reach Roll and Lift by Kevin Neeld.  This is actually a terrific exercise that I have gotten away from.  It is still one of the best lower trap exercises.   I think a lot of people would benefit from this one- not just hockey players.  Great post from Kevin.

That is it for the week.  If you haven’t noticed, there have been 3-4 content additions every week recently at Hockeysc.com.  As a staff, we are doing our best to make this the best hockey strength and conditioning site.  It is amazing to look at how much information is on the site.  If you aren’t a member, you can try it for 7 days for just 1$ per day.

Have a great weekend!