Here is part 1 of an audio interview that I recently did with Robert Taylor from www.SMARTERTeamTraining.com.
Oct 192012
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.
Oct 122012
I hope everyone is doing well. The weather is actually starting to get a little cooler here in SoCal indicating fall is here (I guess, because it is still in the 70’s-80’s). I’m doing my best to stay busy between being a dad and husband, reading, writing, and training myself. It’s been lots of fun watching Will at his practices and games as I know that those are moments that I wouldn’t be able to do usually at this time of year.
It’s been a while since my last update as to what is going on at HockeySC. As usual, we have had some great contributions:
Articles
Youth Training Program: Olympic Lifting Teaching Exercises by Mike Potenza
My Experience Working with New Players by Darryl Nelson
This is Russia by Eric Renaghan
Communication: The Key to In-Season Training by Rob Mclean
Revisiting the FMS with Teams by me
Videos
Phase 4 Acceleration Drills by me
Side Plank with Hip Abduction by Kevin Neeld
Barbell Split Squat by Darryl Nelson
5-Jump Eval Test by Mike Potenza
Reactive Jumping/Plyometric Exercises by Kevin Neeld
Programs
Final Off-Season Movement Phase by Mike Potenza
5-Day Off-Season Training Program- Phase 4 by Kevin Neeld
Phase 5 Off-Season Strength Training by me
Obviously, that is a lot of content in a 1-month period. We hope you like it.
In addition to all of the content that we have, we also have a great discussion forum going. If you aren’t a member yet, you can check it out for $1 day for 7 days. You won’t be disappointed.
Thanks!
Sean
Oct 102012
I recently did an interview with Jeff Angus. I think he did a really good job with pictures and quotes relative to the discussion.
You can check out the interview here:
Check out his blog at www.AngusCertified.com. It features some great content including some other interviews with Strength and Conditioning Coaches from professional hockey.
Oct 012012
I really like planks. As long as I can remember, I have always used them in my program. Whether I called them planks or “Forearm Bridges”, planks have been a staple in the program. I think they are beneficial for all athletes for developing stability or “pillar” strength.
We are now coaching and performing planks differently. For a long period of time, we would have our athletes just hold the plank position and ask them not to move. We also asked them to think about squeezing and firing their “core”. We may have lightly tapped them with our hands and/or feet so that they resisted us moving them. Now we are using more of an “RKC Plank”. This is a version of the plank that I learned at the RKC cert in 2011.
I must be honest and say that I didn’t think there could possibly be any different versions of a standard plank. However, I may be guilty of losing some attention to detail when it comes to the Plank. Previously, we may have asked our athletes to hold the position until the time ends. We are now asking our athletes to sustain the plank position by producing total body muscular tension for the whole time. We will tell them to contract their glutes, tighten their core, lift their kneecaps up with their quads, and try to push their elbows and feet into the floor. Also, we want their feet together, head neutral, and elbows slightly ahead of the shoulders.
The Plank will also help us coach our athletes on some proper positions on other exercises. Exercises such as standing presses, pull ups, most TRX exercises, and carrying variations are going to include the plank position somehow.
Sep 242012
One might look at programs that I design and notice that maybe 1-2 exercises stick out in comparison to the others. Compound muscle group exercises are mainly done throughout the whole program primarily with our feet on the ground (with the exception of Pull Ups, Inverted Rows, and 1-Arm Cable rows). However, during one of our phases during the off-season program, we will do Pullovers.
The Pullover gets a bad rap amongst strength and conditioning coaches because many would view it as a bodybuilding exercise. Another reason why it wouldn’t be popular is because in the book Super Squats: How to Gain 30 Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks
In the book Return of the Kettlebell: Explosive Kettlebell Training for Explosive Muscle Gains
While watching many athletes over the years perform overhead presses, I must admit that not all of them had good technique. There were many times when the barbell or dumbbells may have been in front of the athletes’ head rather than in line with the ears, especially at the finish position. Many times they may have looked like high incline presses. There is a need for the ability to finish any overhead work properly.
When it comes to increasing shoulder mobility; many times we focus just on thoracic rotation. Many athletes may need thoracic extension as well as thoracic rotation. Thoracic Kyphosis can be quite common in athletes, especially those who have been performing more bench pressing than pulling exercises and/or may sit all day at work hunched over a computer. The pullover is a good exercise to help address this by stretching the Lats which are really strong internal rotators of the shoulder.
So, if we can do an exercise that will help us increase shoulder mobility and extensibility in the Lat, while also helping us keep our shoulders in their proper position while locking out weights overhead, I am all for it.
Sep 102012
As training camps are expected to open soon, I thought this would be neat to post.
This is an old training camp letter that has been circulating for a few years now.
Sep 072012
I love this time of year. Currently, we are transitioning from off-season/summer mode into our pre-season mode. Most of our players are coming back into town and we are getting some great team based work in. I think it is a great time to help build the team with good workouts and skates.
Over at HockeySC.com, we’ve had some really good contributions over the last 2 weeks:
Articles
Using Microsoft Excel for Analyzing Training Data by Mike Potenza
The Red Zone: Stress Management 101 by Anthony Donskov
Videos
Reverse Hyper Iso Hold by Mike Potenza
Programs
Off-Season Phase 4 Strength Training by me
Phase 1 Fall Workout by Darryl Nelson
Be sure to also check out the forum. There have been some interesting discussions including one on breathing masks and one on in-season training for midgets.
Please let us know if there is anything that we can do to help make your experience on the site as positive as possible.
Thanks!
Aug 232012
I hope everyone is doing great. Summer is coming to a close as off-season programs are wrapping up all over North America.
It has been a great summer for me personally as I was able to spend more time with my family, work with some of our players, and learn and speak at several conferences and workshops all over the world. It is time to get geared up for the pre-season.
As far as what’s going on at HockeySC.com, we’ve been having a run of getting some really good content added to the site. Here is what we have added recently:
Articles
Understanding (or Misunderstanding) Aerobic Training by Michael Boyle. This was originally posted at Strengthcoach.com. Michael was kind enough to let us post this on our site.
Things I Have Taken Away From Watching the Summer Olympics by Darryl Nelson
Programs
Pre-Hab- Re-Hab Exercise Menu by Mike Potenza
5-Day Off-Season Program Phase 3 by Kevin Neeld
Videos
150-Yard Shuttle Run by me
Lateral Lunges with Step Across by Darryl Nelson
Seated Psoas Lift with Contralateral Pressure by Kevin Neeld
That is it for now. I also want to remind you to check out the forum when you log on. We have had some great discussions going on including an interesting one on aerobic work.
Aug 032012
I can’t believe it is already August. Training camp and the beginning of hockey season will be here in no time. Off-season training programs are going in full swing in the USA and Canada with lots of players returning to the ice for on-ice conditioning sessions.
My son Will just completed the spring/summer In-House league at Anaheim Ice. During this season, he was actually “traded” or added from one team to another. In fact, they actually played each other in the finals with Will’s new team, the Blazers winning the championship. Now, he is getting ready for Mite-B travel hockey (while also playing soccer), which will start real soon. As a parent, it was so neat to watch him continue in his development as a hockey player.
It’s been a few weeks since my last update on the site. During that time, HockeySC has added lots of content.
Here is what we have added:
Articles
Y-Balance and Ice Hockey by Jeff Cubos
Presentation from the 25th Roge Neilson Hockey Clinic in Windsor,Ontario: Considerations for a Developmental Hockey Program by Mike Potenza
Friesen Physio Fitness Summitt by Pete Friesen
Looking Deeper Into the Visual System by Kevin Neeld
Videos
Med Ball Off-Season Throws by Mike Potenza
1-Arm Cleans by Darryl Nelson
Programs
4 Day Off-Season by Darryl Nelson
Off-Season Phase 3 Strength Training by Me
That’s it for now. Please remember to check out the forum the next time that you log on. We have some good discussions going on such as aerobic training, Y-Balance test, and psoas specific work.
Thanks!
Sean