Times they are a changin’! When I was growing up in Huntsville, Ontario, there was no such thing as a training center dedicated to working on off-ice conditioning for hockey. Every few seasons we would run into a coach that wanted us to do “dryland”. This usually consisted of push ups, sit ups and suicide runs until we couldn’t walk! Now, if you live in an area that has hockey, you have undoubtedly many choices when it comes to off-ice training programs. Of course, many of these training programs are very expensive. For example, in my area (Los Angeles), it can cost a family over $5000 to play travel hockey for the season. If you then add on another $200-300 per month for off-ice training, some of the parents will not be happy to say the least. As a result, many teams take a do-it-yourself approach to dryland training and have the coach or a parent run the workouts. This can work, especially if the coach or parent volunteer uses the HockeyOT program to organize the workout sessions. HockeyOT provides an organized and hockey-specific approach to off-ice training that will ensure that each player that has the ambition to get better will maximize their potential.
When running team workouts, I give the players fitness goals to work towards during the dryland training sessions. I tell my players that everyone needs to be able to hold a front plank for 3 minutes and a side plank for 2 minutes each side by the end of the hockey season.
I will do testing (using the HockeyOT testing sequence) every 4 weeks so that I can monitor their improvement on every fitness goal, including the plank tests. HockeyOT allows parents and coaches to monitor the development of core fitness goals.
As a coach or parent you can have access to your team’s testing data and training session logs for free. All you have to do is sign up for a coaches account on the HockeyOT Sign Up page and create a Team Code. Have each of the players on your team enter this team code in their User Settings and you will be able to view your team’s testing results and monitor their training progress and improvements. The HockeyOT coaches function will also list team medians for each test so that you know how each player compares to the median or middle score for your team. Players that do not want to share their testing data are able to keep their testing information private with the click of a button. Now, rather than paying $200+ per month for a training program, you can have your players sign up for a customized off-ice training program on HockeyOT.com. This will only cost your players $24.99 per month for a team discounted rate. Remember, your coaches account is totally free! If your a coach who wants the best off-ice training program for your players then start using HockeyOT.com today!
Dr. Chad Moreau is the President of HockeyOT.com, an online training site dedicated to improving the fitness level of hockey players of all levels. He was the former Strength & Conditioning/Nutrition Consultant for the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) and the Long Beach Ice Dogs (ECHL). For more information please visit hockeyot.com.
