You just had a great off-season of strength training, sprinting, plyometrics and medicine ball exercises. You feel strong and ready to compete this hockey season. But now what do you do to keep all that strength and power during the long hockey season? Unfortunately, many hockey players see a drastic decrease in their strength and […]
Hockey & Restoration
Life can grant miracles, but rarely do the hockey gods send them. If you could name one player that possesses incredible skill with unprecedented conditioning and an uncanny mindset, you let me know, because I’d love to be that person’s coach. The reality is even the best players put time into skill development, off-ice conditioning […]
Complex Training: Use It To Maximize Performance
Complex training, one of the most advanced forms of sports training, integrates strength training, plyometrics, and sport-specific movement. It consists of an intense strength (resistance) exercise followed by a plyometric exercise. Complex training is a great way to make sure that you are training more than just muscles with your workouts as it affects the nervous system. To capitalize on a muscle’s […]
Creating a Winning Athlete
Athletic prowess is defined by several factors. Some you’re born with. Others are achieved through hard work and tenacity. There’s no perfect answer to becoming a winning hockey athlete. But it’s clear if you don’t have these attributes, you’re putting yourself at a great disadvantage. Passion-Hustle-Discipline-Leadership-Vision Passion is something that can’t be taught. It’s a […]
Golf is a Great Transition Sport for Hockey Players
For those of you that follow my articles (thank you very much by the way), you know that I often write about transition, be it in the gym, on the ice and in game situations. For those that are fairly new, hopefully I can provide you with a new outlook on the game of golf. […]
Things to Do During Off-Season Hockey Training
The off-season provides an opportunity for hockey players to enhance and develop their skills and fitness. Nevertheless, it is necessary for dedicated players and athletes to approach off-season training with a well structured plan in order to maximize gains. Know Your Areas of Improvement Athletes should know the areas where they want to improve. This is […]
Deceleration Training: Taking a Page from Hockey Players?
Deceleration training is all the buzz. So much so, that the NSCA has been talking about it for years. The basic premise is that we, strength coaches, have been and continue to focus on concentric actions of muscle groups. These are the actions that result in say, your bicep contracting, flexing or otherwise reacting to […]
Progressive Off-Season Training
If you’re reading this, then your season is probably over. Sorry about that. You put a lot of blood, sweat, and maybe even a few tears into the season. Unfortunately, things don’t always seem to go the way you may have planned. Just don’t use it as an excuse to delay the inevitable. If you […]
Stay Strong All Hockey Season Long
As coaches, its our goal to develop as much strength, conditioning, and agility during the off-season. Though, it is difficult while in-season to build strength due to the intensity and duration of practices and games. So, how can players manage to maintain the strength that they have built during the off-season? In the off-season, you […]
Off-Ice Fitness Testing Goals for Female Hockey Players
Female athletes have a different physiological profile than their male counterparts. As a result, female athletes have their own testing percentile scores in the HockeyOT.com training system. On some of the fitness tests, i.e. front & side planks, 1-leg balance, 90° squat and jump rope, their scores should match their male counterparts. On the tests […]
The Best Off-Ice Tests to Measure Hockey Fitness
I love to do fitness testing on athletes! It is a great way to assess physical strength and weaknesses. It is also a feedback loop to measure progress as a result of off-ice training. If you are a hockey player, no doubt you have seen the NHL Entry Draft Combine. The combine measures the incoming […]
Recovery Techniques For Exhausted Legs
If you play the game of ice hockey, you have probably suffered exhausted legs at one point or another. Taking a shift and limping off the ice, huffing on the bench to catch your breath, and wondering when you lost your step is actually a common feat, since the skill needed to perform at a […]
Getting Back Into Hockey
There are few sports that challenge the physical and the mental prowess of its athletes like ice hockey, making the process of getting back into hockey quite demanding for any participants who have been away from the game for a while. Anyone interested in coming back to the game after an extended period of time […]
Plyometric Hockey Training Builds Power And Speed Off The Ice
Speed and power are the most important components in becoming a successful hockey player. Plyometric hockey training can be used to build both of these factors, and to improve your performance on the ice. Plyometrics focuses on making the muscles contract more quickly and with more power. This translates into stronger, faster legs and a […]
Hockey Hip Injury Prevention Tips
Muscle strains and more serious injuries are common in hockey players, particularly strains of the hip and groin. In fact, according to a study by The Steadman Philippon Research Institute, hockey players as young as 12 have shown early signs of arthritis in the hips. This comes from repeated injury to the area. These hockey […]