NEWS & EVENTS
Blog - Hockey Training
  I’m under the impression that my last post furrowed some eyebrows: “Less hockey in the off-season is better for development?” Let me clear things up about what hockey players should be doing in their off-season to maximize their development. To Skate or Not to Skate... Last week I mentioned that many hockey players make the fatal mistake of spending the entire off-season on the ice. Many players are on the ice for over 4 hours per week during the long season. It is ABSOLUTELY crucial that they start their off-season by taking a break and doing some things to reverse the physical adaptations that result from so much skating (e.g. foam rolling and stretching the glutes and hip flexors). After a month or so of NO ice time, players can skate within this context: 1) Power Skating Instruction: Avoid the coaches that just run you through drills and watch. Find a coach that will actually teach you technique and actively help you improve your mechanics. There should also be a focus on edge control, not just overspeed work. 2) Skill Instruction: While I don't think it's completely necessary to be on the ice to do this, many players can make huge improvements in their hands in an off-season by spending some time practicing handling a puck on all sides of their body and with specific footwork/bursts of speed (which is why skating instruction is so crucial!). 3) Many players feel stale if they don't play some sort of game for 6 months. If you can find a decent league (competition equal to or better than what you're used to) that plays a 6-10 game schedule toward the end of the Summer, then hop right in. Playing in a showcase tournament or two throughout the Summer isn't going to kill you, but you should not be playing tournaments ALL off-season! The mistake players (and parents) make is that they finish their season, then immediately register for spring and summer league and as many clinics as they can. It's too much. Think QUALITY here, not quantity. The adverse effects of this are becoming increasingly clear: As the year-round hockey craze infects younger players, we see high level hockey injuries spreading to all age levels. There is NO reason why peewees and bantams should have chronic groin and hip flexor pain! I'm not preaching here. I made all the mistakes myself, and I have the double hernia surgery and inevitable hip arthritis to prove it! Off-Season Training Following a structured, well-designed training program during the off-season can completely transform a player's career, especially at the youth levels. There is a critical time period during development when the body is highly "malleable". If you create the right training stimulus, your body is primed for a long career of explosive movement. Unfortunately, creating the wrong training stimulus will prime your body to stay slow and weak. Our off-season hockey training programs serve three major purposes: 1) Improve performance 2) Decrease injury risk 3) Improve stress handling capacity Players leave the Summer faster, stronger, and better conditioned than they've ever been in the past. THAT is how every player should enter the season! To your success, Kevin Neeld Director of Athletic Development P.S. Call me today at (856) 269-4148 or send me an email to get started on the training program that will help you become a strong, fast, well-conditioned, INJURY FREE player!
Bookmark:
I've recently teamed up with Michael Boyle (Boston University), Sean Skahan (Anaheim Ducks) and Mike Potenza (San Jose Sharks) to launch an incredible hockey training website: www.HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com. On the site, U of Minnesota Strength Coach Cal Dietz shared an interesting article with us. The article outlined research with groundbreaking results. If you value your hockey career, you'll read carefully! This article outlined a study that took MRI's of the hips of 39 NHL and NCAA Division I hockey players. Of the 39 players, twenty-one (54%) twelve (31%) had muscle strains, and 2 (5%) had tendinosis (degeneration of the tendon) of the hips. Overall, 70% of the players had irregular findings on their MRIs. Interestingly, the majority of these players were considered "healthy" at the time of the study, meaning they were okay to play. As shocking as these results may appear, I wasn't at all surprised. Hockey players completely abuse their hips. Many spend no time doing the stretches they need to (because they're either too lazy or don't know which ones they should do), have poor motor control of muscles around the hips (which tears up the joint and labrum!), and spend WAY too much time on the ice. Last night I was on the phone with Mike Potenza (San Jose Sharks); he mentioned that in over 90% of cases, the players he sees that have sports hernias do little to nothing in terms of training. Everyone at the collegiate and professional strength and conditioning levels understand that good training can improve a player’s performance, lengthen their career, and keep them out of the surgeon’s office. Hopefully youth players and parents will get the message. -Kevin Neeld P.S. Call me today at (856) 269-4148 or send me an email to get started on the training program that will help you become a strong, fast, well-conditioned, INJURY FREE player!
Bookmark:
|
|
Search Posts
CategoriesEndeavor in the Media Athletic Development Nutrition Advice Weight Loss Golf Training Endeavor Training Maximum Strength Endeavor Athlete Success Back Pain Supplements Injury Prevention Hockey Training Quote of the Week Training Intangibles Power Development Core Training Sport-Specific Conditioning Monthly Archives  |
|
Showing results 1 - 2 of 2
Page: 1
|
Translate:          |