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The Off-Ice
Warm-up: How to Structure a Proper Routine for Your Team |
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 Many
minor hockey coaches understand the importance of having their
young athletes engage in some form of warm-up activity prior to
taking the ice. However, determining what to include in the
warm-up so as to optimally prepare athletes for the ensuing
practice or game is often unclear.
In general, the off-ice warm-up routine should prepare an
athlete’s mind and body for the upcoming activity. The warm-up
routine must first increase the core temperature, blood flow and
respiration rate of the athlete. This general ‘warming’ will
lower the resistance within the muscles and allow the athletes
to become more elastic. This will in turn help facilitate
further activation of the nervous system, which will allow for
increased coordination and movement efficiency of the athlete.
If you take a trip to any local hockey rink, you are likely to
see a group of young athletes running around the arena or
jogging up and down the stairs in the stands. I encourage you to
take a closer look next time you see any group participating in
such activity. Is the team’s coach or trainer anywhere to be
seen?
While participation in the off-ice warm-up is critical for the
athlete, the observation of the warm-up by an adult, who is
familiar with the athletes and the specifics of the warm-up
routine, is essential. In the interest of safety, an adult
should not only supervise the players, but also survey the
warm-up areas for potential hazards. Give “safety first” the
greatest benefit to coaches of observing the off-ice warm-up is
that this time can be used to evaluate the athletes’ levels of
preparedness. By watching the warm-up, a coach will get a very
good idea of their athletes’ energy levels on that day and can
determine whether the athletes have any injury issues that need
to be addressed prior to suiting up for the practice or game.
Furthermore, participation of the entire team in the off-ice
warm-up will increase the cohesiveness of the unit, of which the
coach is an integral part.
Sometimes after the group of young athletes is done jogging
around the rink for a few minutes, they will gather up in a
circle and do some basic stretches. Thorough stretching of the
muscles used during a practice or game is important – but is not
appropriate as part of the warm-up routine. As stated earlier,
the primary purpose of the off-ice warm-up is to prepare the
body for the upcoming activity. The game of hockey requires
repeated high-intensity efforts that demand numerous changes of
direction. There are no instances during a shift or drill when a
player on the ice is holding a static stretch for any extended
period of time. If players are moving in the game, they must
prepare by moving in the warm-up. Many coaches believe that they
are being proactive by including a stretching routine prior to
going out on the ice, but they are actually doing their young
athletes a great disservice. Prolonged static stretching of a
muscle can disrupt the stability of the joints. Instead of
acting as an injury prevention strategy, static (holding)
stretching can lead to increased likelihood of injury. Static
stretching leads to protective inhibition of the muscles, which
means that the muscles essentially turn themselves off after
holding a stretch for longer than 10-15 seconds. Prior to
heading out for a practice or games, an athlete’s muscles need
to be maximally activated instead of inhibited.
Coaches should include the following components in the off-ice
warm-up routine:
1) Coaches should start the warm-up routine with at least 5
minutes of continuous aerobic activity to increase the readiness
of the muscles and nervous system for activity. Be creative.
Have your athletes play tag or a mini-soccer game instead of
running around the rink. These games will incorporate more
change of direction than simple jogging, which will serve to
warm-up the muscle groups needed to perform the complex movement
patterns inherent in hockey. And they are more fun than running
around in circles!
2) Immediately after the general ‘warming’ up, coaches should
have their athletes perform a series of dynamic movement skills
for between 10-15 minutes. Since these are ‘skills’, they will
have to be taught to the athletes and may take time to learn.
Coaches must ensure that their athletes have mastered these
skills at low speeds and repetitions prior to increasing the
intensity. These movements could include: high knees, heel
kicks, side shuffling, carioca, backpedaling, lunges, skips and
jumps. In designing this portion of the warm-up, coaches must
take a number of factors into consideration:
a. The age of your athletes: a 14 year-old AAA player may be
able to perform 360 degree rotating squat jumps easily, whereas
a 9 year old single A player may need to be taught how to absorb
a low-level squat jump properly.
b. The exercise history of your athletes: Performing a set of
twenty walking lunges will become easy for young hockey players
after a few weeks, but they will likely experience significant
muscle soreness if they try to complete all of these repetitions
and they have never done a proper lunge before. Start the kids
off easily and progress the duration and intensity of the
warm-up as the players become more proficient at the movements.
3) Another important component of the warm-up session that will
further prepare your players for the upcoming practice or game
is their participation in activities that address the specific
demands of the sport. At the end of the warm-up session, a coach
should include games that introduce unpredictability into the
activity. The dynamic movement skills the athletes have just
performed will also serve to prepare them for the upcoming
activity, but they are predictable and, as the season
progresses, will almost become automatic for your athletes.
Hockey is an unpredictable sport. If we want to optimize the
off-ice preparation of our athletes, we must prepare them to
respond both mentally and physically to the constantly changing
aspects of the game. Participating in a basic mirroring drill
with a partner for a few minutes or playing a few small games of
circle tag will further prepare their muscles and minds for the
unpredictability of the upcoming ice session.
Once the puck is dropped, young hockey players will be
performing repeated near-maximal efforts. As coaches, we must
prepare our team, both mentally and physically, for this
game-like intensity with a gradual build-up of intensity off the
ice. A proper warm-up routine will start with general easy
activity, progress through specific focused drills, and finish
hard and fast. These twenty minutes spent preparing together
will pay huge dividends both on and off the ice for your team.
Copyright Kim McCullough 2006 |
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