How much weight do you think
Gordie Howe could bench? How about Wayne Gretzky’s one-rep max
on a squat? Do you think that either of these Hall of Fame
players was concerned that he could not bench 300 pound or squat
400?
When Howe and Gretzky started out, they didn’t have the ability
to focus on hockey training 24/7 the way young athletes can
today. To my knowledge there were no sport-specific camps, power
skating schools, or strength and conditioning programs.
Yet, that didn’t keep them from scoring a combined 1,695 goals
and winning a total of eight Stanley Cups during their NHL
careers.
Times have changed. Today, youth athletes have a plethora of
options for training year-round. The question they and their
parents need to ask is, “what’s the best training program for
me?”
Can you do a pull-up? How many sit-ups can you do in one minute?
How about push-ups (good technique) in one minute?
You’ll be amazed at just how hard this is. For many athletes
that walk through the doors of our sports performance training
facility, these “simple drills” are not what they had in mind
for their workout. They expected to bench, squat, dead lift,
hang clean – exercises that young hockey players hear will take
them to the next level.
Well-developed sports performance training programs should
provide a progression for the athlete. For an athlete who has an
ample amount of training experience under their belt, any of the
drills we have listed should be part of his or her program. When
you should include this strength training, and to what degree
and intensity, is a topic that we, as strength coaches, could
debate for years. All off-ice strength and conditioning programs
are not the same. The objective of each program is to get the
athlete in the best shape possible for his or her season and
provide an edge over the competition, while lessening their
likelihood of injury.
This series of articles is going to deal with topics we address
each and every day with parents and athletes across the country.
What should my son or daughter be doing for dry-land or off-ice
training? Is a strength and conditioning program as important as
skills development? How should we budget both time and resources
between the two? How do we avoid burnout and over-use injuries?
Hockey is a sport that involves strength, balance, speed, power,
reaction, coordination, sportsmanship, and intelligence. A
program that touches upon each of these pillars of the game is
necessary for the proper development of a competitive hockey
player. Unfortunately, every hockey player brings a different
level of ability to the game, which requires a specific approach
to meet each player’s needs.
As a coach, my role is to properly address the variations among
athletes and ensure that each is getting exactly what they need.
The core of the program might be similar within a group of
hockey players because the movement skills for each athlete are
the same. You can have two athletes of the same gender, age and
size, but their needs are going to be completely different.
Here’s a hypothetical:
Athlete 1 may be lightning fast, while Athlete 2 cannot get out
of the way of a snail. Are their speed programs going to look
alike? Athlete 1 may have an ability to read and react to a play
with split-second decision making, while Athlete 2 is slower and
may have a slight hesitation.
Athlete 2 may have tremendous strength and win battles in the
corner, while Athlete 1 is easily pushed off the puck … that is,
if someone can catch him.
Athlete 2 may not be able to skate hard on the penalty kill
immediately after a 45 second shift, but Athlete 1 never seems
to break a sweat and has no trouble double-shifting when called
upon to do it.
Athlete 1 wants to be team captain next year, but does not think
any of his teammates will listen to what he has to say. Athlete
2 is team captain.Now,
with this small amount of background on Athlete 1 and Athlete 2,
do you believe they should be focusing on the same things? The
answer is a resounding “No.”
Cookie-cutter training programs do not work. Let me re-phrase
that. Cookie-cutter programs only go so far in preparing an
athlete for competition. A truly effective program has to
consider the individual and that individual’s particular
situation and needs. Athletes who may appear similar on the
outside can be worlds apart when it comes to individual training
and development.
Look at yourself as an athlete.
Assess your strengths and weaknesses, then determine what areas
need to be improved upon. Your preparation for the season starts
long before a summer strength and conditioning session. It
starts when you make the decision that you’re willing to devote
the time and effort needed to bring yourself to the next level.
Only after you make this personal commitment should you engage
the expertise of a strength coach to help you meet your goals. |
