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Brijesh Patel, my friend and colleague from Quinnipiac University, spoke at the Boston Hockey Summit about training program design for ice hockey players. During his talk he went through several yoga-based isometric circuits that can be incorporated into off-ice training warm-ups. Everyone, including myself, that I’ve seen do these circuits has the same reaction: They feel loose AND strong. The circuits are well-designed to improve range of motion around the hips and thoracic spine (spine around your upper back…this is a good thing), and activate the hip abductors/external rotators and muscles around the posterior shoulder (muscles on the outside of the hip that don’t get the training attention they deserve).

I started using two of these circuits with all of my athletes. In both of these circuits, each position is held for 10 seconds.

3-Way Squat Circuit
1) Deep squat while pushing your knees out with your elbows to stretch out the muscles on the inside of your thigh
2) Maintain the deep squat, but move your hands behind your head, interlock your fingers, and pull your elbows back together. It’s important to keep your back flat (don’t let it round forward) and actively pull your knees outward using the muscles on the outside of your hip.
3) Maintain the deep squat while extending your arms straight overhead and continuing to pull your knees out.

3-Way Split Squat Circuit
1) Split squat position with arms extended straight overhead. Focus on squeezing your butt on the back leg and pulling down into the floor through the ball of your foot on the front leg.
2) Maintain the position while performing a triceps stretch on the arm on the side of your back leg and leaning toward the side of your front leg.
3) Maintain the position while twisting toward the front leg and reaching back with the arm on the side of your front leg and following this hand with your eyes.

As I type these descriptions, I’m realizing how simple these are when you see them, but how confusing it is to try to explain it. If you’re simple-minded like I am and have no idea what any of those descriptions mean, your best bet is to head over to myfittube.com and watch the videos that Brijesh put together for them. I’m confident you’ll be able to wrap your mind around them as soon as you see them.

When you get to myfittube.com, look for Brijesh Patel’s Deep Squat Series, and Warrior 1 Series.

The state of youth hockey is…in big trouble. Michael Boyle is widely regarded as the world’s authority on ice hockey strength and conditioning. His presentation on hockey player development at the Boston Hockey Summit was one that I truly believe EVERYONE involved in the game of hockey should see…probably twice.

Coach Boyle used a number of specific examples regarding athletes he’s worked with in the past that went on to play for an NCAA Division 1 team and/or professionally to support his argument. In my mind, this is the best evidence for any argument. Anyone can argue theory (many people, including myself, do), but nothing speaks louder than results. The main points from Coach Boyle’s talk were:

1) Early specialization (only playing hockey) inhibits development. Kids, especially those younger than 16, need to play multiple sports for several reasons. Playing different sports will incorporate a wider range of movement patterns, which will help prevent overuse injuries. As a quick side note, many of these overuse injuries don’t appear until AFTER hockey players are late in their high school years, but the foundation for these injuries is laid by ONLY playing hockey starting at a young age. Performing different athletic movements will also increase the number of movement strategies in an athletes’ “movement library”. This basically just means that hockey players’ bodies will be proficient at a larger number of movements, which could have implications for both performance and injury prevention. Mentally, playing different sports is refreshing. It’s the parent’s responsibility to keep their kids involved in multiple sports, even if the kid claims that they really enjoy playing hockey year round. Most kids would also prefer to eat ice cream and pizza for every meal, but that’s not good for them either.

2) In addition to playing multiple sports, the single best way to develop high level hockey players is to get them on a WELL-DESIGNED strength and conditioning (what I refer to as Athletic Development) program. A quality Athletic Development Coach can design and implement a balanced training program that will help young hockey players add muscle mass and functional strength. In addition to improving performance, a quality training program will also decrease injury risk.

The take home message boils down to: Young hockey players need to spend less time playing hockey and more time developing overall athleticism.

Not everyone has access to quality Athletic Development Coaches, and even people that do can’t always afford them. That was the biggest reason I put together my Off-Ice Training Course, so people without a background in strength and conditioning and exercise science could still put together quality programs.

Click here for more information on how to develop your own off-ice training program.

- Kevin Neeld

One of my favorite presentations at the Boston Hockey Summit in May was Jim Snider’s talk on “Dryland Speed Training for Hockey”. Coach Snider is the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey teams at the University of Wisconsin. Needless to say, that program has an outstanding reputation.

Coach Snider’s whole presentation was insightful, but there were two aspects that really caught my attention:

1) He was a big advocate of uphill sprinting. Why uphill? Sprinting uphill increases the foot/ground contact time, which is more specific to all forms of hockey skating (forward, backward, crossovers, and direction changes). Adding an incline to sprints also minimizes the risk of blowing out a hamstring and cuts down on the landing forces that need to be absorbed by the legs and hips (takes stress of your ankles, knees, hips, and low back) since your leg isn’t “falling” from as high as it would during flat ground or downhill sprinting.

I think people can get carried away with hill training. The goal isn’t to find the biggest hill in your community and run your athletes up it until they puke. If the incline is too steep it will start to have a negative effect on running form and can put unnecessary stress on your athletes’ achilles tendon. Try to find a hill that is around a 10 degree incline and use that.

2) Coach Snider outlined his progression of sprint starting positions, and I thought it was both brilliant and logical, and have adopted a similar approach with all my hockey players. The progression is:

Phase 1: Lunge Start/Side Lunge Start
Phase 2: Kneeling Start
Phase 3: Single-Leg Standing Start
Phase 4: Counter-movement Start (as in jumping backwards then accelerating forward)

Starting a sprint from a lunge position is a brilliant way to teach people to drive hard from a stationary position and maintain the forward lean they need to accelerate. I’ll try to get pictures/videos of these up in the next few weeks so you can see exactly what these movements look like.

-Kevin Neeld

A couple weeks ago I attended the Boston Hockey Summit, a hockey-specific seminar hosting collegiate and professional strength and conditioning coaches, physical therapists and hip surgeons, and a professional power skating coach. This was right up my alley!

My hope is that more of these seminars will pop up across the country and that more youth hockey coaches will start to attend. I hate to say it, but most youth programs are completely in the dark with regards to how to develop their athletes…and the lights are getting dimmer.

Michael Boyle gave a great presentation outlining why year-round hockey is a horrible choice for development. This is in strong opposition to the current theme of early specialization. The take home message was clear: To develop an elite athlete, they should play multiple sports through high school, and follow a well-designed training program. I understand it’s hard for youth coaches to really have the knowledge to put together a comprehensive training program for an entire team. That’s one of the reasons I spent the time to put together my hockey training course!

Over the next week I’ll go over some of the other great ideas I took from the seminar. Hopefully I’ll see you there next year!

Last week, we agreed that mental preparation is essential to athletic success. I’ve read through a lot of articles and books related to mental preparation for athletics and frankly, I’ve been disappointed. My colleague and friend Kim McCullough has put together the best step-by-step guide to preparing mentally for the game of hockey that I’ve ever come across. Specifically, she details how to focus, build confidence, and maintain composure during hockey competitions. I wish I had this while I was playing!

Kim’s The Best Hockey Season Ever also comes with:

1) A 16-week in-season training program with off- and on-ice drills (with exercise descriptions)

2) Detailed nutrition information specific to the game of hockey including pre-game and post-exercise recommendations to maximize performance and facilitate recovery

3) Off-ice warm-ups with in-depth exercise descriptions

4) A 4-month off-season training program

5) 18 weeks of on-ice conditioning drills

6) A complete recovery guide including exercise and nutrition strategies

I was excited to see that someone has taken the time and energy to put together such a comprehensive manual for youth hockey players and coaches. A manual like this is long overdue. I couldn’t say enough good things about it. I think every youth player and coach should have a copy. Take a look at the link below and email me with any questions you may have about it (kn@kevinneeld.com).

Click here for more information on Kim’s The Best Hockey Season Ever

- Kevin Neeld

Vince Lombardi was one of the most successful coaches of all time. He’s still the most frequently quoted name in sports. A few notable quotes:

“Mental toughness is essential to success.”

“You never win a game unless you beat the guy in front of you. The score on the board doesn’t mean a thing. That’s for the fans. You’ve got to win the war with the man in front of you. You’ve got to get your man.”

“Success is like anything worthwhile. It has a price. You have to pay the price to win and you have to pay the price to get to the point where success is possible. Most important, you must pay the price to stay there.”

“If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”

It’s clear that he places mental toughness in a high regard. I want you to honestly answer this question:

What percentage of your athletic success is mental?

If you’re like most people, you responded anywhere from 50-90%. Now answer this question:

What percentage of your training would be considered mental training?

If you’re like most people, you responded anywhere from 0-10%.

You understand that mental preparation is key to peak performance. You acknowledge that you aren’t spending adequate time performing mental training.

What’s the solution?

I wish it were possible for all of us to play for a coach like Vince Lombardi. Unfortunately, we all missed that boat. Tomorrow I’ll reveal the next best thing. Stay tuned!

The other day I was watching Any Given Sunday with my girlfriend Emily. One of the underlying themes of that movie was that no individual player is bigger than the team. This mentality is a HUGE problem in youth hockey, as players that develop faster tend to think that they ARE the team, not a part of it.

Having been through the youth hockey system myself and had the opportunity to watch many younger players develop after me, a couple trends have become clear.

1) The players that are best at very young ages are rarely still the best players at the collegiate level, if they’re even playing at all.

2) How good players think they are is directly related to the ability of the players around them (or their exposure to other skilled players). This is a simple point. Generally, as players are exposed to hockey from different areas of the country/world, they’re humbled a bit.

I remember being the best player at my high school and thinking that was something special. Then I played against Sidney Crosby and his Shattuck St. Mary’s prep school team and realized that being the best player at my high school didn’t mean much. I’d likely be the worst player on several other high school teams around the country. Exposure is key.

All of this reminds me of something my coach at the University of Delaware said to us. To paraphrase:

“None of you are bigger than the program. Delaware Ice Hockey was here before you came, and will be here after you leave.”

This really clicked for me and changed my mentality toward my college hockey experience. I realized that I was a part of something larger than my current team; I was a part of a program with a successful history.

Whether you’re the best player or the worst player, remember that you’re never bigger than the team. The more you learn to work with and help your teammates, the more you’ll be contributing to the program.

- Kevin Neeld

I don’t have swine flu…but I do have a new job! As of Monday (June 8^th), I’ll be starting as the Director of Athletic Development at Endeavor Fitness in Sewell, NJ.

The facility is awesome. Check out the pictures on their site www.EndeavorFit.com.

I’m excited to get started. We have an impressive line up of NHL draft picks, pro, and D1 college players training with us this summer. I can confidently say that we’ll have the premier training facility for hockey and lacrosse players in the New Jersey, Eastern PA, and Delaware area.

I’m in the process of filling up my training groups for the summer. If you’re in the area and are looking for a place to train (regardless of whether you’re a hockey/lacrosse player, athlete from another sport, or general fitness enthusiast), feel free to shoot me an email at kn@kevinneeld.com and we can talk about setting up a situation that best helps you reach your goals.

Whether you’re an ice hockey enthusiast or strength and conditioning professional, you won’t want to miss this opportunity!

After my longwinded talk about the importance of education (and continuing education) last week, I thought I should forward this along to you.  Eric Cressey just sent me an email letting me know about Strength and Conditioning Webinars, a site that Anthony Renna put together to make it easier for all of us to hear presentations from the best in the industry.

Strength and Conditioning Webinars is a brilliant idea.  Presenters like Eric Cressey, Mike Boyle, Mike Robertson, Gray Cook, Alwyn Cosgrove, and Joe Heiler (just to name a few) are able to present their power points online, so you get to see their presentation and hear their voice dubbed over each slide.  It’s a great opportunity for you and I to get high quality information without the inconveniences and high costs of attending live presentations.

This is the best part.  Attending most seminars will cost you between $100-$300 PER day!  Anthony, for some reason, is only charging $29.99/month for a membership to Strength and Conditioning Webinars.  Each month you’ll get access to at least two new webinars from the best coaches and minds in the industry and access to presenter forums so you can ask any questions you may have.

Even better, for the people that recognize this as a no-brainer, Anthony is offering a special intro rate of only $19.99/month for those that sign up by Monday, June 8th.  If you pay for the entire year at once, you’ll save another $40, as the price for the year is only $199.

With all the crap that’s circulating the internet these days, it’s rare to find an opportunity that offers such an incredible value.  Every time I hear a presentation from one of the presenters on Strength and Conditioning Webinars I change some aspect of the way I train my athletes.

For my hockey audience, Michael Boyle is the world’s expert on training ice hockey players.  The last few presentations I’ve seen him give on youth hockey and hockey injuries are ones that EVERYONE involved with hockey should see/hear.  Knowing that he’s on the site is worth the price of admission by himself.

Go to Strength and Conditioning Webinars and check it out for yourself.  Remember, after June 8th the price goes up!

-Kevin Neeld

I remember a conversation I had with Michael Boyle last Summer about grip strength. To paraphrase, he was joking about how ridiculous it is for hockey players to spend so much time doing wrist curls when they’re legs are so weak they’ll never get to a puck anyway.

The take home message is that you’re likely to get all the grip strength you need from other exercises. As an example, let’s look at Mike. Although he’s withered away to a measly 205, he’s kept his deadlift around 600 lbs. He’s doing a high rack pull in this video. Think he needs to do wrist curls?

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