Kevin Neeld — Hockey Training, Sports Performance, & Sports Science

This Week in Hockey Strength and Conditioning

Back on track with another update on what’s been going on in the world of hockey strength and conditioning. Since my last update, I’ve added 6 articles to my site. If you missed them, you can check them out at the links below:

  1. Hockey’s Original Recovery Drink
  2. Hip Stabilization Exercises
  3. Current Ice Hockey Research
  4. An Updated Look at Femoral Acetabular Impingement (FAI)
  5. The Most Valuable Lesson I’ve Ever Learned
  6. Energy Systems Training for Hockey

There have also been a lot of great content additions to HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com over the last few weeks. Check out what you’ve been missing!

Hockey Training Articles

  1. Off-Ice Skating Strength Exercises from Mike Potenza
  2. Rotary Power Demands for Hockey Players from Anthony Donskov
  3. My Favorite Set and Repetition Schemes from Darryl Nelson

Hockey Training Programs

  1. 2011 Off-Season Phase 3 Strength Training from Sean Skahan
  2. Christmas Break Training from Darryl Nelson
  3. Clarkson In-Season Phases from Jaime Rodriguez

Training Videos

  1. Skater Crossover Step Lunge from Mike Potenza
  2. Athlete with Bilateral CAM Impingement from me

As you can see, we’ve had a diverse mix of quality content over the last few weeks. Potenza’s videos demonstrate “hockey-specific” exercises that are valuable options for youth programs looking to improve body awareness and skating technique OFF the ice and without equipment. I’m glad Darryl added their holiday break program, as I think it’s timely AND illustrates that the development process is ongoing! This isn’t the time for me to get on my soap box, but we’ve all seen players that work their ass off in the off-season and then pack it in and don’t train at all during the year. In this case, most holiday breaks verge on a month, which is long enough to have a substantial detraining effect if not handled correctly. Darryl’s program also demonstrates the need to make things simple for players when they’re out training on their own, a lesson that also applies to coaches working with an unfavorable coach-to-athlete ratio.

If you haven’t seen the video I posted of the athlete I’ve been working with that has bilateral CAM impingement, I suggest you take the time to do so. Recognizing that EVERY athlete will have a varying degree of hip mobility that is 100% structural and will never be improved through stretching, soft-tissue work, or joint mobilizations, will help prevent a lot of unnecessary damage resulting from trying to force athletes through these ranges of motion. As a profession, we need to appreciate that everyone is built differently, and movement standards need to be adjusted accordingly.

It’s always good to have contributions from guys like Jaime Rodriguez, who recently took over as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Clarkson University (he’ll be getting a few Endeavor players over the next couple of years), and Anthony Donskov, who runs a private facility out in Columbus, OH. These are both guys that I look to for new information and better coaching techniques.

Lastly, check out these threads on the forum:

  1. Youth Hockey Practice Times
  2. Boogaard Article
  3. Nike Vapor Strobes
  4. Grit
  5. Set and Rep Schemes

That’s a wrap for today. As always, if you aren’t a member yet, I encourage you to try out Hockey Strength and Conditioning for a week. It’ll only cost $1, and if it’s not the best buck you’ve ever spent, I’ll personally refund you! Plus, getting a glimpse of Potenza’s mustache in the Skater Crossover Step Lunge video is MORE than worth the price of admission!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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Kevin Neeld

Kevin Neeld Knows Hockey

Kevin has rapidly established himself as a leader in the field of physical preparation and sports science for ice hockey. He is currently the Head Performance Coach for the Boston Bruins, where he oversees all aspects of designing and implementing the team’s performance training program, as well as monitoring the players’ performance, workload and recovery. Prior to Boston, Kevin spent 2 years as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the San Jose Sharks after serving as the Director of Performance at Endeavor Sports Performance in Pitman, NJ. He also spent 5 years as a Strength and Conditioning Coach with USA Hockey’s Women’s Olympic Hockey Team, and has been an invited speaker at conferences hosted by the NHL, NSCA, and USA Hockey.