Rotational power is an essential physical quality to train in most team sports. There are a few key layers to improving rotational power: Does the athlete have the foundational capacity to effectively perform rotational patterns (i.e., do they have optimal hip and thoracic spine rotation)? Can the athlete separate/dissociate lower/upper body rotation? Can the athlete… Read more
Creating environments for an athlete to “self-organize” (e.g. try, fail, recognize failure, try a different way…) can be a powerful motor learning strategy. Particularly in group settings, having strategies that allow the coach to teach without speaking frees up the coach to work with individuals/exercises that require a more hands on approach. This is an… Read more
One of the big mistakes that the most committed youth athletes make is training the same way in-season that they do in the off-season. These graphs are from a talk I gave at the @nscaofficial Training for Hockey Clinic several years ago and provide an overview of how the emphases on specific physical qualities should… Read more
When first introducing strength training to youth athletes (and everyone else for that matter), it’s important to teach the fundamentals. Basic movements, performed correctly. One strategy to help speed up the learning process is to slow down the movement. This gives the athlete more time to feel different positions throughout the exercise and the coach… Read more
This is a core exercise I’ve used for years to help reinforce proper centering/alignment of the rib cage over the pelvis, and breathing through a braced core. The goal here is to rotate as a unit, so the knees, hips, and shoulders all move together. Another way to think of it is that the nose,… Read more
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.
“I can say without wavering that Kevin's one of my most trusted resources in the strength and conditioning field.”
Eric Cressey, President, Cressey Sports Performance