Kevin Neeld — Hockey Training, Sports Performance, & Sports Science
My New Favorite Exercise

My New Favorite Exercise

Single-leg high force reduction followed by an explosive lateral or diagonal bound, followed by another single-leg high force reduction.  I love it.  You can progress this exercise by adding a high knee before the forward lunge (so you’ll be decelerating from a higher height, adding to the amount of force you’ll need to reduce) or… Read more

Movie Appreciation Series: 1

Movie Appreciation Series: 1

I have two weeks to finish up my research on motor unit synchronization and get ready to present it.  Free time is at an all time low, which means it’s a perfect time for Movie Appreciation Week.  It may not be what you think.  Each video will have a theme that somehow relates to performance… Read more

Hockey Conditioning For Goalies

Hockey Conditioning For Goalies

I think work capacity and alternating periods of static holds and explosive movements are essential training strategies for goalies. I do some traditional interval training on a bike with goalies, like I do with all hockey players, but I have a greater emphasis on iso-holds. I usually use a squat iso-hold, or a split squat… Read more

Hockey-Specific Jump Training

Hockey-Specific Jump Training

I think jump training is an effective way to improve lower body power development, and the ability to decelerate. Jump training gets a lot of emphasis because of the importance of maximizing force output while transitioning from a deceleration- to acceleration-based movement, or eccentric (muscle lengthening) to concentric (muscle shortening) contraction. This happens anytime you… Read more

Hockey Goalie-Specific Training

Hockey Goalie-Specific Training

The needs of an ice hockey goalie are very specific. They need to: · Be exceptionally powerful through the hips, especially in lateral and diagonal movements · Be quick through the upper body, notably in independent arm actions · Maintain a large amount of joint range of motion · Be able to maintain a squat-like… Read more

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.