Blogs

Once athletes reach a certain training age, improving maximal strength requires using near-maximal loads. Loads above ~85% will maximize recruitment of the involved motor units (nerve and connected muscle fibers), and also lead to positive adaptations in rate coding (i.e. the firing frequency of the nerves), both of which lead to improvements in force output. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

Varying starting positions and incorporating partner chases are great ways to both teach/challenge different movement strategies and keep training engaging/fun for kids. General rule: Pick 2 patterns to reinforce for the day and put the slower start position in the back. Switch positions after each rep, and read the room to see if the kids […]

Properly designed training programs should increase performance AND decrease injury risk in athletes. A couple more quotes from research papers looking into this topic. Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit. To your success, Kevin NeeldSpeedTrainingforHockey.comHockeyTransformation.comOptimizingAdaptation.com P.S. Interested in age-specific year-round hockey training […]

Early specialization and year-round participation in a single sport are both strategies implemented to help speed up an athlete’s development. The reality is this “short-term” athletic development comes at a cost – significantly increased risk of injury, burnout, and quitting. The first step in finding a solution is agreeing we have a problem. Feel free […]

The youth training process should serve two primary purposes: 1) Facilitate long-term development – Start with basic training strategies that lead to consistent, incremental progress. Save advanced training methods for when the athlete has several years of training experience AND the basics stop working. 2) Maximize durability – Break the cycle of constant sport participation, […]