This Week at Hockey Strength and Conditioning

Check out what you missed this week at Hockey Strength and Conditioning!

Article: More Support for Unilateral Training from Michael Boyle

This article provided real-world evidence from a collegiate strength and conditioning coach of what happens when you switch from a program primarily revolving around bilateral lifts to one primarily revolving around unilateral lifts. There are valid arguments for both the bilateral and unilateral activists, but I think certain evidence can’t be denied AND that people shouldn’t be so emotionally attached to squats. A while back I received a very curt email from a reader stating, “If you don’t believe in squats, I don’t believe in you.” Squats are JUST an exercise! Can you imagine someone saying “If you don’t believe in half-kneeling belly press isoholds with perturbations, I don’t believe in you”? Both are great exercises, I’m sure I completely understand why people get so offended at the thought of replacing squats as a major lift with something else. Nonetheless, whether you’re pro-squat, anti-squat or somewhere in between, if you’re reading this it means you’re pro-learning and new information is always valuable in that regard.

Article: Developing a Yearly Strength Training Program for Ice Hockey from Dan Boothby

Dan is the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the hockey programs at Northeastern University (NCAA D1). He’s also the genius behind the Boston Hockey Summit (the best hockey-related sports medicine event in the world). This article provides invaluable insight into Dan’s philosophies and training methodologies. I think this is one of the better articles we’ve run to date, simply because it provides such an extensive amount of information, including exactly what assessments/tests they use at NU, why they use them, and what they’re looking for in all of them. Great read from a brilliant coach.

Lastly, there are a couple good discussions on the forums, including one on hip impingement. I think this is a topic that needs to continue to receive a lot of attention. The question that started the discussion is one that anyone working with hockey players will face at one time and the responses have been great so far.

Click the link below for more information about Hockey Strength and Conditioning! I look forward to speaking with you on the inside!

To your continued success,

Kevin Neeld

P.S. Remember that you have a special opportunity to get my Ultimate Hockey Development Coaching Program for free! Check out this post for details: Rapid Response Goalie Training

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Rapid Response Goalie Training

Ahhh, Thanksgiving is near. In addition to being a time to pursue morbid obesity, Thanksgiving is also a time to think of all the things we have to be thankful for…and to go shopping for great deals. In reference to the latter, I have something special for you. Read on…

Tomorrow, I will eat you.

I recently had an opportunity to read through Maria Mountain’s new Rapid Response Goalie Training program. I was planning on doing a tele-interview with Maria for today, but I’ve been sick for the last week and didn’t have much of a voice. Hopefully I can steal some time from her over the next few days and get something up on Monday.

Hockey training for goalies can mean a lot of different things to different people. Unfortunately, most of the goalie training I see is complete garbage. It over emphasizes unstable surface and flexibility training and completely overlooks strength and power training.

Great flexibility…but I bet she’s a terrible goalie (and a definite surgery candidate!)

Maria’s program is a breath of fresh air. From a training perspective, Maria really “gets it”. She understands the requirements of the goaltending position and is an expert in preparing players for these demands. She recognizes the need for strength and power training for goalies, and seamlessly integrates these things into a comprehensive development program. The power of Maria’s program comes from it’s ease of use. She put together a 78-page manual outlining exactly why and how (and how not!) goalies should be training, and walks you step by step through her goalie training system. Rapid Response Goalie Training also comes with a ready-to-use goalie training program, including videos of all the exercises that can be loaded onto iphones (for the technologically savvy) and forms for you to document progress along the way. And because no training program is complete without nutrition recommendations, she even included an easy-to-understand 26-page nutrition report as a bonus.

In short, Maria’s Rapid Response Goalie Training program is clear, comprehensive, and effective. It’s the perfect solution for goalies that don’t have access to a ton of equipment or a strength and conditioning coach. As an added incentive for the goalies (as well as goalie parents and coaches that train goalies), and because I know you like free stuff, if you buy Maria’s program before next Friday (December 3rd), I’ll send you a download link for my entire Ultimate Hockey Development Coaching Program for free.  This includes two great bonuses: Breakaway Hockey Speed and Kim McCullough’s Mental Performance Package.

To take advantage of this limited time offer, click the image or go to the link below. After you order your copy of Rapid Response Goalie Training, come back to this page and click here to send me an email to let me know you’ve ordered it so I can get your additional bonuses to you right away.

Rapid Response Goalie Training

For those of you that I don’t get emails from by tomorrow, I hope you and your families have a great Thanksgiving!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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Three Hockey Stretches to Keep Your Hips Loose

As the hockey season progresses, it’s normal for players to notice that their hips feel tighter than they did at the beginning of the season. A great way to combat this is by using the post-practice/game stretching routine I outlined here: Stretching for Hockey

Assuming you (or your players) have been diligently following this stretching routine, these may be a bit “stale” for you. It always helps to have a few options, to keep from getting bored with doing the same monotonous routine. The three stretches below are great for keeping the hips loose during the season.

Lateral Kneeling Quadruped Rock (Forward)

Set up with 1 foot out to the side with your hips shifted to the inside of the bent leg (in this case the right). Keeping a neutral spine, rock your hips forward until you feel a stretch in the front of your hip. Hold for 30s then switch sides.

Lateral Kneeling Quadruped Rock (Backward)


Set up with 1 foot out to the side with your hips shifted to the inside of the bent leg (in this case the right). Keeping a neutral spine, rock your hips backward until you feel a stretch to the inside part of your straight thigh (left hamstrings/adductors) Hold for 30s then switch sides.

Prone Lateral Rock Glute Stretch

Set up on all fours with one knee (right knee) crossed over the opposite leg and placed next to that ankle (left ankle).


Shift your hips laterally to the side of the more flexed hip (left), until you feel a stretch in the outside part of that hip (left). Hold for 30s then switch sides.

Perform these stretches a few times per week to help keep your hips loose in-season. If you have questions about the purpose of these stretches or don’t understand how to perform them, feel free to drop me a line in the comment section below.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

P.S. In case you missed the post on Friday, Michael Boyle is posting his three most popular presentations (ACL Reduction, Training the Overweight Client, and Hips and Hernias) for FREE at BodyByBoyleOnline. If you aren’t a member yet, now’s your chance to get some extra cool stuff at a very reasonable cost.

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!

This Week at Hockey Strength and Conditioning

I have some exciting news for you. Earlier this week I had an opportunity to make a trip up to Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning. While there, I got to talk to both Coach Boyle and Kevin Larrabee (the co-brains behind BodyByBoyleOnline). If you haven’t already registered, NOW is the time to check it out. Coach Boyle recently filmed his three most valuable lectures and is offering them on DVDs. If you’re a BodyByBoyleOnline member, you get them for FREE! The three lectures are:

ACL Reduction was filmed at the MBSC Winter Seminar in 2010  and looks at ACL prevention from a training standpoint. This is about a 50 minute lecture that outlines a multi-step program of training to prevent ACL injury. Coach Boyle states that this is better than any of the ACL prevention programs he’s seen marketed commercially.

Training the Overweight Client documents the steps Coach Boyle took to help a client lose over 100 lbs. in three months. This is a real common sense lecture that looks at the real problems with obese clients. Don’t expect any watered down “go for a walk” stuff or any Biggest Loser stupidity from this one. Boyle actually gave this lecture in 2008 and 2009 on the Perform Better tour.

Hips and Hernias will appeal to the athletic training and physical therapy crowd. This lecture is the same one Coach Boyle gave to the NHL Strength and Conditioning Coaches in 2010 as well as at a few sports medicine seminars. Hips and hernias looks at the near epidemic of sports hernia and hip surgery in sport and how to prevent it.

Each of these retails for just under $40 ($39.95 through Perform Better). You could get all three for $120 (a lot of money, but not a bad deal at all). When I was at MBSC I grabbed Kevin Larrabee for a bit and talked to him about the site. He mentioned that they sold out the first 500 spots that were reserved at a special discount price, but were extending the offer for another 150 spots. What I didn’t realize, and what Kevin informed me about, is that this will lock in that price for you forever. In other words, when the price of the site inevitably goes up, you won’t have to pay more if you get in at the intro price ($59.97).

If you’re half as thrifty as I am, you’ll recognize that you can get access to $120 worth of DVDs for only $60. That, in my mind, easily justifies the price of admission. If you aren’t already a member, check it out now by clicking the image below.

On to this week at Hockey Strength and Conditioning. Check out what you missed!

Article: Rules for Training a Hockey Team from Jaime Rodriguez
As you know by now, I’m somewhat of a science nerd. To that end, I really enjoy learning new exercises to capitalize on new information regarding functional anatomy and biomechanics. What can get los in this approach is the art of coaching. In reality, it doesn’t matter how smart you are if you don’t know how to coach your athletes to do what you want. Jaime’s article is excellent in that it outlines several different ways to improve your coaching strategies. I’m hoping Jaime continues to contribute this type of stuff to the site. It’s a great addition.

Article: Powerful Influence of Posture from me
This article approaches hockey training from a more scientific and less “artistic” standpoint. I wrote this article as a means of presenting several of the topics I learned from the Postural Restoration Institute and how they can be applied to hockey players. I may be biased, but I think this is one of the most interesting articles that I’ve contributed. Go to the site and check it out!

Click the link below for more information about Hockey Strength and Conditioning!

To your continued success,

Kevin Neeld

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Video Reveals Secret to Developing Elite Hockey Players!

This may be the single most powerful hockey development video in the history of the game. I’ve been fortunate to hear this presentation a few times, and every time I take away something new, some better way to help hockey players compete at the most elite levels.

I’m not sure if this video was supposed to be available to the public or if it leaked, but I emailed Coach Boyle and he said it was important that we spread the word. Last week I posted a few videos that I think everyone should watch-those videos help improve leadership, drive, and character. Ultimately, those are “become a better person” videos. This, more relevant to your interests, is a “become a better hockey player/coach/parent/strength coach” video. Coach Boyle has developed more elite level hockey players from a training standpoint than anyone else in the world. In this video, he tells you exactly what we need to do to develop elite level players and, equally as importantly, exactly what we need to avoid.

If you’re a youth coach, parent, or player, you NEED to hear what Boyle has to say.

Check it out below:

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

Finally, the Secrets of Elite Level Hockey Development are Revealed!

Click the image below to discover how you can benefit from over 150 years of collective hockey development experience from 14 of the world’s top experts!

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