Tag: hockey workout routine

The State of Youth Hockey with Michael Boyle

The state of youth hockey is…in big trouble. Michael Boyle is widely regarded as the world’s authority on ice hockey strength and conditioning. His presentation on hockey player development at the Boston Hockey Summit was one that I truly believe EVERYONE involved in the game of hockey should see…probably twice.

Coach Boyle used a number of specific examples regarding athletes he’s worked with in the past that went on to play for an NCAA Division 1 team and/or professionally to support his argument. In my mind, this is the best evidence for any argument. Anyone can argue theory (many people, including myself, do), but nothing speaks louder than results. The main points from Coach Boyle’s talk were:

1) Early specialization (only playing hockey) inhibits development. Kids, especially those younger than 16, need to play multiple sports for several reasons. Playing different sports will incorporate a wider range of movement patterns, which will help prevent overuse injuries. As a quick side note, many of these overuse injuries don’t appear until AFTER hockey players are late in their high school years, but the foundation for these injuries is laid by ONLY playing hockey starting at a young age. Performing different athletic movements will also increase the number of movement strategies in an athletes’ “movement library”. This basically just means that hockey players’ bodies will be proficient at a larger number of movements, which could have implications for both performance and injury prevention. Mentally, playing different sports is refreshing. It’s the parent’s responsibility to keep their kids involved in multiple sports, even if the kid claims that they really enjoy playing hockey year round. Most kids would also prefer to eat ice cream and pizza for every meal, but that’s not good for them either.

2) In addition to playing multiple sports, the single best way to develop high level hockey players is to get them on a WELL-DESIGNED strength and conditioning (what I refer to as Athletic Development) program. A quality Athletic Development Coach can design and implement a balanced training program that will help young hockey players add muscle mass and functional strength. In addition to improving performance, a quality training program will also decrease injury risk.

The take home message boils down to: Young hockey players need to spend less time playing hockey and more time developing overall athleticism.

Not everyone has access to quality Athletic Development Coaches, and even people that do can’t always afford them. That was the biggest reason I put together my Off-Ice Training Course, so people without a background in strength and conditioning and exercise science could still put together quality programs.

Click here for more information on how to develop your own off-ice training program.

Kevin Neeld

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Hockey-Specific Sprinting with Jim Snider

One of my favorite presentations at the Boston Hockey Summit in May was Jim Snider’s talk on “Dryland Speed Training for Hockey”. Coach Snider is the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey teams at the University of Wisconsin. Needless to say, that program has an outstanding reputation.

Coach Snider’s whole presentation was insightful, but there were two aspects that really caught my attention:

1) He was a big advocate of uphill sprinting. Why uphill? Sprinting uphill increases the foot/ground contact time, which is more specific to all forms of hockey skating (forward, backward, crossovers, and direction changes). Adding an incline to sprints also minimizes the risk of blowing out a hamstring and cuts down on the landing forces that need to be absorbed by the legs and hips (takes stress of your ankles, knees, hips, and low back) since your leg isn’t “falling” from as high as it would during flat ground or downhill sprinting.

I think people can get carried away with hill training. The goal isn’t to find the biggest hill in your community and run your athletes up it until they puke. If the incline is too steep it will start to have a negative effect on running form and can put unnecessary stress on your athletes’ achilles tendon. Try to find a hill that is around a 10 degree incline and use that.

2) Coach Snider outlined his progression of sprint starting positions, and I thought it was both brilliant and logical, and have adopted a similar approach with all my hockey players. The progression is:

Phase 1: Lunge Start/Side Lunge Start
Phase 2: Kneeling Start
Phase 3: Single-Leg Standing Start
Phase 4: Counter-movement Start (as in jumping backwards then accelerating forward)

Starting a sprint from a lunge position is a brilliant way to teach people to drive hard from a stationary position and maintain the forward lean they need to accelerate. I’ll try to get pictures/videos of these up in the next few weeks so you can see exactly what these movements look like.

-Kevin Neeld

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A Hockey-Specific Seminar…FINALLY!

A couple weeks ago I attended the Boston Hockey Summit, a hockey-specific seminar hosting collegiate and professional strength and conditioning coaches, physical therapists and hip surgeons, and a professional power skating coach. This was right up my alley!

My hope is that more of these seminars will pop up across the country and that more youth hockey coaches will start to attend. I hate to say it, but most youth programs are completely in the dark with regards to how to develop their athletes…and the lights are getting dimmer.

Michael Boyle gave a great presentation outlining why year-round hockey is a horrible choice for development. This is in strong opposition to the current theme of early specialization. The take home message was clear: To develop an elite athlete, they should play multiple sports through high school, and follow a well-designed training program. I understand it’s hard for youth coaches to really have the knowledge to put together a comprehensive training program for an entire team. That’s one of the reasons I spent the time to put together my hockey training course!

Over the next week I’ll go over some of the other great ideas I took from the seminar. Hopefully I’ll see you there next year!

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The Key to Optimal Mental Performance

Last week, we agreed that mental preparation is essential to athletic success. I’ve read through a lot of articles and books related to mental preparation for athletics and frankly, I’ve been disappointed. My colleague and friend Kim McCullough has put together the best step-by-step guide to preparing mentally for the game of hockey that I’ve ever come across. Specifically, she details how to focus, build confidence, and maintain composure during hockey competitions. I wish I had this while I was playing!

Kim’s The Best Hockey Season Ever also comes with:

1) A 16-week in-season training program with off- and on-ice drills (with exercise descriptions)

2) Detailed nutrition information specific to the game of hockey including pre-game and post-exercise recommendations to maximize performance and facilitate recovery

3) Off-ice warm-ups with in-depth exercise descriptions

4) A 4-month off-season training program

5) 18 weeks of on-ice conditioning drills

6) A complete recovery guide including exercise and nutrition strategies

I was excited to see that someone has taken the time and energy to put together such a comprehensive manual for youth hockey players and coaches. A manual like this is long overdue. I couldn’t say enough good things about it. I think every youth player and coach should have a copy. Take a look at the link below and email me with any questions you may have about it (kn@kevinneeld.com).

Click here for more information on Kim’s The Best Hockey Season Ever

– Kevin Neeld

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Have Vince Lombardi as a Coach!

Vince Lombardi was one of the most successful coaches of all time. He’s still the most frequently quoted name in sports. A few notable quotes:

“Mental toughness is essential to success.”

“You never win a game unless you beat the guy in front of you. The score on the board doesn’t mean a thing. That’s for the fans. You’ve got to win the war with the man in front of you. You’ve got to get your man.”

“Success is like anything worthwhile. It has a price. You have to pay the price to win and you have to pay the price to get to the point where success is possible. Most important, you must pay the price to stay there.”

“If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”

It’s clear that he places mental toughness in a high regard. I want you to honestly answer this question:

What percentage of your athletic success is mental?

If you’re like most people, you responded anywhere from 50-90%. Now answer this question:

What percentage of your training would be considered mental training?

If you’re like most people, you responded anywhere from 0-10%.

You understand that mental preparation is key to peak performance. You acknowledge that you aren’t spending adequate time performing mental training.

What’s the solution?

I wish it were possible for all of us to play for a coach like Vince Lombardi. Unfortunately, we all missed that boat. Tomorrow I’ll reveal the next best thing. Stay tuned!

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