Tag: Michael Boyle

This Week at Hockey Strength and Conditioning

If you aren’t a member of Hockey Strength and Conditioning, you’re missing a lot of great stuff. Over the last two weeks we’ve added:

Webinar: In-Season Assessment and Rehab of a Back and Groin Injury from Jaime Rodriguez (Worcester Sharks)

Program: Off-Season Goalie Plyometric Progressions from Mike Potenza (San Jose Sharks)

Video: Lateral MiniBand Walk Correction from me (Endeavor Hockey)

Article: Did We Ever Need an Aerobic Base? from Michael Boyle (Boston University & MBSC)

Program: Off-Season Phase 3 Strength Training from Sean Skahan (Anaheim Ducks)

Video: Bent Leg Adduction with a Pilates Ring from Michael Boyle (Boston University & MBSC)

Article: Recap of the Long Beach Perform Better Summit from Chris Pietrzak-Wegner (Minnesota Wild)

I’m not sure how long this will last, but as of today, you can get access to all of these articles, programs, and videos, for only a $1! Click the link below for more information about Hockey Strength and Conditioning!

To your continued success,

Kevin Neeld

Hockey Conditioning: In-Season vs. Off-Season

Before reading this post, check out the two preceding posts on hockey conditioning:

Hockey Conditioning: To Bike or Not to Bike!

Hockey Conditioning: Shuttle Runs and Slideboards

As you may have noticed, I’m not a huge supporter of hockey players riding exercise bikes, but I am a huge supporter of slideboarding.

My opinion changes slightly when hockey players are in-season.

When players are on the ice for hours a week, they probably don’t need as much work in lateral and diagonal movement patterns because they get enough of that on the ice. To this extent, slideboarding consistently throughout the season could over-stress (or not allow for sufficient recovery) the hip adductors (“groin”) and lead to overuse (or under-recovery) injuries.

If Not Slideboards, Then What?

I generally think shuttle runs are a better alternative than exercise bikes if players NEED to condition (read below). With that said, one of the Hockey Strength and Conditioning Coaches I’ve learned the most from is Michael Boyle. He has his players ride exercise bikes in-season to decrease the risk of hip overuse injuries, as described above. However, he uses Schwinn Airdyne Exercise Bikes, which allow upper body movement and a more upright posture. These bike design changes remove many of the downsides of using exercise bikes for conditioning hockey players.

Do Hockey Players Need to Condition In-Season At All?

The amount of in-season conditioning players need depends on the amount of ice time they get and the composition of that ice time. There is nothing more hockey-specific than skating intervals. If coaches build conditioning-type drills into their practice or go through familiar drills at a high tempo, it’s likely that many players won’t need ANY off-ice conditioning.

Train Hard. Train Smart.

Kevin Neeld

P.S. If you want to use a PROVEN ice hockey training system this off-season to guarantee you enter tryouts and next season at your best, check out my Off-Ice Training course.

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The Ultimate Hockey Strength and Conditioning Site!

If you play hockey, coach hockey, or train hockey players, this is for you!

If you’ve been reading my blog recently, you know that I recently launched Hockey Training Expert, a site that I knew would training hockey player development forever.I have great news!

In an effort to truly raise the bar for providing the hockey community with the best information in the world, I’ve recently teamed up with Michael Boyle (Boston University), Sean Skahan (Anaheim Ducks), and Mike Potenza (San Jose Sharks) to develop HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com!

We’ve literally put together the greatest collection of hockey strength and conditioning coaches in the world! Check out the incredible list of contributors:

-Michael Boyle (Boston University)
-Sean Skahan (Anaheim Ducks)
-Mike Potenza (San Jose Sharks)
-Chris Pietrzak-Wegner (Minnesota Wild)
-Chuck Lobe (Tampa Bay Lightning)
-Jim Reeves (Mind to Muscle)
-Brijesh Patel (Quinnipiac)
-Cal Dietz (Univ. of Minnesota)
-Chris Boyko (UMass Amherst)
-Maria Mountain (Revolution Sport Conditioning)
-Tim Yuhas (Yuhas Performance)
-Matt Nichol (former Toronto Maple Leafs)
-Kim McCullough (Total Female Hockey)

I’m blown away by the amount of incredible information already on the site. There are articles on a variety of topics, including Strength and Conditioning, Programming, Youth Training, Injuries, Female Training and Coaching. There are webinars, audio interviews and videos up as well, all about hockey!

Each week, we’re going to add videos, articles, and programs. None of these coaches are shy about questioning the norm, so I know the Coaches Forum will be hopping right from day 1. We also have plans of adding hockey-specific webinars and audio interviews every month!

To let you test drive HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com we’re offering a $1 30-day membership, after which it’s only $9.95/month! This offer only lasts until March 31st and the $9.95 price may jump up soon, so don’t wait. Head over to HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com and sign up today. It’s only a buck!

I look forward to seeing you inside the site!

To your continued success,

Kevin Neeld

P.S. If you have a Hockey Training Expert membership, check your email! I personally sent you an email letting you know the details about the change. As of Friday, March 19th, Hockey Training Expert will officially merge with Hockey Strength and Conditioning!

P.S.S. It’s only a buck! To get access to over a thousand years of collective hockey training experience, you only need to INVEST $1. Go to HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com and sign up now!

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

Top 10 Strength and Conditioning Newsletters

Last night I surprised Emily by picking her up at the airport (she was expecting a friend from work). Her flight was delayed, so I’m a little tired today!

I’m always curious what resources other Strength and Conditioning Coaches go to for new/unique training information. There are a ton of great books, websites, audio programs, and DVDs out there, all of which cost money.

Below is a list of my the Top 10 FREE Newsletters that I think all Strength and Conditioning Coaches should subscribe to.

Everyone will benefit from all of these, but you may find some speak to you more than others so I don’t think it’s fair to rank them (that’s why they’re all labeled “1”).

1) Eric Cressey’s Newsletter

1) Michael Boyle’s Functional Strength Coach Newsletter

1) Nick Tumminello’s Newsletter and Video Course

1) Mike Robertson’s Newsletter

1) SBCoachesCollege.com Newsletter

1) Brian Tracy’s Newsletters (I love the “Quote of the Day newsletter)

1) Mike Geary’s Newsletter (Great Nutrition and fat loss tips)

1) John Berardi’s/Precision Nutrition Newsletter

1) Kevin Neeld’s Newsletter (Had to throw that one in there)

1) Kim McCullough’s Hockey Newsletter (This is a must-subscribe for both male AND female hockey players and coaches)

These are the newsletters I read on a daily basis. If you know of other great newsletters please post them below so we can all benefit from them!

Keep learning. Keep training smart.

-Kevin Neeld

P.S. Don’t forget to register for this FREE teleseminar with guest speakers like Mike Boyle, Eric Cressey, Gray Cook, Shirley Sahrmann, and Stu McGill: Sports Rehab to Sports Performance Teleseminar

P.P.S. I’m really excited that my Ultimate Ice Hockey Training Facebook Group has broken the 1,000 fan barrier. Help spread the word to other motivated hockey players and coaches!

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

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

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