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, and train in a way that improves the athlete’s ability to cope with and adapt to stress (i.e. build in rational exercise progressions, start conservative with training frequency, volume and intensity, avoid provocative movements, etc.).
The injury statistics above are alarming. We need to do better.
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 Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com
P.S. Interested in age-specific year-round hockey training programs? Check out Ultimate Hockey Transformation
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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.
“When I am looking for ways to help my hockey players perform better on the ice and reduce their risk of injury, I turn to Coach Kevin Neeld. You may not be able to train with Kevin, but any hockey player can take a giant leap forward by following his techniques.”
Maria Mountain, Strength & Conditioning Coach/Owner, Revolution Conditioning