Stop-start sprints that last longer than 10-15 seconds are counterproductive at all ages. Repetitions make permanent neuromuscular habits: slow strides, poor knee bend, inadequate forward lean, weak extension, and therefore, slow acceleration. We’d see each of these faulty habits if we bag skate our team with stop-start shuttle sprints. Stop-start sprints that last longer than […]
Slide board workouts should feel just like skating. Hockey leaders never bothered to convene a panel of coaches to define “hockey endurance.” If they had, coaches would have said, “It is the ability to maintain (for an entire game) the qualities needed to win: skating speed, agility, efficiency, explosive strength, stick skills, and most importantly, […]
Challenging the central nervous system (CNS = brain + spinal cord) is the highest priority for young athletes. Metabolic, muscular, and cardiovascular adaptations are byproducts. Success in hockey and many other sports is achieved by combining: a) sport-specific skill, b) read-react creativity and c) athleticism – speed, quickness, agility, coordination, explosive strength, instantaneous reactions – […]
What if we coached confidence with the same passion we bring to the rink for the power play or D-zone coverage? In a half-century of coaching, I’ve heard that competitive grit is the most important factor in success – or rink sense – or stick skills – or skating. And I can’t disagree with any of […]
Synergy on the rink means that the whole truly becomes greater than the sum of the individual parts. Watching the super-fast hockey of the boys’ Upper Midwest High School Elite League, it is obvious Minnesota’s top players have incredible skills. Unlike the USHL, where preventing offense is a greater priority than featuring it, this style […]
But cool-downs before games and between periods are dumber yet Hockey has some of the dumbest traditions in the name of “warmup.” Is it a big deal? Well, in the NHL it contributes to an epidemic of hip flexor and groin injuries that occupy the trainers’ time and skills more than all other injuries combined. […]
Scoring goals is an unselfish, team-building contribution. As a former hook-and-hold defenseman who didn’t score goals, I’m about to let you in on Alex Ovechkin’s secret. Don’t believe pundits who point to special physical gifts that account for Ovi’s dominance as the most prolific scorer of our generation. The pundits are knowledgeable hockey folks, but […]
None of it should be slow Two U.S. Olympic Teams trained for more than six months prior to their respective Olympics: the 1980 men and the 2018 women. They did no slow conditioning – none – and both won gold medals. Both teams finished the game executing skills at the same fast pace as at […]
Winners of (almost) all recent major hockey tournaments played a more skillful, passing game This is just an opinion column. I’m not quoting hard data. I believe the winners of (almost) all recent major hockey tournaments played a more skillful, passing game compared to other contenders who tried to overcome superior skills with dump-chase-hit game […]
Like the one in the rulebook I don’t coach anymore. Never had children. And I attend most games with absolutely no interest in the outcome. So I’m not biased, I don’t yell instructions to players, or scream obscenities at referees. Not that this is a feather in my cap. I used to yell like an […]
