I lately reviewed the off-period coaching system of a varsity women’s hockey team from a important university.
The off-year schooling plans obtainable to feminine hockey players have arrive a lengthy way given that I was a 16 12 months outdated examining women’s fitness magazines to come across tips and assistance on how to choose my activity to the upcoming level.
But looking at this plan was like having transported again in time.
I could in all probability generate a critique of the application that is practically as long as the 76 website page system.
But in its place I will demonstrate you the 3 most important challenges I saw with the software and how to stay away from earning the very same mistakes that can actually lessen your effectiveness and enhance your likelihood of injuries this off-time.
Major Difficulty #1: The exercises were NOT Practical
Useful training has turn into a significant buzzword in the globe of conditioning in the past several a long time.
Basically, the time period applies to instruction that improves the capacity of the person getting skilled to functionality in their day by day pursuits.
In the case of hockey players, this would indicate that the education addresses the specific requires of the athlete for their activity.
The physical exercises and drills integrated in this distinct teaching plan have been NOT purposeful for 2 main good reasons:
1) They ended up largely machine-based
Device-dependent training, no matter if utilized for hockey toughness schooling or conditioning, is not only non-purposeful for youthful athletes, but it is also dangerous.
Most physical exercise machines is intended for 6 foot tall 170 lb males. The dimensions and configuration of these devices is completely inappropriate for younger woman hockey gamers. What is worse is that these devices supply much way too considerably guidance and rigidity in motion to be precise for hockey. When was the very last time you had been in the corner making an attempt to force a player off the puck with your human body accomplished help by a comfortable exercising equipment?
This varsity education plan relied much far too much on machine-dependent instruction. All gamers need to learn how to manage their have human body-bodyweight safely and securely and correctly in free of charge place in order to excel at their activity.
This is simply unachievable to do when sitting down on a device.
2) They ended up mostly linear in mother nature
Hockey is NOT a linear sport.
It is a multi-directional activity that is extra lateral than linear in nature. In the ordinary change, a skater modifications direction 40 situations! Players will skate in straight lines each and every after in a even though, but even that requires a stride that is mostly lateral in nature.
The multi-directional character of hockey will have to be dealt with in a appropriately developed off-season education application.
Merely running sprints in straight traces or carrying out power routines in a one movement course will not reduce it!
Executing a mainly linear schooling system will place players at a severe disadvantage after the season commences.
Shifting laterally and altering course are advanced and demanding actions that Should be properly trained in the off-period if players are going to be sufficiently ready once the pre-time rolls around.
The summer season teaching plans of girls hockey gamers need to deal with their hockey-certain requires and be as purposeful as feasible.
In Portion 2 of “What To Prevent This Summer season”, I will talk about how an off-period conditioning software that is mostly cardio in mother nature can hurt a younger player’s capacity to excel on the ice.