I have noticed a proliferation of strength and conditioning programs springing up around youth hockey. Many of the programs are closely affiliated with AAA hockey teams while others appear to be independent. Examples include Breakaway, FHIT, Exceed, Edge Training Ctr, Total Hockey, Velocity, E-train, Herb Brooks Training Ctr., Competitive Edge, etc. Now I hear that Minnesota Made is about to open a 20,000 square foot workout facility with skating ramps, treadmills, plyometrics, weights, etc. The staff is impressive and even includes a nutritionist?! Supposedly, the facility will be incorporated into the Machine and Torspo programs but will also be open to other skaters.
What are people's experience with these type of programs? For what age is this most appropriate? When should a kid begin to lift weights and condition? Do the kids enjoy this type of workout? Or does it burn them out? How often do kids go to these facilities? Are they used in-season too? Are they simply money makers or do you see real results? Do the instructors provide proper oversight for younger kids, or do they only care about the older kids? What about Flexibility, balance and agility? Last, but not least, is it worth the expense and time commitment?
Strength and Conditioning for Youth Hockey Players
Moderators: Mitch Hawker, east hockey, karl(east)
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Puckstopper81
- Posts: 98
- Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:38 pm
I could type all night on this subject. I am one of those people who subscribe to the idea that off ice training is just as important than on ice training. Off ice training simply makes you a faster, stronger, and more balanced athlete. I really have never seen a great hockey player who was a terrible or weak athlete.
My son, 12 years old, has been doing this sort of training for 3 years now. The first two years with Velocity. Velocity is cost effective (not as expensive as the others) and is really, really good for the younger athletes. They touch on all the basic core stuff and some specialized stuff, but not a really hard or stressful work out. However, it had done wonders for my kid's speed, balance, and agility. Also, it has taught him how to make a commitment off the ice as well as on. He usually attended twice during the season (sometimes 3 times if it was a slower hockey week) and 4 times during the off season.
This past year we switch to Athletic Republic. Athletic Republic is just as cost effective (about 11 bucks a session - Year Membership), but the workouts are really, really tough. Also, weight training has been introduced only after they sat down with me, explained the pros and cons(no real cons) and made sure it was ok with me first. Wow - what a difference. My son still attends 2 - 3 times a week during the season and 4 times a week in off season.
My recommendation to you is to try all the available avenues and see how your son/daughter likes it. Most places will give one or two Free Trial sessions. Ask them which instructors will be working with your kid and talk to them directly. I think most of these types of places are pretty legit, but I have come across some places when looking around that are very, very expensive for the same type of training that the less expensive places charge. Do your homework before you make a decision which place is best for you and your kid. Hope this helps.
My son, 12 years old, has been doing this sort of training for 3 years now. The first two years with Velocity. Velocity is cost effective (not as expensive as the others) and is really, really good for the younger athletes. They touch on all the basic core stuff and some specialized stuff, but not a really hard or stressful work out. However, it had done wonders for my kid's speed, balance, and agility. Also, it has taught him how to make a commitment off the ice as well as on. He usually attended twice during the season (sometimes 3 times if it was a slower hockey week) and 4 times during the off season.
This past year we switch to Athletic Republic. Athletic Republic is just as cost effective (about 11 bucks a session - Year Membership), but the workouts are really, really tough. Also, weight training has been introduced only after they sat down with me, explained the pros and cons(no real cons) and made sure it was ok with me first. Wow - what a difference. My son still attends 2 - 3 times a week during the season and 4 times a week in off season.
My recommendation to you is to try all the available avenues and see how your son/daughter likes it. Most places will give one or two Free Trial sessions. Ask them which instructors will be working with your kid and talk to them directly. I think most of these types of places are pretty legit, but I have come across some places when looking around that are very, very expensive for the same type of training that the less expensive places charge. Do your homework before you make a decision which place is best for you and your kid. Hope this helps.
Puckstopper: thanks for the reply. Your positive experience mirrors what several others have recently told me. Honestly, I have been a bit surprised. I was of the opinion that strength training was for bantams and older. I thought strength training was extended to the younger ages soley for business reasons and the results probably weren't that great for the younger skaters. I am hearing something quite different.Puckstopper81 wrote:I could type all night on this subject. I am one of those people who subscribe to the idea that off ice training is just as important than on ice training. Off ice training simply makes you a faster, stronger, and more balanced athlete. I really have never seen a great hockey player who was a terrible or weak athlete.
My son, 12 years old, has been doing this sort of training for 3 years now. The first two years with Velocity. Velocity is cost effective (not as expensive as the others) and is really, really good for the younger athletes. They touch on all the basic core stuff and some specialized stuff, but not a really hard or stressful work out. However, it had done wonders for my kid's speed, balance, and agility. Also, it has taught him how to make a commitment off the ice as well as on. He usually attended twice during the season (sometimes 3 times if it was a slower hockey week) and 4 times during the off season.
This past year we switch to Athletic Republic. Athletic Republic is just as cost effective (about 11 bucks a session - Year Membership), but the workouts are really, really tough. Also, weight training has been introduced only after they sat down with me, explained the pros and cons(no real cons) and made sure it was ok with me first. Wow - what a difference. My son still attends 2 - 3 times a week during the season and 4 times a week in off season.
My recommendation to you is to try all the available avenues and see how your son/daughter likes it. Most places will give one or two Free Trial sessions. Ask them which instructors will be working with your kid and talk to them directly. I think most of these types of places are pretty legit, but I have come across some places when looking around that are very, very expensive for the same type of training that the less expensive places charge. Do your homework before you make a decision which place is best for you and your kid. Hope this helps.
Things change as the players get older. Often times the team with the best fitness wins. You'll find that all the players are good but the ones that have put in the time off ice can go longer, harder, and finish strong. Full speed 35-45 second shifts instead of 25 seconds. In a tight game, or OT, the team with the best overall fitness wins almost every time. Teams that aren't as focused on overall conditioning will hang close early and then get smoked later. And, the old, you’re only as strong as your weakest player definitely pertains. Every player needs to be equally fit.
In my opinion, summer training is a chance to chuck the skates in the basement and do dry-land training. I think the best route to go from here is to get a good idea of who is doing dry-land at hockey-specific training centers, like the posters above me said. But if you have the knowledge and some basic equipment to train your kid(s) in the offseason, then by all means do it and save a mountain of cash. I would stay off the skate treadmills. Have kids do plyos, balance drills, or those tic tac toe boards where they have to jump from square to square in varying patterns. Just my $.02
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Puckstopper81
- Posts: 98
- Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:38 pm
Icepick - all great advice. I especially like the post that states "Often times the team with the best fitness wins." So true!
There is enough stuff online via YouTube and other sites that gives great instruction on what to do off ice. However, for my 12 year old, he stays more focused when working with an instructor or other kids that are trying to reach the same goal. I don't know about your kid, but mine thinks his Dad doesn't anything.
You will get a lot of opinions on the weight training. Some good, some bad. I have done some research and others have told me that by 12 years old, kids skeletal structures have hardened and weights are good for them, but limited. Low weights and low reps to start. The stronger and older they get, the more weight and reps are applied.
There is enough stuff online via YouTube and other sites that gives great instruction on what to do off ice. However, for my 12 year old, he stays more focused when working with an instructor or other kids that are trying to reach the same goal. I don't know about your kid, but mine thinks his Dad doesn't anything.
You will get a lot of opinions on the weight training. Some good, some bad. I have done some research and others have told me that by 12 years old, kids skeletal structures have hardened and weights are good for them, but limited. Low weights and low reps to start. The stronger and older they get, the more weight and reps are applied.
Training Programs
Hey everyone,
I've been reading a couple posts on youth hockey training. Off-ice training is extremely important for all ages. Not only does it drastically improve the athlete's fitness and strength, but it also reduces the chance of injury in the athlete. I work for a company called Tiger Athletics. At Tiger Athletics, we train athletes of all ages at a very cost efficient price. We offer intense off-ice training that will improve the athlete's ability to perform at the highest level, at the same time reducing the athlete's chances of getting injured. We are currently working with numerous teams around the metro area. We offer both in-season training and off-season training. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to email me. Thanks and have a great day!
Luke Salscheider
Tiger Athletics
www.tigerathletics.com
lrsalscheide@gmail.com
I've been reading a couple posts on youth hockey training. Off-ice training is extremely important for all ages. Not only does it drastically improve the athlete's fitness and strength, but it also reduces the chance of injury in the athlete. I work for a company called Tiger Athletics. At Tiger Athletics, we train athletes of all ages at a very cost efficient price. We offer intense off-ice training that will improve the athlete's ability to perform at the highest level, at the same time reducing the athlete's chances of getting injured. We are currently working with numerous teams around the metro area. We offer both in-season training and off-season training. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to email me. Thanks and have a great day!
Luke Salscheider
Tiger Athletics
www.tigerathletics.com
lrsalscheide@gmail.com
Great Point Brandy38...I am finding some of the greatest challenges these kids and parents have during the summer is putting together a schedule that allows adequate recovery and maximum performance at each training session. This means on and off-ice.
Does this sound familiar? You have kids coming from all over the state to play for your summer AAA team. Half of them came right from their dryland training facility after an intense 1.5 hour workout. Others may play a second sport and come to the rink in baseball or soccer uniforms. They perform at the highest level able given their fatigue but not the highest they are capable of.
During the regular season...as a coach you always give your players a couple days off after a 5 game weekend tournament. In the summer, our training protocol for the kids is very hard to manage with so many separate programs (that cost us lots of money) so our kids are often overworked and not recovering adequately to make each training session a growth cycle.
I am not sure how we balance the pressure to have the athlete improve in the summer by implementing a good training protocol with the pressure we as parents feel that our kids are missing out on some silver bullet training session.
Does this sound familiar? You have kids coming from all over the state to play for your summer AAA team. Half of them came right from their dryland training facility after an intense 1.5 hour workout. Others may play a second sport and come to the rink in baseball or soccer uniforms. They perform at the highest level able given their fatigue but not the highest they are capable of.
During the regular season...as a coach you always give your players a couple days off after a 5 game weekend tournament. In the summer, our training protocol for the kids is very hard to manage with so many separate programs (that cost us lots of money) so our kids are often overworked and not recovering adequately to make each training session a growth cycle.
I am not sure how we balance the pressure to have the athlete improve in the summer by implementing a good training protocol with the pressure we as parents feel that our kids are missing out on some silver bullet training session.
Training Program
We are a traveling company so we run our program wherever it is convenient to our clients. As far as weights go, it depends somewhat on when we are conducting our program, but if it is 1-3 months leading up to the season we implement very little weight training. Our goal at this time is to get the players in top condition in order to reduce injury and it allows them to play at their highest level for a longer duration of time. We also focus on building leg strength, speed, and agility. For what it's worth, professional and college players tend to follow this same protocol.
Luke Salscheider
(651)428-6280
lrsalscheide@gmail.com
www.tigerathletics.com
Luke Salscheider
(651)428-6280
lrsalscheide@gmail.com
www.tigerathletics.com
Interesting topic.
I completely agree that dryland / strength and conditioning programs are very important. However, one needs to make sure the training is age appropriate, specific to the sport they are training for and specific to what the individual wants to accomplish. Speed, strength, quickness, core etc...of course, all are important, but what is the true goal of the program?
I would seriously question any trainer who is recommending that a youth hockey player train like a college or pro player. In addition, in most cases, training a bantam would be much different then training a squirt.
It ALL starts with technique and form / no weights. As the player progresses, you can increase capacity, speed, add weights etc. YOU HAVE to make sure they do it right before progressing.
I completely agree that dryland / strength and conditioning programs are very important. However, one needs to make sure the training is age appropriate, specific to the sport they are training for and specific to what the individual wants to accomplish. Speed, strength, quickness, core etc...of course, all are important, but what is the true goal of the program?
I would seriously question any trainer who is recommending that a youth hockey player train like a college or pro player. In addition, in most cases, training a bantam would be much different then training a squirt.
It ALL starts with technique and form / no weights. As the player progresses, you can increase capacity, speed, add weights etc. YOU HAVE to make sure they do it right before progressing.