What makes a great skater? This is a complex question to answer. The truth is, no two strides are the same and there is no perfect answer. Skating, like playing the guitar, is a skill. There are plenty of players playing at high levels that have unorthodox stride signatures. The game of hockey is complex, and although skating comes at a premium, one also must consider hockey sense, technical, and tactical tendencies as all may lead to efficiency on the ice.
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Programming
Content specific to exercise protocol and design.
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Reflecting on my hockey career, I always remembered the first few days of training camp. Those were intense times. I also recollect questioning my off-ice preparation during these times? Why did my legs feel so heavy? Did I not train hard enough? Time and time again, I didn’t feel I had my “hockey legs” underneath me. For someone who took so much pride in off-season preparation, why did I feel this way? It took me many years to formulate a working hypothesis. They say experience comes at the user’s expense, if only I knew then.
...In a study done by former NHL Coach George Kingston in 1976 he found that the average player in the Canadian system spent 17.6 minutes on the ice during a typical game and was in possession of the puck for an astonishingly low 41 seconds. Kingston concluded that in order to get one hour of quality work in the practicing of the basic skills of puck control, (that is, stick-handling, passing, and shooting) approximately 180 games would have to be played.
...Welcome back! Last month we spoke in depth about how movement efficiency off the ice can tangibly aid in on-ice skating performance. We used basic physics to determine that if we increase impulse (the product of net force and the time the force is applied) we can improve our stride efficiency while using less energy to accomplish a given task. Let’s stay with basic physics as this helps elucidate just why strength training is important for the aspiring hockey player. First, we must proceed with an elementary understanding of force.
...I’ve gotten several e-mails lately regarding our energy system work for our hockey players at Donskov Strength and Conditioning. Typically, during the off-season, players start with four weight room touch points/week and slowly move to three as ice touches start to increase (more can be found here). The plan is under-pinned by the high-low model famously pioneered by Charlie Francis. During a weekly micro-cycle, three high days are programed consisting of acceleration and sprint-based work, and two low days consisting of tempo runs. This will change ever so slightly three weeks prior to training camp when alactic capacity and lactic power work will be programed in preparation for training camp. A four-week snapshot can be found below.
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