How We Say It Matters!

How We Say It Matters!

by | Aug 1, 2016 | Educational

How We Say It Matters!

How important is communication within hockey or any sport for that matter?

I will tell you it is very important. How do I know this? Well, it is because I have been playing hockey for all of my life. And for the last seven years, it has been at the professional level. Since turning professional, I have had the privilege of being a part of some championship teams. With those winning teams, there was a great deal of communication. Since our coaches did a great job explaining their vision we (the team) were able to all work towards a common goal, with each player knowing their importance on the team.

Right now you might be thinking, “Well I know communication is important in sports, but how does it help me with my training?” When training with a strength and conditioning coach, it doesn’t matter how good the program is if the “coach” can’t explain how to execute the program properly. If the athlete is having problems with a certain movement pattern and the coach they are working with can’t correct the issue(s) properly, the athlete will develop poor habits. These poor movement patterns will transfer into their sport and possibly restrict them reaching their full potential. Luckily some research has been done on this issue to help us “coaches” maximize athletes’ full potential by proper communication.

There are two different ways we can communicate to get our point across. Whether we are trying to teach a new movement or correct an old one. We can either use verbal or visual instruction. And each of these two methods can be broken down once more. Visual instruction can be done one of two ways. An expert (hopefully the coach) can provide a demonstration of the movement or a novice (usually another athlete) demonstrator can show the movement pattern while the coach explains the proper cues during the example. Using both expert and novice demonstrators have been proven to enhance the learning capabilities of athletes.

When using only verbal cues to help improve an athlete’s performance, they are split into internal and external cues. An internal cue puts the focus on the body movement of the athlete while external cues are a direct result of the movement itself. An example of an internal cue is telling an athlete to “extend their legs” during a sprint and the external cue would be “drive the ground away”. Several studies were done testing the effectiveness of internal and external verbal cues.  One of the studies looked a ski-simulator while the other study looked at a balance test. Both of these studies found greater improvement in the external cues group when re-testing the tasked learned.

Now that we are aware of what types of communication work the best, how much feedback should be said during each movement (exercise)? The answer seems simple, “we should give feedback on every set of every exercise”. There are a few problems with that answer. The first one is athletes will end up becoming dependent on the feedback. We as coaches should want to educate and prepare our athletes so they are able to train on their own one day. So if we give feedback to our athletes 100% of the time we are actually setting them up for failure because they will notice a decrease in performance once the feedback is removed.

Three experiments were done testing the different amount of feedback frequencies and they all came to the same conclusion. Providing feedback on 50% of trials was superior to providing feedback 100% of the time. The best way to only give feedback half the time is to start the first couple sets with 100% feedback and then reducing it to 33% of the time. This way the athlete doesn’t become dependent on the feedback and will see improvement with the small amount of advice they receive.

Remember:

  • Communication is important
  • Visual and Verbal Examples
  • External Cues are better ie. Drive the ground away
  • Feedback on 50% of exercises

As coaches, we must recognize that not only what we say is important but also how we say it and how much we say it. We are instructing our athletes with different coaching strategies to develop them to the best of their abilities. Showing movement patterns (exercises) ourselves so our athletes can learn by viewing an expert or having them watch a novice athlete and picking out the mistakes made. Using these types of visual examples allows the athletes to learn according to their unique style of learning.

7 Signs You’re Overtraining

7 Signs You’re Overtraining

by | Jul 18, 2016 | Educational

7 Signs You’re Overtraining

I would like to think that we are all under the same impression, if we want to become better hockey players we must work hard. That means working harder in the gym during the off-season (in-season too) and at practice. We have to have the mentality to do more and bust our ass 100% of the time to get to the level of hockey we want to play at. To have such a work ethic creates a fine line between getting better and becoming overtrained. To have such a mindset can act as a double edge sword. While doing more is usually better, we must be smart enough to know when less is actually more.

Playing professional hockey over in Germany and implementing their training styles has opened my eyes and helped me understand this fine line between working hard and becoming overtrained. Some people might find it weird but I actually enjoy working hard. It is fascinating to see how far the human body can be pushed and what it can accomplish. But when our work ethic stays the same and we are no longer getting improvements then we need to take a step back and re-evaluate things. This is when less becomes more.

There are two different ways an athlete can become overtrained. The first one is called Monotonous program overtraining. This type of overtraining is caused by the consistent and unvarying use of the same variety of an exercise or workout program. The second one is called Chronic overwork. This will happen when the duration of a program phase is too longer and the athlete repeats the same workout too frequent within that phase.

Hockey players need to be more aware of the signs and symptoms of overtraining due to the nature of our sport. Since hockey is more of an anaerobic sport and we are strength/power athletes we are more inclined to becoming overtrained.

Even though there are more than 7 signs and symptoms of overtraining, below I list what I believe to be the easiest to spot. Knowing these signs and symptoms will help us understand when decreasing the training volume will be more beneficial and continue to help develop our athletic performance.

  • Decrease in performance
  • Irritability, lack motivation
  • Lack of self-confidence
  • Changes in sleep patterns
  • Decreased appetite
  • A decrease in total body weight plus lean body mass (increased body fat)
  • Increase in resting heart rate

It is good to know what to watch out for when we are overtrained but there is a way to continue to work hard and prevent something like this to happening. We need to have a proper diet that consists of an adequate amount of carbohydrates (about 55% of our diet) and a minimum of 15% of protein. Getting the proper amount of sleep each night (8 hours). Making sure we have a variety with our training volume, intensity, exercises, and load. Keeping a training log and recording our body weight, resting heart rate, and a subjective rating of how we feel (general heath and how difficult our training sessions felt). All these things combined will help keep us working hard in the gym and allow for continual performance growth.

Become More Explosive On The Ice

Become More Explosive On The Ice

by | Jul 5, 2016 | Educational

Become More Explosive On The Ice

When my athletes come back from their season and they are ready to start training again for the summer I ask a bunch of questions to get an idea of where we need to place our focus. One question I always ask my guys is “What did the coach say you needed to work on for the upcoming season?” And 9/10 times the answer I hear is “The coach asked me to work on improving my first few steps on the ice”.

With the direction the game is going nowadays, it is very important to work on speed and explosive training during the summer. The game is becoming too fast and if you can’t keep up, then you won’t be playing at high levels very long.

One of the greatest ways to improve our explosive stride is to incorporate plyometrics (plyos) into our off-season training program. (Plyometrics can be described as exercises that help increase the rate at which fast twitch muscle fibers fire and any exercise that involve: hoping, jumping, bounding, etc.) Plyos develop the stretch-shortening cycle ability and the better this system is developed the more force we can produce. Maximizing the ability of the stretch-shortening cycle depends on how we train plyos.

Plyometrics are not conditioning drills!

Like everything we do, we need to start with the basics and this couldn’t be truer with plyos. In order to get the most benefit from plyos, we need to make sure we have the strength in our legs first.

Let’s  break down the movement of a jump into 3 parts.

First is the eccentric movement or the stretching of the muscle. This is when we lower down into our squat.

Second is the part of us holding the bottom position of the squat.

Third is the concentric movement or the actual jump itself.

To help with injury prevention we need to focus on the first part of the plyo and build strength in the eccentric movement.

This can be accomplished by simply performing body weight squats. To make the exercise more difficult, slowly lower down into the bottom position of the squat on a 5-second count. Make sure the knees aren’t falling inwards when performing this exercise. Slowly lowering down into the bottom position of the squat will help increase the eccentric strength needed to perform safe plyos.

Once we can perform a body weight squat properly without having the knees collapse in we can add some speed to the exercise. We do this by trying to get into the bottom position of the squat as fast as possible. Adding speed to the squat will make it harder to prevent the knees from collapsing inward when dropping down into the bottom part of our squat. (Make sure to pay attention so this doesn’t happen.) Once we drop down into the bottom position we’ll want to hold it for about 2 seconds then stand up to the starting position and repeat for 5 repetitions.

Now that we have the strength and the speed to get into the bottom position of the squat we can finally add the jump and complete the entire plyometric movement. For kids under the age of 14, it is recommended that they perform single sets of plyos at 6-10 repetitions and progress up to 2-3 sets over multiple weeks. And for any given plyo session young hockey players shouldn’t perform more than 100-foot contacts for that day. (Foot contacts refers to every time your feet touch the ground. For example, if you did 2 sets of 5 jumps you would have completed 10-foot contacts) Limiting a number of foot contacts for each session will help prevent non-contact injuries, reduce fatigue, and increase performance. As the athlete matures it is acceptable for them to perform upwards of 140-foot contacts per session.

Before you start your next plyometric session remember the following:

  • Build eccentric strength first
  • Prevent the knees from collapsing inward
  • Plyometrics are NOT conditioning drills
  • Hockey players under the age of 14 should limit their foot contacts to below 100
  • Older and more advanced hockey players can perform up to 140-foot contacts per session

Do You Experience Muscle Cramps?

Do You Experience Muscle Cramps?

by | Jun 20, 2016 | Educational

Do You Experience Muscle Cramps?

Can you Actually PREVENT a Muscle Cramp?

Have you ever been playing a hockey game when all of a sudden you felt a cramp come on? Or have you had your leg cramp up so bad in summer training that you couldn’t finish your workout? How about being in a deep sleep when all of a sudden your calf cramps up and wakes you up feeling like you’ve been shot in the leg? No matter when a cramp presents itself it is never enjoyable!

When it comes to our body there are certain things that we can control and others that we can’t. I strongly believe that we need to limit the number of variables that may prevent us from reaching our goals. A cramp is one of those variables! A cramp may not seem like a big deal to some people, but athletes know the significance of a cramp and the negative effects it can have. I will be sharing some simple everyday things you can do to make sure a cramp never slows you down or prevents you from making that big play during the playoffs to win the game.

Encyclopedia.com states that “Muscle cramps are one of the most common clinical problems suffered by athletes in endurance events” But that doesn’t mean athletes who perform shorter, higher intensity sports like ice hockey aren’t prone to experiencing muscle cramps.

 

What exactly is a muscle cramp, and how does it hinder sports performance?

A muscle cramp happens when the muscle has an involuntary and powerful contraction that will not relax on its own. This occurrence can be very painful and can impede any type of movement in the affected muscle. In most cases, the athlete is unable to continue and has to remove themselves from training or even worse, a competition.

 

So how do we prevent muscle cramps from happening?

Well, we can’t. That probably isn’t what you wanted to hear, but don’t worry there is still something you can do to delay the onset of the cramp so it doesn’t actually affect your performance. Since there is not enough definitive research out there on how to fully prevent muscle cramps, the best thing we can do is delay them from happening. Many people think that exercising in hot or cold weather can have an impact on muscle cramps. The truth is the only proven indicator of what causes cramps is fatigue. (Cramping in Sports: Beyond Dehydration). Below are a few tips of what you can do to hopefully never experience a muscle cramp again.

  • Consume a carbohydrate and electrolyte beverage before and during exercise
  • Add a little extra salt to your diet
  • Proper training
  • Drink the recommended amount of water daily
  • Stretch your muscles

With more research being done each day, maybe soon we’ll be able to exactly know not only how to delay the onset of a cramp but how to prevent it altogether. Until that happens, the best you can do is follow the tips above. To elaborate, you want to make sure you are not dehydrated and have enough electrolytes in your system, especially sodium. Adequate training for your specific sport is also very important. If you can train your muscles to be prepared for the task at hand, then this will help prevent muscle fatigue thus slowing down the onset of any type of cramp. Stretching is also a great preventative measure as it keeps the muscles healthy and firing properly, ultimately delaying or avoiding the onset of a muscle cramp.

How to Front Squat for Hockey Players

How to Front Squat for Hockey Players

by | Jun 6, 2016 | Educational

How to Front Squat for Hockey Players

I hope you are incorporating front squats into your off-season programs. This exercise is a great way to develop strong legs that will help you skate faster. In the video below I break down the front squat and show you how to perform it correctly. These are the main areas you should be focusing on while squatting:

 

  • High elbows and neutral wrists
  • Engaging your core
  • Keeping your back flat
  • Screwing your feet outward BUT keep your feet pointing straight ahead
  • Pushing your knees out as you lower into the bottom position of the squat BUT don’t roll onto the sides of your feet
  • Keeping your back flat
  • Keeping your head in neutral positioning throughout the entire movement by not looking up at the bottom of your squat

The front squat will help you develop the leg and core strength you need to become a better skater, but if performing this exercise incorrectly, you will increase your chances of injury and you won’t get all the benefits of this awesome exercise.

Ask Yourself This Question…

Ask Yourself This Question…

by | May 23, 2016 | Educational

Ask Yourself This Question…

Do YOU Have WHAT it takes?

WHAT does it take? Let’s start off by defining this ominous term. Growing up playing hockey at many different levels and making my way through the ranks from minor hockey to college and then professional, I have seen a lot of good hockey players, and a few exceptional ones. The difference between them was not their skill level. Some naturally skilled players won’t make it past Junior B, while seemingly mediocre ones will skyrocket into stardom. You may ask yourself why? Instead, ask yourself WHAT.

Sacrifice and Discipline

Don’t get me wrong, sacrifice and discipline alone won’t fast track you to the NHL, but if you want to be successful in your hockey career and make it to the highest level possible with the talent you were given, mental strength and stamina will give you the edge that you need to power through fatigue, injury, temptation, and self-doubt. Even though you may possess or achieve these two traits independently of one another, they are both needed to help get to where you want to go.

So let’s identify what Sacrifice and Discipline are. The dictionary definition of sacrifice is ”something given up or lost.” You might be asking yourself, well how is that going to help me make it to the next level? Before I answer that, let’s find out what discipline means.  Discipline is defined as “a way of behaving that shows a willingness to obey rules or orders.” We all have goals; whether they include making it into Juniors, getting a scholarship to a recognized school, or even striving for the NHL, but along our journey, we will have many temptations. They can be as small as choosing the right foods to eat to fuel our bodies, or as big as going to that “epic” party everyone is talking about. When we train as hard as we do and spend as much time in the rink and gym as we do, we need the proper rest and nutrients for optimal recovery.  Making the sacrifices to do what is right for us (even if we might not want to in the moment) will help us obtain our goals. Having the discipline to stay on track and follow the plan we have laid out for ourselves will reap rewards that far outweigh our daily temptations. I’m not suggesting that you neglect your social life, but be aware of how it affects your progress and surround yourself with the right people and environments that will support your ambitions.

  • Don’t drink away your calories or party away your sleep
  • Fuel your body with the right foods
  • Follow your performance plan and track your progress
  • Doing the right thing at the moment that will help you achieve your goals

Success doesn’t happen overnight, it’s the little things we do day in and day out that allow us to achieve the goals we have set out for ourselves. Make the sacrifice now so you can have what you desire later!

Remember: Elite players schedule their day around their workouts while average players plan their workouts around their day.

DON’T BE AVERAGE!