Exclusive Training Program for On-line & Home Schooled Athletes
Welcome to “Saturday’s with Steve”, an ongoing weekly blog encapsulating everything 4D Hockey and beyond in the hockey world. This week, I will be covering our 4D Hockey Academy Exclusive Training Program. This is an option for players who are serious about taking their game to the next level, preparing them for Junior & College hockey.
Unlike other Sports Academies, 4D Hockey Academy provides hockey players personalized on and off ice training, revolving around their schoolwork, to address the unique needs of each individual athlete. The first year saw great success as all the players took significant strides in their hockey & life building skills development. While we are committed to improving the students as hockey players, we more so focus on helping them grow and mature into responsible young men and women. This sentiment is reflected in our mission statement: “Provide an environment that will help athletes build a solid personal foundation, enabling them to achieve their goals in academics, sports, and life.” We want our students to learn how to take charge of their day-to-day activities by managing their time effectively, as this is a skill that will translate into their everyday lives long after hockey.
Each week brings new time management and personal goal challenges. On an average day, the students start their day at Buffalo Wild Wings arena for On-Ice skills development sessions with our professional coaches. These skates are a chance for our students to work on concepts and situations that they encounter in their games. Players are afforded the opportunity to tell the coaches what they want & need to work on, allowing these skates to be much more personalized than their team practices. Afterwards, the athletes have access to our sports performance center to work on their skills in a supervised & coached environment to ensure their progress. This includes Off-Ice Sports Performance, Skating Treadmill, Shooting, Sense Arena Cognitive Development, Mental Performance, and Physical Recovery. This aspect is also personalized to the player and revolves around their workload while with their teams. Players have weekly video sessions in which game film is analyzed to see where they should be making improvements in game situations. Students finish their day in the classroom to concentrate on their schoolwork with the help of an in-house proctor to ensure they are staying focused and on track. We take the school aspect seriously, as there can be consequences if a student falls behind or does not complete their coursework.
Recovery is imperative for performance, and we ensure that each of our students is not overworked and they are getting the proper recovery in between their skates and workouts. We have plenty of recovery resources available to the students, including Theragun, foam rollers, compression boots, and more. The compression boots help to increase blood flow and cut down on any soreness or discomfort that can come from skating or working out enabling them to recover quicker; they are a favorite amongst the current students! Taking the student’s full schedule into consideration, we strategically place these recovery sessions when we see they have or just had a big workload, and all of these resources are also available upon request from the students as appropriate. Our in-house sports physical therapist is available to assist our students if they sustain an injury and can recommend the proper medical professional in the event of more serious injuries. We take the health of our students seriously and ensure they are taking care of their bodies and address any injuries immediately so that they can get back to their training safely and as soon as possible.
Another aspect of the school is focusing on the mental aspect. Mental preparedness is important for our athletes as being in a positive and productive mindset can pay dividends on the ice, while the inverse can be true if a player loses confidence or is not in a good mental state. Students have the opportunity to work with Coach Dave to improve their mindset and help them achieve their goals. They can talk through any mental roadblocks they may be having to unlock their full potential. The season can be a grind, especially with the stress of school on top of that, so we make sure our students are in a good headspace to ensure they are operating at their full potential.
I hope you enjoyed learning about the 4D Hockey Academy and everything we offer. We want to help players reach their goals and take the necessary steps to progress to the next level. Additional information on the Academy can be found on our website at www.bryceb8.sg-host.com or by calling us at 248-346-4506. Students are enrolling now for the 2023-24 schoolyear. We hope to see you when class begins in September!
Our Saturday’s with Steve blog will run weekly dropping every Saturday on the 4D website: https://4dhockey.com/blog/. I’ll see you back next Saturday for the next blog, until then have a great week and train hard!
