How to develop & improve your personal skills during the grind of the hockey season.
Welcome to “Saturday’s with Steve”, a weekly blog encapsulating everything 4D Hockey and beyond in the hockey world. This week, I will be discussing a few tips and recommendations on how a hockey player can continue to develop and improve their overall personal skillset; something that many teams don’t focus on as they are trying to navigate their way through the season while working within a structure geared towards systems for overall team development withing a group of 15 to 20 players rather than just one player at a time. This is where 4D Hockey provides the player with supplemental training that is personalized for individual growth.
With the grind of the hockey season becoming longer and longer, too much training can also be a bad thing. That’s why at 4D Hockey we recommend players remain focused and consistent on progressive trainings during the season, rather than overworking the player just to “stay busy”. Our in season training plans are not built on quantity, but rather quality, progression, and the specific needs of the player. Many athletes get worn down, which weakens their game and mental performance, therefore we take into to account their schedules, travel, and physical & mental health to help keep athletes performing at peak levels.
Many clubs have a team off ice regime, that while can be beneficial in some aspects, does not target the needs of the individual athlete, or even player position for that matter. In fact, we often see injuries as a result of these types of team trainings when not properly guided, as players end up trying to do the same movements, weights, and exercises as everyone else. A good example of this is when a lanky 6′ tall 15U AAA goalie that weighed 140 pounds was told to squat the same as his 5’8″ 165 pound defenseman that was built like a Mack truck! He ended up injuring his knee and missed 2 months of the season. The moral of the story is that all athletes are different and need different things. You wouldn’t have a goalie practicing slap shots and that defenseman working on glove saves, right?
We recommend that players continue a personalized plan for off ice Sports Performance at least once a week, but also not so much that it is detrimental to the player. Off ice Sports Performance isn’t just all strength and conditioning, but rather a planned program that is based on the foundation of balance, stability, flexibility, and proper functional movement. This includes but isn’t limited to Skatemill stride and posture training, Synthetic Ice shooting, Athletic recovery, Mental Performance & more. All of which is guided by Dave Boyer, former NHL, IHL, & NBA Trainer.
To help you or your hockey player develop & improve your personal skills during the grind of the hockey season at 4DTC, contact 4D Hockey at info@bryceb8.sg-host.com to discuss the options and personal plan for you!
This blog will run weekly dropping every Saturday on the 4D website: www.bryceb8.sg-host.com. You can also find links to the blog on all of the 4D social accounts. I’ll see you back next Saturday for the next blog, until then have a great week and train hard!
