Welcome to “Saturday’s with Steve”, a weekly blog encapsulating everything 4D Hockey and beyond in the hockey world. My name is Steven Jacques, an instructor with 4D. I started with the company in January 2022, and my main focus is running Skatemill and Shooting lessons at the 4D Training Center where I hold a Fusion Skating Certification on the Skatemill held by only a handful of professionals in North America. As a certified USA Hockey coach, I also run on-ice private and group lessons as well as team training sessions.
I love working with 4D because they have an amazing vision when it comes to hockey training and player development. The knowledge I’ve gained from working with our other instructors is invaluable and very detail-oriented, which I feel sets us apart from other hockey trainers. My favorite thing about coaching is seeing the progress of our players, it is a rewarding feeling knowing that our players are constantly improving with each session.
My background includes over 10 years of coaching experience, along with a playing career that culminated at Central Michigan for their ACHA DII team. Along with playing hockey for CMU, I obtained a Bachelor’s of Science in Sport Management. I played at CMU for 3 seasons and then jumped right into coaching with 4D, so I feel I have a good idea of what is necessary to develop players as I’m not far removed from being a player myself.
Going forward, I will continue coaching with 4D both at the Training Center and on the ice, as well as starting this weekly blog, “Saturday’s With Steve”. I look forward to discussing various topics on the blog ranging from what’s happening at 4D to different topics surrounding the game of hockey. I hope you’ll follow along with the journey and learn more about 4D as a company and gain some insight into certain aspects of the game. Now that you have an idea of who I am and my background, here is an overview of what we are about at 4D.
4D Hockey is a unique hockey training facility in Metro Detroit. Founded by Petr Tichy in 2012, 4D Hockey began by offering on-ice private lessons throughout Southeast Michigan. The company has since expanded to include multiple facets of hockey development training including On-Ice Instruction, Team Training, Shooting Instruction, Skatemill, VR Sense Arena, Off-Ice Sports Performance Strength and Conditioning Training, Athlete Recovery, Physical Therapy, and the 4D Hockey Academy. In future blog posts, we will dive deeper into each facet of the organization and explain what to expect and the benefits of each session.
In the summer of 2012, 4D began running summer skills camps, which lead to demand from parents for private lessons for their players. While working with elite hockey players over the years, 4D Hockey has graduated players to the NHL, OHL, WHL, NCAA, USHL, NAHL, among others. Building on those relationships, they’ve expanded to working with Hockey Clubs such as Little Caesars, Oakland Jr. Grizzlies, and others in SE Michigan.
In addition to running private on-ice lessons and camps, 4D Hockey expanded its developmental profile in April 2021 when they opened their premier facility, the 4D Training Center (4DTC) in Madison Heights, Michigan. The 4DTC houses all services of off-ice Sports Performance I mentioned above. The main idea behind opening the facility was to become a one-stop shop for anything related to hockey training, allowing 4D’s clients to take advantage of one place to train in multiple disciplines in one day.
For example, a player would come to work out and then either work on their skating on the Skatemill or on their shot with a shooting lesson on the synthetic ice. Some players even take it a step further and add in an Athletic Recovery session to ensure the proper recovery after their workouts. 4DTC is the only facility where you can focus on this many facets of the game in one place, which sets them apart from others.
Thanks for reading my introductory blog post on both myself and 4D. This blog will run weekly dropping every Saturday on the 4D website: www.4dhockey.com. You can also find links to the blog on all of the 4D social accounts: @4dhockey. I’ll see you back next Saturday for the next blog, until then have a great week and train hard!
Like and Follow 4D on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @4dhockey
