Strength and Conditioning for High School Hockey
By
Dave Coffin
I don’t care for the term “sport-specific.” To me, this buzzword is a clever
way to market strength and conditioning programs to parents who don’t know any
better. With that being said, I do believe there are certain areas that must be
addressed in order to improve performance and reduce the likelihood of injury in
every sport.
I would like to offer some ideas that have worked for me while training high
school level hockey players. This article isn’t an attempt to market myself as a
hockey expert. I do what makes sense to me. I’m fortunate to work in a facility
with great coaches who I learn from (and steal ideas from) on a daily basis.
Joint mobility drills for hockey
Ankle mobility is extremely important for hockey players, especially at the
high school level if they are multi-sport athletes. I have several athletes who
play hockey in the winter and lacrosse in the spring. These kids are basically
going from having their foot and ankle in a cast (i.e. ice skate) every day for
four months and then asked to sprint on the lacrosse field. This is a disaster
waiting to happen. Our ankle mobility work typically consists of dorsiflexion
and plantar flexion drills.
I’ve learned over the years that when one of my hockey players refers to
another as a “bender,” this means that when they are on skates, they are unable
to control inversion and eversion at the ankle joint. The kettlebell pass is a
correction for this. Although this isn’t a mobility drill per se, I include it
in this portion of the program.
After we have improved ankle mobility, we also must be able to control
movement at the ankle. This drill is simple and effective. Take a kettlebell of
10–20 lbs, depending on the athlete, and simply stand on the right leg. Pass the
kettlebell in a circle around the body. I typically use 8–10 circles in one
direction and 8–10 circles in the opposite direction and then switch legs and
repeat. Go really, really, really slow and make sure they are performed with
bare feet.
Hockey players have a tendency to develop tight external hip rotators,
resulting in a toe out gait. I use Z-Health’s three position open chain hip
circle drill with internal hip rotation to improve internal rotation at the hip.
Again, this drill is extremely simple to perform and really effective. Have the
athlete begin standing on the right leg. Bring the left leg slightly out in
front of the body. Internally rotate at the hip while keeping the pelvis in a
neutral position. Be sure the knee is fully extended and perform six circles in
one direction and six in the opposite direction. That is the first position.
Come back to a hip width stance. Slightly abduct the hip, internally rotate,
and be sure the pelvis is in a neutral position and the knee is fully extended.
Perform the same number of repetitions. That is the second position. Come back
to a hip width stance. Slightly extend the hip while maintaining a neutral
spine. Internally rotate at the hip and be sure the knee is fully extended and
perform the same number of repetitions as the first two positions.
Movement drills and core work
The warm-up portion of each training session consists of basic movement
drills such as skips, side shuffles with arm and leg movement, and cariocas.
These drills serve to increase body temperature and ready the athlete for the
work ahead. Warrior lunges and lateral lunges may be performed in addition to
these drills on lower body days to work on dynamic flexibility prior to
squatting or cleaning.
After the movement drills, we perform our core work. We all know that the
core is important. This is the transfer station between the upper and lower
extremities. However, I’m not sure how many trainers and/or trainees actually
prioritize it. I have been using core circuits as part of the warm up for my
athletes for quite some time with great success. Coach Carl Valle here at Excel
Sport and Fitness turned me on to the idea, and it’s a great way to continue to
get the body warm and perform those pesky exercises that most would be bound to
skip if left to their own devices.
Our core circuits typically consist of three or four exercises including
Palloff cable press outs, anti-rotation landmines, front/side plank variations,
barbell rollouts, and hanging leg raises.
Strength training template
Here is a variation of what I have used as a three-day strength training
template for my hockey players. Again, nothing is set in stone and it isn’t
uncommon to make some adjustments on the fly.
Day 1
A1 Power clean, 5 X 3
B1 Front/back squat, 3 X 5
C1 Reverse or walking lunge, 3 X 8
D1 Posterior chain movement, 3 X 8
E1 Push-ups, 3 X 12
E2 Row variation, 3 X 12
Day 2
A1 Pull-ups, 3 X 5
B1 Incline bench dumbbell press, 3 X 6
B2 Row variation, 3 X 8
C1 Elbow flexion, 3 X 8
C2 Elbow extension, 3 X 10
D1 Forward
sled drag, 4 X 100 feet
Day 3
A1 Trap bar deadlift, 3 X 5
B1 Weighted push-ups, 3 X 8
B2 Single arm dumbbell row, 3 X 8
C1 Dumbbell step-up, 3 X 8
Each of these strength training sessions ends with flexibility work. I
typically have my athletes perform a combination of lower body and upper body
stretches. If they end the strength training session with upper body, they will
perform lower body stretches first. If they end the strength training with lower
body, they will perform upper body stretches first.
Like I said before, this article isn’t to market myself as some kind of
hockey expert but a way to offer a glimpse at what I have used with some success
with my athletes. I understand this isn’t the only way to approach it, and when
I come across something I feel would better my programs, I make the necessary
adjustments.
Dave Coffin is a certified strength and conditioning specialist at Excel
Sport and Fitness in Waltham, Massachusetts. He can be reached at
dcoffin@excelstrength.com.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
