Focus and Feeling

"The hockey tough state is based on two things: focus and feeling. Your state is what you bring to any on-ice situation, whether it’s in a game or in practice. You are responsible for your state. Most people think the word responsible means if you screw up or make a mistake, you’re in for trouble. Actually, responsible means response-able. You are response-able for managing your mental TV. By that I mean you are response-able for creating the feelings and focus that will help you excel on the ice."

"Being hockey tough involves taking response-ability for managing your mind in order to be the best you can be. To help you manage your feelings and focus your mental state, remind yourself to have a clear, positive focus, keep it simple, and use breathing to create right feelings and to change channels on your mental TV."

The above was an excerpt from the book Hockey Tough, by Saul Miller. Miller, one of North America’s most prolific and sought-after sport psychology consultants in hockey, presents mental exercises and assignments to help players:

• develop a winning attitude on and off the ice
• stay focused to execute skills and tactics
• maintain the mental stamina required in this physically demanding sport
• overcome emotional fatigue and physical aches and pains to perform at the highest level throughout the season
• manage their anger to avoid costly penalties in crucial game situations
• develop the discipline and tenacity to force and capitalize on opponents’ mistakes

Grab your copy of Hockey Tough by visiting www.amazon.com!

University of Minnesota Hockey Iso Deadlift

Check out this great drill from U of Minnesota strength coach!

Effectivenes of "skateless" training (dryland)

Can training on non-ice surfaces actually help a players on ice play? ABSOLUTELY!

Dryland training is another dimension of hockey training for players that is just as significant as on ice training and practices.

Although dryland training is done 'skateless', drills can be easily performed to mimick hockey play---the change of direction, the quick foot action, the intensity of a players shift.

Dryland training tips for non-ice training:

• perform drills that incorporate change of direction over medium distances (5-10 yards)
• perform drills that focus on quick foot actions, such as ladder or mini-hurdle drills
• perform drills where players go from one action (shuffling 5 yards) immediately to another (carioca 5 yards)
• perform training drills with an emphasis on both high knee and low foot action
• dont't limit training to simply moving forwards---move back wards, sideways and vertical (i.e. plyos)

The use of training tools such as ladders, mini-hurldes, and bungee cords makes dryland training even more effective (you can grab some great cost effective training gear at ProPowerTraining.com.)

The bottom line is that your off-ice dryland training investment pays huge dividends when it comes to performing on the ice. All out 100% effort is the key----perform dryland training drills with the same attitude-intensity as your on ice play for maximum results.

Train hard, and good luck!

Hockey is a constant change of direction with action that switches between offense and defense on a moments notice. This lateral drill is great for switching between 2 different actions while moving over a set distance.

The drills involves lateral stepping over hurdles as players weave forwards and backwards around cones. Here are a couple of training tips:

• keep body positioning square with head on a swivel as you move laterally
• use only a slight head turn to look back at cone as you back towards it
• keep feet constantly moving, with plants to change direction soft and light
• attack the next movement--whether its moving towards the hurdle, or towards a cone after stepping over hurlde

Try adding about 4 total sets of this drill to a workout. (need hurdles? Check 'em out here)

One legged medicine ball throws

Hockey players rely on balance to perform acts on the ice with sure instinctive ability. Learning to "blindly" trust your balance can be a challenge, but it can be trained. One of my favorite drills is to throw a medicine ball while standing on one leg.

The illustration shown here is an athlete standing on the Vertimax training unit, strapped on, and attempting a one legged med ball throw. This is totally an advanced movement (however it puts the point across!).

Here are some tips for perfecting that one legged med ball throw:

• Stand solidly on one foot, with the other not in contact with the ground or other leg
• Ball begins at the sternun level
• Action begins with a slight dip in the hips, then an extension with the arms and a throw
• Stay on one foot throughout the drill--even when receiving the ball

Also, try different variations of med ball throws on one foot which include side toss' and overhead throws. A good workout is a moderate weighted ball (6-8 lbs.) and about 3-4 sets of 8 passes.

Plyos for ice power

Get up! Using plyometric explosive jump training for dryland training can have huge benefits for hockey players. NO, there is no slam dunking during hockey play, but plyos do more than help increase your vertical jump.

Used correctly, plyos help to train the central nervous system to explode and react quicker with more power (strength + motion).

Add the use of plyos to your dryland training in the following ways:

• jumping forward or lateral through a ladder for height and landing with balance, then exploding "up into" the next box
• jumping forward or lateral over barriers such as hurdles and cones
• jumping on and off boxes of varying heights

The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. Stay tuned to this blog for future posts on specific plyo routines for hockey dryland training!

Body weight squats to develop strength

You can check an opposing player into the boards right? Do it with more power by training with body weight squats!

Here is how:

Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart from each other, holding your stick between your hands at arms length across from your shoulders. Lower your body down until your hips are parallel to the ground, and hold for a "2" count.

Then stand back up with stick still at arms length. That completes one rep. Perform about 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps. Experiment by alternating your stick for a medicine ball held at arms length. Great exercise for learning how to move your own body weight.

Hips = Strength & Stability

One of the most under trained parts of an athlete has to be the hips. Most athletic movements begin at the hips, so it only goes to figure that this should be a significant part to be worked on in a training program.

Hip action is an integral part of a hockey players ability to stabilize, skate, shoot and pass on the ice.

Hips should not only be strong, they should be flexible as well. There is some science and technical "stuff" to describe how the hip muscles fire, contract, etc., but you don't need to know the full physiology to train them and make them better.

Here are some basic pointers in helping you to have better hips:

• Keep them flexible with dynamic stretching such as scorpions and walking knee hugs
• Use variety in hip raise exercises working both unilaterally (one leg at a time) and bilaterally (2 legs at a time)
• Engage the hips when you perform other drills, such as med ball throws (initiating action with the hips coming from a slight bend in the knee, depending on the drill)

And remember, the hips tie together the upper and lower body. Making your hips stronger and more flexible helps make you a more athletic functioning player on the ice

2 in 2 out drill for quick foot action

Get those feet moving! NO, you don't use skate in your dryland training, however you can still get your feet 'ice quick' by training how well your feet react to the ground as you perform different drills.

The Quickness Ladder is ideal for teaching these quick response movements with a great drill called 2 in 2 out. The drill involves moving down the length of the Quickness Ladder forward stepping into the ladder square one foot at a time, then outside one at a time.

Here are some tips:

1. use arm action to make your feet move
2. take your stick with you!
3. stay on you power pads
4. focus on light controlled steps
5. play 'hot potato' with the ground, by not keeping your feet in contact with the ground too long

The Quickness Ladder is a fantastic tool for dryland training available at ProPowerTraining.com.

Wanna see the 2 in 2 out drill? Check out the video below:

Group and Team dryland training

Grab a buddy! Dryland training is great for individual athletes training, but can also be a fantastic boost for teams. Aside from the obvious benefit of the increase in physical on-ice performance, dryland training for a team adds an element of team unity.

Playing side by side on the ice heightens player connection to one another, and training side by side takes it to another level. Teams that dryland train together, whether it is in the weight room or in an open speed-agility area, sweat, breath hard, and push each other. These subtle 'pushes' enable each player to feed off of each others energy and heightens the awareness of the task at hand---working hard now to pay off on the ice.

Solo training is great, and team training adds another dimension to helping you push your training to the limit. Grab a buddy!

Take your stick with you!

When performing dryland training that involves speed, agility and explosive work, add another element to the fray by making it sports specific----take along your stick!

When moving through agility ladders, over hurdles and around cones, get in the habit of moving your arms with stick in hand. By having the stick, players will get into the habit having "an extra limb" move along with them. That way, when they get to the ice, players will feel better acclimated---moving faster and quicker, and having the feel of the stick, just like in dryland training.

Also, experiment with the stick placement. Hold in it your right hand, left hand or even with both hands. Experiment with "blade height" off the ground, by holding the stick so the blade is anywhere from a few inches to a few feet above the ground (holding the stick with one hand while moving through an agility ladder also helps strengthen wrist, forearm and hand strength).

Ladder drills? Take your stick! Shuffling across the floor? Take you stick! Dryland training? Take your stick!

Effort + Dryland = success

Step, step, PLANT!

Hockey players use hip flexor muscles to fire them around the ice, making stellar play after play. The importance of one legged actions has been noted by several hockey conditioning coaches as a key factor in the development of several on-ice actions.

While one legged strength movements such as squats and lunges are fantastic, agility and quickness dry land skills on one leg also reap fantastic dividends.

Planting on one foot, then changing direction is a key athletic action. More specific, moving laterally, then planting and reversing directing, helps increase balance, stability, and single leg strength. Here are some training tips to follow to make planting work for you:

1. Step over multiple barriers (such as hurdles) laterally that requires your to raise your knee to work a lot of hip action


2. Always land on your 'power pads' (toes), not flat footed


3. When making the plant to change directions, make it light (NOT hard!)


4. Experiment with planting to change directions at different speeds, from a quick pause (touch, and change directions fast) to a delayed pause (touch, balance on one foot monetarily, and change directions)

Add these simple tips to your training arsenal to help increase your on ice ability!

Edmonton Oilers Off Ice Conditioning

What DryLand training does....

Hockey Training Center

Hockey Training with the University of Minnesota

Check out how the guys at Minnesota prep for on ice play using dryland training