The unfortunate reality of the collegiate strength and conditioning industry is that strength coaches place too much importance on the final number rather than the application to sport.
It is continually perplexing to me as to why prominent hockey programs still strength train like heavyweight lifters.
Unfortunately, as certain as death and taxes, I can plan on freshman and sophomore collegiate athletes returning home with hip, back and shoulder injuries. The culprit is typically hockey strength coaches with football backgrounds and limited knowledge of hockey movements and physical demands.
To the defense of most college strength coaches, they are underappreciated, underpaid and overworked. But with winning games and championships as the goal for any hockey program, strength coaches need to focus more intently on harnessing the skills of the players rather than trying to generate new skill-sets in the weight room. Simply put, there is rarely carryover from top weight room performers to top on-ice performances.
Many strength coaches train their athletes in 12- to 16-week phases. At the beginning and end of each phase, athletes are tested to prove that they have put the work into the programming to get bigger, faster and stronger. Why are we training our collegiate athletes to hang-clean, squat, snatch and bench more weight? Who cares about those results if it doesn’t correlate to winning championships?
Take, for instance, a college football team. The strength training program is broken down into three groups of athletes — skills positions, big-skills positions and linemen. Skills position athletes train to be fast, explosive and extremely conditioned. Big-skill athletes train to be strong, explosive and durable. Linemen strength train to be big, strong and durable.
Why aren’t we catering to hockey teams with the same philosophy? First- and second-line players need to be fast skaters, possess muscle and cardiac endurance, and demonstrate ultimate anaerobic recovery. Third-line players need to be strong, short-duration grinders with the ability to possess the puck through the core and upper body strength, create turnovers and limit mistakes via a strong mental capacity. Fourth-line skaters need to focus on maximum energy output, an all-or-nothing attitude, and the ability to create positive momentum regardless of adversity at hand.
Shouldn’t this be the framework for the collegiate strength programming? Essentially, a freshman in college is a mere four years away from their peak physical condition. The next four years will squeeze the last 10 percent of physical development available to them. Once a collegiate hockey player transitions to the big show, the long days at the rink and on the road will surely ensure that the weight room is no longer the top priority. Instead, an NHL rookie will begin to appreciate the demands of practices, games and team travel as they limit their weight room gains and increase their physical recovery.
Take a step back and look at the growth and career of a professional hockey player.
- Ages 1-8: General growth, hand-eye coordination and agility development.
- Ages 9-12: Sport-specific skills accelerate; speed and strength surpass peers.
- Ages 13-18: Shoe size, height, weight, speed, power, agility and on-ice performance increases to 90 percent development.
- Ages 19-22: Sport-specific skills are refined, the physique is maximized, weight room performance plateaus.
- Ages 23-31: On-ice performance reaches its peak, physique diminishes, weight room performance declines.
- Ages 32-40: On-ice performance declines, physique diminishes, weight room performance is nearly obsolete.
We need to start treating college hockey players like on-ice performers rather than weight-room performers. Throw out the barbells. Train on one leg. Enhance your endurance. And promote your recovery. You have four years to train for the rest of your life. Focus on elongating your hockey career rather than shortening your muscles.
Train with tempo, speed and maximal effort. Lessen the weight, increase the repetitions and reap the rewards. Skate faster, skate longer and score more. You’ve got 10 percent more ability left in you and nine of it is on the ice.
Train to your strengths, and you’ll increase your career many lengths.
Joe Caligiuri (MS, ATC) is the owner of Stadium Performance in Dedham, Mass., and has served as athletic trainer for the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and NFL’s New England Patriots. SP offers Boston’s No. 1 injury-prevention, ACL rehab and speed programming. Check out spstrengthcoach.com.
