Some are better than others

A Note from former NHL player and Hockey Player Development head instructor Iain Duncan,

I know that some years are better than others, but always remember, “YOU ARE PLAYING AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE “WORLDS FASTEST TEAM SPORT”.

Look at the positive things that happen throughout this year and think about “What can I do to better to prepare myself for the next hockey season?” And “What can I do as an individual to may my team stronger?”  There are always things you can improve on…skating, shooting, passing, conditioning and strength just to name a few.

During the spring and summer you can improve on all aspects of your game. There is nothing wrong with saying or thinking “Hey, I really need to work on my footspeed and skating this spring/summer” or “I could really improve my shooting capabilities”.  Nobody’s perfect! Not even Crosby, so utilize this time to learn and get stronger as an all round hockey player.

Spring and summer training is great for any age group.  From Youth Hockey players to NHL players, this is the time of the year to work on the basics!  In the spring and summer, you have to work on your aerobic conditioning.  I say this because, this is the time of year you should work on your cardio as much as you can!  During the hockey season, you can maintain your cardio training but off season is when you need  to “set” your level of cardio training.  The higher level of cardio you accomplish, the more you are going to be able to “give” to your team in the 3rd period of a hockey game.

The same is true for working on your strength and quickness. During the spring/summer, you are stressing the muscles as much as you can to prepare them for the upcoming season. During the hockey season, you are involved with strength/flexibility upkeep.  Again, what I mean by that is, you should build as much strength in the spring/summer as you can to build muscles.  With heavy weights and low repetitions you will begin to do this.  As you come into the new season, you will do more repetitions and less weight because, being flexible and strong is very important in the game of hockey.

Thank you,

Iain Duncan

Any questions on this subject please feel free to email  Nick Parillo at Playerdevelopmentcamp@yahoo.com