The Off-Season is Upon Us–Time to Get Training
Posted by Don MacAdam
Now that the excitement of the NHL free agency spending spree seems to have run its course, it is time for hockey players to switch focus. For you Canadian players out there, July 1, Canada Day, celebrations are long over. The same goes for any Americans with July 4th hangovers long since cleared up.
The off-season is when the serious conditioning work has to be done. Ideally, you have a great summer program that your team has tailored to your particular training needs. Or, you are working with a personal trainer to meet these same objectives.
Time is running out.
Major junior camps start in late August, only 8 week away.
NHL rookie camps have about 9 to 10 weeks before they start.
University and college programs will be hitting the ice in roughly 12 weeks.
Minor hockey and senior programs are also about 12 weeks away from starting.
Ideally, a hockey player needs about 12 weeks of quality training to be able to go into the pre-season with conditioning components like the energy systems, strength, and flexibility at the levels where they need to be.
It is never too late to start.
Need help?
The Hockey Conditioning Handbook comes to this site this week as a downloadable ebook. The handbook contains all the information you need to put together a great off-season training program.
The ebook also has the training information you need to get you through the rest of your hockey year: In-Season, Post-Season and Pre-Season training in a nutshell. The material is easy to use and includes illustrations and sample drills. It is adaptable to all ages and can be used by both male and female hockey players.
Look for The Hockey Conditioning Handbook on this site and get training!
52-Week Hockey Training
Posted by Don MacAdam
52-Week Hockey Training
52-Week Hockey Training (52-Week Sport Tra… by Don MacAdam and Gail Reynolds
52-Week Hockey Training
This book is part of a series presented by Human Kinetics Publishers. The goal was to provide training specific to each sport and have programs laid out over the entire 365 days of the year. We were asked to write the hockey version.
Gail Reynolds and I wrote 52-Week Hockey Training based on over thirty plus years each of experience in sports training. Gail has an impressive exercise physiology background and has trained athletes and teams in various sports that competed at all levels from amateur, university, professional and wheelchair. As with all the books we have co-authored, Gail is the brains behind the project.
With 52-Week Hockey Training you will be able to design:
- Yearly training plans
- Monthly practice and game sessions
- Weekly training plans
- Daily practice plans
- Individual team and player training programs
- Specific programs to meet your specific needs and concerns
Here are a couple of quotes from professionals who have used 52-Week Hockey Training:
“This is a great reference for helping both a player and a coach design an effective fitness program that meets the specific demands of playing hockey.”
Dave King- former NHL head coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Calgary Flames and also
“Half the battle of conditioning is staying motivated, especially in the off-season. Don and Gail’s program will help you keep your focus and meet your conditioning goals all year long!”
Shjon Podein- former NHL player with the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche.
Here is a look at the contents of the book:
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Exercise and Drill Finder
Key to Diagrams
Part I Year-Round Hockey Training Plan 1
Chapter 1 Off-Season Workouts 3
Chapter 2 Preseason Workouts 25
Chapter 3 In-Season Workouts 49
Chapter 4 Postseason 89
Part II Exercises and Drills 97
Chapter 5 Flexibility 99
Chapter 6 Muscle Strength and Endurance 113
Chapter 7 Aerobic Endurance 155
Chapter 8 Speed 159
Chapter 9 Power and Quickness 169
About the Authors 183
Get this book and start putting together the best season of training and playing that you have ever had!
Click on the link above to get your copy of 52-Week Hockey Training.
Coaching Hockey For Dummies
Posted by Don MacAdam
Coaching Hockey For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies))
Let me be honest about one of the reasons I like this book so much. I am one of the authors. My co-author, and the brains behind the book, is Gail Reynolds. We are very proud of how Coaching Hockey For Dummies turned out. It is a user friendly and fun way for coaches, players, parents, and fans to learn more about coaching hockey, and learn more about the game of ice hockey in general.
Here are some of the reasons why you will like this book.
Coaches will be able to get information on all the topics they will encounter over the course of a season. There will be tips on big picture areas like yearly planning and goal setting, along with daily concerns like practice planning and designing drills for skill development.
Players will be able to gain insight on team play and how to improve individual skills. Now you can be sure, as a player, to be on the same page as your coaching staff.
Parents can browse through Coaching Hockey For Dummies to better understand what the coach is trying to accomplish during practice sessions and games. And, parents may possibly see skills, and areas of the game, that little Johnny or Janie need to work on.
Fans have the ability to gain a more complete understanding of the game by reading Coaching Hockey For Dummies. Areas like the power play and penalty killing strategies are addressed in the book. Now, as a fan, you can better enjoy the game after reading about how these special teams work. Click on the link above on this page for your copy of Coaching Hockey for Dummies, and start enjoying hockey, and hockey coaching, at a whole new level.
Here is the Contents at a Glance:
Introduction 1
Part I: The Puck Drops Here: Coaching Hockey 101 7
Chapter 1: Jumping in with Both Skates 9
Chapter 2: Knowing the Basics of the Game 19
Chapter 3: Getting Organized: Your Keys to Success 47
Chapter 4: Running Great Practices 69
Chapter 5: Game On! 81
Part II: Coaching Beginners 93
Chapter 6: Teaching Fundamental Skills 95
Chapter 7: Drills for Beginners 123
Chapter 8: Basic Coaching Strategies 139
Part III: Coaching Intermediate Players 145
Chapter 9: Teaching the Finer Skills 147
Chapter 10: Coaching Offense to Intermediate Players 167
Chapter 11: Coaching Defense to Intermediate Players 175
Chapter 12: Teaching Goaltending Basics 185
Chapter 13: Drills for Intermediate Players 199
Chapter 14: Refining Your Coaching Strategies 225
Part IV: Coaching Advanced Players 233
Chapter 15: Teaching Advanced Skills 235
Chapter 16: Coaching Offense to Advanced Players 245
Chapter 17: Coaching Defense to Advanced Players 255
Chapter 18: Special Teams 263
Chapter 19: Drills for Advanced players 275
Chapter 20: Further Refining Your Coaching Strategies 297
Part V: Common Coaching Conundrums 307
Chapter 21: Keeping Your Team Healthy and Injury Free 309
Chapter 22: Coping With Challenges 319
Part VI: The Part of Tens 329
Chapter 23: Ten Parts of a Great Practice 331
Chapter 24: Ten Things to Ask Yourself Midway Through the Season 335
Chapter 25: Ten Things You Want Kids to Say About Their Hockey Experience 339
Index 343
Seminars and Clinics-on-Demand
Posted by Don MacAdam
What challenges do you face with your team or organization?
Find the solutions here with hockeysensei.com’s…
Seminars and Clinics-on-Demand
Improve you, your team, and your organization on your terms. Now you don’t have to wait for someone else to organize a seminar or clinic that meets your needs. Now you don’t have to endure the costs of time, travel and money to attend an event that may not adequately address the issues that affect you most.
You choose the day, time, location, and content for your seminar or clinic.
Hockey Sensei will provide the instructors, session materials, and put a follow up system in place to help you meet your goals.
Seminars and Clinics-on-Demand Options:
- Goal Setting (and the Monitoring and Accountability Needed)
- Yearly, Monthly, Weekly, and Daily Planning
- Motivation and Communication Skills
- Running Great Practices
- Drills That Work
- Developing Team Play (Offense, Defense, Special Teams, etc.)
- Developing Individual Skills (Skating, Puck Skills, Checking. etc.)
- Improving Positional Play (Goaltending, Defense, Center, Wing)
- Understanding Training and Nutritional Needs
- Developing a Team Culture and Identity
- How to Deal with Player, Personnel, and Parent Problems
- Organizational Evaluation
- Mentoring coaches and managers
Pick a topic from the list above, or select a topic that that more directly addresses your concerns.
You select the venue that best suits the topic. It could be a classroom, on the ice, in a weight room, or in the gym. You choose the duration. It could be an evening, an all-day, a weekend, once a week for six weeks, or all season. Hockey Sensei will take care of the rest.
Find solution’s to your hockey challenges
Bring Seminars and Clinics-on-Demand to your organization today!
For more information and pricing contact Don MacAdam at don@hockeysensei.com
Where did hockey sensei come from?
Posted by Don MacAdam
My over 30 years of involvement with ice hockey has been nothing if not an adventure. For two years I had the opportunity to be the head coach of a professional hockey team in Asia, the Nippon Paper Cranes, in Kushiro Japan. They are a member of the Japan Ice Hockey League, made up of six pro teams, three on the noth island of Hokkaido, two in the Tokyo area, and one in the beautiful shrine and temple filled city of Nikko.
‘Sensei’ was the title given to people who were considered experts in their field, usually doctors and teachers in different disciplines. An example was our medical trainer. All the staff and players with the team always called him ’sensei’. He did a lot of the same things north american medical trainers do; preventive training, treatment of injuries, caring for the daily medical and physical needs of the players. Sensei was also proficient in massage techniques and acupuncture.
The hope with www.hockeysensei.com is to share experiences from over 30 years living, breathing, but mostly enjoying the adventure that hockey has been for me.
We will present experiences from all the levels I have played and coached at from minor hockey, major junior, AHL, European and Asian hockey, the ECHL and the NHL. There will be lots of opportunity to get tips and to share information.
Also, there will be ebooks and other products available as we build www.hockeysensei.com.
