Is your Son or Daughter Improving their Hockey Skills in the Off-season?

Nedan lite intressant iformation och synpunkter från andra sidan atlanten ang hockey träning, syfte och mål. Intressant att notera att inte ett ord näms om kosten. Träning utan adekvat återhämtning och rätt kost tenderar att förlora sitt värde så här har ng transatlanterna fortfarande en del att lära av Europeer. Jag har själv sett ex hockey grabbar på eight rinks i Vancouver köa efter träning till anläggningens lunchresturang för att köpa vitt bröd, frittes, läsk och grenola bars.

Att off season kanske är den viktigaste perioden för att försöka förbättra sig tror jag 100% på. Under säsong med dessutom mängder av matcher osv så tenderar träningen och hockey spelandet att "rulla på" samtidigt som mycket av det individuella fokus som måste till för att man skall kunna komma till "nästa nivå" nästan alltid saknas under säsong. Tänk dig att man har samma tränings upplägg för Kluft, Hoa-Hoa, Elofsson? Idioti eller hur? Men så fungerar det faktiskt i ett ungdomshockey lag där man nästan aldrig har ett individ fokus.

Sedan är väl frågan om inte alltför styrd träning och hockey utvecklar sämre spelare. Tillgång till allmänhetens is, spela med kompisar. Dela upp egna lag tror jag är det som inte bara befrämjar glädje utan även kreativitet och individuell utveckling. Kanske därför det bästa en hockey föräder kan göra är att se till att bo inom gångavstånd från en hockeyrink?

I sverige och stockholm så var Verner Persson, under några mycket framgångsrik då han öppnade upp dörrarna för ett helt nytt tänkande kring ungdomsträning och utveckling av talanger. Hans tankar och idéer är något som i allra högsta grad fortfarande har en stor betydelse och inverkan på hur ungdomsishockey i Sverige och framförallt då i Stockholm bedrivs.

"Verner-skolan” låg till grund bla för Tomas Storm och många andra duktiga tränare i Hammarbys upplägg. Verner Persson som talade Ryska och följde med regeringsdelegationer till Ryssland under 60- 70 talet såg hur man där tränade hockey på ett helt annat sätt där än i resten av världen och han tog sedan med sig dessa ideer tillbaka till sverige.

Utmaningen för stockholms hockeyn än nu dels att förvalta denna "Verner -Skola" att utveckla arbetet rörande kosten och att hitta formerna för en individ baserad lag träning. Lag består som bekant av individer. Samt sist men inte minst även jobba med den mentala biten och mental träning. Det senare är transatlanters styrka där en Kanadensare med automatik känner sig som världmästare redan vid unga år. Det är en inställning man kan komma långt med.

Att icke transatlanter ligger före vad gäller teknik visar inte minst det faktum att Tomas Storm nu 17 år i rad ex åkt till USA och Kanada ex för att årligen köra teknik träning med Detroit red Wings.

Tänk dig ett koncept med Tomas Storm, Joakim Dettner och Jimmy Lidberg i kombination för hockey spelare med fokus på mental träning, kost samt träning off ice såväl som on ice. Det skulle vara något det.Då skulle nog vi se formidabla lämmeltåg av tränings hungriga junior spelare inte minst från andra sida atlanten sådant upplägg.

"Looking at the TSN NHL Player Rankings as of February 24, 2009, you'll see Alex Ovechkin at the top of the charts with a rating of 103.87. While this probably doesn't surprise you, it is interesting to note that in filling out the top ten, only three are Canadians. Why are Canadian men and women lagging you may ask yourself when hockey is Canada's sport?

Research conducted by Gord Mayer of Smart Hockey Training Systems indicates the following about hockey in Canada:

"[Although] we have almost 4 times as many registered hockey players in North America (955,329) as they do in Europe (258,919)1. . .and. . .more than 8 times as many indoor rinks (5,850 versus 714), . . .5 tiny European countries - Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic, Finland and Slovakia, currently provide 33% of all the players in the NHL."

His findings suggest that there are two main reasons we are taking the wrong approach to training our young hockey players.

First the Europeans employ a 5:1 practice to game ratio as compared to our 2:3 practices to game ratio.

And second, European coaches emphasize skills development using a linear skills development progression program, which was developed in the former Soviet Union.

For the past ten years, North American elites at the very highest levels of the game have recognized both the problem and the solution to fixing North America's inadequate skills development training systems." Fortunately, visionaries in Canada have begun to recognize the dire need to improve individual performance and development. Executives at Hockey Canada have put together elite training facilities and Hockey Canada skills development academies to combat the disparities. Private firms are attempting to do the same. For example, combined with an elite training environment, the well highly acclaimed Pursuit of Excellence uses a practice to game ratio of 10:1

The Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy combines a very intense comprehensive hockey development program, a school with high academic excellence, participation in a very competitive minor hockey league, and an unparalleled training program for acquiring rock solid life skills and life values. . .The Academy achieves incredible results with players because it has the right blend of hockey development and game experience. (a practice to game ratio of approximately 10 to 1).So what does this tell us? We know now that if your son or daughter is only practicing twice a week in a 50 minute ice slot, it is unlikely they will improve at any level relative to any other child in the same position. We know coaches can't do it all. Although we tend to blame them for losses, their associations are the ones who allocate ice. And truthfully, it's simply impossible to get it all done when you are given one or two 50 minute ice slots as week. So the answers are:

1) If you want to improve your hockey skills and be competitive you must practice individual skills by getting extra training. You need to be able to skate, puck handle, and shoot among other things.
2) You must have a strength and conditioning program in order to develop the explosive power necessary to; win the races, win the battles, and recover faster.
3) You must have discipline; you must be able to see the ice well and make good decisions both offensively and defensively.

What can we do? Ultimately, it's up to you, but Peter Twist, the former conditioning coach of the Vancouver Canucks has stated that in order to improve your hockey skills in the off-season you need to "combine hockey-specificity with an intense work ethic and you will enjoy the benefits of what I see every summer - players who make more improvement in 3 months than they do the rest of the year combined!"

He writes:Hockey conditioning should accomplish five things:
1. Develop hockey fitness (which, for example, includes your anaerobic sprinting energy system, not just training aerobically like a marathon runner).
2. Improve overall athleticism.
3. Build the very physical attributes that skills and tactics draw upon.
4. Transfer gains onto the ice to improve actual game performance.
5. Enhance other aspects such as mental strength and work ethic.Include drills that artificially enhance athleticism, to give kids the power, agility, dynamic balance, coordination, quickness, hand-eye reaction skill, footwork and other attributes they are missing.

Then prescribe exercises designed from an analysis of hockey itself, with similar movement patterns, joint angles, velocities, work-to-rest-ratios and many other variables that make an exercise "hockey specific". This type of conditioning utilizes small equipment such as medicine balls, reaction balls, lateral movement tubing and micro hurdles.Where do we get this training?While several training facilities exist on Vancouver Island, at Compton Sports Trainings Systems, we've recognized these challenges for several years and we've designed sport specific systems to deal with them.

Our goal is to provide you with the elite training required to compete at the highest levels. Our proven track record of player development adds the validity that other programs can't match.We've developed several programs to help hockey players of all calibers achieve extraordinary results. We use innovative technologies to assess player strengths and weaknesses.

Our H.E.A.T. program was created by sports guru Jeff Compton to develop explosive power and trains athletes to win the races, win the battles, and recover faster. "We offer athletes several extra development sessions a week in order to build the fundamental individual skill sets that set them apart from the rest of the pack."Our Athletic Development Academy (ADA) provides strength and conditioning for both in-season and off-season training so that you are ready to face any challenges your hockey coach may place you in. Our elite trainers have been working with athletes from the NHL and around the world including Sweden, Latvia, and Russia to achieve incredible results.We continue to offer programs throughout the summer including H.E.A.T. the Athletic Development Academy, Summer hockey programs for; Atam, PeeWee, and Bantam, we offer individual gym memberships, fitness testing, personalized programs, team training, pro- athlete development, and executive athletic daytime programs. Programs begin monthly."

For more information visit our website at http://www.comptonsports.ca/ or call 250 896-2787.

Verner Persson Cup
http://www.aik-akademin.se/VernerPerssonCup/index.html

Tomas Storm - Detroit Red Wings
http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/07/day_5_when_players_hit_the_wal.html