Managing the End of a Hockey Season
I thought Sean Skahan did a great job of writing an article about the NHL combine a few months back. It gave our members some insight as to what goes into the process of evaluating and drafting young prospects. Sean's article also covered the performance tests that are administered in Toronto during this combine event.
In this article I want to give insights as well as discuss the steps I take, at the conclusion of the season, to prepare our players for training during the summer. Initially there is a greater focus on administrative issues and managerial concerns than training specifics. After a one on one meeting between the player and I, we establish a start date for training and then stay in constant communication in regards to their training progress.
My first step in preparing for the off-season is to evaluate each player's performance level and set training goals for them to achieve during training camp testing. After identifying the performance qualities that each player needs to develop during the off-season, I share this information with the General Manager and Head coach. I find these meetings extremely helpful because their input provides on-ice specifics where the player can improve related to the area of strength and conditioning. We also discuss if a player needs to develop better training habits during the off-season and the in-season. I then brainstorm how we can improve the "on-ice specifics" within our training plan. The meeting between the general manager, head coach and I allows the three of us to communicate the same message to the athletes so they may have a clear and productive training plan for the summer.
Once I have met with the head coach and GM, I have an evaluation to share with the athlete and training guidelines for the off-season program. Some specific areas that I need to focus my meeting on are: What will their training start date be, training location for the summer, return date to San Jose, what weeks are they taking off as rest and vacation, where and when do you plan on skating during this off-season, understanding our summer training manual, and any rehab specific training that to be included in their program.
In choosing a start date to begin training for the off-season, I automatically stress one and a half to two weeks off from training. I want their bodies to heal and get both physical and mental rest and rejuvenation. I actually have found many athletes anxious to begin training after only 1 week off. I encourage at least another week or half a week, then they can begin the first phase of General Physical Preparation training. With skating, I don't recommend getting on the ice until the second week of August. This gives players (even Stanley cup finalists) about 2 months off-ice and enough time to retrain the athlete towards proper hip function.
When discussing the topic of supplementation with our athletes, or any athlete for that matter, the goal is to identify supplements that are safe and healthy to use. Generally I try to give each player a small supply of supplements that we use during the year to bring home with them. It is critical for our European players to take advantage of this because supplement ingredients and product development standards are difficult to research abroad because of the language barrier.
One of the most useful things I have included in our summer manual is a specific equipment order form which includes: a foam roller, lateral resistors, green and blue mini bands, a Uni-vest weight vest, and a 3k and 4 k first -place medicine ball. Perform Better has been a great resource for our players equipment needs when they are in San Jose and for any equipment they need for their summer homes. The equipment list above addresses some of the critical areas of our training program: warm-up and activation, hip/adductor/glute firing, and core training. Anytime you have a group of athletes traveling for a long period of time or who are returning home for the summer, provide a list of "light", portable equipment that is durable, familiar to them and travels well.
There are many of our players who have personal strength coaches they work with in the summer. Part of my role is to communicate with these professionals and see what their prescription will be for the athlete and to provide them with my physical evaluation and list of training goals for that player. I speak frequently with the player and their personal strength coach to check on progress and any issues that arise. This relationship puts the athlete's success, development, and physical preparation at the forefront of the off-season training program.
The end of the season brings a much needed rest period from the 7+ month schedule. It also is a time when some athletes need to have surgery and begin the off-season with a rehabilitation program instead of a strength training program. The off time at the end of the season helps the healing process, but it's the responsibility of the athletic trainers and the strength coaches to develop a rehab and reconditioning program for the post-surgical athlete. Any athlete who has surgery post season is encouraged to remain in San Jose for at least the first few weeks to monitor healing. Our head athletic trainer and I stay in constant communication with the injured athletes to monitor progress and begin more active rehab exercise. Developing the rehab-athletes training program is much more complex and detailed. Strict attention is given to exercise selection and rehab exercise progression throughout the summer. How the player feels is vital to their progress and this is where communication becomes so critical.
At the end of your competitive season it is critical that you evaluate your athletes and set goals for their off-season training program. When developing your evaluation, meeting with the General Manager and head coach of your team allows the three of you to communicate the same message to the athlete, so they may have a clear and productive training plan for the summer. The areas of importance to cover in your end of the year meeting with each player are: Start date of training, training location for the summer, return date, rest and vacation weeks, where and when the athlete plans on skating during this off-season, understanding the summer training manual, supplement usage during the summer, equipment needed for training, contact info for the athletes personal strength coach, and any rehab specific training they need to be included in the program.
