Playoff Training Model

It may seem difficult to make a decision whether or not to train your athletes during the playoffs for concern of fatigue levels.  Some playoff schedules are long and require a team to play several games to decide a champion (Canadian Junior hockey, ECHL, AHL, and NHL).  Some leagues require only a few games to decide a champion which will allow for more training and recovery time (US college hockey).  In both situations you need a structured strength training plan as well as a structured regeneration plan to guard against fatigue and ensure strength qualities are preserved.  

This article will discuss my philosophy of how we approach performance training during the playoffs here in San Jose.  An important point made in this article that is not related to training, is the fact that your program acts like a teaching lesson during the season whose final examination is in the playoffs. The article will also discuss the importance of the athlete taking ownership in the program so that in the playoffs optimal physical preparedness is achieved.  Finally the article will include a sample workout template to give the reader a visual of the "exercise menu" format.

THE FIRST STEP IS TO TEACH

I am a firm believer that a training program should not only add horsepower to the athlete's engine, but it should TEACH the athlete proper movement skills and how they can care for their most important resource, their body.  The structure of your in-season workout needs to include movements that maintain strength qualities and movements that are corrective in nature.  Training progressions that direct the athlete on a course to correct any movement dysfunction and maintain a high level of strength will also reduce the risk of injury during the regular season and into the ultra-physically demanding post-season.  It is also vital that each player develop and posses good training habits.  An athlete with good training habits can reap the benefits of physical preparedness and optimal regeneration ability throughout the season.

One of the most important skills a coach can teach his athletes is to understand which training gives them the best physical response and which regeneration techniques best suit their system.  This being said, you can compare your in-season training model to building blocks which create a finished product for the post season.  My message during the season is exactly this, "preserve strength qualities with in-season training so that during our playoff run we have strength efficiency and knowledge of what the system needs."  The strength and effectiveness of the in-season program directly depends on your teaching and the athlete's commitment. With commitment and effective teaching, the athletes will reap the benefits of their training during the most important time of year, the playoffs.

MORE THAN X's AND O's

An important part to my philosophy is to teach the athletes I work with how to live a healthy lifestyle once their athletic career is over.  My focus is on nutrition and functional movement because these areas of performance will follow the athlete into the later stages of life. I have come to believe that an athlete will find success in a program when fully engaged and having taken ownership in both tactical strategy and his or her level of physical performance.  Having said that, planning for success in the playoffs both strategically and physically, starts as soon as training camp opens and off-ice training (or should I say "teaching") begins.  Our Playoff training program focuses on the preservation of strength, addressing the major areas for injury prevention and regeneration.  The exercises that make up the playoff training "exercise menu" are ones that the athlete has confidence in and those that best suit their strength needs.  If the lessons taught during the season are retained, then the effectiveness of the playoff menu is favorable.  When a team gets to an environment like the NHL playoffs, each player must have the ability to assess their own fatigue levels and grade their strength qualities. Obviously the strength coach needs to be able to assess the performance and fatigue levels of the team, but player's feedback to the strength coach helps to better address recovery needs and adaptations to training.  

The menu is designed with a list of exercises that are familiar to the athlete and whose volume is low because of the time of year.  The exercises are ones that are early progressions and that reinforce function and proper technique.  Even though I allow the athletes to choose which exercises they will perform during the workout, I will give the athletes loads to use for the given rep ranges.   

I believe in the power of choice at this time of year.  I want our players to understand the philosophy of the training model.  Once the athlete understands the models principles they can then choose what exercises to do when the schedule allows us to train in the playoffs.  I would only use this method of "exercise menu" with a group whose training age is very high.  Collegiate athletes and younger would be prescribed a specific workout, not an exercise menu.     

Below is the exercise menu that I use for the playoffs.  I keep the exercises that make up this menu the same throughout the course of the playoffs.  The athletes get to choose 2 exercises from the core, 2  exercises from the rotator cuff, and 2 exercises from the hip//glute sections.  They will then choose 1 strength training workout.  It is the athlete's responsibility to choose different exercises from workout to workout.  I also give the athlete the freedom to choose which day they train because there are not many days between games in the playoffs.   

The playoffs are an exciting time of year.  You refine your team game and your individual game in the regular season to have success in the post season.  The playoff training "exercise menu" should be made up of familiar, low volume, early progression exercises.  The "exercise menu" allows the athlete to choose exercises and training times that allow for strength preservation and regeneration during the post-season schedule.  For the "exercise menu" to work effectively, teaching athletes the system of training progression throughout the year is critical.  Once the athlete understands how the system functions then you can empower them to choose which training allows for optimal physical preparedness in the post-season.  Having the power to choose exercises they are familiar with, ultimately gives them ownership in the program.