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The sixth pillar: Self-Care...Keep Reading ›

Until It Hurts is a book by Dr Mark Hyman about the youth sports injury epidemic. Learn how a responsible strength and conditioning program can help....Keep Reading ›

For years, the tradition at many sports practices has been to "circle up" at the beginning of the session, and perform a series of static (holding one position) stretches anywhere from 30 to 90 seconds. As a former athlete and now coach who works with athletes, I have an appreciation for this tradition and understanding that participation in a group warm-up can be very beneficial to a team, with each player knowing that it is time to focus on the practice time ahead....Keep Reading ›

Rather than continuing to use long isometric holds like plank variations, it makes sense to have players progress to training that requires them to activate a full brace quickly as they would while cutting, checking, or shooting....Keep Reading ›

Do bananas really help alleviate muscle cramps? Guess the proof is in the plasma....Keep Reading ›

I like this variation of RFES because it does not allow for much contribution from the rear leg. Therefore it places more load on the front leg and hip....Keep Reading ›

We've recently had a physical therapist working in our facility, who has been extremely helpful in spotting and readjusting pelvic misalignments. The exercises in this video can be used to help reinforce a neutral position....Keep Reading ›

This video shows a high school team doing an in-season strength circuit which takes about 15 minutes to complete with minimal equipment and space requirements. Four strength movements are represented along with some hip mobility....Keep Reading ›

By using a suspension trainer like a Jungle Gym or TRX we are able to make overhead pulling exercises into spiral patterns. I think this allows for better shoulder function....Keep Reading ›

Check out these rotary stabilization exercises that help hockey players transfer power from their skates to their upper bodies....Keep Reading ›

Here's a variation we found to be a useful progression after a single leg body curl. Lots of single leg work and a ton of anti-rotation....Keep Reading ›

Hip flexor and adductor related injuries (strain, tendinopathy, etc.) plague sports like ice hockey and soccer. In general, these injuries arise from one of two primary causes: under-preparation or overuse. The frequent development of these injuries among athletes in pre-season suggests that they may be caused by a combination of under-prepared neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems with an inappropriate volume of training. When assessing athletes with these injuries, sub-optimal joint range-of-motion (ROM), tissue quality, muscular strength, and appropriate strength ratios among antagonistic movements across the relevant joints are frequently noted. These four findings are common in most non-traumatic injuries of all joints....Keep Reading ›

This is the program I used late in last season for late February into March....Keep Reading ›

Sean Skahan breaks down 4 phases of In-Season Core work...Keep Reading ›

This is a 2-day/week training program for the youth players that have finished their seasons and came back to our training facility to immediately get back into it....Keep Reading ›

This is an introductory program designed for next season's incoming players. We had one day of orientation to review the workout for the entire summer and therefore it was designed with simplicity in mind....Keep Reading ›

Late summer 4 day per week program....Keep Reading ›

The "Side Lunge Start" is a starting position I learned from Jim Snider (University of Wisconsin). We use this as the beginning of our lateral starting progression. When performed correctly, the athlete will drive off their front leg directly laterally. The back hip goes through extension, abduction, and external rotation, very similar to a forward skating stride....Keep Reading ›

Here is an example of how we will use the chains with our single leg exercises. This is primarily an in-season exercise. Our guys love the chains....Keep Reading ›

The following exercises focus on the muscles that abduct the hip and adduct the hip in extreme ranges of motion....Keep Reading ›