Dallas Ice Jets

March 20, 2011

The game of hockey requires a skill level as high as any competitive sport. Off-season training is a key component for success in hockey and optimal performance is determined by skill and levels of fitness. The skills of skating, puck control, shooting, decision making combined with the short bursts of activity on the ice including stops, starts, turns, bursts of speed and physical battles are what makes hockey so unique and athletically demanding.

Ice hockey is a strength, muscular endurance, speed, and power activity sport, requiring high levels of energy followed by a recovery period to restore this energy. A well-designed off-season training program is essential for players who want to take their game to higher levels.

As off-season approaches, spring camps increase in popularity. With many camps available and many claims being made, it is important for parents and players to do their research. The right spring training program will truly elevate a player’s performance during the next few months in preparation for the upcoming season, while still giving a needed break from the grind of the season.

When choosing a camp, emphasis should be placed toward a scientifically based training program to develop specific parameters required in hockey. Athletes who understand the physiological principles behind training will be better-equipped to intelligently train for their sport and its positions. Invest in a training program that has a methodology that is specific to ice hockey, such as the Ice Jets spring training program. It is designed to incorporate all the necessary components of hockey training: Skill, speed, power, strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, agility and overspeed.

At the Ice Jets, we train with purpose. We are not interested in seeing our athletes maintain their present level of anything. We are not interested in building a general off-season spring camp for the masses. We build our camp with one purpose in mind - Improvement!

We believe in combining sport specialization training with diversity training in order to create a dynamic athlete. The better the athlete, the better the hockey player. Science tells us that during adolescence there is potential for improvement in athleticism that will never again be matched. Neuromuscular patterns of power, speed, coordination and skill can be developed more effectively at young ages than ever again. Young players can't afford to miss these years.

Hockey lags behind much of the rest of the athletic world in development training for its youth athletes. Track, football, body building, boxing and swimming coaches use advanced technology based on science and biomechanics to improve their athletes while youth hockey training is in many cases still using outdated general training principles from 15- to 30-years ago. Many programs today have intentionally or unintentionally built their program on a copycat model of outdated information and training practices.

Intelligent hockey training comes down to synergism. There is no single piece of the overall training puzzle which is by itself the answer. No single form of training is self-sufficient whether it’s weight training, skating treadmills or speed training. As strange as it sounds, skating alone is not the best way to improve skating. On-ice skating practice must be supplemented by improvements in athleticism accomplished through different phases and components of training.

When the various pieces of training are put together; the contribution of each one becomes greater than if the other pieces were missing. This is synergistic training and it’s accomplished by emphasizing different aspects of athleticism in different phases.

If you’re a committed hockey player who strives to be the best hockey player and athlete you can be, then train to Improve. Many athletes today are training hard but they are not training smart. Get involved with coaches and a program that is educated in the science of hockey and with people who are qualified to meet your training goals.

The Ice Jets firmly believe that the greatest motivation to an athlete is the enjoyment that comes from working long, hard hours and improving those skills intrinsic to the sport. In other words, it’s fun to improve!