Hockey is a constantly growing and evolving sport, and since the rule changes in 2004, the sport has gradually changed from favoring bulky, strong players to players emphasizing speed and agility. With a new season upon us, here are five tips to improve that on-ice speed, off the ice.
1. Improve your leg strength: Basic concept that lower body strength translate to on-ice speed. A variety of off-ice exercises are recommended to build this strength such as one and two leg squats and dead lifts.
2.
Emphasize Power: A fundamental component of improving your on-ice speed is improving your lower body power. One of the most common exercises for improving this is the hang clean exercise (it’s a tricky technique I recommend looking it up on youtube). For younger athletes explosive lunges are recommended. The main focus in these exercises are explosive power which relate to explosive power on the ice.
3. Hockey Specific Strengthening: While it’s important to gain a fundamental general strength, there’s importance in strengthening the lower body muscles through hockey movements. Our summer campers from our elite hockey program will be familiar with the penguin hill sprints we often put them through. Exercises like this mimic the skating movement and strengthen the muscles used when skating.
4. Improve Your Flexibility: Improving your flexibility will allow you to maximize your stride and give you a greater range of motion. This will also allow you to reduce injuries throughout the season. Hockey players should try and stretch before and after each workout to improve flexibility and decrease chance of injury.
Similar to the Teen Ranch Elite Hockey Program’s dry land, lower body exercises should be integrated to a workout plan 2-3 days per week. These tips will allow for you to maximize your speed, and make you an overall better hockey player. An average NCAA hockey player can skate from goal-line to blue-line in 2.8 seconds, better start training!
-Kyle Kokotailo (summer hockey staff)
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