My answer to the question of whether young female players should train any differently from young male players is simple:  NO and YES.  Allow me to explain.

Do my young female hockey players have different training programs from my young male players?  NO.

In all my years of working with young players, I NEVER change my training program based solely on gender.  Of course, I always take into account the age, training experience and injury history of each of my athletes on an individual basis.   But, their gender makes NO DIFFERENCE in how I lay out my programs.

Why?

Because the skills and abilities needed to play hockey are VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL for males and females.  In order to play hockey, all players must have:

• Amazing single-leg strength and balance in order to skate, shoot and save (can’t forget about the goalies).

• Tremendous total body coordination in order to stickhandle, skate and pass while avoiding checks and reading the play.

Think about a young player learning the fundamentals of hockey on the ice.  They are taught how to skate, stickhandle, shoot and pass.   It doesn’t matter if they are female or male, the basic skills are the same.  The same thing holds true in training athletes off the ice.  There are fundamental athletic skills that have to be learned no matter the athlete’s age, ability or gender.   All young players need to get stronger, faster and quicker. 

Since every young female and male player has the same basic athletic needs, it doesn’t make much sense to train them differently.  But...Do I approach training differently for young males and females?  YES.

Most young male players desperately want to get bigger, faster and stronger.  They are ready and willing to do whatever it takes to make this happen.  But most young female players have a different approach to training.  

Young females are constantly bombarded with messages about what is the ‘ideal’ image.   As a result, female athletes involved in sports that require strength and power, such as hockey, may struggle with their desire to increase their performance while still conforming to the ‘ideals’ of pop culture. 

I struggled with this a great deal as a young female player.  I fell victim to the ‘thin is in’ mentality.  I didn’t have a lot of strong, powerful and athletic female role models to look up to and was constantly worried about how I would be judged by others.  Ultimately, it was the confidence and strength that I gained through my involvement in sport, and the support of my coaches and parents, that carried me through. 

Encourage & Empower
It is our job, as coaches and parents, to empower our young female players.   They must know that being strong and powerful will be of tremendous benefit to them both on and off the playing field.

Young female players may need exactly the same skills and abilities as males, but they also need further encouragement and positive reinforcement.  We must help them realize that they deserve all the same opportunities, respect and success as male athletes.

World-renowned female soccer player, Mia Hamm, said it best when talking about how she and her teammates wanted to be coached:

‘Train us like men, treat us like women’.

About The Author
Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS is an Athletic Development Specialist and founder of Total Female Hockey.  In addition to training and coaching girls at all levels of hockey, from novice to the National team, Kim has also played at the highest level of women's hockey in the world for the last decade.