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Articles by
Jack Blatherwick
Super Compensation
Super
compensation refers to the ability of our bodies to
adapt to, and eventually overcompensate for the stress
of exercise
Over-Speed Skill Development
The benefit of
practicing at a higher level of effort to improve
performance
Skating Simulation
Correct methods for
improving the skating stride
A Time for Sprints & Jumps
How using various
kinds of sprinting and jumping will improve skating
performance
Organizing an Over-Speed Practice
Strategies for
coaches to increase the tempo of a practice
Uncommon Passion - Asset #1 for
Hockey Players
Having a real
passion for hockey can help you develop as a hockey
player
"Loading up" - Before Your
Extension
An article on the
importance of loading your leg before the skating
stride...so bend your knees!
Quick Hands, Quick Feet - It's a
European Thing
Making the
important skills like stickhandling and skating part of
your regular practice develops correct habits
Invest in Hockey and You'll be
Rewarded
A solid work ethic
will go a long way to developing your hockey talents
Analysis shows how Wasteful We can
be with Ice Time
A lot of time is
wasted in amateur hockey, and with the price of ice-time
can you really afford this type of waste?
Is this
Your Comfort Zone?
With skating you
need to bend your knees...here is a diagram of what your
skating comfort zone should be
How You Practice Might Determine
Your Improvement More Than What You Practice
Remember the saying
practice makes perfect...it should read perfect practice
makes perfect. With our training we improve on what we
teach ourselves to improve. Here is a great article on
how to improve the quality of your practices.
Russian Box Skating Jumps
The use of Russian
Box Jumps can be very valuable to your training...here
is a preview of this training method
They Just Don't Get It!
It is the job of
every coach to know the latest information and science
on training and conditioning (or have an expert who does
know)...when this doesn't happen then injuries or more
serious training mishaps can occur
Hockey is a Game of Frustration
How you get over
obstacles in hockey will go a long way in determining
your ultimate success
Anaerobic Training is "Highly
Aerobic
Endurance training
is not the only way to build aerobic power...with drills
in hockey that are interval in nature it will surely
build great aerobic endurance
Leave the Jogging to Adults
Training for hockey
should not involve jogging or edurance running. This is
old school thinking that is hardly sport specific
Periodization
All training should
have periodization plan for training. Essentially this
means a strategic build-up over a season to prepare the
body for peak performance at the end of the year
Hockey Endurance is Developed on
the Ice
One of the most
important things in training is to be as specific as
possible. You can do many things off-ice but ideally
you want to improve your performance with lots of
skating and drills to improve your hockey conditioning
Age-Specific Training Programs:
Development v. Maintenance
At what age do you
push athletes to improve and when should you back off
and maintain conditioning? This article talks about
many facets of training and what may be helpful in the
career of a hockey player
Age Dependant Development of
Athleticism
When is it time to
start strength training and conditioning? This is
dependant on your age (or training age) as this article
will examine
Constructive Approach Determines
Improvement
Coaches must
maintain a constructive approach to training players to
see improvements in development
Goal Scorers Hear a Different
Drummer
Goal scorers do not
see what normal players see...here's what they look for
and what we should strive to see when we play
Stickhanding, Skating, Shooting:
The "New" Game
Training the basics
in all methods of training helps to reinforce and
develop these skills
Groin Injuries are Preventable
A great article on
methods to reduce groin injuries with focused training
Mental Rehearsal is Critical in
Developing Skills
Using a mental
rehearsal will go a long way to developing and improving
hockey performance
The Late Jim Baxter: The Ultimate
Rink Rat
A tribute article
to the ultimate rink rat
Teaching Beginners to Skate
A great article for
coaches to learn the basis of teaching young players to
skate correctly
Speed of Mind
How to improve the
speed at which your mind works...like a Gretzky
Defencemen more than Mark on a
Wall
Skill level rather
than height is more critical component to selecting
players in hockey
The NHL Leads the Way Towards
Skillful Hockey
With the changes in
the NHL hockey is once again a skill oriented sport
Elevating Comfort Zones for All
Skill Levels
We must push
ourselves in practice to improve various skills for
games
The Center of Gravity & "Loading
Up" Your Weight Before Extension
You must bend your
knees and load the leg during the skating
stride...here's why you do it
Training Priorities: Why not put
Hockey at the Top?
We tend to put
dryland conditioning at the top of the list of
activities for hockey...maybe it's time we got back to
what got you here in the first place...on-ice training!
Physiological Comfort Zone: Play
the Way You Practice
Hockey is a high
speed game...why not train this way during practice?
Skating Improvement: A Dual
Approach
Skating and dryland
training are a two pronged approach to maximize skating
development
Game Warm-up Could use a Little
Thought!
The current type of
pre-game warm-up is not scientifically up to date and
perhaps responsible for many early game injuries.
Here is a article that takes apart the pre-game warm-up
and offers a different rational of thinking.
Cheating
by Any Name is Still Cheating
By letting the
players showcase skills rather than interfering or
cheating we will start to see a higher caliber game in
North America.
Wolfpacks
are Great Examples of Synergy
Working together
adds up to more than just 5 players on the ice.
It's Not the Size of the Dog in
the Fight
Train Athletic Movement - NOT
Isolated Muscles
Why is Hockey Treated Differently?
Train Fast for a Fast Game
Does Our System Encourage Creative
Play?
Unfocused Development
Stretching is NOT Warm-up
Smart Muscles - NOT Just Strong
Muscles
Coaches Win by the Way they
Conduct Practice
Where Have All The Hogans Gone?
Learning Rink Sense: What Works,
What Doesn't
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