The NHL playoffs have officially started, which means one thing….the playoff beard is back! Last year a couple of the Endeavor guys and I decided on a no-shaving policy while our teams were still in the playoffs. The Flyers, who barely snuck into the playoffs, made it to game 6 of the finals, which lead to…
Chicks dig guys with thick playoff beards
Beards even look good from behind.
I wish I had a picture of Emily’s perpetual look of disappointment over the last 6 weeks of their playoff run. While she wasn’t exactly thrilled with the 2 inches of multi-colored fur covering my face (I think she was just jealous that she couldn’t participate), she came around when she saw how sweet my handle-bar mustache looked.
Sorry ladies. I’m taken.
Anyway, traditions need to start somewhere, and where better than my face. The Endeavor playoff beard contest is back. If you’re feeling daring and want to join the fun, fire over some pictures once it starts to look more ridiculous and less socially acceptable. We can do a post-playoff beard gallery.
On to this week’s hockey training content…
Mike Potenza added a video on a few exercises that are great for improving shoulder health on hockey players. The shoulder is a complex area, and ensuring it performs optimally requires understanding how the thoracic spine, scapula, clavical, and humerus bones and their surrounding musculature all interact to produce and control movement. Scapular muscle exercises are often overlooked in hockey training programs, but really need to be incorporated. Check out Mike’s Video:
Click here >> Scap Stability Exercises from Mike Potenza
On a similar note, Darryl Nelson added a video with a half dozen or so anterior core exercises. Some of these I’ve seen and used in the past with our players, others were interesting variations that I’ll likely use in the future. As I’ve said in the past, I really enjoy these videos because they’re great for idea generation. It’s helpful to have multiple strategies/exercises to achieve similar goals to keep things interesting for your athletes over the long haul. Darryl’s video had a few interesting core variations that you probably haven’t seen before.
Click here >> Anterior Core Variations from Darryl Nelson
Lastly, the 3rd annual Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group Hockey Symposium is rapidly approaching. I went to the first two and they were awesome. Not only is it an incredible learning experience, but it’s also an outstanding networking opportunity. In previous years, there have been a number of NHL and D1 NCAA hockey strength and conditioning coaches in attendance, not to mention a number of coaches from private facilities like mine. I’ll definitely be in attendance again this year. The line-up looks better than ever. Simply, if you train hockey players or are involved in hockey sports medicine to any capacity, this is a “must-attend.”
The great news is that the BSMPG is offering HockeySC.com members a $50 discount on admission. It’s cool of them to do it and well worth every penny. Download the coupon at the link below:
>> BSMPG Hockey Symposium Coupon <<
I hope to see you there!
That’s a wrap for today! If you aren’t a member yet, shell out the $1 to test drive Hockey Strength and Conditioning for a week. If it’s not the best buck you’ve ever spent, I’ll personally refund you!
To your continued success,
Kevin Neeld
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