Today, we’ll wrap up the “Best of 2012” series with the Top Resources/Product Reviews of 2012. If you’ve missed any of the previous articles in this series, you can check them out at the links below:
That’s a wrap for the “Best of 2012” series. Thanks again for your continued support! http://www.kevinneeld.com/2012/recovery-week-monitoring-nutrient-and-hormone-status
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This Week in Hockey Strength and Conditioning
I hope you’ve had a great week. I started massage school on Wednesday, and was happy to hear that I was able to test out of the two Anatomy and Physiology classes they have in the first semester. I’m hoping to test out of a business class over the Summer too. It should make tackling the program a bit more realistic given an already chaotic schedule.
This week strayed a bit from the traditional content topics here, as I was excited to announce the release of two great products. It seems like great products tend to launch in clumps, which makes it difficult for people on a limited budget to choose which direction they want to go. Either way, Eric Cressey’s lower body assessment video is completely free so be sure to check it out! Here’s what you’ve missed over the past week:
I’ve been busy over at HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com this week too. Check out what you’ve missed over the last week!
Exercise Video: Chin-Ups from Sean Skahan
In this mini-article and video, Sean outlines a change he’s made to how he teaches/coaches chin-ups, which are an exercise that should be in the programs of almost all hockey players. Great tip from a coach that’s been in the NHL for 10 years now!
Hockey Training Program: 2-Day In-Season Training: Phase 4 from me
This is the 4th Phase of our in-season training program. I wrote this program for the midget teams I train, and it was originally scheduled to be the last one entering the holidays. Because of tournament weeks, and unplanned deload weeks, we actually didn’t get to it until this month, which is fine. It will likely be the last “high intensity” program of the year, as the final phase or two will have only sporadic high intensity lifts. The home stretch is the time to minimize non-hockey stresses and focus everything on the ice. It’s peaking time!
Youth Hockey Training Program: Youth Hockey Training Program Phase 2 from me
This is the second phase of the in-season program I wrote for the ’00-’02 birth years we train. The idea is to begin to implement a little bit of structured training, while being aware of their sensitive periods for the development of specific training qualities, AND in allowing them to have some fun. At this age, it’s important to remember that they’re likely going to base their opinions on training (and potentially physical activity in general) on how much fun they do or don’t have during their off-ice training. Fun is the number one priority, but some of that is delivered in how we coach, not necessarily in the exercise selection (although mirror shuffles are fun for kids!). You’ll have to excuse the demonstration of this particular drill from Matt and Karl. It looks like they were shuffling through quicksand!
Hockey Strength Podcast: Anthony Renna interviews Darryl Nelson Anthony really does a great job with these. In episode 2 of the Hockey Strength Podcast, Anthony speaks with Darryl about set and rep schemes in hockey training programs, hockey conditioning, and several of Darryl’s articles. Be sure to give this a listen!
If you have some extra time on your hands, last week’s update featured a ridiculous amount of content, so go back and read through anything you haven’t finished!
That’s a wrap for today. As always, if you aren’t a member yet, I encourage you to try out Hockey Strength and Conditioning for a week. It’ll only cost $1, and if it’s not the best buck you’ve ever spent, I’ll personally refund you!
To your success,
Kevin Neeld
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Body By Boyle Online in the Palm of Your Hands
On Tuesday, I mentioned that Eric Cressey posted a video of a staff in-service of him outlining his lower body assessments. A lot of the lower body assessments we incorporate with our athletes at Endeavor I learned directly or indirectly (through resources he recommended) from Eric, so it was great to get a current look at what he’s doing. I definitely picked up a couple ideas that we’ll be using in the future. If you missed that post, check it out here: Elite Training Mentorship. Alternatively, if you don’t care about the post at all, and just want to watch Eric’s video, go here: Elite Training Mentorship
They’ll be releasing another video in the near future so make sure you head over to the site now so you don’t miss it!
Body By Boyle Online
Over the last year, I’ve mentioned on several occasions how great of a resource I thought BodyByBoyleOnline was. For those of you that don’t know, Mike Boyle’s private facility Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning (MBSC) in Woburn, MA was voted as the #1 Gym in America by Men’s Health. Since that time, Mike was appointed as the Strength and Conditioning Coordinator for the Boston Red Sox, another feather in his cap after training a gold medal winning team in the U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Team (’98), working in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, and being credited with creating the first true “NFL Combine Training” success story in Mike Mamula. This is on top of the professional athletes and celebrities that he’s trained over the years in his private facility. In short, he knows his stuff.
The Ultimate Online Strength and Conditioning Educational Resource
What makes BodyByBoyleOnline so valuable is that it’s essentially an inside look at how Mike runs his facility. They post all their staff meetings, guest speakers, and a ton of other valuable content. In fact, they now have over 100 hours of video content on topics such as strength and conditioning, assessments, speed training, rehab, kettlebell training, sandbag training, a talk on the thoracic spine, mobility with bands, rotary training, the FMS, and much more. While a lot of the content comes from Mike directly, some of it also comes from guest speakers such as SueFalsone (Athletes Performance/LA Dodgers), Charlie Weingroff, Dan John, Kelly Starret (MobiliyWod), Nick Tumminello, Negar Fonooni, Joe Sansalone, Charles Staley, and more! In other words, it’s a great resource for fitness enthusiasts, strength coaches, personal trainers, athletic trainers, and physical therapists.
The only thing that could really make it a more valuable resource is if they made it more accessible via smartphones, tablets, etc. And, I’m happy to report, they did exactly that. I got an email from Kevin Larrabee who does a lot of the behind the scenes work for the site and he told me that the site now offers iOS support…which basically meant nothing to me. But he went on to explain that iOS support means the videos can now be accessed and watched on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod
Touch. This makes the information much more easily accessed, especially for those that travel a lot and can’t always get internet access through their computer. I’m excited about the change, as I know the content is top notch, so making it “portable device” compatible will surely make it more accessible to everyone and therefore get quality information out to more people. And I spent a full work week in airports last year with no internet access, so it’d be great to have access to something like this! If you’re interested, check out this link for more information: BodyByBoyleOnline.
To your success,
Kevin Neeld
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Body By Boyle Online (New and Improved)
I’m breaking my usual Monday-Wednesday-Friday update routine because I wanted to let you know about something I’m really excited about. As you know, I’ve been a huge promoter of Body By Boyle Online since it was first launched several months ago.
Mike Boyle’s work has had a profound impact on my training philosophies and methodologies. I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to read his books, watch his DVDs, attend his seminars, and visit his facilities at BU and MBSC. He’s also been an incredible mentor, always making himself available to me if I have questions about anything from sports hernia referrals to running a private training facility. Moreover, I’ve learned and continue to learn a lot from his disciples (Sean Skahan, Mike Potenza, Darryl Nelson, Devan McConnell, Kim McCullough, and Jaime Rodriguez…to name a few).
In short, Boyle has had a remarkable impact on the hockey training and development industry as well as strength and conditioning as a whole. This is, in large part, a result of his dedication to continuing education. In fact, if there’s one thing that he taught me that I had to highlight as THE most important thing, it’s that I should never stop learning. In this way, I’ll always stay on top of my game, be aware of new information, and put my athletes in the best environment to succeed.
It is for that reason that I place so much value in Body By Boyle Online and why I know you’ll benefit so much from it as well. That brings us to today’s exciting announcement.
A couple weeks ago, I got an email from Boyle and Kevin Larrabee about them relaunching their site in a way that makes the content more easily accessible and costs less. Instead of having me try to describe all the changes to you, I thought it would be easier if I had Kevin (the other Kevin) come on and do a quick interview about it.
Enter Kevin:
Me: First off, congratulations to you and the rest of the Michael Boyle Strength and Conditioning staff for being ranked the #1 Gym in America. That’s quite an honor! As you know, I’ve been a huge supporter of BodyByBoyleOnline since you guys first launched it. Looking through the programs provides invaluable insight into Coach Boyle’s underlying philosophies and methodologies, and the constant content updates are outstanding. In fact, we use many of the presentations as continuing education for our staff during our weekly meetings. Can you talk a bit about what changes you’re making to the subscription options with this “re-launch” and what lead you to make these changes?
KL: Thank Kevin! We are bringing everything that has helped make MBSC the #1 Gym in America to BodyByBoyle Online. With the relaunch we had two major goals. First off we wanted to make the content as easy to assess as possible. For us, that meant duplicating all of our content for a website, and in doing so offering multiple qualities of the videos for those with fast or slow connections.
Second, we wanted to created a second membership level for those that might not want to do online training and just want the rich educational content that we have put together. To be honest over half of our members simply come to watch the staff meeting videos as well as the exclusive seminars that we film. For example we just filmed the 2011 MBSC Winter Seminar that featured Dan John as well as Mike. We understand that many people want to go to more seminars, but the time and cost of travel is just too high. So for those people, we now offer a standard version of BodyByBoyle Online at a reduced rate of $39.97/month (for now). Of course all of our current members will also be given access to the website as part of their Platinum membership ($59.97/month).
Me: Although the site is “Body By Boyle”, he’s not the only content contributor to the site. Can you provide some insight into some of the other guests you have add content?
KL: I think that is what makes BodyByBoyle Online so great and a pleasure to produce. We have had speakers come in to the facility to do private seminars for our staff. In the last couple months we have had Sue Falsone form Athlete’s Performance present and do a hands on about the thoracic spine, Nick Tumminello came in to talk rotary training, Chris Frankel did a lecture and hands on about suspension training, and always have guests stopping by, especially when the Perform Better Circuit is coming through town. This just goes to show you how much Mike values continuing education and how important it is for you to be one of the best in this field.
Me: I think one of the things that causes people to hesitate sign up for sites/services with monthly memberships is a fear that the information will stagnate. Can you talk about what plans you guys have for the site in the future and what members have to look forward to?
KL: Trust me when I say you have an ongoing stream of new content. We film our staff meetings each week, our guest speakers, F.A.Q. with Mike where he goes in depth on subjects and answers questions from the members, and we are even dipping into the vault with some classic Boyle videos. All you need to do is take a look at Mike’s shorts to see the videos are 15 years old or so. But the best part, is that the videos from the past are even more relevant now than they were then. One of the VHSs that Mike has converted to digital video is his olympic lift video where he goes through the various lifts. Guess what, we still use the same coaching steps as he did back then.
We have also made digital versions of Mike’s current DVD offerings such as the three DVD set he just produced and released a few months ago.
Me: Thanks Kevin. I appreciate you taking the time to be with us today. I look forward to seeing the content additions over the upcoming months!
To your success,
Kevin Neeld
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2011 Hockey Development Predictions
2011 is going to be a big year, not just for me personally, but also for the entire hockey community. As hockey continues to rapidly increase in popularity around the world, so too will the attention paid to QUALITY development systems. With that in mind, here are my top 3 hockey development predictions for the new year.
3) The rapid death of “select camps” Select tournaments and camps have undergone an incredible growth over the last 10 years. From a business standpoint, the people that run these camps can make a killing by having hundreds of kids attending their tryouts, selecting the team they knew they’d take anyway, and overcharging those players. It works the same way for hosting select tournaments (hence why so many of these “elite only” tournaments have more than doubled their team base over the last several years).
In reality, these camps IMPAIR development more than they expose talent. Because most of these camps take place in the off-season, players put too much focus on on-ice work in the forms of games and practices, and not nearly enough focus on off-ice training and on-ice SKILL work (e.g. skating technique and specific puck handling skills).
Fresh off their 14th hockey camp and 11th hockey showcase, these players are energized for the start of the new season…
The truth is that most players get more than enough exposure during their season. Instead of attending these camps, a player could make drastically more progress by training hard to make a better team the following year. Ultimately, the better the team you’re on, the more exposure you’ll get. There are a few exceptions to this rule (exceptional players in remote areas such as the southeastern United States may need to play in ONE or TWO of these camps/tournaments to get enough exposure to move away from their home and play for a better organization, once they reach an appropriate age to do so), but this likely doesn’t apply to over 75% of the players that attend the camps in the first place.
2) Greater focus on skill work Skill works seems to have found it’s way out of most youth organizations. This is the result of both an overemphasis on winning AND a rapid increase in the number of youth programs without a parallel increase in the number of qualified coaches. Regarding the former, winning is an important part of the game, but unless a coach’s job depends on it (and even then, alternative means should be considered), winning should not be pursued at the expense of skill work and individual development. Regarding the latter point, this is certainly not to bad mouth the hundreds of fathers and former players that have stepped up to fill the coaching void. It’s only to point out that it takes a special ability to be able to recognize, teach, and reinforce proper skill development progressions, and the number of people that can do that are quite limited. This is why, much to the surprise of hockey parents, I’ve recommended that some of the players I interact with take skating lessons with skating coaches with a primarily figure skating background. The truth is that these coaches tend to have a better understanding of the importance of edge work and single-leg stability. This isn’t to say that all figure skating coaches fit this description, but those with a history of working with hockey players tend to be excellent.
With the rule changes made several years back, hockey is more of a speed and skill game than ever before. Hockey development programs and organizations need to adapt if they want to produce elite level players. In the states, USA Hockey is on the right track with their new ADM initiative; it’s up to us now to learn about it and constantly reinforce it with the players we have access to.
Skill demonstration for Flyer’s fans (the last one is amazing)
1) Increased emphasis on training using a program As more players train, the improved results of players that follow a well-written program will become increasingly apparent. As it is, we’ve had players at Endeavor that tell us they’ve made more progress in as little as a couple weeks training with us than they have in several months training on their own. In somewhat less extreme cases, most of the players we train in the off-season hit the ice in September and say they’ve never felt better in their lives. Think about that.
Our training certainly isn’t EASY, but the idea that a player can revolutionize his performance by following a well-written training program is quite SIMPLE. Get the program, get the results; it doesn’t get any more simple than that. The largest barrier to this, naturally, is that not everyone can get access to quality training programs. Well, I should say the largest PERCEIVED barrier is that everyone doesn’t know they can get access to quality training programs. For this reason, I think membership sites that provide this information will really take off in the new year. For strength and conditioning coaches that work with hockey players (in a high school, college, junior, professional, or private setting), you’d have to be crazy not to have a membership to HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com at this point. Not only are several programs from different coaches provided on a monthly basis, but you have access to many of the top coaches in the world to ask them questions about your own programs and situations. It’s the single best resource for you.
For those involved in hockey training, but that don’t have the expertise or desire to write their own programs, Body By Boyle Online is an extraordinary option for you. There is a ton of content on there, which is nice for the intellectually curious, but more suited to your needs, there are constantly updated done-for-you training programs with videos of all the exercises. All of the content at both sites is available for an incredibly nominal monthly investment, considering the overwhelming impact this information can have on a player’s development!
That’s a wrap for today. If you think I missed something, please comment below!
To your success,
Kevin Neeld
P.S. If you haven’t yet, go sign up for the 2011 Sports Rehab to Sports Performance Teleseminar. It’s ABSOLUTELY free, and the speakers are world-class. Sign-up now so you don’t miss any of the presentations; they start next week!
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