Tag: Kevin Neeld

Innovative Practices in Strength and Conditioning

I just wanted to let you know that my presentation “Innovative Practices in Strength and Conditioning” is now available for you to watch at Strength and Conditioning Webinars. The presentation is jammed with great hockey training information that you won’t find anywhere else. I was all hopped up on caffeine and Olympic Hockey, so I was able to squeeze a ton of great info into my hour slot.

As you’ve heard me say before, I think Strength and Conditioning Webinars is the best Strength and Conditioning resource on the internet. I watch and re-watch presentations on that site weekly and frequently make changes to my programs based on what I learn from the presentations. You really owe it to yourself to check it out. If you don’t like it after the first month, just quit. It’ll cost you less than $20 and you can watch as many of the archived presentations (every single presentation since the site was launched is still available!) for next to nothing.

-Kevin Neeld

P.S. After you register for a membership at Strength and Conditioning Webinars if you have any questions about “Innovative Practices in Strength and Conditioning”, post them as comments to this page. I’ll be happy to answer them!

Check out these other posts about Strength and Conditioning Webinars:

Present Ideas for Athletes, Coaches, and Strength Coaches

Stronger, Faster, Smarter…Guaranteed!

Learn From the Best, Wherever You Are

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3 Tips from Olympic Hockey Players

Sunday’s Olympic Gold Medal battle between the U.S. and Canada was one of the best hockey games I’ve ever seen. I was disappointed that the Americans couldn’t pull it out, but it’s hard to complain about a game like that. Hopefully the excitement will drive more deserved attention to the greatest sport on Earth (and most other planets too…).

I was fortunate to watch at least part of every hockey game during these Olympics. Hopefully hockey players and coaches around the world were just as fortunate because there were a TON of great hockey lessons to be learned.

1) Hunger Eats Talent. Two of the best games I saw during the Olympics were the Czech Republic vs. Latvia, and Slovakia vs. Norway. Both games had one thing in common, one team was DRASTICALLY outmatched by the other. Norway had 1 NHL player on its roster. Latvia had two. I’d be surprised if you’ve heard of any of them. Despite the lopsided rosters, Norway and Latvia battled to the end and almost pulled out INCREDIBLE upsets. They were hungry. They wanted to win more. To be more patriotic, this is the same reason that the U.S. beat Canada in the preliminaries AND the 1980 USSR team (the greatest sporting event ever). Never give up on a game. Be a “hungry” player every shift of every game. That type of attitude is contagious. Hungry teams win championships. You want that.

2) Throw everything on net. The announcers said early that Luongo didn’t look steady. He didn’t. Every shot had a rebound. The U.S. scored two suspect goals that resulted from just throwing pucks at the net. Of more interest to my Canadian friends, look at Crosby’s last goal! Ryan Miller was the Olympic MVP. He was almost unbeatable on first shots. Crosby threw a quick, but generally unimpressive shot on net and won a Gold Medal for his country. Too many players try to get too fancy around the net. Wayne Gretzky wisely pointed out that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Throw it on net, especially in big games and towards the end of the game. Nerves are high. Goalies are tired. A goal is a goal. Don’t miss an opportunity to score.

3) Speed dominates. Zach Parise stood out every shift he was on the ice. He wasn’t the biggest player. He didn’t have the hardest shot. He stood out because he was ridiculously fast. I don’t want to under-emphasize other skills like having good hands and being able to read the play, but if you’re too slow to create enough time to use your good hands, it won’t matter. To compete at the highest levels of hockey, you need to be fast. To dominate at those levels, you need to be faster.

Play fast. Play smart. Play hungry. Win.

-Kevin Neeld

P.S. If you want to follow a specific training program to help you develop game-changing speed, register for a membership with Hockey Training Expert. It’s only $9.95/month and has training programs you can start to follow immediately, straight through until next season.

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Hockey Training Interview with Maria Mountain

On Thursday I did an interview with Maria Mountain. Among other things, we talked about hockey training mistakes, my favorite exercise for hockey players, a couple great core exercises, and whether hockey players should use exercise bikes for conditioning or not.

You can listen to the interview here: Hockey Training Interview

…Ignore the end of the interview when I predict that the US Women’s Olympic Team will beat Canada…

In the interview I described one of my favorite core exercises: Rotational Cable Lift

This is an incredible exercise for improving rotational power, which has direct benefits for shooting power on the ice. Because of the complexity of the movement, it’s pretty difficult to explain.

Check out the video below:

[quicktime]http://www.kevinneeld.com/videos/Hockey%20Training-Standing%20Rotational%20Cable%20Lift.mov[/quicktime]

-Kevin Neeld

P.S. In the last week I’ve added a 1-hour audio interview I did with Joe Heiler, an article on how I quickly help hockey players get rid of groin pain forever, and an article on neck training to prevent concussions from Jeff Cubos to Hockey Training Expert. If you register now, you can still download Breakaway Hockey Speed, Hockey Nutrition 101, and Hockey Training Expert’s Mental Performance Package! What are you waiting for? Click here to join the site that is changing hockey training forever!

Kevin Neeld

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Hockey Training Presentation

I just wanted to give you a quick heads up to let you know I’ll be giving a hockey training presentation for Anthony Renna’s site Strength and Conditioning Webinars this Saturday (2/27) at 2pm est.

As you know, I’m a HUGE supporter of the site. It gives you access to dozens of presentations from some of the smartest and experienced Strength and Conditioning Coaches in the world. The information is incredible; it’s up-to-date and effective. I’ve made significant changes to my training programs after listening to some of the presentations on the site.

In my presentation “Innovative Practices in Strength and Conditioning”, I’ll discuss:

-A new way of designing dynamic warm-ups
-A few mobility exercises that I’ve started using recently
-Why I don’t do any “agility” training at all
-The single-leg vs. double-leg training controversy
-An interval-based conditioning progression
-Hip flexor and groin strain prevention

I’m really excited about the presentation because I think I’ll be introducing topics that other people aren’t talking about. Hopefully it’ll generate some great discussion.

I may be a little biased (just a little), but I HIGHLY recommend you join the site to watch this presentation (and to watch the dozens of other presentations!). I look forward to answering your questions on the forum afterward. Click the link below to join now.

Let me in to SCWebinars!

To your continued success,

Kevin Neeld

P.S. Thank you to all of you that have joined Hockey Training Expert and for all the kind words you’ve had about the site. Your feedback goes a long way toward improving the site. I’m really excited about the direction the site is heading. Together we can change hockey player development forever!

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3 Tips to Become a Better Hockey Player

I’m still pumped up from USA’s win over Canada yesterday. When Ryan Kesler dove to score that empty net goal, I dove across the couch onto my girlfriend Emily in celebration (Amazingly, no Emilys were harmed in the making of that celebration). What a game.

The good news for Canada fans: I think the US just woke up a sleeping beast. I’d be surprised if Canada didn’t rebound with an incredible performance in their next game.

Even if they don’t, YOU can still win. Watching good hockey puts me in a good mood. I’ve decided to extend my 3 free bonuses giveaway for new Hockey Training Expert members. Sign up for a membership and you can instantly download a copy of Breakaway Hockey Speed, Hockey Nutrition 101, and Hockey Training Expert’s Mental Performance Package.

I’m in, sign me up!

I’m obviously a huge proponent of off-ice training to improve a hockey player’s performance. Having said that, it would be irresponsible and…well…stupid of me to say that a good training program is ALL you need.

Dominant hockey players aren’t just fast, or strong, or well-conditioned. They see the ice well. They read the play. They create time and space for themselves.

See the Ice Better
One of the single most effective habits a hockey player can have is to take a quick scan of the ice BEFORE they get the puck. As a pass is on its way, pick your head up and get an idea of your surroundings. Is someone from the other team bearing down on you? Do you have time to collect the pass and make a play or do you need to just tip the puck to a safe area? Has one of your teammates slipped behind the other team, looking for a quick pass from you?

Scanning the ice before you get the puck will help you make smarter, quicker decisions.

Read the Play Better
Reading the play comes down to knowing the game of hockey. You need to be able to anticipate the developing play so you can make the smartest decision, with or without the puck. As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the best ways to become better at reading the play is to WATCH a lot of hockey. Pick a team around your age but at a higher level, and an older team at an elite level and follow a single player around that plays your position. Watch how he/she responds to certain plays and anticipates others.

Learning from players at higher levels will allow you to become more familiar/comfortable with a variety of game situations and respond faster on the ice.

Create More Time and Space
Creating time and space gives you the freedom to make better passes and take better shots. It decreases the pressure on you. Knowing your surroundings and reading the play are paramount to creating time and space for yourself (that’s why this is the last of the three). One easy way to create time and space for yourself WITH the puck is to take 2-3 quick strides immediately after receiving a pass. Naturally this will somewhat depend on your positioning on the ice and your surroundings, but in general this is an effective habit to develop.

Taking 2-3 quick strides after receiving a pass will help create separation between you and your opponent, allowing you the time and space to make a better play.

Train Hard. Play Smart.

Kevin Neeld

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