Tag: Maria Mountain

Goalie-Specific Power Training: Lateral Pushing

Lateral and rotational jumps can help goalies improve the speed at which they get across the crease.

One piece of feedback I’ve heard from goalies over the years is that after going through a training phase to improve speed/power, they OVER push, and end up past the position they need to be in.

A couple years ago, I had a conversation with my friend @goalietraining about this issue and she mentioned integrating more “short amplitude” lateral pushes. With these, the goal is to cover a shorter distance as fast as possible, instead of attempting to cover as much ground as possible. This better replicates the patterns goalies go through most commonly.

This video (Click here to see video: Goalie-Specific Power Training) from Maria is of a short-amplitude lateral push resisted by the @ancoretraining cable (which has been an awesome addition to both our training facility and my home gym).

Any significant off-ice changes will take some practice time to transition those improved qualities to the ice, but integrating both maximum effort jumps AND short-amplitude lateral pushes provides goalies with a more versatile movement skillset that better transitions to the ice.

Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. For comprehensive hockey training programs to improve your speed AND repeat sprint ability, check out: Speed Training for Hockey

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Sports Performance Stuff You Should Read

Short and sweet today. I just wanted to share a list of “Sports Performance” articles I think you’ll enjoy. Check them out at the links below!

As a friendly reminder, Lee Taft’s new Certified Speed and Agility Coach program is only open for 12 days before they close enrollment. It’s also on sale for $100 off, so if you’re interested in learning from one of the top speed development experts in the industry and saving some loot, check out his program today: Certified Speed and Agility Coach

From Endeavor

Matt Sees, Performance Specialist at Endeavor Sports Performance and all around snazzy dresser, wrote a 3-part article series on off-season football training. If you’re like most people reading this, and are here primarily for hockey training information, I would STILL encourage you to read these. What Matt is describing is really just a systematic approach to designing a quality training program. He did a great job with this series and it’ll spark a lot of thought about the programs you’re using/writing for whatever sport you’re interested in.

Sarah Sulsenti is the newest member to the Endeavor Team, and along with her many other responsibilities, will be running our new E-Fit Bootcamps. She has been an AWESOME addition to our team. She recently shared her “Why”, discussing how she became interested in the fitness industry and what keeps her motivated. I really enjoy reading these stories because they share the background story that leads to an unwavering passion for wanting to help people. Check out Sarah’s story here: Sarah Sulsenti’s Why

If you’re interested, I shared my personal story a few weeks ago: Kevin’s Why

From Mike Robertson

This is a great post from Mike that everyone working in the fitness industry should read. If you’re an intern or young coach, the recommendations in this article should lay the foundation for your coaching style; if you’re an experienced coach, this should be a great reminder. Check it out here: Do’s and Don’ts of Coaching

From Maria Mountain

Maria is basically the only coach writing about “hockey-specific” training information that I read regularly. She’s not only very bright, but she actually coaches, so the “good in theory, bad in practice” ideas don’t make it on to her site. She has a particular interest in training goalies, a largely under-served and over-looked population. This is a very quick read on goalie-specific exercises, but has a few important messages: The Truth About Goalie-Specific Exercises

From USA Hockey

Emotions were riding high on Friday afternoon in anticipation of the U-18 Women’s World Championship

Our U-18 girls won the U-18 Women’s World Championships with a 3-2 overtime win over Canada on Friday. The team went 5-0, and outscored their opponents 23-3 during the tournament. I’m very proud of this group. Check out the recap of the Gold Medal Game vs. Canada here: U.S. Wins Gold with 3-2 Win vs. Canada

From Hockey Strength Podcast

Brian Sipotz has been doing a great job with the Hockey Strength Podcast. Last week I knocked out ~10 episodes while I was getting some office work done. If you train hockey players, this is a great free resource where you can hear from many of the top coaches across college, professional, and private settings. Check it out here: Hockey Strength Podcast

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingMovement.com
UltimateHockeyTraining.com

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Year-round age-specific hockey training programs complete with a comprehensive instructional video database!

Get access to your game-changing program now >> Ultimate Hockey Transformation

“Kevin Neeld is one of the top 5-6 strength and conditioning coaches in the ice hockey world.”
– Mike Boyle, Head S&C Coach, US Women’s Olympic Team

“…if you want to be the best, Kevin is the one you have to train with”
– Brijesh Patel, Head S&C Coach, Quinnipiac University

Core Training, Hamstring Strains, Athlete Monitoring & Athletic Development

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve come across a few interesting articles I know you’ll enjoy. Check them out below:

1) No More Pulled Hamstrings by Mike Robertson

Mike continues to punch out great information on a consistent basis. This article highlights a multi-faceted approach to minimizing hamstring strain risk. While this is focused on hamstring strains, this same thought process can be applied to muscle strain prevention across the entire body. Great stuff from Mike.

2) Three New Core Exercises for Goalies by Maria Mountain

Maria is one of the few people writing about hockey training on the internet that can back her recommendations with actual real-world experience. As a result, her site is one of the only ones I consistently look to for new information on the topic. In this post she shares a few new core exercises that she’s been using to train goalies. I’d extend the exercises to say they’re appropriate for hockey players at all positions (and almost all other team sport athletes). We use variations of all of these at our facility regularly.

3) Athlete Monitoring on a Budget – An Experience by John Abreu

This is an article that I originally learned about from Devan McConnell, and I’m glad he shared it. This approach is very similar to what I’ve introduced with the Flyers Junior Team and our off-season hockey players at Endeavor, and what our staff has implemented with the US Women’s National Hockey Team. The key is to really boil down your metrics to things that have meaning to you (and/or your coaching staff) and preferably things you can influence (e.g. training loads, sleep hours, soreness, etc.).

Finally, below is a video from the 2014 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference featuring a panel comprised of Malcom Gladwell (Author of Outliers: The Story of Success, among others) and David Epstein (Author of The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance). It’s a long video, but it makes for a great listen if you can cue it up on your phone and listen (please do not watch) while you drive.

Feel free to post any comments you have below!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingMovement.com
UltimateHockeyTraining.com

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!

Get Ultimate Hockey Transformation Now!

Year-round age-specific hockey training programs complete with a comprehensive instructional video database!

Get access to your game-changing program now >> Ultimate Hockey Transformation

“Kevin Neeld is one of the top 5-6 strength and conditioning coaches in the ice hockey world.”
– Mike Boyle, Head S&C Coach, US Women’s Olympic Team

“…if you want to be the best, Kevin is the one you have to train with”
– Brijesh Patel, Head S&C Coach, Quinnipiac University

Stuff You Should Read: Training and Recovery

Today I wanted to share a few articles I’ve read over the last few weeks that I think you’ll enjoy. As a quick reminder, today is the last day to grab a copy of Mike Boyle’s new Functional Strength Coach 5 for $50 off and win a free copy of his newest book Functional Strength Coach Reader. He’s also doing a live group video Q&A with everyone that orders so if you’re at all interested in FSC5, now’s your chance to grab a copy at a significant discount and get a bunch of other cool stuff too.

Grab your copy today here >> Functional Strength Coach 5

Check out the articles below that cover a wide range of topics from breathing to off-ice hockey testing to coaching like Bruce Springsteen. I especially liked the sauna article, as we just got a far infrared sauna for Endeavor. It’s nice to see the research-supported benefits of sauna use hitting the mainstream. Enjoy!

Diaphragmatic Breathing: Implications in an Exercise Program and On-Field Performance from Miguel Aragoncillo
5 Things I Learned in 2013 from Anthony Donskov
What do Off-Ice Hockey Tests really test? from Maria Mountain
Are Saunas the Next Big Performance-Enhancing “Drug”? from Rhonda Perciavalle Patrick, Ph.D
3 Tips to Perform Like “The Boss” in the Weight Room from Anthony Donskov

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
OptimizingMovement.com
UltimateHockeyTraining.com

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Olympics, Breathing, PRI, and Athletic Excellence

I spent the weekend in Phoenix, AZ at a PRI Vision course and spending some time with Neil Rampe, Charlie Weingroff, Doug(las) Kechijian, and a couple guys from the Diamondbacks staff. I still have a lot to digest and will spend some time studying the course materials over the next few weeks to see what I can do to improve my programs. As is always the case when I get together with these guys, I learned just as much outside the course as I did inside. A lot of great conversations!

I got back late last night, so I’m brain-fried right now and pretty far behind on a bunch of work (just found out I’m presenting in Philadelphia, twice, in two weeks…with no presentation started!). Fortunately, I was able to jump on a call with my friend Maria Mountain before I left and she just posted the recording of our call. In it, she asked me about:

U.S. vs. Canada Olympic hockey (this wasn’t a questioning as much as trash talking!)
How I use Postural Restoration Institute techniques with my athletes
How breathing can influence performance and recovery
The key qualities shared by exceptional athletes

The call isn’t overly long, but we cover a lot of good stuff, so make sure you check it out! Also, I don’t know all the details, but I know Maria is going to offer an AWESOME deal on all of our goalie training products, so if you’re a goalie and looking for great training opportunities, make sure you check out her site over the next few days: Hockey Training Pro

Listen here >> Hockey Training Interrogation with Kevin Neeld

In a couple days, I’ll be releasing the first part of a 3-article “Optimal Movement” series that dives into why recognizing structural and functional limitations is so important, what you need to know about corrective exercise, and how to individual programs in a group setting. Lots of great stuff coming in the next week. In the meantime, you can grab a copy of my 2-DVD set Optimizing Movement today for $20 off as part of an “Extended Black Friday” sale! Click the link below for more information!

Have a happy Thanksgiving and check back in a couple days for Part 1!

Get Optimizing Movement Now!

“…one of the best DVDs I’ve ever watched”
“A must for anyone interested in coaching and performance!”

Click here for more information >> Optimizing Movement

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
OptimizingMovement.com
UltimateHockeyTraining.com

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!