Habs Private Training Session at Hawk Sports Performance 9/26/2011

Select Habs Player get great Workout at Hawk Sports Performance!

Hockey Specific Speed, Strength, and Performance Training at Hawk Sports Performance this fall! 

Hawk Sports Performance proudly held an open house for the Jr. A Trenton Habs on Monday, September 26th at 6pm. Coach Kevin Hawke tailored his revolutionary sports performance program to meet all of the teams hockey specific needs. Coach Hawke's facility and system has produced some of the best results in the State of New Jersey this past year, and the Habs really benefitted from the experience.  Assistant General Manager Andrew Trimble had this to say, "Hawke Sports Performance is second to none when it comes down to speed, strength and athletic training facilities.  His system is detail-focused and hones in on the technical aspects of achieving superior results.  We were honored to have the opportunity, and train again with Kevin in the future!"

 

Here are some of the highlights of Coach Kevin's workout-

1) PVC Barefott Balance Training- Players walked on PVC pipes forward and backward strengthening their ankle, calf, and core muscles in an advanced functional drill.

2) Plyometric Series-  Using platforms and obstacles, players were taken through a series of 1-legged and 2-legged explosive manuevers.

3) Accelerator Machine-  This advanced machine was, as Forward Russel Armbruster put it, "The most grueling calf training he's EVER had."

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 Skating Errors Observed on Day 1 of "10 Weeks to Success" Clinics

After running our students through some speed training on Sunday night I'll reconstruct for you the three most common mistakes our students made. Typically they were: not enough kneebend, using two hands on the stick, and poor edge-control. Correcting one or all of these common errors will automatically improve your skating ability.

KNEEBEND

Detail:

I constantly remind kids to remember that if they only focus on one aspect of that will definitely make them better skaters, that fundamental would be to bend the knees more than what feels comfortable. You will find that your balance improves, as well as your stride length, mobility and speed.

Tips:

* Bend your knees deep enough so that they are about 2" out in front of the toes of your skates.

* Except for in the tight turn, where the outside edge skate should lead you into the turn, the Knee should always be out in front of the toes of your skates.

* If your legs are not burning at the end of practice, than you know you are not bending the knees to the optimal position.

STICK CONTROL

Detail:

Obviously, when you shoot, pass, catch a pass, you should use two hands. However, when you are attempting to gain top speed in open ice you should have one hand, yout top hand, on the stick. This includes when you are controlling the puck. Be sure to stretch your arms fully to the front, rather than side to side, so that you are able to keep all your momentum and speed going in the direction you are traveling, not against or across it.

Tips:

* Use one hand on the stick whenever you are in open ice situations.

* Remember to turn the palm of your stickhand up once the arm has fully extended to the front, this will flatten your stick out on the ice, allowing you to maintain top speed while pushing the puck on your backhand side.

* Keeping one hand on the stick will dramatically improve your balance, especially when skating backwards.

EDGE  CONTROL

Detail:

You have to be able to grip the ice with all 4 of your edges in order for you to get maximum power and control. The proper angle of an edge rolling to the ice should be maintained at 45 degrees, halfway to the ice. Too many players we see never roll the ankles of their skates which means they are standing mostly on the flats of the blades. This mistake will severely hamper your power, turns, starts, etc.

Tips:

* Make sure your edges roll at least halfway to the ice.

* Be sure to center all of your bodyweight directly over your edge to create a Counterbalancing effect.

Fall Clinic Announced!

The constant complaint I hear from youth hockey parents is that mites, squirts and pee wee coaches focus on systems and positional play.  Obviously, this stuff is important, but not, in my opinion, till the pee wee level, and more so at the Bantam level.  Coaches with a defensive forecheck or "homeplate-style" D-zone scheme can win a ton of games... but it drastically hinders the kids skill development.

The Fall clinics I am doing are ONLY skill focused.  In addition, I plan on tailoring these clinics to high school kids by implementing a game situation conditioning element.  They will be great for all ages and abilities, and be perfect for guys gearing up for the season.  10 WEEKS TO SUCCESS!

If you are interested reach out to me at scoringconcepts@gmail.com

3 Exercises to Increase Power! Transform yourself from the Weightroom to the Ice.

Transfer Off-Ice strength and power to the Ice with these 3 Exercises!



Training for power requires that you do exercises in which the speed of the exercise movement is relatively high, includes a load, and is executed with some explosive intent. This might be done in the gym or on the track/field. For example, runners might use plyometric exercises like bounds and jumps and marches and footballers might use special tackling machinery and equipment.  Hockey players can use a combination of the track/ field & Football principles to achieve results, but in today's article I want to focus on 3 specific weightroom exercises that will GREATLY increase your functional strength and explosive power.

1) The power clean. In the power clean, you start with bar on the floor but you only squat half way down (mid-thigh) or higher.  Then you explode with the weight upwards, before lifting the weight to shoulders.  You will have to use your entire body to hoist the weight as well as roll your wrists over, so this is a difficult, but very effective power exercise.  Start with just the bar for technique and gradually increase weight.

2) Jump Squats. Instead of writing in detail on how to do a good jump squat, watch the video below.  The main points are to perform a normal squat, then as you rise jump in the air as high as you can.  Make sure when you land you are landing on the balls of your feet first, not flat footed or landing on your heal after you do jump squats. This will help prevent injury.  Start out by performing this activity using just your body weight.  Gradually add dumbbells with increasing weight.

3) Pull-ups: The King of Upper Back Exercises -    The greatest upper-back exercise known to man & also the most basic - pull-ups. The most important exercise for building size and strength in the lats.

What is a "Scoring Concepts" Clinic... by the Numbers.

In our last post we looked at the difference between a typical practice and a typical game in order to quantify which would afford the youth athlete a better opportunity to develop.  Using a study by OMHA (Ontario Midget Hockey Association), it was determined that at a minimum 2 practices are necessary for every 1 game in order to achieve steady skill development.

What I want to accomplish with this blog entry is to look at my training progression, which focuses on 1. Multi-Skill and Overspeed Drills 2. Actions over Instruction aka minimal or no on-ice chalkboard session (I believe kids learn best on the pond or by doing) 3. Competitions (kids competing in teams or against one another in a fun atmosphere), in order to fully understand how my clinics match up against a game or team practice.

Let's look again at the practice numbers in the OMHA study-

A HOCKEY GAME BY THE NUMBERS :
The following statistics were recorded during a 60-minute Peewee level hockey game:

• Players will have the puck on their stick for an average of 8 seconds per game.
• Players will take an average of 1 – 2 shots per game.
• 99% of the feedback coaches give players is when they have the puck. Ironically players only have the puck on their stick for 0.2% of the game.
• 1 efficient practice will give a player more skill development than 11 games collectively.

And then let's look at the practice plan for my August 10th "Summer Hockey Skills Workshop" at the Arenas in Woodbridge, NJ-

6-6:05: Warmup/ Free Skate & Welcome
6:05-6:15pm: Group Warmup
* 5 Circle Drill Fwd/ Bkwd
* Iron Cross/ Knee Propulsions
* Half Moon Drill in all 5 circles
SPLIT- SKATERS/ GOALTENDERS  (goalies go on 1/3rd the ice with private goalie coach)
6:15-6:35: Powerskating
LineDrills: Snowplow/ Inside C-Cuts/ Drunken Sailor Outside edges/ hourglass/ downhill skier/ Jumps
Athleticism Drills: Horsepower circles with athletic line maneuvers/ with pucks
6:35-6:50 Partner Skill Drills
* Mirror Drill with pucks
* Attack the tripod with pucks
* Athletic puck protection with stick swings
* Figure 8 pass drill 
GROUP BACK TOGETHER
6:50-7pm Neutral Zone Group Stickhandling Drills (everyone has a puck)
* Shortstroke/ longstroke drill
* 1,2,3 zone stickhandling drill
* 1,2,3 1-legged stickhandling progression
* 1,2,3 figure 8 stickhandling progression
SHARK/ MINNOWS GAME
7-7:25pm STATIONS (divided by bantams and below, switch halfway through)
Group 1- In zone  1v1, 2v2, 3v3 Drill
Group2- Sweden 2v1 Drill

7:25-7:30 GROUPS of 3 Passing Drill
7:30-7:40 Pittsburgh Full-Ice 1v1 Drill
7:40- 7:52 Small Area Games ( Divide groups like the stations/ no line changes, everyone involved)
7:52- End Rubber Band Relay Race


Here's the August 10th Workshop by the numbers based upon the drills above-
* Players had the puck on their stick for a minimum of 40 Minutes (almost 300% more than the average game)
* Players participated in 47 minutes of drills involving shots. Each player took roughly 30 shots, compared to an average of 1 to 2 shots per game.
* 12 minute small area game had no line changes.  This is equivalent to the same ice time a player would recieve in a full 3 period youth hockey game if the team had 3 lines per squad.
* Players were given feedback and instructed on their powerskating (which represented 30 minutes of work at the clinic). As stated above, "99% of the feedback coaches give players is when they have the puck. Ironically players only have the puck on their stick for 0.2% of the game." 

I want to improve...Should I play more games or go to practices & clinics?

Let's look at some numbers-

A PRACTICE BY THE NUMBERS
The following facts and figures relate to a 60-minute practice session:

• 1 efficient practice will give a player more skill development than 11 games collectively.
• Each player should have a puck on his or her stick for 8 – 12 minutes.
• Each player should have a minimum of 30 shots on goal.
• Players will miss the net over 30% of the time in a minor hockey practice.
• Coaches should try to run 4 – 5 different drills / games / activities each practice. More is not better; execution of what you do is development.
• No more than 5 minutes should be spent in front of a teaching board each practice.
• If you have 10 players on the ice, strive to keep 4 – 5 players moving at all times.
• If you have 15 players on the ice, strive to keep 9 – 10 players moving at all times.
• If you have 20 players on the ice, strive to keep 14 – 15 players moving at all times.

A HOCKEY GAME BY THE NUMBERS :
The following statistics were recorded during a 60-minute Peewee level hockey game:

• Players will have the puck on their stick for an average of 8 seconds per game.
• Players will take an average of 1 – 2 shots per game.
• 99% of the feedback coaches give players is when they have the puck. Ironically players only have the puck on their stick for 0.2% of the game.
• 1 efficient practice will give a player more skill development than 11 games collectively.

After each season I get feedback from parents and players about how they spent their off-season.  The old adage inevitably always applies.. Off-season preparation is what goes into having a successful "In-season". 

Parents will approach me and talk about how their son/ daughter played in this tournament, or this league... how they traveled to this "showcase".  Then they will ask me how their son/ daughter can improve and get to the next level, and each and every time the answer is simple... MORE PRACTICE.

One of the biggest issues surrounding the development of hockey players is the number of practices they have compared to the number of games they play. An ideal, realistic ratio is 2 practices for every 1 game played for ages 7 – 13.  If you look at the above stats, how can we expect kids to develop when they are playing more games than practicing? Studies show that the better kids are at something, the more they will enjoy it, and the longer they will play. Many kids quit hockey because they get to the level where they can’t compete due to lack of skill – therefore it is no longer fun. At the ages of 5 – 6 or 5 – 7, the practice to game ratio should be even higher (6: 1) and in my opinion there is no need for formal games. 

Keep in mind that children can practice hockey almost anywhere. You do not have to wait until a planned practice to practice your hockey skills. Encourage children to practice at home in the driveway or on the street and with friends.   Hit the gym and develop the functional muscles to make yourself a more powerful skater.  Look for outdoor rinks in the winter and places to practice shooting and stick handling in the summer.  At night... watch hockey on TV.

In conclusion, if you want to be the player that makes the biggest jump in their skill level from one season to the next, practice each and everyday and even on off-season game days.  Oktay Armagan, a terrific hockey coach and private lesson instructor has this outstanding quote on his website, and it certainly applies to my philosophy-

VICTORY HAPPENS WHEN 10,000 HOURS OF TRAINING MEETS ONE MOMENT OF OPPORTUNITY!

Thanks to the OMHA for allowing to publish the above chart.

Facility Review- Rock Ice Center in Dunellen

Over the last two years I've had the privilege to hold many of my "Scoring Concepts LLC" Clinics and Private Lessons at the Rock Ice Center in Dunellen, NJ, and felt it was about time to share my experiences with what I feel is the best HOCKEY facility in Central New Jersey.

Foremost, you need some backstory on Rock Ice.  "On August 2nd (2009) I purchased Rock Ice LLC and became the sole owner of the ice rink here in Dunellen.  I am fully committed to turning the "new" Rock Ice Center into a great place for everyone from the beginner skater to the seasoned hockey player." said John Puskar, owner of Rock Ice.  John has over 20 years of hockey coaching experience, including stints as Head Coach at Morristown- Beard (where he was a 4-time NJ Prep School Champion coach), Whippany Park High School, and the County College of Morris. In the brief time since John's arrival, he's seen his vision take hold, as Rock Ice has constantly made aesthetic improvements, and steadily seen a dramatic rise in the volume of kids coming through the doors to take part in the Jersey Penguins youth hockey program, clinics, several of the High School programs who call it their home rink, and the "Rock Ice Summer Camp".  NJ PowerRanking had this to say about the facility, "Renovated Dunellen rink is much improved over previous years. Fans agree that customer service has improved greatly. Nice grades is many areas especially overhang viewing area that puts spectators right in the action. Locker room improvements helped image considerably."

Yet, more than anything, like a new paint job or bigger locker rooms, I like dealing with Rock Ice and John Puskar for 2 reasons. 
1.  John is a hockey guy.  Many rinks are owned by people who see the facility as pure business, and have never coached or played the game themselves at any reasonable length.  They don't understand anything more than the bottomline... and in my experience, can be brutal to deal with. John is the exact opposite of that model.  He understands the passion coaches have for teaching the game, as he himself has walked in the those shoes.  He takes this experience and acts as a mentor for many young coaches, players and parents experiencing the game on any variety of levels. 
2. The Hockey Programs.  John invites some of the absolute best in the business to coach at Rock Ice.  This summer, in addition to his own "Rock Ice Summer Camp" & "Rock Ice learn to skate Programs", he will host Pro Ambitions hockey camps, world renowned powerskating instructor Robby Glantz, Private Lesson instructors Jeff Gorman and Greg Rinder, and my weekly Scoring Concepts "Friday Night Ice" Skill Clinics.  I'm sure that John could make more money by offering these programs or clinics by doing these with in-house staff... like many other local rinks offer.  Yet, Rock Ice outscources these programs to some of the BEST coaches in the business and as a result gives the kids who train at the facility a far better product.

In the end, Rock Ice offers a premier facility for your youth hockey player to train.  In addition, to having all the above mentioned attributes and outstanding ammenities like a brand new snack bar, Jumbo- Tron style scoreboard, pro shop, a new ceiling lining to ensure great year-round ice, and plenty of parking, Rock Ice has friendly staff that make coming to the rink even more enjoyable.  I highly recommend parents, players and coaches, to check out Rock Ice in Dunellen FIRST when choosing when and where to play.

For Information Check Out-

The Rock Ice Center

Address:

125 North Ave

Dunellen, NJ 08812

Phone:

Telephone:732 752 8600

http://www.therockice.com/index.html