"OV" Coaches Corner Feature: Anthony Donskov, Director of Off-Ice Strength and Conditioning and Head Instructor at The "OV" Hockey School

Hockey is an extremely demanding sport utilizing speed, quickness, agility, balance (neuromuscular efficiency) and reactive abilities. In order to properly train, the serious hockey player must focus on activity specific exercises. The youth player, as well, must focus on training hockey specific musculature in an environment that moves from being stable to unstable in nature. Functional training is an integrated, multi-planar (training the body in all ranges of motion), training style that incorporates acceleration, deceleration and stabilization at multiple speeds in varying body positions. The hockey player must demonstrate all of these movement patterns in different planes during the course of competitive play. It is important to incorporate an integrated training approach when starting a program for youth athletes. The base of this "pyramid" focuses on stabilization, then strength, followed by power. Youth hockey players can build adequate amounts of stability and strength without picking up any weights (dumbbells and/or barbells); simply by using their own body weight while focusing on balance and stabilization. I do NOT recommend weight lifting to any of the youth athletes I train until the ages of 13-16 years old (depending on body type, current level of fitness, prior injury, etc.). However, I strongly recommend body weight exercises involving, stability and strength to most athletes (Ages 8+).

• Fun: When initiating a program for youth hockey players, make sure the program is catered to the age group you are working with. If athletes (no matter what age) can be pushed while having fun, training no longer becomes training; it becomes something everyone gets excited about! At The "OV" Hockey School, the progression, complexity, and speed of our off-ice training programs are dependent on the age and skill level of our participants. Our off-ice programs are intense and fun!



• Be Prepared: Coaches should never step on the ice and run a practice without preparation of appropriate lesson plans, drill selection, etc. The same holds true for off ice conditioning. BE PREPARED! Make sure your exercises are suited for the appropriate age group and that you are building a program that is integrated (you can't run before you crawl). It is healthy to change programs every few weeks or so (we continually change workouts for our "OV" participants); this keeps things interesting and prevents pattern overload.



• How Much Time ?: During the hockey season, off ice conditioning should be viewed as maintaining overall body strength while increasing core strength and stabilization. Conditioning should be preformed once or twice a week (age pending) and should last no longer than 45 min.-1 hr. in length. Off season training is obviously a different beast, training duration and frequency are changed significantly (age pending).

Anthony's Favorite Exercises:

These are a few of my favorite hockey specific exercises that can be used for all ages and have become part of our off-ice training curriculum at The "OV" Hockey School:

• Chest: Stability Ball Deflations: standing, hold a stability ball in front of your body and imagine deflating it. Stick your chest out, flex your stomach, and attempt to deflate the ball with your palms. Excellent exercise for chest, core, arms and shoulders.



• Legs: One legged balance while stick handling: Get into your hockey position, lift one leg while balancing on the other. Stick handle for 30 sec.-1 min. To easy? Try closing one eye!



• Core: Russian Twist: Lie down (on your back) on a stability ball with your hands over your head reaching for the ceiling. Twist either way shifting one shoulder blade off the ball, and then rotate to the other side. This is an excellent exercise to improve the core muscles responsible for providing a strong, powerful shot.



• Back: Superman's: Believe it or not, the lower back is considered part of our core! To perform a superman, lie down on the ground (belly down), lift both your legs and arms off while keeping your midsection stable.

Off-Ice conditioning should be structured in such a way where it caters to the age group, is fun, and is integrated in nature. The most important area to focus on for both youth and elite athletes is functional core strength and stabilization (balance). There are twenty nine muscles attached to the core. The stronger the midsection, the less chance of future hockey related injury.

At The "OV" Hockey School, we follow an Integrated Training Continuum focusing on stabilization, strength, and explosive power to properly train our athletes. The progression, complexity, and speed of our off-ice training programs are dependent on the age and skill level of our participants.

I hope to see you at The "OV" Hockey School this summer!

Anthony Donskov

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