14 year old player ..

[tonguesOUT4life 17]

hey boys ,

Long time since I've been here but I have a 14 year old nephew who plays AA crash with me for the summer to train for hockey. I'm no professional trainer but I have experience and I get him on the ice at least 4 times a week. The deal is he's an amazing player with a high hockey iq but he doesn't have that quickness and speed to match the aaa level and he the top player on his

AA team .. I've recently been having him do plyo work outs and conditioning things. I'm just a little scared of introducing him to weights like squats etc to get those legs stronger .. This kid needs to learn how to FLY !'

Any suggestions or links would be appreciated and I will introduce him to this website soon

Thanks !

[Quintin 16]

At his age and level, any increase in strength will increase his speed. Taking the continuum of athletic development/absolute speed and absolute strength into account, this will give you an idea on what type of training will benefit him the most:

- Absolute strength (slow lifts with maximal load - squats, deadlifts, bench, military)

- Strength-speed (power movements/submaximal weights moved at high speed ie. olympic lifts, med. ball throws)

- Speed-strength (dynamic movements with small amounts of load ie. jump squats, weight vest work)

- Absolute speed (speed work - in this case, skating/agility work)

Provided he'd spent his whole training life on just playing hockey, where he would have spent a lot of time skating at max. speed etc, he would benefit from spending some time on the absolute strength side of the spectrum - as strength is a foundation of power. With that being said, focusing only on strength training while neglecting any speed/power development training will hinder him. Typical template I'd recommend would be:

3 days of off ice intensive work: 1st & 2nd day would be max effort (eg. work up to 85%+ of his 1 rep max) upper & lower body, with the correct assistance/supplemental exercises. For his age, keep the volume high so instead of working up to a 1RM, work up to a 5RM. 3rd day will be dynamic effort day, spending time on variations of jumps - ie. box, vertical, broad - as well as the correct supplemental exercises. Warm up properly - use a jump rope instead of a stationary bike, foam roller/lacrosse ball for alleviating tight strains & improved recovery as well as dynamic stretches ie. 5/10 on/off.

3 days on ice work: Pulling back the volume of on-ice work. Spend time on technique, agility, speed, shooting, passing, puck control, skating efficiency. Make it challenging but also keep it fun for him. Get some numbers and set them as records to beat.

Eat right, sleep well, train hard. You should see the difference that will make between now and the future.

All the best

[chk hrd 164]

You have on the ice 4 x a week doing what? How is his skating technique, I have seen many players that are very strong with slow speed because they waisted alot of energy with poor skating. I have also seen weaker skaters with great style be some of the fastest. Maybe a good, qualified power skating instructor could help. It could be just a little tweak, it can make a big difference.

[IniNew 53]

Improve skating technique, then strap a parachute to his back and tell him to skate.