The Hockey Strength Podcast

On episode #77 of the Hockey Strength Podcast, we sit down with Devan McConnell, the Director of Performance Science and Reconditioning with the New Jersey Devils.

We discuss:

- Devan's role with the team, from data collection to working with injured players.

- His collaboration with the entire hockey performance department in New Jersey

- How he balances limited time for training and attacking the "one percent" despite a condensed schedule and hectic travel.

- Why building relationships is paramount for strength coaches.

- How Devan inspired a college hockey team to read books and write papers.

- Devan's recommended reading.

You can find links to resources (including his book on applied sports science) in the show notes at hockeystrengthandconditioning.com

On Episode #75 of the Hockey Strength Podcast, we're sharing a special announcement.

 

After almost 12 months of hibernation, HSC is in new hands and being re-released into the wild. 

 

Check out this episode to discover

1. What the hell happened

2. Who's taking over

3. What can you expect from the new, refreshed HSC

4. How to get back on board

 

I'll be handing off the hosting duties so the new coach-of-the-coaches, David Rosales. I can say without a doubt that hosting this show has been one of the best opportunities and most valuable learning experiences of my entire life. 

 

So to those of you who listen, subscribe, and support hockeystrengthandconditioning.com, I thank you with great gratitude, and I'm excited for you to experience what David will be bringing to you in the coming years. 

 

David, you take it from here. 

Today we talk with Doug Crashley of Crash Conditioning in Calgary, AB. In this super-sized episode we talk about the cyclicality of having a hockey business... crushed in the summer, quiet in the winter. Crash has some interesting ways to manage himself, hit team, and his business throughout the year. 

Today we're talking long term athlete development with Joey Garland, formerly the strength and conditioning coach and athletic therapist for the OHL's Windsor Spitfires. Joey talks about his masters thesis where he dug into the competitive history of a group of players who made it to the OHL to see the similarities and differences between those experiences. 

This episode got a little long relative to our other episodes, so we got into a few awesome topics like

• The difference between players who ended their carreers in the OHL, and those that made it to the NHL
• Are Canadian National Team players all great athletes?
• The value of creative play, and why it's lacking today
• Sewerball injuries
• How you can make a difference in your community and help develop young athletes

Hope you enjoy this episode, lots of meaningful stuff here.

After wrapping up his 12th year as the San Jose Sharks' Strength and Conditioning coach, Mike Potenza is busy organizing and a series of seminars with Jim Lavalle (author, Your Blood Never Lies and Cracking the Metabolic Code) that will teach professionals how to optimize performance with information gathered from blood tests. 

On this episode we will be talking about...

•  the topics for the upcoming seminars in San Jose and at MBSC in Woburn, Mass.
• how the sports medicine staff tests the Sharks
• how the results of individual blood tests guide the decision making and planning for each athlete throughout the season
• the most common defficiencies in NHL players
• where to start when considering blood testing

To get more information about the upcoming clinics, head to optimizinghumanperformance.com and find out more.

On the 71st episode of the Hockey Strength Podcast, we talk with the final presenter for the 2018 NSCA Training for Hockey Clinic, strength coach with the San Jose Sharks, Kevin Neeld. 

Kevin's presentation will be about how the Sharks use testing to individualize the training process for the players. In this chat, we will discuss

• the purpose of the screening process
• the value of communication and feedback for the players
• common issues we see in hockey players
• how working in the private sector helps Kevin coach in the team setting

If you enjoy Kevin's presentation, there's still time to grab a seat at the clinc. For more info about the clinic, or to access the live stream, head to https://www.nsca.com/hockey2018/

On Episode 70 of the Hockey Strength Podcast, the Carolina Hurricanes' Sports Performance staff talks about the team effort it takes to keep NHLers healthy throughout the season. Head Athletic Trainer Doug Bennett and Head Strength Coach Bill Burniston talk about 

• respecting the expertise of those around you
• the reationship between athletic trainers and strength coaches
• gaining the trust of the players
• the daily injury prevention measures of the Hurricanes staff

We look forward to hearing from these two at the Training for Hockey Clinic coming up in just a few days.

To join us at the clinic, or to join the live feed head to https://www.nsca.com/hockey2018/

Today Anthony Donskov, head coach at Donskov Strength and Conditioning in Worthington, OH discusses his presentation for the upcoming NSCA Training for Hockey Clinic. Anthony will be doing both a lecture and a hands-on presentation at the clinic, both on slightly different topics. 

In his lecture, Coach Donskov will be addressing micro-planning considerations for the off season, and telling us how he is able to challenge athletes in a team setting, and his most advanced athletes throughout the off season.

In the hands-on session, he will be teaching the value and application of isometric training throughout the season with athletes of different ages and levels. 

Can't wait to hear more from Coach Donskov at the clinic. Enjoy this conversation! 

On Episode 68 of the Hockey Strength Podcast, we chat with Dan Garner, head coach at HockeyTraining.com. Coach Garner's upcoming presentation for the NSCA's Training for Hockey Clinic, Maximizing Hockey Perfornance through Game Day Nutrition.

Throughout this episode, we touch on 

• the 4 phases of game day nutrition
• is nutrient timing really that important?
• the most underappreciated aspects of hockey nutrition today

If you'd like to learn more about Coach Garner, check out HockeyTraining.com. You can also connect with him on Facebook (Hockey Training) and Instagram @hockeytrainingtips 

On Episode 66 of the Hockey Strength Podcast, we sit down with Rich Molin, head strengt coach at Dynamic Fitness Solutions in DelRay Beach, FL.  

Rich will be presenting at the 2018 Training for Hockey Clinic in Colorado Springs, June 8th and 9th, and we're excited to check out his presentation on the initial phases of off-season training.

On this episode, Rich talks about

• How to determine where and when to start summer training with players
• Assessing incoming players
• Minimizing injury risk in the first phase of training
• Regaining movement quality