Youth Hockey & Technique
If you have ever attended one of my hockey camps, you probably have noticed how I emphasize technique. I bet any player I have coached would say that they are annoyed with my saying
- Get your butt lower
- Bend your knees
- Keep your back straight
- Head up
Strength Training or dryland training for kids pre-puberty is important and has so many benefits! Between the ages of 5-12, the focus should mostly be on technique vs. performance.
Developing good techniques will stick with a player throughout their life. My oldest son Nash learned how to skate with stiff legs and the lacking full extension in his stride.
The skating lesson I signed him up for didnt “slow things down” enough to force him to understand proper technique. He has been a very competitive kid ever since his first board game. So during his skating lessons, he was more worried about doing it fast. Rather than doing it right.
Here we are, his 5th year of hockey, and starting from scratch in order to correct his skating technique so he can become the explosive skater like his friends.
What’s Strength And Conditioning Training?
Strength and Conditioning training is when performance is your goal over body composition compared to Hypertrophy Training when muscle growth is the priority. But when Strength Training, heavier weights with explosive movements help to simulate a quick burst on the ice.
The first rule of starting any workout or dryland program is specificity. Ask yourself if the exercises you are performing will improve your hockey game. If the answer is no, you are wasting time and recovery resources.
What Are the Benefits of Strength And Conditioning
Any training will improve appearance to a point. However, when including strength training, you are looking to improve;
- mobility
- stability
- strength
- endurance
- power
- speed
- agility
- performance
Strength Training at a young age will create lifelong habits and routines at an early age while also improving overall fitness.
Finding extra ice can be extremely difficult and cost a lot of money. And yes, there is no better way to train for hockey than being at the rink, which supports the rule of specificity.
But dryland training can be done at home for free with a lot of the same benefits as being on the ice.
At RSF Performance, we want to help on and off the ice. We created a FREE guide dryland training ebook to get you started. Check out our Bullet-Proof skater handbook.
What Age Can You Start Strength And Conditioning?
In general, kids and teens ready to play organized sports usually can begin training programs. Young children can safely start with bodyweight exercises and focus on technique.
Kids should learn proper techniques with adult supervision during their workouts.
Ages 5 to 12 (pre-puberty)
At this age range, kids should be in multiple sports and activities because
placing emphasis on one might be tempting, but it can lead to burnout and boredom. Now is when you can start basic strength training with bodyweight exercises.
Ages 13 to 20 (post-puberty)
Once a child has hit puberty, you can start more advanced strength training or sport-specific conditioning. But the focus should also be placed on building self-esteem and developing a regular and consistent workout or sports routine.
Emphasizing the importance of regular activity develops an attitude that will carry over into adulthood.
Is Strength Training Safe?
When introduced properly, strength training helps support and build strong bones and has no negative side effects on a child’s growing bones.
When transitioning from bodyweight to weighted exercises, start by performing the exercises without any weight, focusing on the proper technique.
The majority of injuries in the gym are from poor form, lifting too heavy, and overtraining.
The Importance Of Routines
Establishing a routine at a young age builds discipline, making it much easier to be consistent with healthy habits as you become an adult.
As a teenager, I would wake up early and hit the gym prior to going to school. Twenty years later, this has stuck with me, and now that I’m in my mid-thirties, I’ve really started to see the benefits.
Waking up earlier gives me mental clarity by allowing me time to wake up before anyone else to help me be more relaxed and proactive before the day starts.
Some might argue that being in a routine is a bad thing that will restrict your mind to adaptation when relating to personal development. But the truth is a good routine will help with time management, awareness, efficiency, and much more!
Allowing flexibility so you can get away for holidays and continue to learn new things without anxiety and fear are all signs of a good routine. See all the benefits of how hockey can impact your adulthood by checking out, How Hockey Enhances Life Skill Development!
Strength Training Program Guidelines
Strength training is one part of a total fitness program. Kids and teens should get at least 1 hour/ day of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day, including aerobic (cardio) activities like running, biking, and playing outside. Also, be sure your child drinks plenty of liquids and eats a healthy diet for better performance and recovery.
- Follow a program that is specific to your goals
- Nutrition is just as or more important than training
- Be consistent. Results dont happen overnight and could take months in order to see and feel better.
How Much Should My Child Train?
Staying in the training landmarks can be a little bit of an unknown for everyone until each individual learns the capacity of their bodies.
Overreaching or overtraining can cause so much fatigue to the body that your immune systems can suffer. Always being too sick for training and not getting an adequate amount of sleep or nutrition to support recovery will restrict you from adaptation. And performance will never make it to elite levels.
When including dryland during hockey season, try to keep strength training at the athlete’s maintenance level. When practicing for one plus hours every day, our body searches for nutrition to replenish glycogen stores in the muscles.
All our bodies’ resources are working OT to recover our body before the next practice. So limiting dryland training to a maintenance level would be ideal.
However when off off-season hits, it’s time to you can ramp it up and utilize all the training landmarks to improve off-ice performance.
Conclusion
Developing good techniques will stick with a player throughout their life.
Strength Training at a young age will create lifelong habits and routines at an early age while also improving overall fitness.
Dryland training can be done at home for free with a lot of the same benefits as being on the ice.
Ask yourself if the exercises you are performing will improve your hockey game. If the answer is no, you are wasting time and recovery resources.
Kids first starting out between the ages of 5-12 should be in multiple sports and activities because placing emphasis on one might be tempting, but it can lead to burnout and boredom.
Its only when the player reaches the ages of 13 you can start more advanced strength training or sport-specific conditioning.
Limit dryland training to a maintenance level during the season and ramp it up on the off season.
Related Articles
Resources
https://www.issaonline.com/blog/post/kids-and-strength-training-when-can-they-start