Training Begins IMMEDIATELY!

2011-02-10T18:49:00.000-08:00

Actually, new members have already started training at home!

40-plus Years of Studying Our Game
You don't have time to do it. Frankly, neither do most of the hockey coaches you normally have to rely upon for advice or guidance.

What I'm talking about is studying our game -- very methodically, and in a scientific way. Again, you wish you had the time (or the resources), and so do most other hockey coaches. (If you think about it, most coaches are flying by the seats of their pants, grasping bits and pieces of what they hear out there in the hockey world.)

However, THAT'S WHAT I DO: I study every aspect of our game. In fact, I've been obsessed with it since I first started coaching.

Trust me to do the studying for you!

Based on those studies, I created the following short video about 5-years ago, just then providing a hint at what the top players in the hockey world would soon be doing (or how elite level trainers would eventually be thinking)...

Today, hundreds of hockey videos can be found on sites like YouTube.com, with these showing numerous National Hockey League players almost exclusively training away from the ice during their off-seasons. Yes, as I predicted some years ago, they know now the best way to maximize their on-ice skills and physical capabilities is through training away from the ice!

Why Most Players Fail
About a month ago I began observing players (Mites through Bantams) as they prepared for their upcoming spring tryouts. What caught my eye the most were those who I knew just weren't going to "make it" to the next level. (Quite honestly, those kids jump out of a crowd as quickly as the few who shine above the rest.)

What is it I saw that will hold them back -- or almost assure that they'll be cut?

In every instance it's the way they carry themselves on the ice. Yes, for all the science I'll normally rely upon, it doesn't take a very experienced observer to quickly notice that player who just looks uncomfortable out there on the ice. And, based on all my years of studies, I can almost guarantee that his or her puckhandling, passing and receiving skills will be wanting, and his or her shooting will also be rather weak. (Trust me: that poor skating form almost always translates to those other hockey playing deficiencies.)

Most players on their way up

need at least some form of help!

Then, while you might think that I'm talking about a young hockey player, I've seen this at high school and college tryouts, and I've seen adult rec players suffer in the same ways. Yes, everything is relative -- and the way a player "looks" can hold him back -- from beginners to even pros.

Why Poor Habits Persist
You've likely heard the term "muscle memory". And, you probably also believe in the old adage that, "Repetition is the best teacher." For sure, it's true: our muscles do rely on memory, and repetition of any given movement does tend to commit that way of doing things to the muscles' memory.

In fact, I've simplified that line of thinking over the years, stating that, "However we do anything the most is the way we'll ultimately do it." (It can't be helped.)

How I'd Fix It All
Okay, so you're probably thinking that I'd have to get that not-so-comfortable player onto the ice for an extra session, maybe take some video to analyze, and then go on from there. Yes, those ideas did cross my mind -- at first.

The more I looked at struggling players, however, the more I realized it wouldn't work -- the ice-time part, I mean.

Copy elite players and

make huge gains away from the ice!

The problem with the ice -- at least as these old (pretty educated) eyes see things -- is that it's difficult to break the mold out there, or to get that player away from his or her old muscle memory. No, the ice IS NOT the place where I can begin building a totally new player.

And, since we're basically talking about "movements" here -- as in skating, puckhandling, passing, receiving and shooting, here's where my training would start...

Okay, that video was prepared as a promotion for The MOTION Lab several years ago, but it shows well the range of skills and physical attributes that can be greatly enhanced away from the ice. Actually, the Lab is being renovated this late winter, with a lot of awesome new gear in the works (wait until you experience some of that stuff)!

Who Am I Really Trying to Help?
Although I may have begun here with a quick study of a sure-to-be-cut hockey player, I'm really only using him or her because their physical problems are so obvious. In other words, the lesser player might provide us an extreme example.

That said, nearly every hockey player on earth has a skill limitation that holds him back -- from dressing for a high school varsity team, from making it at the college level, and even from being promoted from the American Hockey League to the NHL.

What skill or physical limitation is holding YOU back?

Yes, I'm saying that EVERY HOCKEY PLAYER needs either a little or a lot of help with his or her skills, and I'm further suggesting that ALMOST ALL THE SKILL-RELATED HELP A PLAYER NEEDS SHOULD BE DONE AWAY FROM THE ICE!

How Much Time is Required for Change?
I don't need to see a player every day in order to affect positive changes. Still, there is the matter of "repetition" and the need for altering "muscle memory".

Moreover, there are far many other ways I want to help a player -- beyond just smoothing or perfecting certain movements.

I've found that my methods bring about huge changes over at least 6-months, and that's why I'm asking Hockey BootCamp members to commit for between 7- and 10-months -- so I can be absolutely sure I get the job done -- right.

With that, here's what I plan for every Hockey BootCamp member:

total evaluation
orientation to our approach
regular training in The MOTION Lab
regular homework assignments
outdoor sprint training
summer in-line training
summer on-ice skills training
end-of-summer on-ice positional training
ongoing testing & evaluations

Is BootCamp More Than Just Skills Training?
Absolutely!

Today's hockey players have to be "athletes first"!

If you noticed in the opening video (depicting some of last year's high school players at work), you should have spotted a great deal of work being done for overall athleticism. That kind of training helps the hockey player bob and weave and avoid big body-checks.

Quite a lot of strength and stability work should have also been evident in that video, this so my players can resist rival checkers, and make plays (like deking, passing or shooting) in absolutely any kind of posture. Explosive power -- which is a totally different quality -- will also be included (in relationship to a player's age, current body strength, etc.).

I work to develop the total player!

So is really quick footwork a HUGE part of what I do with all of my hockey players.

Oh, and I also have a method of conditioning a hockey player that is far more effective than driving him or her up and down the ice!

What's the Hockey BootCamp Time Line?
Players begin training with a special homework assignment as soon as they enroll. From there, the above noted training schedule will kick-in (as described on the player's special info page).

My approach is patient and methodical!

I am famous for my very slow, methodical approach to enhancing skills. Plainly, that's because it works. So, in general, we'll begin working on those skills and physical traits that require the longest amount of time to take hold, and gradually build so that the total -- highly skilled, quick, agile, strong, explosive, and extremely well conditioned -- hockey player emerges in the end.

Why Such Limited Groups?
I need to be able to do right by every single Hockey BootCamp member. I mean, I have to get to know him or her personally, and I need to be able to carefully study -- and continually re-study -- his or her needs throughout the program.

Most hockey folks don't know how much behind-the-scenes work is required to do this kind of job right. But, I do.

A lot of background work goes into preparing for you!

In the end, you are only going to be pleased -- and maybe come back again -- IF I do my job right!

Take a Look at One of My Long-time Students...

Did I say that the boy can skate, puckhandle, pass, shoot and throw his weight around? Oh, and he's also pretty strong on his skates when others try to move him!

And, make no mistake about it: he achieved those quick hands, maneuverability and explosive strength just doing what other New England Hockey Institute members were doing in their off- and on-ice training sessions.

I also make the training fun!

(Why should it be any other way?)

This aside... I also have a knack for making the game fun. The last thing I ever wanted was for my son to stop loving the game. Actually, I've used that same approach with all of my players for several generations.

Then, here's a great video gift I'm going to send you as soon as you enroll, just so you can begin working on the same kind of soft and quick hands Tony Chic has...

Here's What To Do Next (and please don't delay)...

Remember: only twelve skaters will be taken in each
level -- no exceptions!

Check through our How It Works (FAQs)

for more specific details!

2011 HOCKEY BOOTCAMP

Training Begins IMMEDIATELY!