Our Process
Athletic success depends on many things: hard work, determination, focus, healthy lifestyle, intelligent training, and much more. However, it is not enough to be capable of these attributes. Success demands consistency.
Hockey Sports Academy is committed to giving athletes the consistency in development and training necessary to take their sports performance to the next level.
However, hockey training is unlike any other kind of sports training because hockey is unlike any other sport. Successful hockey players must combine the strength, power and skill demanded in contact sports with the balance and grace of figure skaters.
- Coordination
All athletes must be able to move dynamically in all planes of motion with efficiency and speed. To achieve this, all athletes are evaluated for postural imbalances and deficiencies in form that could be negatively affecting performance.
- Balance
Hockey players constantly balance on a knife’s edge and must be able to maintain that balance throughout a fast-paced, high-impact game. All athletes are put through a rigorous balance routine to ensure proper stabilization throughout movement for optimal performance.
- Strength
Hockey is a very physically demanding sport, and athletes must be conditioned to keep pace as they grow and the competition around them becomes bigger and faster. Hockey Sports Academy builds functional, dynamic strength by combining calisthenics, plyometrics, and resistance training with traditional lifts like barbell squat, deadlift, and bench press.
- Flexibility
Flexibility is often one of the most under-appreciated aspects of athletic training, but it is essential in achieving optimal neuromuscular efficiency and, therefore, optimal sports performance. Proper flexibility training reduces postural imbalances, increases range-of-motion, and reduces the risk of injury.
- Skills
Hockey is one of the highest skill sports there is, and athletes must begin training at a very young age to even stand a chance of making it to the highest levels of the sport. We strongly emphasize skating as it is the most important skill in a hockey player’s arsenal, but we leave plenty of time for shooting, passing, and stick-handling.
- Individual Focus
Every athlete who walks through our doors is unique, and our process reflects each athlete’s individuality. Forwards must prioritize offensive skills like stick-handling, shooting, and quick passing. Defensemen must prioritize backwards transitions, long passing, and agility in the corners. Larger athletes usually need to prioritize speed, agility, and quickness. Smaller athletes usually need to prioritize strength and power. No athlete is created the same, and, at Hockey Sports Academy, no program is created the same.