CompleteHockeyPlayer.com was launched to help create more complete hockey players. Often times players focus on the 5 main skills of hockey: Passing, Shooting, Stick handling, Skating and Checking. Those are very important, but far from all it takes to be a complete player.

We believe that every player has 4 main areas to develop: Skills - Athleticism – Intangibles – and Knowledge. You know players who are very skilled but have no strategy about the game. Then there are others who play a smart game and have great intangibles, but need to work on their skills. You know that talented player who doesn’t work hard, or that player who just has ‘it’.

• Skills: A player’s skill set. Skating, Passing, Shooting.
• Athleticism: A player’s athletic body. Power, Balance, Core.
• Intangibles: Those extra little things. Leadership, Work Ethic, Visualization
• Knowledge: Is how much a player knows, does he understand system concepts or is he a robot? Does he know how to attack and defend a 1 on 1?

Here is how these three areas break down more in our flow chart.

Most coaches are under pressure to win games, not develop individual hockey players. Kids are playing 70 to 80 games coaches must work on developing the team. They must take the individual talent given to them and put it to use for the betterment of the team. This means what’s best for the team isn’t necessarily what’s best for the player. That’s just the reality of life, and something that is always true in all team sports.

Obviously if you or your player were on the top line or top power play, or starting goalie he would be better off. The problem is there are only 3 players who get to be on top line, 5 on power play one, only one goalie gets to start the game. The coach is the one who has to work to make the team successful. So working with individual players on a plan for their own development becomes lower on the list. There just isn’t enough practice time for coaches.

The player needs to develop his skills when he can, on his own time or during the off season. During the year, the player needs to work for the betterment of the team. Sure in his spare time a player can work on his skills, and a good coach will of course develop skills throughout his season.

Through this workbook you will have the tools to train and develop yourself on your own time. This manual we are focusing on dryland training. What is dryland training? It’s off-ice training, with a specific goal set for each exercise. They can vary from developing a specific hockey skill to improving a players balance and athleticism. With the demands on ice time, young athletes must find ways to develop off the ice.

In today’s world it’s a sad fact that player development has taken a back seat to winning games. Even at the young ages, coaches are being judged on their record rather than the development of their players. It’s because of this that players have to develop on their own, our website and this workbook are designed around that player.

Today kids are playing hockey year round, and thus are losing that athletic ability that we had growing up. I watched a hockey team ‘try’ to throw a football and couldn’t believe it; some had hardly ever done it. Cross sport training can help, almost all sports have that knee bent – back straight stance. Creating better athletes will help them avoid injuries, and allow them to perform with greater ease on the ice.

Here are the key focuses of our Athleticism Series

• Warmup/Cool down – A proper warmup to maximize your workout
• Power – Having power in your legs for skating strides
• Agility – Change of Direction, starts and stops on balance
• Balance - Being able to move quickly, change direction and keep your balance
• Acceleration – Going from a standstill to full speed, those first 3 steps
• Foot Speed – The speed at which you can move your feet
• Core Strength – The core of your body, the source of your strength
• Stamina – Endurance, the length of time you can perform
• Flexibility – How far can your muscles stretch
• Strength – How strong a player is

"It is true that you don’t have to be a good athlete to be a good hockey player, but if you improved as an athlete you will improve as a hockey player."

Doing this workout will not make you a great player, as there is on ice skills that need to develop, intangibles and your game knowledge. But it is an important part of becoming a more complete hockey player.

We don’t have explanations for everything in this workout program, as it’s not for everyone. You should also master the first steps before moving to the more advanced steps. Example, you should master the balance exercises on two legs before forcing your body to attempt the one leg. Here are other guidelines for the training program.

• Make sure you’re proper age, and physically developed enough. If you are still growing do not max out on squats
• Take proper time to warm up – Break a sweat.
• Move through full range of motion in controlled manner.
• Breath correctly, your muscles need oxygen to perform, so make sure you breathe. Inhale on easy part of lift, exhale on difficult part.
• Don't over train – more isn't always better, allow your body adequate rest so your muscles can recover.
• Make sure you are in fit and in good health before beginning a training program.
• Trial and error, find a weight that represents a taxing lift for the last few reps of each set. If you're unsure, start with a light weight and increase it as you get stronger within the training period so that the perceived effort remains similar.

1. Don't lift too heavy. The last few reps in a set should be taxing -- yet without extreme effort to "failure," especially for the arm and shoulder exercises. You want the arm and shoulder prepared for work and beefed up but not overtaxed.
2. Stop immediately if acute pain is noticed during or after a weights exercise, and seek medical and training advice if it persists.
3. 30 to 60 seconds rest between each set.

Post-activity nutrition and hydration are just as important as completing the cool-down and stretching routines, and are also generally ignored by players. Immediately after a workout, a player’s body is in a heightened state to rebuild its energy stores and they need to get food and fluids in them quickly. Whether it is in the form of chocolate milk and a bottle of water or a sports drink with yogurt and a banana, the key is to get re-fuel and re-hydrate fast.