"Fit" or "Fast"?:  Why Players Must Train Like They Play

By Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS

Determining how to condition properly for hockey is a controversial subject that is debated by coaches from the atom ranks all the way up to the pros.  When it comes to designing an off-season training program, most experts agree on how to best develop strength, speed and power in young hockey players, but there is always disagreement on how to best develop conditioning.

Hockey is NOT an Endurance Sport

The game of hockey is characterized by short, explosive, high-intensity efforts, broken up by periods of complete rest.  The best hockey players in the world are the ones who are strong, fast, agile and powerful - not those who can run at 10 miles in the fastest time.  In fact, the best players on the ice tend to be the ones who perform poorly on endurance tests off the ice. 

The challenge is that players feel as though they are becoming more fit for hockey by focusing on increasing their endurance in the off-season.  Players who go for long slow distance runs over the summer will definitely develop their endurance, but this enhancement will come at the expense of their ability to perform at a high intensity level consistently throughout the game.

Do You Want to  Be "Fit" or "Fast"?

Young female hockey players must make a choice when it comes to conditioning.  They can either develop high-level endurance or game-breaking speed.  It is physiologically impossible to develop both of these qualities to their highest extent simultaneously.  Players can be “marathoners” or “sprinters”, but they can’t be both.  

Elite hockey players are speed and power athletes and must train to enhance those qualities.  Players must develop their ability to perform repeated high-intensity intervals and maintain their ‘jump’ and explosiveness throughout an entire game, instead of focusing on their ability to go for long distances at a moderate pace.

Most often, young players are simply unaware that the endurance training they are devoting so much time and energy to is actually hurting their overall performance on the ice. 

When young players focus on doing “slow and steady” endurance training, instead of “fast and explosive” speed training, they are not only training themselves OUT of hockey shape - they are making themselves SLOW.

And “slow and steady” does NOT win the race.

© Total Female Hockey 2008

Kim McCullough, YCS, MSc, is a Athletic Development Specialist and founder of Total Female Hockey. In addition to training and coaching girls at all levels of hockey, from novice to the National team, Kim has also played at the highest level of women’s hockey in the world for the last decade. Kim’s female player development website features a state-of-the-art Complete Off-Season Training Program and her blog gives the coaches and parents of aspiring young players access to the most up-to-date tips and advice on how to help their players take their game to the next level. To learn more about female-specific player development, get your Free Report: The #1 Mistake Female Players Make in the Off-Season at http://www.totalfemalehockey.com