Why Off-Ice Training Is The Great Equalizer In Girls Hockey

By Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS

When it comes to taking your game to the next level in female hockey, there is one thing that is guaranteed to make you a better player. It has absolutely nothing to do with on-ice skills, systems or strategies. On-ice ability is no longer enough to become a great women’s hockey player.  It’s what you do OFF THE ICE that separates the best from the rest.

Back when I was coming up through the girls hockey ranks, no one trained off the ice, not even the NHL players. We just showed up at the rink, threw on our gear and played. Simple as that.  Nowadays, in order to compete at the elite levels of female hockey, you have to work as hard off the ice as you do on the ice. When I first went off to college, my experience training off the ice gave me a huge advantage over all the other incoming freshman who had never done proper dryland training. Now, everyone at the elite level trains off the ice - and anyone aspiring to reach that level of female hockey success has to do the same.

To me, as a coach, the greatest thing about training off the ice is that it has very little to do with what goes on out on the ice. Sure, off-ice training is going to make you a better hockey player, but I am talking about something a little deeper than that.

You see, the best players out on the ice aren’t always the best players when it comes to training off the ice. Maybe they are just gifted in terms of hockey skills or they don’t have the desire to work hard off the ice because they are already “at the top” on the ice. Quite often, it is those third and fourth-liners that really have the chance to stand out and impress when it comes to training off the ice. In their desire to do whatever it takes to get better, they can build a tremendous amount of confidence knowing that they can out-perform the first-liners off the ice. And that increased self-esteem definitely transfers back on to the ice.

Girls hockey players looking to work their way up from the fourth to first line have to be the ones who stand out when it comes to off-ice training. And if you are willing to put in the time and effort, you just might find that you are getting your chance to be on that first line in no time. It definitely worked for me and I have seen it work for dozens of other young female hockey players.

Train as hard off the ice as you do on the ice and put yourself in the position to become the best female hockey player possible.

© 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