You may wonder what makes one hockey player better than the other or how one player seems to surpass the performance of everyone else. Well, the answer is usually effective hockey development training. We all know that to ace any game, you will have to have a high degree of perseverance and patience. But development training isn’t always as simple as players think. It has a much broader role in molding hockey players.
While routine drills and practices are good at their place, most hockey players need additional training in order to develop strong physical and mental abilities. Development training focuses on two essential aspects that drive a hockey player’s performance- strength and speed. There has to be a proper balance between these two aspects for players to rise to the next level.
Importance of Development Training
The following are a few reasons why hockey players should be involved in some form of development training during the season:
- Building agility and acceleration
Given the pace at which hockey is played, players have to react to various stimuli at an extremely fast rate. Development training helps players develop much-needed agility and acceleration to perform well on the ice. It helps them improve their muscle’s ability to employ a large number of muscle groups and produce force. Development training is thus a requisite if a player wants to create more force for faster and more agile shots. - Gaining muscle mass
Athletes usually have muscle health as a top priority in their mind. Development training helps them achieve this. The hypertrophy phase of the training process allows players to gain a good 5-10 pounds with proper nutrition, hydration, and rest. It also ensures that players don’t gain too many pounds so that their ability to produce speed is not hindered. Development training often helps players in developing muscle mass and increasing their overall strength. - Injury prevention
You may improve your speed, but it doesn’t guarantee an injury-free playing experience. It is basically a way to train the mind to maintain mobility with the right postures. That’s not all. Development training helps to prevent non-contact injuries by preparing the physical body for the game. It improves the resilience power of players and conditions them to exercise caution on the ice. - Developing power
Hockey players want the ability to produce force and develop power. This can usually be accomplished with proper development training along with allowing players to build metabolic strength, which in turn helps them in performing more complex movements. Development training focuses on explosive movements that are generally a part of a true to form hockey game. - Physiological adaptation
Last, but certainly not the least, development training helps players in reducing asymmetries that may have resulted from improper movements. In addition to muscle endurance, development training helps player’s physiology to adapt to different situations that entail a game of hockey. They become better players by ensuring proper movements and high physiological endurance.
Tim Turk Hockey Offers Private Sessions & Team Development Training. Contact for more information.
