| 7. Will the skating program be too physically demanding on very young players? |
| No.
All of the off-ice training is modified for the youngest groups so that
the focus is on developing flexibility and quickness rather than strength
and power. A lot of the off-ice training involves simulated skating
where players work on developing the skating technique they are required
to use on the ice.
During the on-ice program, the players will probably be skating faster than they have ever skated before, but I am not a believer in "bag skating" hockey players which leads to poor technique and slowness on the ice. As well, psychologically, I believe the best way to create a slow skater is to teach him to "hate" skating or to always think of it as "work". I do everything possible (including "cranking" up the tunes with an extensive sound system) to teach hockey players to love to skate and to skate fast. When kids are stomping their skates anxiously waiting to get on the ice, I know when they get out there they will be flying!! It is the same belief that compels me to limit, where possible, the ice time per day to a maximum of two hours (excluding any scrimmage time). I tell players that you either train to be slow or train to be fast. There is no neutral. Anymore than two hours a day over a full week period and a player is training himself to be slow. For all of the reasons stated above, the skating program should not be too physically demanding for even the youngest players. |