[ Hockey Team Training ]
Athletic Republic’s most complete program develops the dedicated hockey player’s speed, skill, power and agility, whether it’s in the spring preparing for tryouts or in summer gearing up for the coming season. The 6-8 week Hockey Acceleration Training program focuses on power, movement skills and skating efficiency, while building dynamic stability on the ice. The program begins with a pre-test to assess strength and weakness to optimize each athlete’s training program. Our industry-leading Athlete Information Management System [AIMS] allows both the athlete and trainer to track improvement to monitor goal achievement.
Competitive Advantage
Athletic Republic prides itself on training speed and separation for hockey players, and that is exactly what we have done to the competition in our 20-year history. Athletic Republic is the leader in hockey training, with over 500 NHL players trained and four major Division I universities using our program. That includes the best players in the U.S., at the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Athletic Republic Hockey gives its athletes an advantage on and off the ice. And we do the same for our business prospects. Athletic Republic regards its 20-year history as an immeasurable advantage and works closely with each of our new centers on facility design, best practices, program development, marketing and advertising agendas, athlete efficiency and return on investment. To put it simply, we hand them our playbook. Such attention to detail has propelled us into the position of being the world’s largest performance sports training provider. Our goal as a company is to “light the lamp,” whether it be on the ice or in business. Athletic Republic provides training programs and a business model that is tested, proven and guaranteed.
The Hockey Treadmill
Our patented Hockey Treadmill was the first of its kind over 20 years ago, and the first one ever built is still training athletes every day in Fargo, North Dakota. Our Athletic Republic Hockey Treadmill is precisely engineered and continues to be the most durable and reliable on the market, proving itself year after year. It offers the advantage of increasing to speeds between 16 and 18 miles per hour and rises to a 32-percent grade. We designed the skating treadmill to elevate because, based on our research, incline skating proves to be a critical contributor to strength development, recruiting twice the amount of muscle activity as skating on a flat surface. Adding our patented SprintCords to the workout allows our trainers to properly load resistance to each skater’s musculature and at such high velocities that athletes learn to skate effectively at high-speeds.
The Hockey Treadmill was also specifically engineered to service the smallest learn-to-skate hockey players as well as the largest pros in the NHL. With our unique trolley and harness system, we can train groups of six in a monitored, safe and systematic training environment without the delays created by having to attach and reattach athletes.
Athletic Republic takes things a step further by providing over 2,500 pages of individual athlete and team training protocols. We recognize that a hockey player’s form begins to deteriorate after 20 seconds, making longer training bouts a useless exercise in reinforcing poor skating technique. Our protocols allow our trainers to provide an optimal training environment that focuses on an individual’s development, skills and metabolic capabilities. Our goal at Athletic Republic isn’t just to provide the equipment, but to provide a systematic approach to impacting athletic (and business) performance.
Education
At Athletic Republic we take athlete development seriously. This is why our company has a history of training over 500,000 athletes and 2,500 Olympians and professional athletes. We continue to push and educate our network of trainers by providing free training to our members in the form of Level I/II/III and Sport Specific Certifications, such as our PowerPlay Hockey Education. We understand that a machine is only as good as its handler, and that’s the reason we provide education and training protocols to our expert staff, to make sure all of our athletes are getting the most out of every workout, out of every series or session and out of their Athletic Republic experience.
Machine vs. Program
Hockey development is more than just skating, and that is why Athletic Republic provides more than just a treadmill. Our programs are designed to increase any hockey player’s abilities on and off the ice. We offer a means to increase dynamic stability, lower body explosiveness, first-step quickness, top-end speed, skating efficiency, shot velocity and puck control, all at a competitive cost compared to our competition. When looking for an off-ice program that fits you best, start by asking these two questions:
- Does the training center have the knowledge, know-how and expertise of a program that has trained 500,000 athletes, including 500 NHL players?
- Does the trainer have access to a science-based approach to training that validates its programs and continually pushes the envelope in developing you as an athlete?
Athletic Republic has had a passion for providing athletes a competitive advantage for over 20 years. Come see us. And bring your skates, because you’ll quickly come to understand why we aren’t just a gym; we’re a whole new way to train.
Below is a detailed overview of our hockey-based programs:
Objectives
- Improve running biomechanics
- Increase explosive power
- Increase stride length/stride frequency
- Increase maximum on-ice sprint speed
- Increase anaerobic tolerance
- Improve stick handling and game skills
- Develop greater puck control
- Enhance posture/body positioning
- Improve overall strength to reduce the risk of joint and tendon injuries
Components of Hockey Training
- Dynamic Warm-up/Cool-down
- Speed Training
- Strength Training
- Cardiovascular/Endurance Training/Plyometric Training
- Flexibility, Dynamic Balance and Agility Training
- Core Stabilization Training
- Skills Development
Dynamic Warm-up/Cool-down
- Dynamic warm-up consists of activities to increase heart rate, blood flow, muscle temperature, and breathing rate. Warming up allows muscles to stretch more easily and joints to move more easily, thereby preventing pulling muscles, most commonly hamstring and quadriceps. Our warm-up also focuses on agility, speed development and flexibility.
- Cooling down ensures athletes relax their muscles and reduce next-day soreness.
Speed Training
- Players skate on the hockey treadmill using their own skates. The Athletic Republic hockey treadmill can reach speeds of 16 miles an hour and an incline grade of 32 degrees.
- Players are taught proper stride mechanics at high speeds. Stride efficiency and power make a faster, quicker skater.
- Players also learn visually by seeing themselves in a mirror and by using Dartfish video motion analysis – something skaters cannot get on the ice.
Strength Training
- Hockey is a fast-paced game of finesse where the strongest players come out on top. Stronger players are faster and not as easily knocked off the puck. A sound weight-training program promotes stability and reduces the risk of injury.
- Strength training emphasizes lower body power in particular, with the development of hockey-specific gains to the hip region and explosive single-legged power.
- Hockey players utilize resistance bands, free-weights, medicine balls, and physio balls to strengthen muscles, joints and connective tissues.
- Exercises are biomechanically specific to hockey, including muscle movements used in shooting, passing and goaltending.
Cardiovascular/Endurance Training
- Typically, the body takes anywhere from five to seven minutes to reach a comfortable cardiovascular output after the rise in heart rate. Because a hockey game lasts over an hour, with high-intensity, full-ice sprints, the body works in both the anaerobic and aerobic modes throughout the game.
- Cardiovascular and endurance training at AR Norwood includes short interval/high intensity sprinting sequences on ourhockey treadmill. By using the same energy systems and tactical movements utilized in a regulation hockey game, athletes become fitter and faster.
Plyometric Training
- Plyometric training is a very effective form of power training ideally suited to hockey. Hockey players perform specific plyometric drills for increased motor performance (coordination), explosive power, vertical jump height, lateral power and rotation, and landing strength.
- Plyometric training combines elements of both speed and strength in single movement patterns that include the Athletic Republic PlyoPress, cord technology, longitudinal and vertical jumps, box jumps, and medicine ball drills for upper body and middle body torso power.
Flexibility
- Hockey specific flexibility exercises include static stretching, isometric stretching, and active isolated stretching (AIS). Improved flexibility helps to prevent injuries in assuring the muscles and tendons work together properly. It also makes the muscles more elastic for increased lower body explosiveness.
Dynamic Balance
- Hockey is a game that is constantly being played off-balance. Hockey players perform a series of balance-specific exercises to strengthen their stabilizing muscles and allow for better muscular synergy and joint control.
- Training routines include unstable and stable lifts, dynamic balance movements with the Bosu ball, and a variety of off-balance training aids.
Agility
- In an average hockey shift, a player changes direction 50-60 times. In order to improve agility skills, athletes learn a variety of agility drills, including advanced ground based agility patterns and a speed agility ladder.
- Ground-based agility patterns are conducted on our indoor Field Turf, track, and wood court.
Core Stabilization Training
- Core stabilization is essential for proper posture, balance and stabilization. Functional exercises focus on spinal stabilization and increased proprioception (the ability to read and respond to changing conditions) during sports activities. Core muscles support every twisting, turning, jumping, and lateral movement; additionally, they are essential in posture, balance, and stabilization.
- Core training consists of dynamic, multi-joint exercises that use free weights, medicine balls and circuit training.
Skill Development
- Skill Development workouts include various drills that focus on stick handling, shooting, off-balance accuracy, soft hands, passing, toe drags, dekes, shooting technique and power, obstacle stick handling, puck control, and goalie skills.
- Impress your coach this upcoming season with improved stick handling, better overall command on the puck and greater puck awareness so you can control the tempo of the game.
Hockey Acceleration
The athlete completes 24 training sessions three times per week. Twelve sessions incorporate the Hockey Treadmill and focus on creating greater stride length, stride frequency and improved anaerobic conditioning for hockey. The other 12 plyometric sessions increase first-step quickness, core stability and overall explosiveness. Each training session incorporates skill and stick-handling development. The program concludes with a post-program performance evaluation, and all sessions include flexibility drills and dynamic warm-up.
24 sessions 25-30 total hours of training
- 1 Pre-test / 1 Post-Test
- 12 Hockey Treadmill speed, strength and stability sessions (utilizing other proprietary equipment as needed to augment the athlete’s skill set
- 12 Plyometric sessions including the Republic Box and slide board
- 18 skill development and stick-handling sessions
Hockey Team Training
Athletic Republic’s team training takes in-season conditioning beyond all previous expectations. Over the course of an 11 – 22 week hockey season, Athletic Republic develops teams’ speed, power and quickness, translating these assets to the ice and rendering the competition helpless in the third period. The Team Training program begins in early September (with the season) and runs in two phases throughout the winter, ending in early March before the playoffs. Each team has a set training schedule for the year, comprised of one 90-minute training session per week. Athletes focus on individual skating improvement, increasing stride length and stride frequency, proper skating biomechanics and overall anaerobic conditioning for hockey. Athletic Republic’s Team Training program gives your team an edge that allows athletes to enhance their individual skills and conditioning in-season, while allowing your coaching staff to utilize their ice time more effectively without having to use precious ice time for on-ice conditioning drills.
Circuit Training:
- Hockey Treadmill improves speed, efficiency and overall skating technique
- Plyometrics/Republic box develops core stability, overall quickness and explosive power
- Skill development elevates on-ice performance with increased puck control and shot velocity
Hockey Team Training consists of:
- 11 – 22 sessions [90 minutes per session]
- Player testing: start of season, twice in-season, and post-season
Each session is broken into three periods of play:
- 1st - Hockey Treadmill training [30 minutes]
- 2nd - Plyometrics: for strength, power and dynamic stability [30 minutes]
- 3rd - Skill Development [30 minutes]
- All sessions include a dynamic warm-up and flexibility training
“The [U.S.] National Team Development Program is a cutting edge program that strives to make our American players the best on the world stage. The Athletic Republic Hockey Treadmill is the type of cutting edge technology that will help our players continue their string of five consecutive medal performances at the Under-18 World Championships, and help them to reach their personal goals for success in college and professional hockey.”
Scott Monaghan
Director of Hockey Operations U.S. National Team Development Program
