THE OPTIMAL ON-ICE TRAINING SCHEDULE

One of the most common questions I have been asked by parents is: “What is the best training schedule for my son or daughter?” At no fault of their own, most players and parents have no idea what a proper hockey training schedule should look like. The main concern of parents is that their child will fall behind the other players that have a proper training schedule. No one wants to see their child get passed over when it comes to ice time during the season. Every parent would like to see their son or daughter on one of the top lines or playing on the power play and playing at the end of a tight game. Parents certainly do not want to see their child get cut from a team or not be able to play on their team of choice. The reality is that without a proper training schedule a player has little chance of keeping up with the top players. 

In this article we will talk about the overall structure of a players on-ice year. We feel this schedule will provide the optimal long term training needed and should result in excellent outcomes. (Please keep in mind that this article will not be touching on the importance of age specific off-ice training.)

First of all, we realize that each player is different and will have different priorities when it comes to playing hockey. As said in previous articles, if the true goal is to “just have fun”, than a rigorous training schedule is probably unnecessary. However, if the goal is to play at a higher level or become as good as possible than the proper training with the proper schedule is extremely important.

This article is also assuming that hockey is your players top sport or at least one of their top sports. In our opinion, the skill set needed to be a top hockey player is so difficult and complex that it needs more time and training than any other sport. This is mainly because of the additional skating aspect of hockey. Almost all other sports are played while running which is a natural motion. Skating is not a natural motion, therefore, to be proficient at skating takes a great deal of time and effort. Adding in all the other skill requirements that a top hockey player needs to perform at a high level and you have the need for a rigorous training program. 

Our experience shows us that the optimal yearly schedule needed for a player to develop to their full potential looks like the following:

September thru Mid-March  (regular hockey season with team)

Late March thru early April   (team tryouts)

Mid-April thru June               (individual skills clinics)

July                                       (NO HOCKEY AT ALL)

Early August                         (a week or two of summer camp)

End of August                     (optional team camp)

Let’s walk through each portion of this yearly schedule:

September thru Mid-March - This is the meat of the hockey season. The caveat here is that we are assuming your player is receiving quality coaching and a sufficient amount of practice time. If you are receiving both of these consider yourself very fortunate. We know this is not always the case. We have been seeing that many coaches are not qualified to teach the many physical and mental skills required of this game. We are also seeing coaches who pack their teams schedule with games instead of the required 3 to 1 practice to game ratio. This combination is to the detriment of your player. If you feel your team is not providing the proper balance of quality coaching and game to practice ratio you may have to supplement your child’s regular season with some additional outside clinics.

As a side note: It is much more difficult for a coach to run a quality practice than it is to coach in a game. This (easy way out) is one reason why some coaches pack their team schedule with games. Unfortunately, this type of schedule is hurting your player in the long run. Remember, a 3 to 1 practice to game ratio is the best way to improve a players game. So, if your coach has scheduled 65 games in your season than he/she should have 195 practices scheduled. I seriously doubt if that is even possible. (See our article on “One of the biggest mistake parents are making today”)  

Late March thru early April - This is the part of the year that many players and parents dread. If your son or daughter has not followed our recommended yearly schedule you risk tryout time becoming a nightmare. You can supplement some clinics right before tryouts begin but without a long term training schedule this is just a band-aid on a major wound. 

Mid-April thru June - This time period is part one of the “secret sauce” to becoming a great hockey player. (part two is summer camp) Many players shut down their hockey activities after the regular season. The best players use spring time to excelerate their skill set training. THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO PLAY MORE GAMES. THIS IS A TIME TO TRAIN. It is certainly ok to play in a tournament or two during spring but the majority of time should be spent on training your skill set. Players that expect to get significantly better by playing more games in the spring are fooling themselves. Unfortunately, parents and players don’t figure this out until the player is much older and it is typically too late to fix the sins of the past. Also, it is certainly ok, even recommended, to play other sports during spring. Hockey training in spring only needs to take 2 or 3 ice sessions a week to achieve the desired results. 

July - For the player that wants to be a high achiever it can be difficult to carve out some down time. To prevent “burnout“ we have found that the best time to put the hockey bag away is July. Every player needs remove themselves from the game for at least 3 to 4 straight weeks without going anywhere near a rink. This time away from the rink is more of a mental break than a physical break. We have found that players that do not take this break typically lose their competitive edge at some point during the season. For the serious hockey player July should be used for anything except hockey. Players should go outside and play tennis, golf, swimming, etc. or just hang around family and friends. This time away from the rink will pay huge dividends later during the season. 

Early August - For the player who wants to be at their best to start the season, early August is used to begin preparations for the upcoming year. Full week hockey camps can be a great way to totally immerse oneself in improving and preparing for the season ahead. Choose a camp that provides in depth on-ice hockey training and off-ice workouts that will help build strength and stamina.

End of August - A team only hockey camp is a great way to jump start a season. While these types of camps are not run by every organization there are distinct advantages to having an entire team together for a whole week before school starts. Like any professional sports team a pre-season training camp is a great way to team build and allow the coaching staff the time necessary to work on all aspects of the game. It can be very difficult to work on certain aspects of the game when you only have an hour of ice time during an in-season practice. Again, if you have a coach that is willing to take his own time during the summer and work with the team during a pre-season camp consider yourself fortunate and be sure to thank that coach for his efforts and dedication. 

All of the above information and opinion should be used as a guideline. Not all parents and players situations and schedules are the same. This is just the experience of one coach who has had some success in developing high end players and has certainly learned through trial and error over the last 20 years. 

Thank you

PRO PERFORMANCE HOCKEY STAFF