A Slapshot
Every so often I attempt to merge my private little world with the larger universe, as I did in this e-mail below.
The context is that my 12th Grade daughter has taken up hockey, joining the team as the warm body they desperately needed to play goalie. This has awakened my old love for the game. 40 years ago I too played in high school, but as I headed off to a Southern college, my career ended with a sense of unfinished business. Now, with new skates and a pile of used equipment, I’ll soon be joining a men’s league and getting back into the action. That’s a story for another time.
[Bob],
You might recall from a Stick-n-Puck just before Christmas, when you were coaching [Poopsie] in goal, saying that you’d help me find my way onto the right Men’s League team when the time came. I’m still planning to take you up on that, but in the meantime, I’d like to return the favor to you and the [Sweet Valley High School] hockey team.
I think I can be helpful as you plan your offseason training program. I know a fair bit about classical barbell training, having experience
- as a competitive weightlifter and assistant football team strength coach while at [Trump University]
- running a CrossFit styled business a decade ago in Hawaii
- and coaching strength training for high school boys and girls in a sailing program while we were stationed in Cleveland in 2018 and ’19.
I’m compelled to write after reading the January 9 e-mail from Coach [Smith], which contained a handful of suggested circuit workouts since the COVID surge was precluding team gatherings.
To put it bluntly, the only thing circuit workouts are good for is managing a crowd over a given period of time. True, it is exercise; it will call forth exertion, make people sweaty, and wear them out, but it is not training. As written, those circuits are a blend of exercises that are
- exceedingly difficult: (any girl who can hit 10 diamond push ups should go to Ranger School)
- ineffective: (planks; 12 squats with 2 second pauses provide neither strength nor endurance)
- strangely advanced: (Bulgarian split squats, the latest in the dangerous fad of using skill development exercises in beginner level conditioning, are best reserved for collegiate level wide receivers or track and field athletes.)
Just because something is difficult doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Beginner athletes are best served by a focused, incremental process of stress, recovery, and adaptation involving natural and balanced movements.
Strength is defined as the ability to apply force against external resistance. The best lifts for building strength are the big classic four: the (barbell) squat, bench press, deadlift, and overhead press, all of which use the greatest amount of muscle mass to move the greatest amount of weight through the greatest distance possible. Young athletes who are taught these skills can then proceed in a novice linear progression in which they add a bit of weight in every workout and gain significant strength over the long term.
The resulting leg, trunk, and upper body strength would provide a solid foundation for the development of skating and stick handling skills, as well as staying power for the duration of practices and games.
Unlike the flouncing around in other programs that waste substantial time and money, the performance improvement in barbell strength training is guaranteed and can be objectively measured in pounds lifted.
If you’d like a proof of concept, you’re invited to watch one of Poopsie’s workouts in our [Potemkin] garage gym. She’s presently squatting 190-some-odd pounds for sets of 5 and deadlifting 225 for reps.
I’m not sure that what you’d see is entirely feasible for Sweet Valley High, given the equipment you have on campus, but if you were to consider barbell training, I’d be happy to provide information on the necessary equipment - (and unnecessary! Trust me, you will be sold a bill of goods) - as well as creating a program.
As coaches meet with the athletic director and administration, they should be well informed concerning the best possible investments in the future of Sweet Valley athletics.
