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Preparing for Hockey Tryouts

Tryout season can be almost as stressful as the regular season. Players are jockeying for positions,  coaches are searching for the right players to fill their squad and parents are trying to understand what would be best for their son or daughter. Leading up to tryouts, there are things players can do to make sure they are as prepared as possible for a good showing when the time comes.

Core Stability Isn't Just Sit Ups

When most people think about core or abdominal exercises, they think sit ups and planks. Though these exercises can be effective, can we do it better? Many of the most popular core exercises are performed on the floor. The issue is that most of the sports we play occur standing up. With this in mind, adding core exercises in a standing position, 

Baseball Safety: Before Taking the Field

First and foremost, know your athletes.

Improve Your Core Stability with this Easy Series

Core stability plays a huge roll in both sports performance and injury prevention. The core musculature includes any muscle that attaches to the pelvic bone. These include the abdominals, erector spinae and glutes to name a few.

5 Ways to Recover Faster

This time of year brings on the playoffs for many athletes. The stakes are higher, the games are more intense and a number of games can be played in a short amount of time. The demands on the athlete’s body become higher with less time to recover. This can lead to decreased performance or injury that can change the end result of your season. There are many recovery aids available, some simple and inexpensive and some expensive and elaborate, but the most important thing is to 

Preparing to Compete

As we head into playoff season, it is important to remember that proper preparation, on a daily basis is a major factor to your success. Preparing for a game doesn’t start when you step on the ice. Preparation is really a daily process of repeating certain things that make you the player you are. Preparation starts with how you eat and sleep at home or on the road. I try to engrain in all of the players we work with that preparation begins when you walk in the door of the rink. At this time, the game and what you need to do to win need to be the only thing on your mind.

Over Training in Sports

The standards for competitive sports for all levels from youth to professional have elevated. This reoccurring trend is not necessarily a bad thing; however, the emphasis is being placed more on quantity than quality of training. When the intensity, duration, and frequency of training is too high with insufficient recovery, training becomes harmful versus beneficial. If the quality of training is high then there should be no reason to compensate with extra conditioning or trainings in addition to what is already required.

Stretching to Reduce Workplace Injuries and Improve Productivity (Part 1 of 3)

Many of today’s workforce spend their time sitting behind a desk working on a computer, going over spreadsheets or on their phone. This prolonged sitting can lead to a variety of issues including low back or neck pain, stiff joints and overuse injuries especially in the shoulder, elbows and wrists. These injuries have shown to lead to increase in time lost at work and decreased productivity, all affecting a business’s bottom line. According to a 2009 report by the Wellness Council of America, “implementing a stretching program into daily work practices show excellent work injury reduction benefits.”

In Part 1 of this series, I will discuss two stretches to help decrease low back pain in 

2 Simple Exercises to Skate Faster

Speed on the ice is defined by stride length times stride frequency. In order to improve your speed, you must improve one of these two factors. Improving strength and power in the lower body will aid in the improvement of frequency and is a very important aspect of off ice training. This improvement however may take some time. One simple and quicker way is to improve your stride length by increasing your 

Scapular Dysfunction

One of the most commonly injured joints in overhead sports is the shoulder.  Pitchers, volleyball players, quarterbacks, and others often deal with overuse injuries such as impingement, labral tears, rotator cuff injuries, tendinitis, as well as general instability.  However, it is not only overhead athletes that may experience shoulder pain.  Many individuals, 

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