Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I ice?

[driventoit]

For a fan of the women's game the off-season has to be the longest and deadest in all of sports; so why not spend some time "centralizing" the occasional observations about growth/development that are otherwise scattered throughout various threads in the course of a season?

Recent examples (from, among others, Blackbeard, Trillium, Watson Rink, Old Dave) include questions about conditioning vs. skill development; the relative absence of shooters and of shooting drills; the relative absence of development itself (!); creativity vs. conformity; the implications of the simple demise of the world of pond hockey for today's go-go game. In short: "a complex subject with a lot of variables . . . It certainly deserves a thread of its own . . ." (Trillium).

Another header for this potentially free-wheeling discussion might be: Can the women's game really get more exciting than it already is?

[OnMAA]

Re: Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I

For a fan of the women's game the off-season has to be the longest and deadest in all of sports; so why not spend some time "centralizing" the occasional observations about growth/development that are otherwise scattered throughout various threads in the course of a season?

Recent examples (from, among others, Blackbeard, Trillium, Watson Rink, Old Dave) include questions about conditioning vs. skill development; the relative absence of shooters and of shooting drills; the relative absence of development itself (!); creativity vs. conformity; the implications of the simple demise of the world of pond hockey for today's go-go game. In short: "a complex subject with a lot of variables . . . It certainly deserves a thread of its own . . ." (Trillium).

Another header for this potentially free-wheeling discussion might be: Can the women's game really get more exciting than it already is?

Interesting choice of thread/post title compared to the questions you pose in the post......

Between now and the end of the school year (June'ish) A new recruit should focus on completing their high school curriculum, and to make sure they enjoy those last two months with their high school friends. With the season over, now is the time to take a break from the game. It will get rigorous enough down the road.

Once High School is out, start a serious off ice training regimen to prep for the season. (You can workout between now and then, but it should be light for the first month or so after the season. Stay active, but do different things. The focus in the summer should be off ice training, both strength and conditioning. If there is weaknesses to work on, use specific off ice drills to work on them, whether it be shooting, puck handling with a ball, or running/gym work to improve your skate stride/strength/agility/flexibility. Either way, shoot 250 pucks a day, 5 days a week, but do 50 pucks each in a different technique, slap/snap/wrist/backhand/one timer off a machine etc.

But last and not least......Enjoy the summer, take some time off and take a vacation with the family. Once college starts, there will be little to no time for that.

[Hux]

Re: Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I

Once High School is out, start a serious off ice training regimen to prep for the season. (You can workout between now and then, but it should be light for the first month or so after the season. Stay active, but do different things. The focus in the summer should be off ice training, both strength and conditioning. If there is weaknesses to work on, use specific off ice drills to work on them, whether it be shooting, puck handling with a ball, or running/gym work to improve your skate stride/strength/agility/flexibility. Either way, shoot 250 pucks a day, 5 days a week, but do 50 pucks each in a different technique, slap/snap/wrist/backhand/one timer off a machine etc.

But last and not least......Enjoy the summer, take some time off and take a vacation with the family. Once college starts, there will be little to no time for that.

Wrong, wrong wrong. July is three months behind the eight ball! Now is the time to do the "heavy lifting;" the strength and conditioning work that will ensure you aren't a step behind, and sucking wind come September. If a player is headed to a D1 program they should essentially be doing whatever it is their soon to be teammates are doing between now and then. They should have the team's off-season workout and be following it. They need to be serious about it because come September they will be thrown in the deep end of the pool. If the player's future coach says "we expect our players to be able to do X amount of ___________, or have times that are _________, it is in the player's best interest that they show up able to achieve expectations.

If they haven't had experience with S&C, they should find a S&C coach that can help them learn proper technique and ensure they are maximizing their time in the gym. The coach/trainer should understand the workout is sport specific. What works for a football player does not work for a hockey player.

Training isn't a full time job. There will still be plenty of time for academics, and relaxing activities. Like the old Fram Filter commercials used to say "You Can Pay Me Now, or Pay Me Later." If you don't put in the time now, come next season you may have more time on your hands than you'd like...in that center spot on the bench, or street clothes in the stands.

[OnMAA]

Re: Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I

Wrong, wrong wrong. July is three months behind the eight ball! Now is the time to do the "heavy lifting;" the strength and conditioning work that will ensure you aren't a step behind, and sucking wind come September. If a player is headed to a D1 program they should essentially be doing whatever it is their soon to be teammates are doing between now and then. They should have the team's off-season workout and be following it. They need to be serious about it because come September they will be thrown in the deep end of the pool. If the player's future coach says "we expect our players to be able to do X amount of ___________, or have times that are _________, it is in the player's best interest that they show up able to achieve expectations.

If they haven't had experience with S&C, they should find a S&C coach that can help them learn proper technique and ensure they are maximizing their time in the gym. The coach/trainer should understand the workout is sport specific. What works for a football player does not work for a hockey player.

Training isn't a full time job. There will still be plenty of time for academics, and relaxing activities. Like the old Fram Filter commercials used to say "You Can Pay Me Now, or Pay Me Later." If you don't put in the time now, come next season you may have more time on your hands than you'd like...in that center spot on the bench, or street clothes in the stands.

Maybe you disagree, but there is two things I feel strongly about:

1 - You need to take some time off at the end of the season, stay active, but no heavy training.
2 - Academics comes first.

Even the NHL guys take some time off after the season.

I do agree that you need to follow a program and be involved with an S&C coach. If you start the formal part in June you got 3 months to get in shape. Plenty of time. If a player has done S&C before with their club program, not that hard to get back to baseline and work up from there.

[zoofer]

Re: Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I

Not sure what's it worth OnMAA but back in the 80's, a buddy of mine was with Edmonton, and even back then, the players had to return to camp in the same condition they left. End of season tests, set the standards that the respective player was responsible for, so even if they took sometime off, expectations were that they would maintain their end of season bmi and physical condition.i can't imagine that today's standards are any less stringent...be it pro or D-1 athlete....

[driventoit]

Re: Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I

Interesting choice of thread/post title compared to the questions you pose in the post......

Just for clarification, the title of the thread is meant to conform with the tenor of the questions cited in the first post. It is not designed to invite advice about how to spend time before first putting on a D-I uniform, but to continue the conversation about what players might find out in the course of their collegiate careers about how their own growth is being/has been fostered. The questions/speculations referenced in the first post suggest that the issue is not so clear cut. (Maybe this is too open-ended, but it is the off-season after all.)

[OnMAA]

Re: Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I

Not sure what's it worth OnMAA but back in the 80's, a buddy of mine was with Edmonton, and even back then, the players had to return to camp in the same condition they left. End of season tests, set the standards that the respective player was responsible for, so even if they took sometime off, expectations were that they would maintain their end of season bmi and physical condition.i can't imagine that today's standards are any less stringent...be it pro or D-1 athlete....

Well aware, and those standards are applied even more stringently today than they were in the past. Most D1 teams have similar baseline testing type protocols.

My suggestion was merely to indicate that as part of periodization and rest recovery, you do need to take some time off each year from core training. Best time to do this is right after the season ends.

There are many variables and dimensions to a good training program.

The context for this thread is 18 years old's finishing high school heading to college. The level of training should be adapted based on age group and experience. Many good high school athletes play multiple sports. If they do play all these sports AND do core training at the same time, something will break.

[giwan]

Re: Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I

Most D1 teams? I would expect ALL DI and most DIII have goals set for players to work on over the off season. This is based on several years experience as an athletic trainer for a DI hockey program. Typically found players came back in better shape then how they looked at the end of the season.

At season end it is typical that a player rest 2-5 weeks before starting a workout regime. They need that time to fully get "healthy" both physically and mentally.

This applies for a HS athlete as well, it just depends on the timing of their other sports. Every workout regime varies to some extent to the athlete in question but there are many fundamental basics for them to follow.

[driventoit]

Re: Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I

The context for this thread is 18 years old's finishing high school heading to college.

?????

Well, if you want to hijack the thread, my clarification notwithstanding, that's fine. It didn't appear to be going anywhere anyway.

My next thread? "Driver Carries No Cash."

[OnMAA]

Re: Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I

?????

Well, if you want to hijack the thread, my clarification notwithstanding, that's fine. It didn't appear to be going anywhere anyway.

My next thread? "Driver Carries No Cash."

Maybe you are confused.

The title of the thread is:
"Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I ice?"

You suggested this was an open ended discussion in the opener:
" header for this potentially free-wheeling discussion"

When I tried to provide some context for some of my comments:
"The context for this thread is 18 years old's finishing high school heading to college."

You proceed to accuse me of hijacking the thread ?.


The title is clear....Discussion about growth and development of new recruits stepping on the ice for D1 this coming fall.
To me this means your 18 and some cases 19 years olds. Not sure how my comments can be construed as hijacking the thread. Was merely discussion off-ice training for college recruits in the summer leading to their freshman year. IMHO, well within the context of the thread subject.

IMHO off-ice training, both skill and strength, and proper periodization are all important for the development of an incoming D1 player. IMHO skill development is just as much if not more important than strength training, although some appear to disagree. People often lament the lack of goal scoring. Well work on shooting and puck handling skills then. This can be done off ice, and for most actually tends to be more fun than strength training. JMO.

[hockeylife]

Re: Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I

Anyone know the percentage of girls dropping after their freshman year and why? Is it more common to see transfers at the beginning of Sophomore year or later?

[giwan]

Re: Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I

?????

Well, if you want to hijack the thread, my clarification notwithstanding, that's fine. It didn't appear to be going anywhere anyway.

My next thread? "Driver Carries No Cash."

Yes and all that has been said still applies. Newly recruited players were told to contact the training staff and were given workout info.

[Blackbeard]

Re: Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I

periodization

Huh? Is that a real word?...(or are you just engaging in some vocabulary engineering?)...if it is, it's new to me so I would ask for a definition, please, so I can better understand your post.

[giwan]

Re: Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I

Huh? Is that a real word?...(or are you just engaging in some vocabulary engineering?)...if it is, it's new to me so I would ask for a definition, please, so I can better understand your post.

Very real word

[OnMAA]

Re: Growth/Development: What can the new recruit expect once she steps foot onto D-I

Huh? Is that a real word?....

Yup a real word. Periodization commonly used in high performance training. Related to phases of training and how to work towards peaking at the right time. In my sport, T&F this was big back even in the 80's when I competed, so it is not a recent word/concept either.