As you know, I'm obsessed with hockey development.
In fact, my entire basement here in Salt Lake City is a skills center built for hockey development. And my boys make great use of it!
It's full of training gear, tools, weights, medicine balls & other equipment, and of course... trophies... Lots and lots of trophies from when I used to play as a kid growing up in the Toronto hockey system as a Wexford Raider in the MTHL 'AAA' (now known as the GTHL).
I've been collecting books, videos, and other resources on hockey training for over 20 years, and I encourage the coaches I work with to do the same.
When you know the history of the game, and how development techniques have evolved, you become known as a coach who understands how to develop players to their full potential.
And ultimately win more games and more championships.
"The Road to Olympus" – Written by the Father of Russian Hockey...
9-Time World Championship Hockey Coach – Anatoli Tarasov
Tarasov is known as the Father of Russian Hockey.
Anyone who knows anything about the history of hockey in Russia, recognizes Tarasov as the guy who started it all.
Because not only did Tarasov revolutionize the game in Russia – he turned the game upside down for the rest of the world!
For more than two decades, nobody else stood a chance.
Nobody had seen the game played the way the Soviets were playing it... And their training methods were guarded in secrecy behind the Iron Curtain – literally!
Training Methods off the Ice
For many years hockey was played mostly up and down the ice, in straight lines, with the objective of always moving the puck forward.
I still remember being taught some of these concepts when I started hockey in the early 1980's.
Tarasov changed all that.
Russia was way ahead of North America thanks to Anatoli Tarasov.
Tarasov had players criss-crossing through each other's positions. If there wasn't an immediate passing option, players would circle back and "regroup" the puck, while they waited for new options to open up.
The Soviet game was incredible to watch... Fast, controlled, precise... and the world didn't know how to respond.
Having His Players Do Russian Ballet!
It wasn't uncommon to see his players doing juggling exercises, somersaults, and even Russian Ballet!
All of this off-ice training produced a then-unbeatable athlete.
Here's some of what Tarasov wrote in Road to Olympus:
"It is quite obvious that team work alone cannot guarantee victory. The outcome of a hockey game, in the long run, depends on the skill of the players, on their moral, physical, technical and tactical level."
"To me, a top-class hockey player should be an all-round physically developed athlete with speed and strength plus. Such a player has an explosive starting reaction and a will that is as strong as iron."
As you can see, Tarasov was a big believer in physical development when it came to hockey.
This is WHY the Soviets trained the way they did!
Now... Unfortunately Road to Olympus is no longer in print, and finding copies is extremely rare.
In fact... I haven't been able to find it for less than $180 in years. And that's for a raggedy old USED copy!
Luckily, I came across a copy completely by accident about 9 years ago... I recognized the title and bought it immediately (for much less than it's worth!)
Simple.
I want you to understand the importance of off-ice training when it comes to winning hockey.
If you want your players to skate faster, be stronger on their feet, hit harder, win more puck battles and races, shoot the puck with more accuracy, even at the end of a long game... AND WIN MORE CHAMPIONSHIPS...
You NEED to incorporate off-ice training into your development program.
Off-ice training is one of the secrets of why the teams I personally coach—the Salt Lake Dawgs, which my boys Tyler, Chase, and Luke are on—just keep winning.
In fact, we have won 18 championships, including tournaments and State Playoffs, over the past 6 years spanning U8 through U12.
One of my favorite off-ice training drills I use with my teams is called the Dot Drill.
Be sure to check your inbox tomorrow because I'll be sending you a video on how you can use this technique (which takes less than 3 minutes a day to do) to make them quicker on their feet, faster, and more agile.
So they'll be able to win more puck races, slip checks, and transition so quickly after causing a turnover they'll be half way up the ice before the other team even realizes you've taken the puck from them.
Because remember what Tarasov said about agility:
"A good hockey player must first be a good athlete. Athleticism means speed, strength, and agility. This means we must double our efforts, especially in the spurts."
See you tomorrow!
Jeremy Weiss
It's a strength and conditioning program that can be done from home if you can't make it to the gym, and the membership includes access for your entire team. So you can get all your players benefiting from off-ice training together. Imagine what that would look like for your team next season!
The regular price for the program is $77.
But you can get in now for the next two weeks at the early bird price of just $47.
You'll learn more about it in the coming days... However, you should know that this is the exact program my teams use.
- Championship Hockey Conditioning – A full program focusing on primary muscle groups & energy systems that improve speed, strength, size, agility, explosiveness, and recovery time; allowing you and your team's players to become physically dominant on the ice.
- Over 105 of simple to follow, yet EFFECTIVE online instructional videos ensure your team gets the proper form for all exercise movements, and that the sets and reps schemes are performed correctly without you having to teach them – keeping improvement safe and consistent.
- Program Variations for U11, 12-13, and 14+ – You get THREE program variations to accommodate all age ranges. U11 uses mostly bodyweight exercises and can be done from home. 12-13 introduces players to weightlifting with less aggressive weights and rep schemes. 14+ is for more experienced and physically mature athletes, incorporates heavier weights, and more complex movements. You get access to all three age groups, so the program grows with your player.
- Tracking Worksheets for Individuals so that everyone's workouts organized and track your team's improvement printable worksheets. Seeing improvement over time also improves consistency and motivation (see my tour video below for more details)
- Testing Worksheets for Teams – super useful for coaches who are looking to use this program for their whole team. Players can do their workouts each day on their own, then meet as a team semi-regularly for a testing session. Coaches use these sheets to track their players' results.
- Fun "Daily Challenges" Combine Conditioning & Skill Work – Can you snipe 5 top rights in a row? Can you do it while you're already gassed from doing burpees? (Doing workouts like these allows your team to execute while under stress or exhaustion, builds character, and turns you into a clutch performer.)
- A U11 Program that Doesn't Require a Gym – (the 12-13 and 14+ programs require some off-ice training aids and some basic equipment). Any solid strength and conditioning program will eventually get to the point where you'll need weights and other equipment. Fortunately, this is pretty cheap and easy in most places. A basic gym membership or a barbell set will cover everything you need.
- Member Portal Where Your Team Can Login to See Video Demos of All the Movements – Simply follow the directives in the video demonstrations for each movement to ensure safe and effective technique
- Platform for Your Team to Report Results & Interact with Other Athletes – I've built in commenting capabilities for each workout, so you can report your results and congratulate your teammates, and other members of the program, for a workout well done! (You can see this shown in the video below as Facebook comments)
- Improved Speed, Strength, Size, Explosiveness, Agility, Flexibility, and Recovery Time! – Anatoli Tarasov said "A good hockey player must first be a good athlete. Athleticism means speed, strength, and agility. This means we must double our efforts, especially in the spurts." Tarasov was right, and this program is built to enable players to accomplish just that!
- Permanent Lifetime Access to the Whole 12-Week Program for just $47 – Each registration fee includes 15 slots, so you can invite your whole team to participate together and keep dominating season after season, year after year!
And if within the next 730 days you don't get into the top 3rd of your league I'll double your money back. All you have to do is send an email to [email protected] and I will literally send you $94.
That's how confident I am that Championship Hockey Conditioning works.
Training Systems Have Done for These Teams...
For off-ice training, I have guys who work out on their own and man are they in shape.
I use your material a lot. Thank you!"
–Ed Kirchberger, Buffalo, NY
UNYCHL Division and League Champs 2020
–Ken Foote, Moncton, NB
Moncton Classic Champs 2019
Regional Champs 2019, 2020
Provincial Finalists 2020
–Jayne Mcclelland, Great Britain U18 National Team
IIHF Four Nations Champs 2020
Thanks and keep up the great work you do for all of us out here!"
–Chris Hillock, San Diego, CA
ADHSHL Champs 2020
Thank you for all your support and continued support with your drill books and other material. Very easy to understand and teach. As you can attest by our last two tournaments."
–Joe Caputi, Toronto, ON
Duffield Devils Early Bird Champs 2019
Scarborough Ice Raiders Early Bird Champs 2019
Thank you for your tireless efforts and great teaching."
–Daniel Criss, Colchester, NS
Nova Scotia Provincial Champs 2014
SEE YOU TOMORROW!
Hockey coach and international consultant, Jeremy Weiss, has worked with thousands of coaches worldwide since 2008 to help produce championship teams at every age and skill level.
He is known internationally through the work he has done online. In 2008 he invented "digital chalktalks" which combined screen sharing with drill diagramming software, to produce a training experience nobody had ever seen before. His YouTube following quickly grew to over 19,000 subscribers, and he has produced over 130 training videos.
Jeremy runs a development blog for coaches, which has over 280 posts. He is the author of 10 hockey books for coaches, and is the editor of Hockey Development Magazine.
He was trained in the Eastern European style as a pre-teen, by his Czechoslovakian skills coach, and competed internationally as a "Wexford Raider" among the top youth hockey programs in the world including Russia, Czechoslovakia, Finland, and top teams in his home province Ontario, Canada.
He majored in Exercise Sciences at Brigham Young University, and subsequently worked as a Personal Trainer, where he continued to study and develop ideal training methods for hockey.
He has incorporated the very best pieces from the various training styles he has been involved in, and has built a world-class off-ice strength and conditioning program that fits the specific needs of hockey players.