Another reason for the recent boost in traffic is because of how well-received these two hockey development posts were. If you haven’t had an opportunity to read them yet, check them out at the links below:

1. A Letter to Parents of Undersized Players
2. Hockey Development: The Catapult or the Wall?

As a quick reminder, if you haven’t joined my Hockey Training group on Linked In, please do so now! It’s completely free, and we get to talk about anything hockey related you want. I recently posted a poll about how to deal with the NHL concussion issue that I’d love to have you weigh in on. Check it out here: Hockey Training LinkedIn Group

We also had a few great additions at HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com. If you haven’t already, be sure to check these out.

Mike Potenza kicked things off with an interesting video featuring a piece of equipment I have never seen before. I really liked the control it helped provide during the 1-leg squat Mike demoed in the video. Hopefully I’ll get an opportunity to play around with one soon as I’m sure there is a lot more that you can do with it.

Watch the video here >> Pilates Bench-Assisted 1-Leg Squat from Mike Potenza

Sean Skahan added the final phase of his off-season training program. This was the program he used when all of the Ducks were back in town for pre-season, and the volume of on-ice work and bike conditioning was a little higher.

Check out the program here >> Summer 2011 Phase 5 Training Program from Sean Skahan

Finally, Anthony Donskov added a great video on stress management as it pertains to training program design. Anthony is a bright guy and an energetic coach. I’ve been fortunate to have spent some time with him at the Perform Better Summit in Chicago last Summer and at a few of the USA Women’s National Team camps that we’ve worked at. This is a great video because it underlines all the variables that can be manipulated in a training program, some of which are more readily apparent than others.

Watch the video here >> Managing Stress from Anthony Donskov

Lastly, make sure you check out the forum, as there are a couple great discussions. After you log-in, look for these threads:

1. Controlling our Food
2. Youth Hockey Practice Times
3. Competition Hydration
4. Flyers PreSeason Testing

That’s a wrap for today. As always, if you aren’t a member yet, I encourage you to try out Hockey Strength and Conditioning for a week. It’ll only cost $1, and if it’s not the best buck you’ve ever spent, I’ll personally refund you!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!

When I reflect back on my path to get to where I am today, there are a few landmark achievements that I’m really proud of. Things like making my Middle School A team in 6th grade and leading the team in assists. Getting called up to the Bantam A team mid-year and leading the team in scoring for the second half of the season. Making Varsity as a Freshman. Taking our HS team to their first Flyers Cup (despite losing in tragic fashion this was still a positive memory). Being named Team MVP my junior year at Delaware. Being named captain my Senior year, winning the Lifetime Achievement Award (which had never been given to a player), and helping to lead the team to the 2nd best finish in school history. And more recently, having opportunities to work with the San Jose Sharks, US Women’s National Team, and publishing my first book Ultimate Hockey Training. While these things may not seem very glamorous for some people, they were all highlights for me.

With every achievement I’ve ever had, there was ALWAYS a crowd of people that were ready to tell me why it wasn’t possible. This is kind of interesting actually, especially because I know I’m not unique in this feeling. EVERYONE experiences this. From a psychological perspective, it’s somewhat disheartening to realize that the overwhelming majority of the people around us are more apt to tell us why things aren’t possible than why they are or how they could be. Many of these people don’t have evil intentions, but are simply trying to protect you from the pain of failure, the agony of defeat.

This isn’t all bad, per se. The effect of this negativity depends on your attitude. Sometimes players are motivated by it. I remember Eric Tangradi telling me a couple Summers ago about the head coach of a youth select team that said he would never amount to anything in hockey.

“Sorry kid. Hockey is just not for you.”

“You’ll never make it in this game”

Eric currently plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Turns out the guy was wrong, but Eric interpreted his words (and those of other naysayers) as more of a challenge. In other words, it fueled his fire.

Turns out that players develop over time…

Unfortunately, this interpretation of negativity is the minority. More often than not, people are, either consciously or subconsciously, defeated by it and stop taking the extra steps to make their dreams comes true.

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan

This isn’t a story about me. It’s not a story about Tangradi. The reality is that this happens to almost every athlete at one point in their career (and just about everyone throughout their life). More than anything else, the one thing that sticks out in my mind with every achievement I’ve ever had is that there was always at least ONE PERSON that pushed me along. Sometimes it was a family member. Sometimes a friend. Sometimes a teammate. Sometimes a coach. Sometimes a co-worker, colleague, or mentor. In other words, it wasn’t always the same person, nor the same “category” of person. But there was always someone and frankly, I’m not sure I would have accomplished any of the things I have if I didn’t have that person, at that time.

Reflecting back on all my experiences in hockey has taught me a lot about what kind of coach I want to be. The world is filled with people that will put up walls between you and your goals, tell you that you can’t do it, to “be realistic.”

“Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity.” – Will Smith

“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” – Michael Jordan

Even if their goals AREN’T “realistic”. Who cares! Why do we discourage people from aspiring for greatness? What great thing was ever accomplished by someone dreaming realistically? It’s important not to overlook the fact that setting and passionately chasing goals is inherently valuable, regardless of their attainment. This process builds character. It builds heart. It builds resiliency. And in the long run, it will ALWAYS build success.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

Whether you’re a player, parent, or coach, think about what kind of person you want to be. Do you want to be one member of the discouraging masses, or do you want to be the ONE source of encouragement. Do you want to be the wall or the catapult?

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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Dear Concerned Hockey Parent,

Thank you for reaching out. I fully understand your concerns about your son being undersized and appearing to fall a step behind the rest of the players. From a short-term perspective, it would appear that your son is not keeping up with the development of these players, and if it continues this way, your son would fall increasingly behind as these players go on to excel. I hope I can put your mind at ease.

First, it’s important to understand that your son is at an age where kids begin to go through rapid stages of development. Development in this sense can be physical (taller, heavier, stronger, faster, etc.), psychological (more mature), and even neurological (improved coordination, and better ability to learn and refine new skills). In general, the 9-16 year-old time window is one of turbulent changes in all of these development factors. In my experience, the players that excel at any given level within this frame are generally those that have developed FASTER in one or more of the above components. Bigger kids dominate physically. More mature kids play a stronger leadership role and generally understand the game better. Neurologically developed kids have better skating technique and hands than those that they play against. If you take a cross-section of all the players on any given youth team, it is almost always the kids that have developed sooner in these areas that excel AT THAT TIME. Unfortunately, past success is not at all indicative of future success. Many of the best peewees are not the best midgets, and in many cases, the best midgets aren’t the best college players, and the best college players aren’t the best pros. Developing FASTER does NOT mean developing to higher peak levels. In other words, if your son is lagging slightly behind now, it’s NO indication that he won’t fly by everyone in the future. Be patient, and focus on developing positive on- and off-ice training habits. These are what build champions.

Being smaller and/or slower at a given level can actually be an advantage, from a technical, tactical, and psychological standpoint. It is often the under-sized players that are forced to develop above-average skill sets in order to compete at a level with larger and/or faster players. They need better hands, better skating ability, an improved spatial awareness, ability to read the play, and overall understanding of the game. Think of the best players at the highest levels of hockey and then reread these qualities. You’ll likely see a significant amount of overlap. Elite hockey today is more about skill and speed than ever. The kids that are bigger and/or faster than everyone else at young ages simply push the puck past kids and then outrace them, or bowl through them. There isn’t much skill development there. Emphasize to your son that he has an opportunity to develop incredible skill sets while others are relying on their physical gifts, which will eventually fail them as everyone around them, including your son, begins to catch up.

There are size mismatches at every level. Your son will need to learn to excel with his own strengths, not be victimized by the strengths of others.

Finally, it’s important to recognize that a VERY small percentage of youth players go on to compete at professional levels. Playing hockey provides an opportunity for a lot of fun, and almost as importantly, ongoing opportunities to develop characteristics that will benefit your son later in life. There are very few handouts in life. Most things of any value need to be worked for. They often need to be continually worked for despite several setbacks and periods of hopelessness. Use your son’s lack of size as an opportunity to teach him that the way he’s going to be successful is by adopting the attitude of constantly outworking everyone else. Teach him perseverance. Teach him drive. Let him develop a passion for the game, and also for goal hunting (the process of setting goals and then hunting them down with an unparalleled feverent determination).

Elite athletic development is a long-term process. Keep this in perspective.  If your son develops quality habits now, they will serve him for the rest of his career and the rest of his life. This is the goal. Build a better hockey player. Build a better person.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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We also got our first shipment in of our men’s high performance shirts for our new apparel line. I haven’t spoken much about this because the overwhelming majority of the work has been planning and we haven’t had anything tangible to show for it until recently. The shirts came out perfectly, and they have performance qualities that can’t be matched by any other apparel line out there. More on this in the near future.

Lots of exciting things coming in the near future from Endeavor

This week I added two new articles that I think are geared a little more toward the hockey player, parent, and coach populations more so than the hockey training crowd. I recognize that some of my articles can get pretty scientific and might be over the head of the average hockey enthusiast. These posts are simple, yet very powerful. If you haven’t already, please give them a read and forward them along to anyone you think would benefit from reading them as well.

1. 3 Tips for High Performance Hockey Players
2. Will Playing More Hockey Make You Better?

We had a few great additions to HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com this week too.

Mike Potenza kicked things off with a new article on building leg strength in youth goaltenders. Don’t let the title fool you, this is outstanding information for hockey players at any position. Mike presents a strong rationale for why this type of training is important, and then presents a detailed exercise progression, with a ton of pictures and exercise descriptions. The article concludes with a 4-phase training program utilizing the exercises presented in the article. This is a great article for youth players, parents, and coaches to read and begin implementing immediately.

Read the article here >> Establishing a Foundation: Leg Strength for Young Goaltenders from Mike Potenza

Darryl Nelson added a video of a couple single-leg Olympic lift variations that he includes in his programs at the US NTDP. I’ve never used these in our programs, but I liked the way they looked in the video. I’ll likely start playing around with these myself and they may make their way into our off-season hockey programs this year.

Check out the videos here >> Single Leg Olympic Lifting from Darryl Nelson

David Lasnier wrote an outstanding article on integrating frontal plane movements into hockey training programs. David has been on a tear recently. He’s had a few incredible posts on his site DavidLasnier.com, has a couple articles in the pipeline that I’ve had an opportunity to read in advance, and this article is really well done. He presents the rationale for why frontal plane exercises are important for hockey players, and discusses specific exercises (using videos to demonstrate proper technique) to improve strength and power in this plane. Many of these exercises can also be used for work capacity or conditioning purposes as well. Great read for everyone in hockey (players, parents, coaches, sports med professionals, etc.).

Finally, there have been some great discussions on the forum that are worth joining. When you sign in, check out these forum threads:

1. Conditioning Tools
2. Controlling our Food
3. Low Back Pain/Tightness with Female Athletes
4. On-Ice Testing

That’s a wrap for today. As always, if you aren’t a member yet, I encourage you to try out Hockey Strength and Conditioning for a week. It’ll only cost $1, and if it’s not the best buck you’ve ever spent, I’ll personally refund you!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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“It’s important that we get these things down now, because when December and January roll around and you’re all grumpy and miserable, we still need to be able to do things right.”

The borderline depression that almost all players go through about mid-season is incredibly predictable. Enthusiasm to play goes down. Enthusiasm to train is non-existent. Fatigue is high. Attitudes are generally mediocre, at best. Players start to get sick. Some get hurt. I don’t generally think that you need to be an ex-player to properly train hockey players, but I do think my background as a player allows me to relate to this mid-season struggle a bit better than an “outsider” and also allows me to make anticipatory changes to their in-season training programs.

That said, it’s important to take a step back and gain an understanding of why this mid-season lull occurs in the first place, as it certainly has a notable effect on most players’ physical and psychological readiness, and typically also in their production. Essentially, players begin to show signs of over-training and under-recovery. Think about what happens at this time of year:

1. Fatigue accumulates from the volume of past practices and games
2. In most areas the weather is cold and dark, depriving players of the physical benefit of Vitamin D derived from sunlight (most players should probably be taking supplemental Vitamin D for the majority of the year), and the psychological benefit of sun exposure
3. School marking periods or semesters are wrapping up so players have a ton of last minute papers and assignments to hand in and tests to prepare for
4. In many areas, high school hockey is also underway, adding MORE volume on top of the already rigorous schedules of club hockey

This latter point is one I want to expand on. In talking with one of our U16 teams the other week, I asked them about how many games they had on the schedule, which was about 70. Practices? About 100.  So across the ~7 month season (roughly the end of August through early March), they skate ~175 times. This shakes out to a weekly schedule that involves 2-3 practices and 2 games, on average, with weeks of more practices and tournaments mixed in throughout the season. A weekly schedule might look like:

Monday: Off
Tuesday: Off-Ice Training and On-Ice Practice
Wednesday: On-Ice Practice
Thursday: Off-Ice Training and On-Ice Practice
Friday: Off
Saturday: Game
Sunday: Game

When you superimpose high school hockey schedules on to this, at least in our area, you’re looking at another 2 practices per week and a game each weekend. Now instead of 4-5 skates per week, the player has 7-8. Now the weekly schedule looks something like:

Monday: HS On-Ice Practice
Tuesday: Off-Ice Training and On-Ice Practice for Club Team
Wednesday: HS On-Ice Practice and Club On-Ice Practice
Thursday: Off-Ice Training and On-Ice Practice for Club Team
Friday: HS Game
Saturday: Club Game
Sunday: Club Game

“Okay now off to school practice!”

The high school hockey schedule is typically a bit shorter, but it occupies the times of year when fatigue accumulation from club hockey is at an all time high. The overlapping schedules add more stressors (in the true sense of the word stress, not in an “anxiety” sense to which stress is often referred) AND provides less time for recovery between stressors to an athlete that is already struggling to fully recover from the current demands. Unfortunately this manifests in the symptoms I described above, the most recognizable of which may be a lack of on-ice production. The kicker is that the best intentioned players may respond to this by saying things like “I just need to work harder.” The truth is that the best option for the players is to do less. It’s not that they aren’t providing sufficient stimuli for adaptation; it’s that they aren’t providing adequate recovery opportunities between these stimuli. These players make appear to not be giving an effort and/or not mentally focused. It’s not that they aren’t, it’s that they don’t have the capacity to do so. They’ve exceeded their recovery capacity. They need a nap, some sunlight, and this incredible food type called “vegetables” (which most teenagers are only loosely familiar with), but not a different attitude and certainly not more conditioning.

The cure for a mid-season slump!

This may raise the appropriate question about whether playing more hockey will make the player better. As you can infer from the tone of the current discussion, the answer isn’t always yes. Playing more hockey will make the player better if these conditions are met:

1. The level of play challenges the player or inspires sufficient creativity to develop improved skill sets, and an augmented ability to read the play
2. The player is given adequate time and resources to fully recover from the stresses associated with playing more

In reality, high school hockey probably doesn’t meet either of these criterion, at least not for the level of players I’m referring to. If you play Tier I youth hockey in the US, school hockey will probably involve a lower level of competition, and push you over your recovery threshold from a volume standpoint. I’m sure there are exceptions to this rule as there are likely to be a few outstanding school teams with above average coaches, but in general, it’s a step down.

I understand why most club players play high school. Bragging rights. Notoriety. Fun. Unfortunately these players will need to make a mature decision whether these things are worth the potential negative outcomes. Injuries. Impaired club team performance. Impaired school performance. Overall moodiness! This all comes back to the message I’ve been trying to share a lot with you over the last several months in that development is a long-term process and it’s important to keep your ideal finish line in mind while you’re taking steps along the way. If you don’t plan on playing beyond high school, it might not be that difficult to suffer the consequences of over-playing and under-recovery. If, however, your finish line involves playing college and possibly pursuing professional hockey, you’ll need to take the appropriate steps to pursue that goal, which may mean passing on opportunities to play more hockey. This could include high school hockey in-season, and most spring leagues and tournament teams in the off-season. The decision is always in your hands. What’s your finish line?

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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3 Tips for High Performance Hockey Players

Many of the greatest coaches of all time (in every sport) drill the importance of fundamentals. While this message is typically delivered regarding sport-specific technical and tactical abilities, it also has a ton of merit regarding more general preparation techniques. Below are three tips that are easy to implement, and will have a huge effect on an athlete’s performance.

1) Regulate Your Sleep Cycle
Sleep is a time for recovery and regeneration. It’s a time for your sympathetic nervous system, also known as your “fight or flight” system, to down-regulate, and for structures within your body to repair themselves from whatever physical or mental stresses they were exposed to throughout the day. Sleep is essential.

Most people are familiar with the idea that too little sleep can negatively impair performance. The same can be said for too much sleep (although I’d err on this side!). Many people, however, have never been taught how important it is to regulate your sleep cycle. In other words, you should attempt to go to bed and wake up at the same times every night/day. Because this isn’t always logistically possible, it’s okay to give yourself an hour window on either side. For example, if you typically go to bed at 11pm and wake up at 7am, it’d be okay for you to go to bed from 10pm-12am and wake up between 6am-8am, as long as you get the same total amount of sleep each night (8 hours in this example). A sporadic sleep schedule is interpreted by the body as a source of stress, meaning the very time that should serve to help you recover is actually pushing you in the opposite direction. Regulating your sleep cycle will help maximize your recovery and regeneration, and ensure that you’re continually making progress and not slowly breaking down.

2) Pack A Lunch
Athletes spend an average of around 8 hours per day at school. Within this time span, they’re provided roughly 45 minutes to eat, and offered a variety of fried and highly processed foods to fuel the students’ brains and bodies for the rest of the day. Frankly, these aren’t appropriate meal choices for a sedentary, goal-less sloth of a student, but they’re DEFINITELY not appropriate for serious athletes. Even choices like chicken caesar wraps, which are generally considered healthy choices by students” consist of a processed white tortilla, nutrient-less lettuce, caesar dressing which is full of fat (with no upside), and chicken of variable quality. In other words, it may be better than the chicken nuggets and tater tots your friends are eating, but not much.

The reality is that very few schools provide even reasonably healthy food options for their students because they’re more expensive, tougher to mass produce, and less likely to stay preserved for prolong periods of time. The system is less about optimally fueling students for mental and physical performance and more akin to mass-producing feedlot level nutrients to adequately stuff them until the next day. Pack a lunch with a couple pieces of fruit or vegetables, a water, bag of almonds or cashews, and a meat sandwich on sprouted grain bread. It takes about 5 minutes to throw something like that together, which you can do the night before. It’s a simple change, that will cause you to feel, perform, think, and look better.

1) Take This AMAZING Supplement Everyday!
A couple years ago I spoke at a group of youth lacrosse players at the Wells Fargo Center for an event hosted by the Philadelphia Wings. Addressing the athletes, their parents, and a portion of our staff at Endeavor, I mentioned that there was an amazing supplement that was scientifically proven to improve speed, agility, strength, power, conditioning, and mental processing. Does that sound appealing? You bet. More than appealing, it sounds like magic. Too good to be true. When I asked what people thought it was, I heart responses like “creatine” and “beta alanine”, which are actually well-educated guesses. At least, it’s better than the “Nitric Oxide” powders, and all the other crazy supplements who’s advertisements are borderline illegal and incredibly morally suspect. The truth is that all of these results can be expected simply from drinking water.

The world’s most effective supplement

Even minimal dehydration (1% of body weight) can have a profound influence on physical and mental performance, and the majority of youth athletes (and their parents for that matter) live their lives in some relative state of dehydration. Some do so out of a lack of awareness; others because they don’t like the taste of water. Keep in mind that the average water requirement for inactive individuals to avoid dehydration is 6-8 cups of water. I tell our athletes that that recommendation doesn’t apply to them. They’re HIGHLY active and are looking to do more than simply avoid dehydration. 12-16 cups is a bit safer. I encourage athletes not to think of “if” they can drink that much, but think of “how” they can get it in throughout the day. 16oz of ice water when you first wake up is a great way to start the day. Drinking 2 16oz bottles of water throughout the school day is a great way to stay awake. 16oz within an hour before practice, 8-16oz during, and 16 oz after will help ensure you’re properly hydrated to perform your best. 16oz bottles aren’t that big, and if you stick to that schedule, you’ll have consumed 11-12 cups of water. If you don’t like the taste, try adding some flavor like lemon or lime juice. Remember, it’s not candy, it’s water. You’re going to need to drink it in copious amounts for the rest of your life, so get used to it!

Simple tactics. Huge payoff. Start building positive habits to pursue athletic excellence today!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

P.S. Tip #4: Train using a PROVEN off-ice hockey training system!

P.S.2. If you’re local and not actively enrolled in a sports training program, you can start training with us for only $89! We’re currently offering an $89 30-day trial for all new athletes and personal training clients. Call us today at (856) 269-4148 to take advantage of this incredible offer!

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This week strayed a bit from the traditional content topics here, as I was excited to announce the release of two great products. It seems like great products tend to launch in clumps, which makes it difficult for people on a limited budget to choose which direction they want to go. Either way, Eric Cressey’s lower body assessment video is completely free so be sure to check it out! Here’s what you’ve missed over the past week:

1. Outwork Everyone (MUST READ FOR ALL PLAYERS!)
2. Elite Training Mentorship (Read this to get Cressey’s Assessment Video)
3. Body By Boyle Online in the Palm of Your Hands (Outstanding resource now more accessible than ever)

I’ve been busy over at HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com this week too. Check out what you’ve missed over the last week!

Exercise Video: Chin-Ups from Sean Skahan
In this mini-article and video, Sean outlines a change he’s made to how he teaches/coaches chin-ups, which are an exercise that should be in the programs of almost all hockey players. Great tip from a coach that’s been in the NHL for 10 years now!

Hockey Training Program: 2-Day In-Season Training: Phase 4 from me
This is the 4th Phase of our in-season training program. I wrote this program for the midget teams I train, and it was originally scheduled to be the last one entering the holidays. Because of tournament weeks, and unplanned deload weeks, we actually didn’t get to it until this month, which is fine. It will likely be the last “high intensity” program of the year, as the final phase or two will have only sporadic high intensity lifts. The home stretch is the time to minimize non-hockey stresses and focus everything on the ice. It’s peaking time!

Youth Hockey Training Program: Youth Hockey Training Program Phase 2 from me
This is the second phase of the in-season program I wrote for the ’00-’02 birth years we train. The idea is to begin to implement a little bit of structured training, while being aware of their sensitive periods for the development of specific training qualities, AND in allowing them to have some fun. At this age, it’s important to remember that they’re likely going to base their opinions on training (and potentially physical activity in general) on how much fun they do or don’t have during their off-ice training. Fun is the number one priority, but some of that is delivered in how we coach, not necessarily in the exercise selection (although mirror shuffles are fun for kids!). You’ll have to excuse the demonstration of this particular drill from Matt and Karl. It looks like they were shuffling through quicksand!

Hockey Strength Podcast: Anthony Renna interviews Darryl Nelson
Anthony really does a great job with these. In episode 2 of the Hockey Strength Podcast, Anthony speaks with Darryl about set and rep schemes in hockey training programs, hockey conditioning, and several of Darryl’s articles. Be sure to give this a listen!

If you have some extra time on your hands, last week’s update featured a ridiculous amount of content, so go back and read through anything you haven’t finished!

More hockey training content here >> Last Week in Hockey Strength and Conditioning

That’s a wrap for today. As always, if you aren’t a member yet, I encourage you to try out Hockey Strength and Conditioning for a week. It’ll only cost $1, and if it’s not the best buck you’ve ever spent, I’ll personally refund you!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!

They’ll be releasing another video in the near future so make sure you head over to the site now so you don’t miss it!

Body By Boyle Online

Over the last year, I’ve mentioned on several occasions how great of a resource I thought BodyByBoyleOnline was. For those of you that don’t know, Mike Boyle’s private facility Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning (MBSC) in Woburn, MA was voted as the #1 Gym in America by Men’s Health. Since that time, Mike was appointed as the Strength and Conditioning Coordinator for the Boston Red Sox, another feather in his cap after training a gold medal winning team in the U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Team (’98), working in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, and being credited with creating the first true “NFL Combine Training” success story in Mike Mamula. This is on top of the professional athletes and celebrities that he’s trained over the years in his private facility. In short, he knows his stuff.

What makes BodyByBoyleOnline so valuable is that it’s essentially an inside look at how Mike runs his facility. They post all their staff meetings, guest speakers, and a ton of other valuable content. In fact, they now have over 100 hours of video content on topics such as strength and conditioning, assessments, speed training, rehab, kettlebell training, sandbag training, a talk on the thoracic spine, mobility with bands, rotary training, the FMS, and much more. While a lot of the content comes from Mike directly, some of it also comes from guest speakers such as SueFalsone (Athletes Performance/LA Dodgers), Charlie Weingroff, Dan John, Kelly Starret (MobiliyWod), Nick Tumminello, Negar Fonooni, Joe Sansalone, Charles Staley, and more! In other words, it’s a great resource for fitness enthusiasts, strength coaches, personal trainers, athletic trainers, and physical therapists.

The only thing that could really make it a more valuable resource is if they made it more accessible via smartphones, tablets, etc. And, I’m happy to report, they did exactly that. I got an email from Kevin Larrabee who does a lot of the behind the scenes work for the site and he told me that the site now offers iOS support…which basically meant nothing to me. But he went on to explain that iOS support means the videos can now be accessed and watched on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod
Touch. This makes the information much more easily accessed, especially for those that travel a lot and can’t always get internet access through their computer. I’m excited about the change, as I know the content is top notch, so making it “portable device” compatible will surely make it more accessible to everyone and therefore get quality information out to more people. And I spent a full work week in airports last year with no internet access, so it’d be great to have access to something like this! If you’re interested, check out this link for more information: BodyByBoyleOnline.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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The Elite Training Mentorship provides a unique opportunity for strength and conditioning coaches, personal trainers, sports medicine professionals, and even motivated people that simply train themselves to get an inside look at how some of the top coaches in the industry:

1. Teach movements and exercises
2. Design programs to get incredible results for their clients/athletes
3. Deliver staff training sessions to create a world-class staff

The Elite Training Mentorship isn’t available to the public yet, but Eric Cressey just released a video from a staff in-service he did outlining his lower body assessment protocol. If you’ve been reading my work for any extended period of time, you know that Eric has had a profound impact on my career. I still credit interning with him as the smartest career decision I’ve ever made in my life, and he continues to be a great mentor and friend. He’s someone I always look to for innovative information, and this video doesn’t disappoint (this could easily be a stand alone product by itself!). Check out the video at the link below:

Watch Eric’s Lower Body Assessment here >> Elite Training Mentorship

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

P.S. People ask me all the time what assessments I do for our athletes. Eric covers a lot of them here. Check out the video (it’s completely free!): Elite Training Mentorship

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Most players are only familiar with their own experience, and while this is valuable information, they simply don’t have the wisdom to understand what it’s going to take to continue developing and excelling beyond the competition. How could they? The assumption that doing what they’ve done to be successful up to that point is harshly misguided. As Tony Robbins once said, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” This is more true of behaviors, as I strongly believe that an optimal mindset WILL help a player continue progressing throughout their career.

With that said, there are a couple things that I think players at every sub-pro level should be aware of:

1. Success at any given level is NOT in any way predictive of success at a higher level. This is especially true in youth hockey where certain players excel initially because of a more rapid development in physical stature or neuromuscular proficiency compared to their peers. Anyone that has been around hockey for any appreciable amount of time has seen STUD peewees that go on to be mediocre midgets; STUD midgets that go on to be mediocre junior players; and STUD junior players that go on to be mediocre college players. I could go on. Don’t get comfortable with your success; be inspired by it.
2. You’re not alone in the race. The U.S. has nearly 300,000 registered youth and junior players. Canada has nearly 500,000. Regardless of your goal, there is a TON of competition. One of the things I tried to get across to the 16U team, which is a Tier I youth team, is that they aren’t just competing against the other 16U National teams. There are kids at the 16U American level that will progress significantly this year and fight them for a job as early as the next season. There are kids from other organizations that will transfer in and fight them for a job. And the most overlooked of all, there are COUNTLESS Tier II youth players that are infuriated that they were cut from the Tier I program and are working their assess off to make sure that the coach that cut them, and EVERYONE else involved, knows that they made a huge mistake. They’re at an age of equalizing. The kids that grew faster than the others will level out. Being big simply won’t be enough. Other kids will hit huge growth spurts and suddenly be more viewed as more able. The same is true of those that developed neurologically faster than others. Everything begins to level out and those with long-term potential begin to emerge.

Defining Hard Work
The thing I like most about this particular group, is that they’re about as cohesive and well-intentioned a team as I’ve ever worked with. As a group, they show up on time, work hard, push each other, and maintain a relatively positive demeanor (especially impressive given their age).  I have no doubt that they work as hard on the ice as they do off. In speaking with them, however, I tried to get them to understand that working hard in front of the coach is the easy part. Anyone can do it. In fact, it should be looked at as the bare minimum expectation to participate in any competitive team sport.

TRUE hard work, is doing the right thing AWAY from the coaches, when no one is around to reward or punish you for your behavior.

“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” – Vince Lombardi

In other words, working hard means, among other things:

1. Being willing to wake up 10-15 minutes earlier to eat a quality breakfast, consistently
2. Taking some time throughout the week to prepare snacks and meals
3. Eat frequently if you need to put on weight, even if you aren’t hungry
4. Take supplements like Greens+ and Fish Oil, even if they don’t taste the best
5. Drink Generation UCAN instead of Gatorade, even though it’s mildly less convenient to have it order it online
6. Consume plentiful amounts of the world’s most powerful supplement, water!
7. Foam roll and stretch daily
8. Go to bed at night and wake up in the morning within an hour of the same times everyday
9. Do the “homework” that your strength coach assigns you
10. If available, review game film
11. Take time to watch higher levels of hockey and take note of the habits of peak performers
12. Study the habits of peak performers at your level. What makes them successful?

The best athletes in the world are absolutely meticulous about their preparation…

Example 1: Peyton Manning

Example 2: Michael Phelps

Example 3: Sidney Crosby

None of the things I listed above will earn you any appreciable praise, at least not directly. But don’t do it for the praise. Do it because you care about fulfilling your potential, about pushing the outer boundaries of your genetic gifts. Do it for your teammates. Do it because you’ll reflect on your experiences playing the game for the rest of your life, and it would be tragic to do so with feelings of regret of what could have been. Do it because you want to push the game itself to new heights.

You never know when a game, rather, when a season will come down to one final effort: an inspired back check to prevent an opponent’s scoring chance, winning a battle in the corner to create a game-winning scoring opportunity, having the mental clarity to make a quality breakout pass instead of throwing the puck up the wall. Teams progress through the playoffs or on to the golf courses every year based on a single play like the ones I described above. Do the right things on and off the ice, consistently, to make sure that you’re in a position to come out on the winning end of these battles. THAT is what it means to outwork everyone, and that is what it will take to truly reach your potential.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

P.S. Don’t forget you can save 25% on all Generation UCAN products until January 31st by using the code “competehard” here: Generation UCAN

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