Dryland Off Ice Training For Sports and Hockey Players

Mark Hatfield
Founder and Head Trainer
Hatfield's Athletic Development Centre.
Ottawa, Canada

About Mark:

Mark graduated from Bishop's University in 1995 where he started
as offensive tackle for the Bishop's Gaiters football team. That year, he
earned a spot on the Miami Dolphins football team and later played for
the Houston Oilers of the NFL. In 1997, Mark joined the BC Lions Football
Club of the CFL, where he played and started as offensive tackle.

Mark subsequently created and starred in short segments for the Comedy
Network's Game Face series. He also hosted The Big Bad Sports Show
on Rogers Cable for two seasons and has been a frequent guest on
TSN's Off the Record with Michael Lansberg.

As an athlete, there are two ideas that I firmly believe in.

The first is the power of positive thinking:
"Winners expect to win in advance. Life is a self-fulfilling prophecy."

The second is "chase after your dreams with hard work".

Dryland training is where the hard work comes into play.
In sports, and especially hockey where ice time is expensive and hard to come by,
dryland training can make a real difference.

Early introduction to this type of training (through my dad who was a tennis coach
and later through an esteemed intercollegiate track coach), took me from being a
good player on a small Canadian university team to protecting Miami Dolphin great,
Dan Marino. In short, dryland training lets us learn and practice all
the 'little things' that are needed to be successful in sport. Our muscles 'remember'
the things that we practice -- like deep knee bends, proper arm swings -- and we
start to do these things more consistently on the ice.

A good dryland program aims to create better overall athletes and will incorporate
a range of progressive drills to enhance key components of athleticism.

This means challenging both the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems, teaching
the body to move more effectively and efficiently, creating a stronger mind-muscle
relationship (read: more control over our movements), and increasing functional
strength. There is a strong relationship between how our bodies perform
off the ice and how our bodies perform on the ice.

As hockey players, if we train to be faster off the ice, we will be faster on the ice;

-if we train to be more agile off the ice, we will have quicker feet on the ice;

-if we train our balance off the ice, we won't be easily knocked off our feet on the ice.

Of course, the old adage stands:
It's what you put into it that determines what you get out of it.

Dryland is time to focus on your own development. It's about you, the athlete.
Give it your all. The more you put into your training, the greater your
rewards will be on the ice.

Tip:
Whether you are at a practice, in try-outs or playing a game in a tournament,
focus on all the little things that make you a better athlete, like bent knees,
long strides, full extension, quick feet and proper position.

When you work on getting the little things right, the big things
(like scoring goals, making a spectacular play or winning a game)
are more likely to happen.

Train Hard!
Mark Hatfield - mark@hatfields.ca

Remembering The Little Things and
The Power Of Positive Thinking.
By: Mark Hatfield (Read More)

Dryland Training and Injury Prevention
By: Mark Hatfield (Read More)

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