Using Unstable Surfaces For Hockey

Whether members know it or not, there are some arguments within the physical training community, about the benefits of using unstable surfaces for hockey workouts. I barely understand the antis on this one, but it very well could be that our two camps are looking for drastically different results.

-- Dennis Chighisola

Using Unstable Surfaces For Hockey

I don't want to get into the argument right now, but I might some time down the road. What I do want to reinforce here are some of the things I see as real positives for using unstable surfaces for hockey training. As I begin one of my older posts linked below, our game is rather chaotic, or it's kinda wild and crazy out there. That's important for all of us to keep in mind, and it's especially important for coaches, parents and adult players to apply to training. Hey, we have to practice for the way we ultimately have to play. In my article (and in the accompanying videos) about "WBV Leads to Coach Chic’s 'WakeBoard'", I explain my thinking behind recreating on-ice conditions in The MOTION Lab. I hope you find that interesting, and I'm hoping some of my thinking might relate to your own experiences or observations.

The main idea of that WakeBoard device was to have a player move in all sorts of unbalanced postures while simultaneously tossing around a weight of some sort.

The next thing I'll want to introduce is the concept of asymmetric puckhandling, or "Handling More Than One Problem At Once". As I mention often in any posts having to do with puckhandling, passing, receiving or shooting, we hardly get to do those in nice, pretty postures. No, people are hooking, hacking and otherwise trying to kill players as they attempt to handle a puck.

When you see all the stunts I have my players try to do while puckhandling -- like skipping rope, hopping on constantly changing feet, kneeling and raising back up, or enduring bumps by a friendly teammate, that's the asymmetric thing, or trying to deal with more than one physical problem at a time.

Enter my idea of using unstable surfaces for hockey puckhandling. And also enter a video I'm borrowing from a long ago post that was actually about conditioning...

http://coachchic2.s3.amazonaws.com/Lab+-+Part+5.flv

I hope you noticed the many gadgets I employed to have my players working on unstable surfaces for their hockey puckhandling. For example, I did a lot in the Lab with our mini-trampoline, and I loved the little air-pillows for tossing my players around in game-like postures.

Getting back to the original problem -- about the positives or negatives of using unstable surfaces for hockey training, I think the main argument has to do with our aims in the end. I honestly don't believe some other physical training guys are seeing hockey challenges as I am. What I'm saying is that hockey players don't get to stand much or move prettily around the ice, instead having to prepare in advance for bobbing and weaving and getting knocked all over the place. I also know that my guys have to be strong in all sorts of unbalanced positions. It would be nice if we could do something like squats in the gym in order to prepare for the hits players take out on the ice. But, while those standard exercises surely do help, they're not as specific as my WakeBoard work is to all the wrestling and tussling that happens out in the game.