Dave Smith, NHL Officials Health and Wellness Coach

During the International Coaching Conference, we had the opportunity to listen to David T. Smith, the NHL officials health and wellness coach.

Dave Smith NHL Official Health and Wellness Coach

The NHL officials Health and Wellness program >>

National Hockey League Officials Fitness and Conditioning

  • This is a sample program for NHL Officials. As all people are different so are Fitness Programs, the following is used as a guideline with minimum standards for NHL Officials.
  • Consult your family doctor before starting any training program

Off season training

  • Start by setting some fitness goals for the start of the next season and focus on those throughout your program.
  • Incorporate and maintain good eating habits such as frequent small meals rather than a few large ones so your body is burning calories all day. Maintain a balanced diet between carbohydrates, fats and protein.
  • Incorporate a stretch and exercise routine before every training session.

Schedule

  • 5 days a week / Up to 2 hrs a day
  • Strength twice a week
  • Aerobics twice a week
  • Run, bike, roller blade or other activity once a week

Strength

  • Weight training utilizing a variety of programs with changes in repetitions, sets, tempo and exercises.
  • Push-ups using varying arm position and use of blocks
  • Sit ups, crunches – proper form is very important
  • Leg Strength (lunges, squats, step ups)

Aerobics

  • Use heart rate monitor to maximize training zones
  • Run – 15 min increasing to 60 min.
  • Ice sprints – 30 sec increasing to 60 sec.
  • Bike – 35 min increasing to 60 min.
  • Roller blade or Stairmaster
  • Jump rope and plyometric exercises with Resistance Bands to increase foot speed and agility

Cardiovascular Exercise (Run, Bike, Stepper or Glider)

  • Warm up (5 min)
  • 1 minute increasing intensity intervals for 30 min in your target heart rate zone
  • One minute work, one to two minutes rest intervals
  • Lower the intensity if you are not recovering to your original Heart Rate after first work/rest interval
  • Cool down (5 to 8 minutes)
  • You should monitor Heart rate at all times

Maintaining fitness during the season

  • 15- 20 minute warm up before games
  • Light jog, bike or jump rope to warm up muscles and joints and increase Heart Rate
  • Stretch and flexibility as a daily wellness program
  • Aerobic Exercise 2 or 3 times a week on non game days
  • Strength and Resistance exercises are done as travel and game schedule allows. Maintaining a base throughout the season will allow an easier transition into the off season training program and helps promote an overall healthy and productive lifestyle.

The program is picked from the NHL officials page >>

Dave Smith, NHL-official coach

Floorball Formation / System / Tactics

In the International Coaching Training, during the World Championships in Sweden, we also had the opportunity to listen to the Swedish National Hockey team coach, before each game.

Before the game against Russia, the team formation or system was discussed. Earlier Sweden have been playing 2-2-1 with defined or static roles, and with the mindset of putting pressure when the timing is correct. Since the statement “when timing is correct” can create confusion, he system has been changed, and the valuing part of “when it’s correct time” has been removed.
Today Sweden play 2-2-1, but player 1 in top will always put pressure and the roles are not static, the most offensive player will take the role of being P1 and the player that puts the pressure imediately, the other forwards will then adjust and take the two other roles P2 and P3.

2-2-1 Floorball system, tactics, set up

 

Media Training

During the international coaching training I attended, we also got some media training and some good advices. I will just keep this post short with some statements.

“You will never be a good friend with a journalist, you can have good contact, but never be true friends”

“You will never win against a journalist”

“Coaches that praise the team they have defeated, are also praising their own team”

“Be your self”

“Be open against the media, let them in. In NHL, the locker room doors are closed for 5 minutes after a game, then it’s opened up for media”

“In elite sports, media is your channel for visibility and from where you get most of your money… don’t forget that”

/Sven Melander, Swedish journalist working for one of the largest newspapers in Sweden.

 

Floorball Goalie Trainer or Goal Scoring Coach

You can have a Floorball Head Coach, assistant coach, defense coach, goalie trainer and other coaching or support functions around the floorball team, but who is the goal scoring coach or trainer?

Floorball goal scoring coach or goalie trainer

This subject was discussed during the International Hockey Coaching Symposium I attended during the World Championships in ice hockey in Sweden / Finland, together with all the Swedish Elite hockey coaches.

Torgny Bendelin, a famous Swedish hockey coach talked about this topic. Hockey and also floorball on elite level is changing, the game is faster, harder, quicker and the time players have to make their decissions is reduced to a minimum.

In hockey and I think also in floorball a lot of time has been put in to develop the skills of the goalies, with help from special goalie trainers. The goalies are good in positioning and working with different angles towards the shooter.

Floorball goalie drills or shooting practices

Therefore the players need to:
– Shoot quickly or quicker than before
– Shoot with precision
– Shoot hard/fast
– “Hide” the shot
– Shoot unannounced

These are the areas you also need to practice if you want to be a good future goal scorer in floorball.

This topic will continue in later posts…

Floorball – Tell your players what you want from them

After you get to know your floorball players, and you’ve discovered what they want, it’ll be time to explain to them what you want from them. Go ahead, be honest, you’ll gain nothing by lying to your floorball players. Tell them what you want from them and what you will do for them. Make sure that your floorball players have the opportunity to ask you for help.

Floorball practices and drills for 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 year olds

Make sure that you take this process very seriously! You’ll refer back to this over and over again during your floorball season. When floorball players start to drag, remind them of what you are trying to do for them. Be prepared to ask them how you can help them.  Always remember, the floorball coach works for his players harder than they work for him.  He sets the tone. A floorball coach that is not working his tail off has no business asking his floorball players to do the same.