Category Archives: Columns
From the Trainer’s Room: How does hip mobility make you a better skater?
April 15th, 2022One of the most common requests I get from hockey players when they are referred to me for training is the need for increased hip mobility. But what does that mean? And how does better hip mobility make you a better skater in hockey? Mobility plays a significant role in improving the hockey stride. Mobility…
From the Trainer’s Room: As the offseason arrives, now what?
April 7th, 2022One of the big mistakes that the most committed youth athletes make is training the same way in-season that they do in the offseason. No one training model is perfect. Start with the problem at hand and let that dictate the plan on how to solve the problem. Below is a very broad plan for…
From the Trainer’s Room: Why an athletic trainer?
March 17th, 2022“Providing Healthcare Everywhere.” That is the 2022 slogan for National Athletic Training Month. But where is “everywhere?” Athletic trainers provide a unique perspective and skill set that is valuable in many different settings. You can find athletic trainers in what is considered their traditional roles on the sidelines of high school games, professional sports, and…
From the Trainer’s Room: Training by the numbers
March 11th, 2022Hockey players love their numbers when it comes to performance. How hard is my shot? How fast can I skate from here to there? The booming world of sports science has brought data collection on hockey performance to a new level. Where the stopwatch used to be the go-to tool for measurement, now everyone has…
From the Trainer’s Room: Olympic insights – Adapting to using a mobile training room
March 4th, 2022Due to magnitude of the Olympic Games and the number of countries participating, setting up an athletic training room can be a challenge. Before leaving, I had to decide what I would need during the four-week journey with six Olympic figure skaters practicing up to twice a day and competing 2-3 times. In professional hockey,…
From the Trainer’s Room: Staying healthy, fresh for a productive postseason
February 21st, 2022After a couple of years of modified or shortened seasons due to the pandemic, it has been a nice problem to have so much hockey going on now. As we draw closer to the end of the season and, hopefully, the beginning of playoffs, we need to keep our bodies healthy and fit despite the…
From the Trainer’s Room: Olympic insights – One great day
February 17th, 2022Every day has been great here in Beijing, but Wednesday, February 9 will probably be the best. The morning started with the men’s figure skating finals. Compete client Nathan Chen was in the lead following the short program. He is a three-time world champion and the favorite to win the gold medal. Tensions were pretty…
From the Trainer’s Room: Olympic insights – Reflecting on the opening ceremonies
February 14th, 2022I’m sure there will be many highlights during the Olympic Games, but what a start it was. On the day of the opening ceremony, the figure skating team event began. Compete client Michal Brezina kicked it off for the Czech team followed by the rest of the team practicing. After practice, everyone began to gather…
From the Trainer’s Room: Olympic insights – Living in the loop
February 11th, 2022The Olympic sites and villages have been affected heavily by COVID. The sites are in a loop, which is essentially a series of bubbles connected by strict and official transportation. Each site is enclosed and the only way in or out is by private bus or car. I am staying in a hotel about 15…
From the Trainer’s Room: Olympic insights – How did I get here?
February 11th, 2022So how did I end up at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China? I ask myself the same question all the time. I started helping with U.S. Figure Skating a few years ago assisting with camp and covering competitions. During this time, I worked together with the U.S. Figure Skating medical staff helping wherever…