Feature Story
One thing you must do this summer to be your
best this fall
By Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS
When it comes to making the most out of
your offseason and getting ready to have your best
season ever, fitness testing is a necessary evil. In order to make your plan
for what you want to achieve off the ice this summer and on the ice in the
fall, you need to know exactly how you stack up.
Since the regular season ended eight
weeks ago, I have fitness tested over 450 players all over
I always remember feeling sick to my
stomach right before fitness testing in college. Even though I could barely
sleep the night before the test, I have to admit, I was one of those sick and
twisted players who actually enjoyed fitness testing. Don’t get me wrong, the
testing itself was pretty grueling, especially the running tests. But I knew
that my ability to perform well on the tests because of my dedication to being
the fittest player possible off the ice in the summer would give me a huge
advantage on the ice in the fall.
For me, being able to “ace” the fitness
tests always gave me a huge confidence boost. Going into my freshman year at
college as a fourth-liner and being able to beat out the upperclassmen in
almost every test off the ice gave me that extra shot of self esteem that led
me to believe that I could beat them on the ice too.
Fitness testing is never “fun”, but it
does allow you to know exactly how you stack up, and will show you exactly what
you need to work on off the ice to take your game to the next level on the ice.
In order to get a complete picture of
your fitness, all you really need to do is test the 4 S’s: strength, speed,
stability and stamina. The testing doesn’t
need to be complicated. When I am at our 30,000 square foot training facility
outside
Testing can be as simple as seeing how
long you can hold a low single-leg balance position or how many perfect push-ups
you can do. It can be as complicated as doing repeated maximum intensity
sprints that are all laser-timed or using the $10,000 high-tech robot that we
used to test the hand-eye coordination of the
The bottom line is that if you want to be
your best in September, you need to test this summer. To get where you want to
go, you need to know where you’re starting from. And off-ice testing will let you know where
you are right now. It may not be fun. But it’s an essential part of taking your
game to the next level this summer.
To see how you stack up today, go to http://www.FreeFemaleHockeyVideo.com to access
two fitness tests you can do immediately to see if you have what it takes to
become an elite female hockey player.
Coach Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS, is an expert
in the development of aspiring female hockey players. Kim’s player development
websites give coaches and parents of young players access to programs, articles
and advice on how to help their players take their game to the next level
safely and effectively.
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