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Hockey
Series: Strength Training
Unlike
american football and rugby, field hockey is a non-contact
sport (although at times, some would argue with that!). It's a
game of finesse that requires highly developed motor
co-ordination. And as a result, the classic misconception is
to assume that strength training will hinder those finely
tuned skills and negatively affect agility on the field. That
isn’t the case at all.
In
fact more recently strength training has become more
recognised by parents and coaches to be an important aspect of
a young persons overall development. The statement of “too
much weight training will make you slow” is only true if you
are trained by un-educated coaches who don’t understand the
true methods of using strength training to get stronger and
improving speed.
The
goal at a young age is to develop single limb strength,
co-ordination, muscle flexibility and joint mobility therefore
improving joint range of movement, strength in the full range
therefore reducing risk of injury and increasing playing
performance while teaching valuable body movements and
movement skills that enable the player to be more trainable
and adaptable to training stimuli.
Hockey
places a lot of uneven strains on your body. You play
predominantly on one side of the body, and holding the stick
the same way for example. Some joints and tendons are placed
under more stress than others. The same muscles are used over
and over and grow strong while others are neglected. This is
why a well designed personal programme will help.
Why
you should be performing strength training on a regular basis:
Better
joint stability
Enhanced
athletic performance
Correct
imbalances
Prevent
injury
Improve
confidence
Strength
training is effectively exposing the body to stress with
progressive overload which over time the body will recover and
while doing so adapt to cope with these stresses better in the
future therefore making the athlete stronger and more
resilient. This done under qualified supervision and control
is the single best way to aid an athletes overall development
to take them to the next level.
Often I hear “this kid has great skill but always
getting beat up by the stronger kids” this doest have to be
the case, get strong and be the dominant player.
A
misconception of strength & conditioning sessions is that
the outcome always has to be the athlete leaving worn out,
achy and stiff and unable to play the next day or two.
A lot of the time strength training sessions (or
lessons, sometimes a better word) are used to teach techniques
for strength exercises and olympic lifts, these are far less
physically demanding and teach the athlete how to load their
body correctly while training and playing sport to steer clear
from injury and ensure performing at your full potential. I
also spend time with athletes solely stretching and preparing
for upcoming matches in the following days.
Strength
training for young people is more necessary than ever before
with more playing hours of a sport and the need to keep an
athlete in line, balanced and in working order. It is no
longer enough to be solely skilled at a sport to excel or win
championships. Strength and speed is the difference for
example two people with identical skill but player A can
deadlift 50kg more and run from one quarter to the next
quicker that person will 9 out of 10 times win.
Just
looking at the top athletes from sports this year you will see
Rory Mcilroy having started a dedicated strength and mobility
programme ready
to this years season, Novak Djokovic putting his win at
Wimbledon this year down to getting stronger with weight
training. Do think Chris Hoy just rides bikes to get legs and
power like he has, I don’t think so. Being strong, being
mobile and moving right makes the difference!
Phil
Green
Strength
& Conditioning Coach
Head
Coach & Coach Mentor
Athlete
Factory
07590672540
www.athletefactory.co.uk
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