Off-ice training plays a vital role in the development of hockey players.

USA Hockey follows the Long Term Athletic Development principles as the basis of their program. These principles will assist in creating a more consistent training regimen. Today’s training programs should not be based on how hard the program is, but what goals are in mind and are you progressing.

When training for a sport, the program should be devised with the following in mind:

• Is the program age specific?
• Is the program based on meeting the demands of the sport which the athlete plays?
• Are proper techniques being used?
• Does the program include fundamental movements that progress to more complex ones?
• Does the program address injury prevention exercises that relate to the sport?

There is an unlimited amount of exercises that can be used with goalies that will improve performance on the ice. Some key exercises that can be implemented into your goalie training program include lateral lunges, lateral bounds, resisted shuffles, mini band exercises for hip strength, rear foot elevated split squats, medicine ball Russian twists, dumbbell forward, diagonal and lateral shoulder raises, dumbbell rows and alternate ball toss with a partner.

The way you train off the ice directly affects the way you perform on the ice. Take a step-by-step approach with long-term athletic development in mind. Have goals in mind with proper technique and progression as the basis of your program to maximize performance and limit injuries.

Chris Phillips is a certified athletic trainer and strength and conditioning specialist and a former NHL athletic trainer.