About Movie

There is one critical aspects of elite performance that young hockey players, parents and coaches forget about during the season, and it's the one that leads to the most injuries and burnout when it's neglected. As a coach, I also find it is the HARDEST thing to get aspiring hockey players, who as so passionate and committed to achieving their dream, to do.

REST

Let's face it - we all could use a little more rest once the hockey season kicks into high gear. But it's a lot easier said than done, isn't it? I remember when I was in high school, I'd have basketball practice before school, go to class all day (including gym class), do an off-ice training workout after school and then go to hockey practice at night. That's a pretty regular day for a high school athlete who not only plays hockey at a high level, but also competes in a number of different sports. I did the most I could to be the best player I could be physically to give myself an edge.

Add to the mix the fact that I didn't exactly have the best nutrition strategies (most of my lunches consisted of fast-food or something from out of a package), didn't drink ANY water, and I would average 6-7 hours of sleep per night, and it was no wonder that I already seemed to be dragging by the time November rolled around.

My drive to be the best on the ice translated over to the classroom as well. I was (and still am) a little bit of a nerd. While I can honestly tell you I've never been a procrastinator (I was that annoying teammate on all the college road trips who did their work BEFORE we left), I do remember trying to get my assignments done in the strangest places

(at the back of the bus, in the stands at the rink) at the strangest times of the day (and night) so that I could keep my grades as high as possible. I have to admit that it always brings a smile to my face when I see players doing school work when they are at a tryout or tournament - that's the kind of commitment it takes to be the best on and off the ice.

Now in addition to wanting to be an elite student-athlete, I also wanted to have some semblance of a normal high school social life. Sure - I knew that it would have been better for me to go home after practice on a Saturday night, eat a healthy meal and then go to bed early to get ready for my game the next day. But instead, I would head out with my friends to a movie or partyand not get home until very late. And because I thought I was super-human and I could do everything, I would always be frustrated the next day when I wasn't able to perform as well as I wanted!

As with many of the players I work with now, I wanted it ALL: to excel on the ice, in the classroom, on the soccer field, on the basketball court, and see my friends and family regularly. When I think about how much I used to cram into one day back in high school, it's no wonder that I was constantly tired, injured and frustrated.

While I'm certainly not advocating that young players give up their social life to go to bed early every night, there are SIX simple choices players must make if they want to maximize their recovery so that they can perform their best day in and day out.

1. Drink More Water: 95% of young athletes are chronically dehydrated. Once you are thirsty, you are dehydrated. And once you are dehydrated, your performance goes down 10-15%. The first thing to go when you are dehydrated is your brain, which doesn't bode well for your performance on the ice or in the classroom. Even drinking just one more glass of water a day will help boost performance, although many athletes would benefit greatly from an extra 3 or 4 glasses of water per day.

2. Take Naps: I know many of the girls hockey players I coach take naps, but most of them are of the 2 or 3 hour variety. When it comes using naps to recover, shorter is better. Anything longer than 20-30 minutes will actually make you more tired and less alert.

3. Stretch More: 99% of the athletes I work with don't stretch enough. I am not saying you need to do hour-long yoga routines every night - just 10 minutes of stretching each night will have a dramatic effect on the way you feel and perform.

4. Think Of How You Can Improve Without Being Physically Active: Goal-setting and using visualization are two ways that you can dramatically improve your performance without exerting any physical energy. Taking 5-10 minutes each day to think about how to stay on track towards your ultimate goals or to visualize your success will make you a better athlete, without making you tired.

5. Plan Your Day: It may sound a little strange to think about planning your rest time, but with everything girls hockey players have to do every day - it has become a necessity. Once I discovered this secret in high school, I was instantly more productive, more energetic and had more time on my hands. Spend a few minutes each night looking at everything you need to get done the next day and figure out when you can squeeze in some time for rest and recovery (stretching, goal setting etc).

And the most important (and most challenging) of all...

6. Do a COOL-DOWN!: I know, no one wants to cool-down after a practice or game. Parents want to get home, players have homework to do and coaches don't want to wait around to make the team is doing their cool-down. I get questions from players, parents and coaches every day about how to get players to "buy in" to the cool-down.

Here's the secret - Make it MANDATORY. You get to the rink early to do a warm-up so that the players have time to get ready physically and mentally. Then they head out on the ice and go 150% for an hour or two - and do absolutely no cool-down afterward! That's the same as going out and running 10+ 400 meter repeats around the track at 100% and not jogging or stretching before heading home. Your body needs to "come down" after a game in the same way that it needs to "ramp up" before the game.

Why? Because it allows your muscles to recover after an hour or so of high-intensity skating and contact. That means less soreness and less chance of getting injured. It also means you will feel better and play better the next time you hit the ice. I'll stop hammering the point home - but the answer is simple. If you want to be your best day in and day out, you have to cool-down. Period.

While I know it's unrealistic to expect girls hockey players to get 10 hours of sleep every night, to have ideal nutrition and hydration habits and to be at 100% each and every time they hit the ice, the 6 choices above will help players to fit proper rest and recovery into their hectic schedules and help them to feel and perform their best on and off the ice.