Back to the essentials before we get to the real good stuff! If you have just joined us last week we looked into bodyweight squats and the week before that we reviewed the importance of flexibility to your Ice Hockey. This week is nutrition! It takes a lot of discipline and is easier said that done.

Number 8: Nutrition

Why is nutrition important? Well if you want your hard work off the ice to pay off, a well balanced healthy diet is key.  There is no point doing sprints and a big cardio workout to follow it up with a big mac and a six pack of nuggets (no offense Macca’s and we know you now have a healthy choice menu – and infact you just got a free plug).

Your body needs the right fuel to perform at it’s best.  This also becomes a big test of discipline, avoiding those vending machines and choosing a banana over a packet of chips. Now we won’t go into specific’s into what you should eat exactly as everyone is different but lets cover some basics on what you should be working on.

a) Three big meals breakfast, lunch and dinner with healthy snacks in between such as Muesli bars and fruit. Alot of people avoid breakfast which as most know is the most important meal of the day. Wake up earlier so you can make sure you don’t miss it due to rushing out the door.

b) Avoid junk food. This is a general rule and easier said than done believe me. But if you can make this a general habit, you are going a long way.

c) Water. Everyone knows that you should be drinking 1-2 litres of water a day. Hydration plays a big part in ice hockey, especially on game day! Drink plenty of water the day before and on game day so you are hydrated to help your endurance and stamina in the game.

Everything is about making good habits, like we mentioned with flexibility. Do whatever you can to avoid the junk food, maybe even think of them as an opponent trying to stop you from winning the championship next season.

Also a big good luck to club teams going into finals next weekend.

Position: Defence

Age: 23

Height: 5’9

Weight: 73kg

When did you start playing hockey? 5 years old.

How did you even get into Ice Hockey? Watching my Dad play for Canterbury when I was little

What was your favourite cartoon as a kid? Goof troop

First pair of hockey skates you owned? CCM Tacks

What do you do in your spare time? Wakeboarding

What is the best meal you can cook? Can you even cook? Steak

What has been your favourite Doggies moment to date? Winning the league in 2004

Do you have any advice for the youngsters coming up? Actions speak louder than words

Favourite Music: House

Favourite Car: Lamborghini Gallardo

Who was your first crush on? Carmen Electra

Now if you missed last week, Number 10 was flexibility.  You can always find the article here on the blog however so don’t worry.  Now although this is a count down to the best exercise we wanted to throw in a wild card to break things up a bit.

Number 9 – Body Weight Squats

Now Squats would be up the top when it comes to an exercise outside of the gym and off the ice that can really help your skating and power.   But as we mentioned earlier we wanted to give you some juicy stuff early.  As you can see in the photo’s when performing a squat your knees should not extend out past your toes as this is bad for your knees.  You will also see that you are not lifting any additional weights.

It is also important to keep a proud chest and straight back as shown in the photo’s as well.  Start out light maybe with a set of between 20-40 and see how your legs feel. Try 50 a day for a week and then maybe increase your load a bit each week*.

“I have seen a great benefit to my hockey when doing squats. I also remember when Alex D’Jamirze (an ex-ice dog) came back from overseas and he was just flying around the ice. I asked him how he had increased his speed and he was doing up to 500 squats a day!” recalls Scott Stephenson.

Squats will not only help your speed out on the ice but also contribute to further stability.

Remember to keep up your stretching as well, you might be a bit sore after the first few days of bodyweight squats.

*Ice Dogs recommend consulting with a professional i.e. qualified personal trainer, on the workload of squats you should be doing.

This article is for all you young aspiring ice hockey players out there without gym programs.  The AIHL season is over and the Dogs are already back in the gym getting ready for 2010!  As your season draws to a near this might come in handy for your off-season.  We have tried to come up with 10 ways that require minimal time in the gym for all those who don’t have a gym membership.

Each week we release one new way to improve your ice hockey off the ice counting down from 10.

Number 10: Flexibility

You kids might think stretching is boring but have you ever realised that one of the biggest factors stopping any athlete from reaching their full potential is injury.  All that hard work gone to waste because you didn’t make time to stretch.

Ideally you should be stretching everyday especially the older you get and the more you start working out.  “I separated my collar bone when checked into the boards playing junior in Canada and the doc pinned it down to my inflexibility as a major contributing factor” explains Scott Stephenson.  ”Because I neglected stretching when I was younger I am now facing all these issues that will take me even longer to reverse”.

By increasing your flexibility it actually increases your range of motion which will benefit your stride and your shooting power!  Try to make a habit of at least doing a couple of stretches when you wake up and before you go to bed in addition to stretching after every work out and training.

“Flexibility is important, I think back to Australian Youth and Junior teams and so many players would be pulling groins as there body was not ready for the increased 2 a day trainings at camp. When guys are off the ice, it tends to let the team down” adds Dogs Defenceman Tomas Manco.

So make the habit of stretching now as we drip feed you with exercises over the next 10 weeks to improve your ice hockey. We don’t want you getting injured now do we!

Whilst other imports have returned to their homeland, Canadian Jamie Galbraith has decided to stay longer to experience the warmer version of Australia as we head into spring but more importantly to help coach the younger kids. “It has been a lot of fun at the clinics this year helping the kids out with their skills and getting to know them better” says Galbraith. “To then see them at our games and talk to them after the games and about the game at the clinics is really cool”.

Galbraith working with Christiarn

Every Thursday the Ice Dogs hold a skills clinic for kids Atom aged up to Bantam and Midget. Although the clinic costs $25, all funds raised from the clinic go to running the Ice Dogs and keeping it alive. The clinic this year has been an absolute success as the kids get to not only learn off the Ice Dogs players but the Ice Dogs and young Pups get to know each other better.

Scottie H teaching Matty how to shoot

“It basically aligns with what we are doing with the Westbus Pups club where Atoms and Peewees receive free passes to our games, along with the clinics it helps us achieve our mission statement which is to keep the younger kids in the sport and a pinnacle they can aspire to” explains Ice Dog Scott Stephenson.

The Ice Dogs players themselves don’t get any individual financial benefit from giving up their time to coach as all funds go to the team. “We have had some great feedback from the parents but I have also noticed a massive improvement in most of the players from when they first started the clinic at the beginning of the season” admits Galbraith.

The Dogs will be continuing to run the clinic over the off-season so that other clubs whose training clashes on a Thursday night can benefit from the clinic. In addition to giving back at the clinic, the Ice Dogs have made at least 50 appearances to minor hockey club trainings across Sydney over the past 2 seasons voluntarily despite their heavy AIHL training and game schedule.

Toddy with Conner Lee

“The ability of the Ice Dogs to interact with the young players at both their AIHL games & at these training sessions not only allows the young players to mix with their heroes but also shows them that there is a path to senior ice hockey if you are prepared to work hard” tells parent Peter Azzopardi. “An insight into the Ice Dogs dedication to their young players for me happened when the kids asked Todd Stephenson to come out to one of their games and sure enough he made it out to their 7:00am game when he could of been in bed happily sleeping”.

The Ice Dogs would like to wish all minor hockey clubs the best of luck as they head into finals in the coming weeks.

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