Developing a buy-in culture to get the most out of your TEAM!

As I have been fortunate to work with players, coaches and teams from Initiation to Junior, I’m always looking for ways to assist to them understand leadership and team building skills in a way that will help them both on and off the playing field.

What I wanted to share with you in this blog are my experiences on the key components necessary to build a supportive culture for players or teammates to help them achieve both their team and their personal goals.

I believe we need to build “Learning Environments” to give teams and ourselves the best chance to be successful.

So from my experience here’s my 7 vital beliefs needed to create a winning team culture:

1. It’s got to be personal

The leader (Coach) is connected personally to the goal by wanting to become better themselves through achieving the goal. This creates an authentic energy to want to jump on-board and be a part of something special

2. Outcome clarity

The leader (Coach) is clear on what it takes to attempt to achieve the goal and that failure is possible, BUT that if all players “Bring It” on a regular basis they will have done all they can do and will feel a sense of pride regardless of the outcome.

3. Plan to play to team strengths

The leader (Coach) wants to spread the credit by developing the leadership capabilities of all their players and they do this by identifying proper roles and strengths through both their physical skill sets and attitudinal strengths.


4. Fail forward

The leader (Coach) has coached what a “good mistake or Advancing Mistake” looks like. A good mistake is a mistake that will keep us moving toward our target but because we may not know how to master a particular skill yet, mistakes are certain, but they will be seen as part of the process.

5. Make the tough calls too

The leader (Coach) stays connected to his team by making the “right” decisions not the “popular or easy” decisions. When teammates see their leaders have struggled with the tough decisions, but have done the right thing, then these players will be willing to go the distance for them.

6. Encourage and stretch

Finally the leader regularly recognizes great effort, performance and results and also “positively challenges” sub-par performances.

7. Put them all together

If you can put all these together then you will CONNECT players to the team by showing that they MATTER, that their skills are IMPORTANT to the team achieving its goals and that EACH players’ contributions will be NEEDED for the TEAM to SUCCEED!

Elevating Comfort Zones for All Skills by Jack Blatherwick

Without coaching, most athletes will compete and train within their comfort zones.

If we told hockey players to go out on the ice and work on shots for 30 minutes, they’d drop a bunch of pucks in a pile, thirty feet out from the net and crank slapshots, taking plenty of time to wind up. If a coach worked with the same player, there would be drills to force the player to shoot from awkward positions, perhaps while skating full speed, perhaps while being hooked by a defender.

In other words, a good coach would encourage the player to improve his/her shot in game-like situations, most of which are not comfortable. It’s natural for any player - even when practicing in an empty arena with no one watching - to practice slap shots that really have some velocity. But to practice shooting while skating full-speed means some shots will be weaker. When friends are watching, the tendency to practice comfortably is greater, because no one wants to shoot a weak wrist shot when the world is watching.

Last summer we forced a great player to take practice shots quickly, without taking time to dribble and get set. This meant he had to shoot while off-balance at times. The puck might not have been in perfect position, so his weight transfer couldn’t be perfect. Sometimes he had to get up off the ice, receive a pass before feeling comfortable and release the shot immediately. But since this could happen more often than not in a big game, it certainly was worth practicing outside his comfort zone.

When players practice skating, they rarely choose the most difficult agility drills in which they might fall. They’ll probably be conservative on corners, rarely practicing at full speed, because there is too much chance of looking bad. Therefore, from hours of practicing this way, everyone establishes a comfort zone that is below top speed.

Then in the most important competition - perhaps the playoffs to get to the state tournament - when we want to compete at top speed, we suffer two consequences of our comfortable practice habits: skills are not comfortable at high speed and we are unable to sustain the pace for an entire game.

Those of us who never run marathons might wonder why a competitor doesn’t use a stop watch and -simply- cut 10 seconds off each mile. Just 10 seconds? That doesn’t seem like a lot, and the final results over 26 miles would be a personal record.

Part of the answer is physiological. Experienced marathoners in a study (Farrell’s doctoral thesis, 1978) ran at increasing speeds on a treadmill to find out at which speed each one would reach anaerobic threshold.
This is the point, above which lactic acid builds up in the blood and muscles at a rapid rate. Below this threshold, lactic acid stays at a low concentration for long periods of running - even hours.


In other words, when someone runs at a speed above their anaerobic threshold, lactic acid builds up, causing the muscles to work inefficiently. There is a lot of pain in the legs plus a general feeling of stress, the heart rate starts to climb abnormally, and breathing becomes excessive. Hyperventilation is triggered by the acid buildup.

So, marathoners tend to practice and compete at speeds near or below their anaerobic threshold. There are painful consequences to compete above this "comfort zone."

Obviously, they should include many shorter intervals above this point in order to bring their times down.

Hockey players do not often choose to practice or compete outside their "comfort zones" whether that is skating at super-fast speed or shooting in stressful situations. However, the Soviet coaches knew that if they pushed their players each day out of their comfort zones - no matter how much the players hated it - eventually they would be able to compete faster, with a great deal of skill at this pace, and keep it up for an entire game.

Although we cannot plot the physiological comfort zone as neatly for hockey as for a race where athletes compete at a constant speed, the comfort zone in hockey is just as much physical as it is a mental habit. It is only by good coaching that players will improve as much as possible.

Elevating comfort zones is the key to helping players move up to the next level. For some that means becoming the best they can be this season. For others it might mean making their dream team in the future.

No one can reach their potential by practicing within their comfort zone all the time.

Jack Blatherwick has a Ph.D. in physiology from the University of Minnesota. He is a physiologist for the Washington Capitals, and has held the same post for the Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers and Minnesota North Stars. He was also a coach/physiologist on the U.S. Olympic hockey teams in 1980, '84 '88, '92 and '94.

PLYOMETRICS...THE #1 METHOD FOR DEVELOPING SPORT SPECIFIC POWER

Plyometrics bridges the gap between strength and speed. If you want to improve your athletic performance, the transition from strength training to power training will play an integral part in your success.

Here's why... Maximum strength takes 0.5 to 0.7 seconds to produce. Yet most explosive, athletic movements occur much more rapidly. Whether your objective is to accelerate faster, hit the ball harder, move around the court more quickly, jump higher or throw further.

The key to improving your power and performance lies in generating the highest possible force in the shortest possible time.

Plyometrics plays a primary role in this training objective. Ideally you would first develop a high level of maximal strength before starting a plyometrics program. This gives you the greatest potential for peak power.

Plyometric training is no fad. The word "plyometrics" has been around since the 1960's but athletes were using the technique many years before that.

So how does plyometric training work exactly?

Plyometrics Defined The underlying principle of plyometric training is the stretch-shortening cycle. Very simply... As a muscle stretches and contracts eccentrically (lengthens while it contracts) it produces elastic energy, which it can store. If the muscle then contracts concentrically (shortens while it contracts) this elastic energy can be used to increase the force of the contraction.

A good example is jumping... If an athlete jumps vertically they will invariably dip down just before takeoff. Quickly lowering their centre of gravity stretches the working muscle groups allowing them to contract more forcefully for the jump. In essence a muscle stretched before it contracts will contract much more forcefully.

What role does plyometrics play in all of this?

Plyometric training places increased stretch loads on the working muscles. As the muscles become more tolerant to the increase loads the stretch-shortening cycle becomes more efficient... The muscle stores more elastic energy. It can transfer from the eccentric or stretching phase to the concentric or lengthening phase more rapidly.

This is the key to generating peak power. Plyometrics has received much undeserved blame for overtraining and injury. Like ANY form of fitness training if used incorrectly and irresponsibly plyometrics is not without risk.

The following guidelines will help to make your plyometric training safer and more effective.

Guidelines For Plyometrics... The Least You Should Know

Warming up is crucial. Spend 10mins jogging or skipping followed by 5-10mins of stretching the muscles involved. Don't forget to stretch your lower back.

Plyometrics don't tend to leave you feeling tired or out of breath. Even so stick to your program... now is not a good time to employ your "no pain no gain" philosophy!

Perform plyometric exercises on a soft surface such as grass or a synthetic running track. Two sessions of plyometrics per week is ample. Three is the maximum. Rest completely between sets, 3-5mins at least.

Remember... the idea of plyometrics is not to leave you out of breath. Your goal is to perform each action, each repetition with maximum speed, effort and technique.

A plyometric session should never contain more than 120 ground contacts for any muscle group. Adding additional load such as ankle weights or a weighted vest will increase training demand. But it will also slow down the movement diminishing the training effects of plyometrics. It is not recommended. Try to land on your full foot, rather than the heel or toe. This helps the muscle to absorb the shock rather than bone and joints.

And finally... Try to keep you torso erect during the movements - it prevents undue strain on the lower back.

SPEED ENDURANCE TRAINING

These speed endurance drills will help you to maintain a higher work rate for longer. They are excellent for improving performance in sports such as football, soccer, hockey and basketball.

In fact... Any athlete that is often required to repeat high intensity sprints in quick succession can benefit from these speed endurance exercises.

Like pure speed and agility training these drills will tax your aerobic energy system. However, there are 2 important distinctions...

1. Speed endurance drills should last from 30 seconds up to 2 minutes rather than 10 seconds for agility drills.

2. Instead of allowing your body to fully recover rest times between sets and repetitions is reduced.

What effects will this have? Your body will produce high levels of lactic acid in a short period of time. By continuing to work at a high intensity you will be conditioning your body to tolerate lactic acid more effectively.

Be warned... Some of these drills are unpleasant! In fact they are more demanding than most situations you are likely to face in competition. Do not; I repeat do not perform these drills after you've just eaten! More importantly... SPEED ENDURANCE DRILLS Speed endurance training should form the later part of pre-season training and in-season training.

It is important that you've developed a solid fitness base beforehand, which includes strength and endurance. Also... Perform a speed endurance session twice a week maximum. This may be reduced to once a week during the competitive season.

Because speed endurance training can be so demanding keep session duration to 20-30 minutes maximum. Rest between sets and reps should be in the form of active recovery. Avoid standing still, sitting down or falling asleep. It goes without saying how important the warm up and cool down are before such a training session.

Use the drills below to make up the speed endurance training session...

HIGH INTENSITY SHUTTLE RUN - Pace out 30 meters on grass or a running track. Place a cone at the start and at 5 meter intervals (7 cones in total).

Sprint from the starting cone to 5 meter cone and back. Turn and sprint to 10 meter cone and back to start. Sprint to 15 meter cone and back to start and so on until you sprint the full 30 meters and back. - Rest for 90 seconds and repeat. Complete a total of 6 sets keeping rest periods to 90 seconds.

PYRAMIDS - Pace out 50 meters placing a cone at the start and then at 10 meter intervals (6 cones in total).

Starting at the first cone sprint all out for 10 meters and walk the remaining 40 meters. Turn and sprint 20 meters and walk for 30 meters. Turn and sprint 30 meters and walk for 20 meters. Turn and sprint 40 meters and walk for 10 meters. Finally... Turn and sprint 50 meters and then turn and sprint 50 meters again back to the start. - This is classed as one set. Rest for 90 seconds and repeat for a total of 4 sets. Rest for a full 3 minutes and repeat.

CRUISE AND SPRINT

Mark out a distance of 100 meters. From the start gradually accelerate to reach full speed at about 60 meters. Sprint all out for the final 40 meters. - Slow down gradually, turn and repeat. - Continue for 2 minutes and then rest for 2 minutes. This is one set. Repeat for a total of 6 sets.

HOLLOW SPRINT

Set 5 cones out in 30 meters intervals. Sprint 30 meters, jog 30 meters, sprint 30 meters and jog 30 meters to the final cone. - Turn around and repeat always alternating jogging and sprinting. Work for 2 minutes and then rest for 2 minutes. This is one set, try and complete 6 sets

CROSS DRILL

Using 4 cones mark a box 30 meters by 30 meters. Place another cone in the center of the box. - Starting at the center cone sprint to each corner and back in a clockwise direction. Once you have completed a circuit rest for 60 seconds. - Perform a total of 6 circuits to complete one set. A session could contain up to 4 sets with a 3 minute rest interval between sets.