Footwork and Muscle

Question
I'm a relatively smaller guy in my league playing A hockey and
my quickness and size have always been a problem since an
early age. More recently I've been interested in quicker feet
and bulking up. Any footwork drills or muscle building
methods/workouts would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi William,

Plyometrics is very beneficial in helping to increase speed and quickness on ice. You can create a cross with tape on the driveway or garage and label each square 1,2,3,4. Then it would be to do different combinations, 1 leg, 2 legs, etc. Do for 20-30 second reps and it will increase your foot speed. With faster foot speed, you'll be able to complete more strides in same amount of time, resulting in quicker speeds. This will also help build leg stamina, key thing for the longer shifts.

Also doing ladder drills will significantly increase foot speed and speed on ice. A great link that I have stored as a bookmark for my own reference is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yhWhMActNg . This has many great exercises that can be done with the agility ladder. I decided not to buy an actual ladder like in video, but just made out with tape in basement, works just as well.

And then I usually end the workouts with short sprints. Focusing on the power and explosion for quick acceleration to top speed, the quicker you can get to top speed and beat someone to the free puck.

For muscle and strength building, I am currently on a program that can be found online that I have seen vast improvements from already.
The link is http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/berardi52.htm . It explains all aspects of the workout and reasoning, and has 3 parts for a complete workout routine.

Hope this helps! Let me know if anything else I can help you with.

Thanks!
Guy