speed and core balance for hockey

Question
Hi I'm a 14 year old forward.And I really want to improve my speed in skating for hockey.Im just wondering if you would be able to plan an off ice training program that would assist in improving my speed and core balance. I am 125lb and 5'5" tall. I look forward to your answer. Much appreciated. Mastthew

Answer
Hi there Matt,

There are some things that you can do that will increase speed, as I also did these around your age and saw some significant improvement in speed.

Plyometrics is what is needed to help. 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.

Hope this helps as much as it worked for me. Feel free to ask any more questions.

Thanks,

Guy