How Does it Help the Player?
The hockey season is upon us. Another training camp in the books. This has been a time of reflection for me as a performance coach as we’ve had the privilege of working with the same organization for 17 years. Some say there’s a difference between 1 year of experience 17 times, and 17 years of experience. I would hope that we have used our 17 years of experience to refine, craft and improve our process. Our process revolves around one simple underlying question:
How does it help the player?
Why are you doing what you’re doing? How does it help the player?
You’re performing test “X”? How does it help the player?
You’re tracking metric “X”? How does it help the player?
You’re proving lifestyle education? How does it help the player?
So, what do we “test”? Why does it matter? And most important, how does it help the player? Here are a few things we always consider at DSC.
Can testing be training and training be testing?
What are the strongest off-ice correlates to on-ice speed? Can we measure these?
How can we retrieve relevant information without over-taxing the athlete?
Are the tools that we use valid and reliable?
Can we create a targeted intervention in a team environment?
Can we communicate effectively to the player?
Does it drive performance?
Here is our current list of “tests”, the old tests that they now replace, and how it helps the player!
It doesn’t matter the technology, metric, or test the same thought process is at the root:
How does it help the player
This permeates into our nutrition, hydration and sleep lectures as these decisions are arguably more important than weight room touches. The goal is to keep the goal the goal! Stay healthy, stay strong and stay on the ice. How does it help the player?
