Hockey Strength & Conditioning - Meeting with an NHL Strength Coach

In December of 2010, I had the opportunity to sit down for breakfast with then Anaheim Ducks strength and conditioning coach, Sean Skahan. Sean has been with the Ducks for nearly a decade and a year ago launched hockeystrengthandconditioning.com with several other high level coaches. 
Its always a pleasure to be able to sit down with individuals who've "been there, done that", but anytime I'm able to sit down with someone associated with hockey, this becomes a privilege.
The reason I'm writing about this rendezvous is because of some of the topics we chatted about. Here, in point form, was the jist of our conversation.

• The importance of working hard to create opportunities - Sean isn't where he is today because he spent 8 hours on the computer and one hour of training clients per day. Sean was in the trenches, interning with one of the best, and jumping on any opportunity awarded to him from his great work. He stated that sometimes these opportunities come in different and unexpected forms (he's always wanted to work with football), but it was important that he both recognized and pursued them.
  
• The difference between American and Canadian hockey players - One thing I shed some light on, to which he agreed, was the difference between players north and south of the border. Here, in Canada, hockey schools are a dime a dozen. Our players have a fantastic skill set and our young players spend almost as much time on the ice than they do in school. Unfortunately, this creates a problem. Many, if not most, of our players do not know how to train. In contrast, if you look at American youth, plenty of time and money is devoted to athletic development. In fact, the sporting culture down south is an industry. From full time strength coaches and athletic trainers/therapists in high schools to athletic scholarships in college and university, young American athletes know how to train. One example I provided Sean with was with regards to Olympic lifting. I asked him to compare his Canadian prospects and rookies with his American counter parts. If you're in professional hockey, ask yourself the same question and I guarantee you'll come to the same conclusion: Canadians spend too much time on the ice and not enough time developing themselves as athletes.

• The contribution of track and field - Those of you in the field of strength and conditioning, regardless of sport, should spend some time working with track and field athletes and coaches. Luckily I was fortunate to work closely with the University of Toronto Track Club for a number of years. Some of the lessons I've taken away from this opportunity were the importance of a thorough warm up and cool down to training, the creativity utilized by coaches when cueing, and the precise form utilized when training in the weight room. Sean agreed that we can all learn a lot from spending some time working with athletes in this sport.

For more information about Sean Skahan, please visit seanskahan.com. He also posted an excellent article on Dragon Door and recently released his DVDs on Kettlebell Lifting for Ice Hockey which can be found here.