#1 Stretch For Youth Hockey Players

By Kim McCullough

Groin "pulls" are extremely common in youth hockey players, especially at the beginning of the season.

The truth is that what players think is a "pull" is usually just a case of their groin muscles being sore and tired.

With each and every stride a player takes, the groin muscles get stretched. Those same muscles are also responsible for stopping the leg at the end of the stride, so that the groin doesn't stretch too far.

Therefore, the harder the player pushes out in the stride, the more work the groin muscles must do to control the end range of motion through the hip.

So when players start skating after a long summer layoff, with the high frequency and intensity demanded during the pre-season, the groin muscles are under tremendous load and it makes sense that players might experience both soreness and tightness in their groin.

It takes time for a player's "hockey muscles" to adapt to this high workload, and during the adaptation period, those groin muscles are going to be sore and tired.

What can you do to prevent the dreaded groin "pull" this season?

Focusing on stretching the groin muscles, as well as the hip flexors, quadriceps (thigh) and hamstrings (back of the leg), will help to relieve tightness and prevent injury to the groin.

Try this simple groin stretch:

Start out on your hands and knees. Slowly move your knees as wide apart as possible, so that you start to feel a good stretch in the groin muscles. Make sure to keep your toes pointing straight out to the side. Use your hands to support yourself in this position and then push your body back towards your feet slightly to increase the stretch. If this bothers your knees, bring your feet closer together. Hold for 1 to 2 minutes.

Remember - Stretching is NOT a competitive sport. You aren't trying out for Cirque du Soleil. The goal is to get the best stretch you can on that given day, not to stretch further than you've ever gone before. Go to the point where you feel a comfortable stretch and hold it for between 1-2 minutes. If you find yourself breathing heavily, turning red in the face or straining after only 10 seconds, you need to back it off a little bit!

Hockey-specific stretches, like the one described above, will go a long way towards preventing players from sustaining an actual groin "pull" and help them to alleviate the soreness and tightness that comes from using those muscles at a high intensity and frequency in the pre-season.

Spending two minutes stretching the groin after every ice session could be the key to an injury-free season.

Kim McCullough, M.Sc., YCS is a highly sought-after expert in the development of aspiring hockey players and has played at the highest level of women's hockey in the world for the last decade. Kim's player development website gives coaches and parents of aspiring young players access to programs, articles and advice on how to help their players take their game to the next level. To learn more about hockey-specific stretching and how you can have your best season ever, visit: http://www.besthockeyseasonever.com