3 Recovery Keys That Will Allow You to Play Your Best Hockey All Season

By Kim McCullough

Off-ice recovery has a significant effect on on-ice performance, but most hockey players neglect it completely. The first 30 minutes after you get off the ice are critical to starting the recovery process and preventing injuries and burn-out this season.

There are 3 key components to proper recovery that hockey players must address if they want to feel and play their best day after day:

1) Cool-Down

While many players do dynamic warm-ups before hitting the ice, very few do a cool-down afterwards. For the majority of young hockey players, the cool-down involves taking off your equipment, and jumping into the car for the ride home. A player's body needs to "come-down" after the ice in the same way that they need to "ramp up" for each session. When you neglect to perform a thorough cool-down after a tough practice or game, your muscles will feel heavy and tired. By performing 5 minutes of easy jogging immediately after getting off the ice, players can prevent blood and lactate from pooling in their legs, which will reduce muscle stiffness and soreness.

2) Stretching

Players don't need to spend a lot of time stretching every muscle in their body in order to recover properly. Spending 10 minutes performing a few critical stretches after your cool-down jog is all you need. Players should perform stretches that address their "hockey-specific" muscles - hip flexors, quadriceps, glutes and groin. By holding these stretches in a comfortable position for 1 minute each, players will alleviate muscle soreness, prevent injury and put themselves in a great position to perform their best in their next ice session.

3) Nutrition

Post-activity nutrition and hydration are just as important as completing the cool-down and stretching routines, and are also generally ignored by players. Immediately after getting off the ice, a player's body is in a heightened state to rebuild its energy stores and they need to get food and fluids in them quickly. Whether it is in the form of chocolate milk and a bottle of water or a sports drink with yogurt and a banana, the key is to get re-fuel and re-hydrate fast.

Completing a proper recovery routine after each on-ice session can be the difference between having a mediocre year and having your best season ever. Make the most of the 30 minute "recovery window" this season and you will take your performance to the next level.

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 how to have your best season ever, visit: http://www.besthockeyseasonever.com

Who Invented Hockey

By Robert Grazian

The game of hockey played on ice probably came into being in the 16th Century. Field hockey can be traced back around to around 4,000 ago and this is confirmed by some wall paintings which were found at a burial site in Egypt. These show a game being played using a ball and curved sticks. The Irish version of field hockey, hurling, also has historic roots and was mentioned in the 1366 Statutes of Kilkenny. The first recorded history that we have of ice hockey is in Dutch paintings in the 17th Century. These show people playing a game of hockey which was clearly on a frozen lake. It is impossible to say who invented hockey played on ice, as we know it today.

We know that Sir John Franklin mentions hockey during his arctic expeditions in 1825 and also a British army officer makes mention of it in his writings in 1843, but these were not organised games with written rules and set teams. They were more informal events. This gives us no clue as to who invented hockey as nothing was recorded.

Recording of the first games happened in the mid 1800s in the Halifax area. This was played by British soldiers stationed in there. We also know that ice hockey rules were finally drawn up at the McGill University in Montreal and this maybe the closest that you will get to finding out who invented hockey. This is where the first rules were established regarding the numbers of players etc.

There is, however, another theory. This is a story which involves a Colonel Hockey who was based in Windsor in Novia Scotia. It is thought that Colonel Hockey invented a game using a curved stick and a ball which was used as part of his fitness program for his troops. The game then became known as "Hockey's game". There is, indeed, documentary evidence to prove that John Hockey was serving in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the 1800s, just at the time when the name was adopted for the game. It may be that this is who invented hockey.

So, we have no conclusive proof of who invented hockey. It would seem that it could have evolved rather than being invented. It also depends on how you want to look at the question. McGill University definitely wrote the first rule book and they could, in a way, be defined as being the inventors. The Colonel Hockey story, however, is pretty good and it is encouraging that there is documentary proof of his existence at the right time and the right place. I am afraid that the ball is in your court, so to speak. You will have to accept one of these theories, or you could put in some hours of research and try to prove one of them beyond all doubt.

Robert Grazian is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about hockey visit Pucking Hockey for current articles and discussions.

#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

Hockey History

By Robert Grazian

The word "hockey" may well derive from the old French word "hoquet" which was a shepherd's crook or from the Dutch word "hokkie". This was a old word for a doghouse, which may have been used as a goal. Field hockey history, however, seems to be traceable much further back... 4,000 years ago someone drew pictures in an Egyptian tomb of a sport that look very much like field hockey. Ice hockey history does not date back this far and the oldest recorded history is a Dutch painting from the 17th Century which clearly shows some form of the game being played.

When the European immigrants came to America, they brought their versions of hockey, shinty and hurling with them. In some areas it became popular to play these games on ice and stick and ball games were enjoyed anywhere there was a suitable lake. By the mid 1800s the game had become extremely popular and many games were played by the British soldiers. By the 1870s its appeal had warranted a set of rules being devised at Montreals McGill University. Each team contained 9 players and the ball was replaced by a puck. In more recent years, hockey history has been carefully studied by the Society for International Hockey Research and it would seem that there are a few grey areas regarding its early history. They do, however, know about the first recorded organised game where a score was kept and the teams identified.

This took place on 3rd March 1875 at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal. Shortly afterwards, in 1877 the McGill University Hockey Club went down in history as the first club to exist. The popularity of hockey grew and the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada was organised in 1886. It was also popular in Europe with Oxford and Cambridge Universities both having teams. There was great rivalry between these two, as you would expect. This was probably the first in the history of the game. By the end of the 1800s the game was well established and there were many teams being organised. Hockey had reached many other parts of the United States.

Professional league teams made their debut in hockey history just prior to World War 1. Starting in Michigan, this quickly incorporated Canada, Switzerland, Ukraine, Great Britain and Austria. Although there are now only six players on a team and play now takes place on ice rinks rather than frozen lakes, some aspects remain just the same. Clothing has come a long way since its conception and all professional players will wear quite considerable protective clothing. This is no surprise when you consider that the game involves a lot of body contact and also that the puck can travel extremely fast.

There are many heroes in hockey history and the game has gone on to become one of America's most popular sports. Professional players are very high visibility stars and the sport is lucrative. It has a combination of glamour, speed, technical ability and aggression that makes it compulsive viewing.

Robert Grazian is an accomplished niche website developer and author.

To learn more about hockey visit Canadian Hockey Site for current articles and discussions

Ice Hockey Fights

By Robert Grazian

Ice hockey is unusual in the fact that fighting does not always carry an ejection penalty. In fact, in the United States, the National Hockey League, is unique amongst team sports in that it does not send players off for fighting. To some people, hockey fights are one of the main draws of the game.

This is not to say that the NHL condones violence. There is an unwritten law amongst the players and the officials regarding which aspects of fighting are acceptable and which are not. There are even rulings regarding who can and who cannot join in. You will be ejected from the game if you join a fight whilst sitting on the beach for example. Written rulings regarding hockey fights include the use of weapons. It is not allowed to use any form of weapon during a fight. This means that sticks must immediately be put down. The same applies to gloves. Gloves used in hockey are very hard and could easily cause damage a player if a blow were to be landed whilst wearing one. For this reason, they too must immediately be taken off if you are involved in a fight. If, once the players involved have been separated, the referee calls for an end to the fight, he must be obeyed. Failure to conform to these rulings will incur a penalty for misconduct and could result in a player's suspension for forthcoming games.

These lenient rulings regarding hockey fights are only acceptable in the NHL, the North American Junior Leagues and some North American Professional minor leagues. The fighting is still illegal and is still punishable, but the lenient rulings regarding punishment will mean just a five minute major penalty... "five for fighting". In all other games such as Peewee and College and European Leagues, anyone involved in fights will be ejected from the game. This stricter ruling also applies to all Olympic games and to all women's hockey games.

In the games where hockey fights are more acceptable, especially NHL games, the team may have "enforcers". These are players who will undertake the majority of the fighting. This is often to protect some of the top players and some enforcers are well known purely for their fighting rather than their hockey skills. There does seem to be a code of conduct which is unwritten and exists between players and officials known simply as "the code". This is strictly adhered to and the fighting rarely gets out of control. The fights are nearly always just between the enforcers from each team and they will have agreed with each other whether to fight or not before hand. This means that neither will receive a penalty for being the instigator.

There have been calls to tighten the rulings regarding these fights in the NHL and Junior games but it would seem that the players and administrators are pro fighting. There are many other bodies which are very much anti fighting and it may not be long before hockey fights become punishable in the NHL, Junior League and all professional games as they are in many other leagues.

Robert Grazian is an accomplished niche website developer and author.

To learn more about hockey visit Canadian Hockey Blog for current articles and discussions.

Hockey Tournaments

By Robert Grazian

Hockey is one of the most popular sports in Canada and the United States both as a spectator and participant sport. Hockey tournaments range in suitability for all ages and levels from youngsters all the way through to adult professionals. There are also the women's teams and some veteran teams too.

The largest and best known league is the National Hockey League. This is the major professional league and covers Canada and the United States. It comprises 30 teams and is the most highly respected league in the world of hockey. During the course of the season there are a variety of tournaments. The team that finishes at the top of the league will be the winner of the Presidents Trophy. Another of the most prestigious hockey tournaments is the Stanley Cup. The Stanley Cup is fought for by means of elimination rounds. It starts in April and will be won by the last remaining team in June. The Presidents trophy is awarded to the team which has scored the most points during the regular season. This will run from October to April and teams will play 82 games. The tournament schedule is complex but will involve 42 games on their home territory and 42 played away at the grounds of their opponents.

The American Hockey League is the most prestigious minor professional league and acts as a supply source of players for the NHL. There are 29 clubs in the league and each one will have an affiliation with one of the NHL teams. The Calder Cup is the main trophy of the AHL and this awarded to the playoff champions of the year. Other hockey tournament trophies in the AHL include two Conference playoff championship trophies; the Richard F Canning Trophy for the Eastern Conference and the Robert W Clarke Trophy for the Western. Also included in their season are seven other regular season championship trophies.

As well as the American Hockey League, there are another eight minor professional hockey leagues which all run their own hockey tournaments. Obviously the semi-pro and amateur and college leagues do the same. Women's hockey is also a very popular sport now and this is supported by the National Women's Hockey League. As there has been some confusion regarding the championships of the league in the last couple of years, due to the combining of the league with the Western Women's Hockey League, the tournament details are a little complex. Suffice to say, however, that the Clarkson Cup has been, and probably will continue to be, the main tournament trophy for women's hockey.

There are literally hundreds of hockey tournaments running at any one time and if you are either a spectator and fan or a participating sportsman, there is never a shortage of action for you at any level.

Robert Grazian is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about hockey visit My Hockey Site for current articles and discussions.