With the hockey season coming to an end and the weather starting to get warmer it can be time to think about what your plans are for the off-season. There are many great activities to consider during the summer while you’re away from the rink. Spending time outside has many health benefits and many activities offer skills that are transferrable to hockey. It’s important to stay active throughout the year and there are many ways to stay involved in getting ready for the next hockey season without ever lacing up skates or picking up a stick.
The development and maintenance of fundamental movement skills and fundamental sport skills is critical for players to feel confident about physical activity. Whether this is confidence to lead a healthy and active life in sport, or to become an elite athlete, this strong foundation in the will help children to reach their full potential.
The Fitness Sessions from the OMHA Hockey Academy offer dynamic warmups for players to do before practicing their skills at home. The purpose of the warmup is to increase blood flow to the areas which will be working to wake up the nervous system throughout the body. A warmup should be more than a quick stretch. Instead, you will need to mimic movements that you will use consistently throughout the course.
The dynamic warmup is broken into two parts. Dynamic stretches are slow paced movements to get a range of motion while dynamic movements get the body talking to the muscles. These sessions work on the upper and lower body, legs and core and are great to maintain stamina and cardio during the off-season without using any hockey gear. It is divided into separate age-appropriate programs.
These drills aim to improve a player’s agility, balance, coordination and speed and is a great development opportunity to grow physical literacy skills and at-home dry-land training. It requires minimal equipment and can be done almost anywhere, like in a basement or backyard. Players should wear comfortable athletic clothing and footwear and have supervision when required. It’s important to start slow by practicing each movement before increasing speed and intensity.
You can now secure a 7 day free trial of the OMHA Hockey Academy! Full registration after the trial includes a welcome gift pack (estimated value of $40.00, shipping may be delayed) as well as exclusive access to the online tracking portal where you can keep track of your progress and be entered to win weekly prizes. The one year subscription ($10.00 a month) includes tutorial videos and tips on how to get the most out of each drill and entries into weekly prize draws.
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