Strength & Conditioning for Field Hockey
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Dynamic Strength and Conditioning
for Field Hockey
With the rapid increase of talented athletes in field hockey throughout the country, strength and conditioning development can provide a much needed competitive edge for your program.
Barry Kagan takes you through the Maryland Terrapins strength training philosophy and how he approaches a full year's training preparation. His approach keeps the equipment selection simple for the use of athlete's from the lowest of levels to the most elite.
Dynamic Warm-Ups & Flexibility
Properly preparing your athletes for the workout that is about to ensue is as important as the training itself. Kagan begins the Dynamic Flexibility and Plyometric portion of the workout with a variety of ladder drills and numerous dynamic flexibility movements. He has the players demonstrate innovative exercises in which he has specifically created for the benefit of their overall athletic ability or injury prevention.
Lower-Body Strength Training
Leg strength is paramount to the success of any athlete and with proper training technique and work ethic; players can dynamically change their game. With over 24 specific lower-body strength training exercises you will be able to ensure proper development of athletes of any experience level. With more than seven different variations of the standard squat you will be not able to only work on their leg-strength, but also simultaneously work on core stabilization and explosiveness.
Olympic Lifts
The inclusion of the Olympic lifts work on the triple extension of the lower body: the hips, the knees, and the ankles. These exercises force the body to become explosive in nature and properly translate power throughout their body. From Power Cleans, to Snatch variations, to Push Presses, Kagan covers the technique and proper rep ranges to effectively utilize your body's full potential.
Upper-Body Strength Training
No training program is complete without working the upper-body. Kagan covers both pushing and pulling movements to round out the complete workout. He covers exercises such as the Bench Press and Barbell Rows along with the proper form that should be executed to ensure proper utilization. Also discussed is the implementation of single-armed exercises and how they are able to benefit your body by taxing the nervous system and increasing your core stabilization.
132 Minutes. 2011.
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Year Round Speed, Agility, Quickness
for Field Hockey
Peak athletic performance often decides the success of your team. Barry Kagan covers everything in this video on how to maximize speed output, agility work, conditioning your athletes for game-time, and the importance of recovery to your workouts. When the overall commitment by the athletes is made, the outcome is evident once they step on the field.
Training Plan
Coach Kagan discusses how he and the Maryland Coaching Staff plan out the training protocol for the upcoming season. All workouts done throughout the year complement each other; speed workouts, agility drills and strength training are all included and revolve around the underlying component of maintaining proper conditioning. From post-season workouts, to spring training, and in-season workouts, Kagan describes in length of what is expected during each period of training including rep ranges, frequency of strength training sessions and how often players should be running.
Dynamic & Pre-Game Warm-Ups
Whereas most warm-up plans consist of long periods of time, Kagan's plan is really brief with the focus on getting the body warmed up and ready for the game. Long periods of stretching and warm-up drills can often extend the length of a game being counterproductive to what the goal at hand is. In the drills and stretches included, players are able to be completely ready for peak performance at a much faster rate than before.
Speed & Agility Training
Speed training is based on the two mechanisms of strike frequency and stride length. Strike frequency is how quickly the nervous system can fire and how quickly you can drive yourself to the desired outcome. While stride length is more of strength and production you put on each movement. Kagan covers how to use those mechanisms in seven specific speed drills as well as 18 agility drills designed to maximize your training sessions. These drills include sport specificity to enhance player morale during periods of strenuous drills.
Conditioning
The goal for athletes is to play at high intensity for extended periods of time. While conditioning is usually only related to the aspect of being able to run, you must be able to prepare athletes to not become injured. Running drills are usually kept short in duration and require change of pace while alternating intensity to mimic the strain of a full game.
106 Minutes. 2011.