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PAUL BUCZKOWSKI
Bio
Setting Goals
Respect
Back to School
Professionalism
Those in the know
Turn It Positive
Finding a Job
Eye Protection
Playing Injured
Gearing Up
WCHL vs. CHL
Europe v. N.A.
Specific Training
Training Camps
Road to Success
Dedication
Life in the WHL
SANDY LAMARRE
Bio
Season to Forget
College vs. Junior
Sportsmanship
Game Prep
Conditioning
FORBES MACPHERSON
Making the Jump
BRIAN PATAFIE
Bio
Stretching
ICE
PATRICK POWERS
Is Hockey Just a Sport?
ANDREW ZOPPO
Be Tenacious
PlayYourGame.com is proud to welcome Paul Buczkowski as a feature writer. From the WHL to the NHL, Paul will bring insight to every aspect of the game, as a sport and as a career. Specific Training By Paul Buczkowski November 13, 2000 Hockey is a sport where one must be careful of how you train. I learned a lot about training in the last couple of years of my junior career. As my draft year came, and scouts and agents were calling to find out "more" about myself and my thoughts, I had to find a way to try to keep above the rest of the players. Being just under 5' 10" and playing a physical game, I was told that I had to get stronger so I could handle the physical punishment of the larger players. When I was seventeen, I started to do specific training. I found out at my first NHL camp that all those things that coaches, scouts and people were saying were true. I needed to work out and get stronger. Dave King, who was head coach of the Calgary Flames at the time, was a firm believer that as a player you had to have certain strong physical attributes, and he loved to test his players. These included an oxygen test, bench pressing your own weight, chin ups, push ups, sit ups, vertical jump, flexibility, and a sprint test. Going into my first NHL camp, I was totally unaware of these types of tests and did not do any specific training. My scores in all the tests were "average". This was not acceptable for me, and after this disappointment, I started to work out hard and specifically for these types of exercises. At the time, I was weighing in at 185 lbs. After that summer of hard training, I grew to an amazing 203 lbs. I worked out five times a week on the specifics that I expected to be tested on. My oxygen test increased by 25%, my maximum bench press increased from 245lbs to 340lbs, I did the maximum number of chin ups (25), push ups (75), sit ups (125). In the flexibility, sprint test, and vertical jump, my gains were significant as well. After I was released from camp as an 18 year old, I was disappointed for not getting a contract and started to go over the edge of getting too big and too strong. That following season, I was told that I had to lose muscle and get more speed and agility. After I was told this, I was definitely frustrated and had to go back to square one. I started reading books and started to train more for hockey than for the beach. I thought to myself and asked why does my bench press have to be so much since there are no 340lb players out there on the ice. I have seen a lot of players make the same mistakes as I did. Lots of players work out for the beach and not for hockey. I changed my regimen to that of footwork, speed, explosiveness, and endurance. I saw dramatic improvements on the ice, and that next year, I got 42 goals and 56 points for 98 points. I was faster and quicker even though I lost a great deal of strength. I have laid off the weights dramatically over the last couple of years and have concentrated on abdominal strength, leg endurance, wind sprints (either on the bike or running), and all around general conditioning. Like I said in past articles, hockey is also a mental sport, and one must be educated so they can be prepared. Do some reading on foot speed drills, abdominal training, and sprinting. Education is priceless, and I hope I have helped you through one of my training errors. Here are my inspiring quotes for the month: - Willie Mays - Don Schula Paul Buczkowski 1 Year ECHL 3 Years Europe 6 Years WHL |
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