SUMMER 2018 LITTLETON COLORADO ignitehockeytraining.com
OUR FLAME IGNITE is an ice hockey training program for the next generation of players. We believe in preparing wisely. We believe in competing at the highest level. Our players launch from IGNITE physically and mentally prepared for the next level in their game.
THE LANDSCAPE: WHAT WE KNOW NOW High school, USHL, CHL NEXT NCAA, AHL, NHL On-Ice Players are used to being the best on the ice. There is a lot of time and space during games to make passes and decisions. Many opponents lack agility and can easily be manipulated and beaten. Everyone has a higher level of speed. There is less time and space during the game and the defense is in your face. Players need new tools along with accurate decision-making skills. Opponents are either extremely agile or have the strength and skills to make up for lack of agility. Strength & Conditioning Off-ice training has complemented their season and summer training regimens to build strength, flexibility, and endurance. Players bodies are still maturing and their mindsets around physical preparedness are becoming more disciplined. Many hockey teams and/or parents invest in private trainers to build a foundation of understanding around the importance of strength and conditioning for elite-level performance. Players are expected to play at full intensity for 24 40-second shifts every game over an 80-game season, with as much power and speed in their last shift as their first. Off-season is designed for players to get stronger and more agile and to prepare for fitness testing (e.g. lower and upper body power output, VO2 max capacity, Wingate Anaerobic Test). Off-season is viewed as a time for strength gains. In-season is for maintenance, correcting imbalances, and quick recovery from injury. Player Mindset Nutrition Parents often take responsibility for purchasing and preparing food. Some players have a healthy diet and others have been able to maintain a high-level of performance while eating pancakes and pizza. Players choose what to eat based on what tastes good and is healthy enough. Players have always made the top-level team and have been selected to play in specialized game-time situations (PP, PK). Coaches are there to develop players first, win second. Performance is assessed over a season with long-term improvement as the primary focus. The intention up until now is to evolve as a player and to grow up from a boy into a young man within the game of hockey. Players are mentored by coaches, parents, and trainers in goal-setting, mindset, and how to see the ice. Players eat with purpose and choose appropriate nutrient-dense food to optimize performance. Players often live on their own and must take responsibility for grocery shopping and cooking all meals. Meal planning and rest are intentional daily efforts. Body mass and fat management are taken very seriously by their team and considered a reflection of their professionalism and commitment, or lack thereof. Everyone was the best player on their previous team. A player must compete for their position in the lineup and on the team every shift, every game, and every season going forward. Hockey is now a business, and players are on paid, short-term contracts. The coach s job is to win and his livelihood depends on it. Players alone must be pro-active about their self-development, and consistently possess the grit to handle the ups and downs of a season and a coach s not-so-subtle feedback. Players must be resilient in a relentlessly competitive, high-stakes environment.
OVERVIEW From May to August 2018, the IGNITE Summer Training program includes: 18 on-ice skills training practices 32 off-ice strength and conditioning sessions 8-week progressive shooting course Nutritional seminar for parents and players 8 performance-based mental skills seminars Parent workshop on how to support your child s transition to their next level Ongoing, open dialogue between players, parents, and the IGNITE coaching team There will be position specific training, with programs designed for Defense, Forwards and Goalies
COMPONENTS OF OT HV EE RI GVNI ET EWP R O G R A M ON-ICE SKILLS TRAINING Our goal is to promote the development of dominant players with matured on-ice awareness. Players will further develop all of the foundational on-ice movements, as well as work on their focus and reactions during the game. Players will leave the program with improved stride mechanics and skating efficiency, a more explosive first step, increased maximum-speed, improved shooting mechanics, and better on-ice positioning and game situational understanding. STRENGTH & CONDITIONING Our players are taught how to prepare, train, and recover like a professional. Training will focus on creating dynamic, explosive and powerful hockey players. Players will leave the program with upgraded training habits by prioritizing the mechanics of form, posture, and muscle function, pre-training and pre-game warmup routines, improvement on weak side strength to enhance muscle equilibrium, strategies for improved recovery training to shorten time off the ice during season, and personal consultation for in-season workout plans to strengthen on-ice performance and reduce risk of injury. NUTRITION Players will receive a nutritional assessment and a functional strength and movement screen. We will create a baseline for each player to track his individual progress over the off-season. This will include a body composition assessment and various fitness tests specifically designed to amplify performance in hockey. Players and parents will learn how professional athletes eat, hydrate, and use supplements, build sleep into their daily training regimens, and make lifestyle choices that align with their short and long term goals in hockey. MENTAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT Our players are challenged to explore the mental aspect of performance in hockey on and off the ice. As former NHL players, we know this mental skills training is the most crucial, and often the most ignored, component of success. Through experiential personal development workshops, our players will discover what makes them great and they will learn how to harness that power. Players will learn what it means to be a professional and build the resilience required to make it to the next level, the triggers that set off anxiety and how to re-set their inner composure, strategies to handle difficult feedback from coaches and management, and skills for game-time preparation and focus.
HOW WE LIGHT THE FIRE We know that the ideal training program for player is an integrated program where on-ice practice, strength and conditioning, nutrition, and mental skills training are designed in connection with one another for the explosion of growth within the player. Each component of the IGNITE program is built upon four key cornerstones. These cornerstones are what we believe are the foundational ingredients for success in hockey as a player takes his game to the next level. INTELLIGENCE POWER AWARENESS FOCUS
THE IGNITE TEAM
Mark Popovic Mark was identified by Hockey Canada s national development program and participated in all three phases of their Program of Excellence. As a member of Team Ontario Under-17 team, they won gold at the 1999 Canada Winter Games. A year later, his National Men s U18 Team won gold at the IIHF U18 World Championships. Thirdly, he played for two years on the National Men s Junior Team, and took home the bronze medal at the 2001 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship in Moscow, Russia and the silver medal at the 2002 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship in Pardubice, Czech Republic. At the age of 15, Mark was selected 4th overall in the 1998 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) draft by the St. Michael s Majors. During his four years playing for the club, Mark was named 3x to the OHL First-Team All-Star Team and served as the team s captain for two seasons. Mark excelled academically, completing high school a year early and was nominated by his peers for the St. Michael s College School Athlete of the Year award. Mark s professional hockey career spanned 15 years in the top hockey leagues in the world. Mark was drafted 35th overall/2nd round in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and he played over 80 games with the both Anaheim and the Atlanta Thrashers (NHL). Mark spent five seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) and at 20 years of age, served as the youngest team captain in AHL history. He played three seasons in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), on SKA St. Petersburg and Medvescak Zagreb, three seasons in the Swiss National League A (NLA), and two seasons in the Austrian Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL). Mark was also invited to play on the Canadian National Men s Teams in 2004 and 2011 to play in the Spengler Cup, the world s oldest club tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. Throughout his career, Mark had the privilege of world-class instruction, training, and mentorship. In the developmental stages of his game, Mark s most influential coaches were Dr. Yasha Smushkin, Dan Cameron, Dan Poliziani, and his father, Lou Popovic. In Junior, his game was fostered by Mark Napier and Dave Cameron (OHL) and Stan Butler (Team Canada). As a pro, he played for both Bob Hartley and Mike Babcock. Mark trained with strength and conditioning experts John Davies, Joe DeFranco, and Larry Jurstanis, and received mental skills coaching from Saul Miller and Paul Henry.
Garnet Exelby Garnet Exelby is a retired Canadian professional hockey player with 14 years of experience in more than 800 professional games, including over 400 games in the NHL and 400 in the AHL. Garnet began his junior hockey career with one season in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League followed by three seasons in the WHL with the Saskatoon Blades and Regina Pats. He won the AHL s Calder Cup Championship as a member of the Chicago Wolves in 2002. He was named to the 2003 AHL All-Star game, and the first ever NHL Young-Stars game in 2004. He was honored with the inaugural Dan Snyder Memorial Award in 2004 for the player who best embodies perseverance, dedication, and hard work without reward or recognition, so that his team and teammates might succeed. Throughout his professional career, Garnet has trained with the best in elite athletic performance coaches including, Loren Landow and Ben Velazquez. He is currently the Sports Performance coach for the Arizona State Sun Devils NCAA D1 hockey program. Garnet brings a unique perspective to young hockey players since he has experienced playing in Major Junior hockey, and now is involved with the development of NCAA D1 hockey players into elite athletes. Garnet is a NSCA-CPT, CPR, and First-Aid certified and has attended many performance enhancing conferences including 2017 SCAPH (Strength and Conditioning Association of Professional Hockey).
LOCATION Littleton, Colorado GYM Live for It Fitness: 8081 S Broadway C, Littleton, CO 80122 ARENA The Ice Ranch: 841 Southpark Dr, Littleton, CO 80120 To see if you are a fit for this program Please contact Mark Popovic: p (303) 512-3113 e info@ignitehockeytraining.com w ignitehockeytraining.com