OFF-RINK TRAINING

Fitness, Skills, and Mental Development with Farm Tough Hockey

OFF-RINK TRAINING WITH FARM TOUGH HOCKEY

Farm Tough brings together 4 key areas of focus: Fitness, Skills, Mental and Nutrition. Our goal is to create Farm Tough kids, families, athletes, and communities.

The purpose of Off-Rink Training is to change the way you move and function off the rink in order to improve your performance on the rink. Learning to move more effectively and efficiently off the rink will lead to greater gains on the ice, other sports you play, and everyday life activities.

We create new patterns of strength and movement that enable you to dramatically improve your on-ice performance. We focus on: Foot work, Stride Work, Strength, Power, Explosiveness, Balance, Speed and Agility. We can breakdown your on-ice goals and target specific off-rink exercises to address those needs. Off-rink training will make a difference in your on-rink performance…GUARANTEED!

FITNESS

Our fitness philosophy is…Train to Move. Our goal is to train the body to move better and function better. We believe that incorporating different fitness components will allow you to continue to push yourself while staying fresh and challenged.

EVERYDAY

Everyday fitness is geared towards doing small things that make a big difference over time. It is making a commitment to YOURSELF, everyday. We realize that life is busy. Everyday fitness are things you can do in the AM or PM that over time contribute to consistency and better health. Don’t wait, start today. No excuses. One day at a time. Train to play better sports. Train to play more with your kids or grandkids. Train to be Farm Tough and handle anything life throws at you!

CORE

Core is the foundation of movement. It allows us to rotate, twist and turn. It supports our lower back and makes our foundation strong. It needs to be a focus of your fitness routine. Pull that belly button in towards your back, massage that spine and pay attention to your core during exercise and training.

SPEED

Speed is a huge component of fitness. It is a marker of athleticism. Some people are naturally fast. For others, it does not come as easy. Learning how to function and move more efficiently will increase your speed and quickness and help in whatever sport you play.

BALANCE

Sports are executed on uneven playing surfaces, be it a field, a court or a rink. Training your body to adjust and adapt to changing conditions can create a better foundation for movement. It is not about the weight. Changing the angle in which you train can challenge your body and mind and push you farther.

STRENGTH

Strength and power are important for both athletes and non-athletes. Doing resistance training will help push your body and mind to continue to evolve and not break down. You can create the body you want over time.

FLEXIBILITY

Flexible muscles function better and keep us more injury free over time. Think about flexibility in how you move, not just holding a stretch. Our goal is to create a body with a full range of movement. In addition, learning how to build supporting muscles in and around injuries or limited range of movement areas in order to allow the body to move better without breaking down.

“I am a personal trainer with 11 years of experience and a background in exercise physiology. I have to say that what you are doing over there is just awesome…I cannot say enough good things about you and your program.”

~ Dawn C

SKILLS

Improving your skills in any sport will increase your confidence. Playing a sport with confidence and belief in yourself is a recipe for success. Start with understanding your Strengths and Weaknesses. What are you good at? More importantly, where do you need to improve? Most people only practice the things they like to do, things they are good at. To get better quicker, pay attention to your weaknesses and practice, practice, practice!

SKATING

Skating is by far the most important hockey fundamental. Everything stems from your ability to move on your feet. You should feel as comfortable in your skates as you do in your tennis shoes. That means learning how to use your edges to balance and help you move effectively on the rink. What are your skating strengths? What can you do to improve them? There are many things you can do off-rink to help create new patterns of movement on the rink. Think in terms of strength/balance and speed/movement.

OFF/DEFENSE

How are your hockey habits? Do you do the right things on instinct or do you find yourself thinking too much? What if you could condition your mind and body to do the right things more often than not? It is our firm belief that training players and teams to play head’s up hockey will result in success at a much more rapid pace. It takes years to perfect a team system, but when you take care of the little things, they will turn into bigger things! Communication is the key. Get everyone on the same page and you will be ahead of the competition.

STICKHANDLING

The goal of stickhandling is to maintain puck possession and ultimately put the puck in your opponents net. Before you worry about mastering the toe drag, work on controlling the puck, moving it across your body and keeping it away from defenders! Effective first, over being fancy! Do not be afraid to mess up. Practice your moves and try them in practices and games. Make the magic happen.

GOALIES

Goalies have to be the hardest working and most disciplined players on a team. Often, coaches do not make the time or have the technical skills to give goalies the tools to improve their game. Learning what you can do at home and on the rink can give you the needed boost to sharpen your skills.

SHOOTING

Power or accuracy…which is more important? Which will help you score more goals? Both! Shooting, next to scrimmaging, is what all players like to do the most. But how is your flip shot in close? Can you get the puck up? How is your wrist shot or snap shot? Which is your “money” shot? Can you get your slapshot on net? Backhand? Let’s take a closer look at how to pack more punch the next time you have the puck and make every shot count!

COACHES

Coaches are the leaders of the team. Their role is to provide tools and direction on how to improve and empower young people to play better hockey. It is our belief that better informed coaches create a more positive experience for all hockey participants. Good coaching is not just about running drills. It is about learning how to recognize what players are doing wrong and correct mistakes in order to create positive long-term habits.

PASSING

Passing may be one of the most underrated skills in hockey, yet it is imperative to a team’s success. So how come it is something most players and teams do not work on nearly enough? Better yet, how do you learn how to “thread the needle” and place pucks out of defending opponents reach to create scoring opportunities?

MENTAL

FARM TOUGH MENTAL PROGRAM:

THE AWARENESS CYCLE – CREATING YOUR VISION

Often when we talk about training and improving our performance we think of improving skills and fitness. Attention to Mental and Nutrition, however, are equally important and can be the difference maker for athletes of equal skills or fitness.

How often has a coach or teacher ever worked on “mental conditioning?” How do you get mentally tough? Do you just have it or is it something that you can develop? The truth is that everyone is under more pressure to perform and excel at a younger age. The result is fear based training incentives, not wanting to “screw” up. Often players are so filled with nervousness and anxiety that they block the flow of creativity and ease of movement in their sport.

Where do you start? It all begins with awareness. You have to become aware of the things you think about and why you think about them. When you become aware of something it almost immediately improves. The next step is to take action. You have to change your behavior and habits to reinforce new, positive, long-term habits.

A comprehensive six-week program to become aware of who you are and how you think. Life is busy. Time is hard to come by. We start with the idea that there are two times of the day we can control the most. First thing in the morning upon waking and right before you go to bed. We will use the AM and PM times to help take you step by step through an approach and system that
focuses on creating better habits: mentally, physically, nutritionally, emotionally and socially.

In Farm-Tough’s Mental Program, players learn:

3-1-3 Relaxation Technique for better focus
The AM and PM stretches to train the body to move more efficiently
To create Mental Pictures to create your positive self-image
To do a S.W.O.T analysis in your sport or fitness as well as school or work
To set short and long term goals consistent with your S.W.O.T.
To identify mental obstructions that limit your potential
To create Power Thoughts, Power Animals & Establish your Power Focus
Techniques for dealing with parents, teachers, coaches, bosses, friends, and teammates
To take action on all of these areas to create long-term positive habits!

Check out our programs

Ice and Roller Hockey Programs