The majority of adults who set a new year’s resolution probably said that they were going to exercise more in 2009. Even though most hockey players don’t have a problem with not exercising enough, they still need to set off-ice training goals for the second half of the season if they want to take their game to the next level.

You might already be on the ice almost every day of the week and may think that you don’t need to get any more exercise to be fit for hockey.

Wrong.

Off-ice training will dramatically increase your on-ice performance, even when you start it half-way through the season.

Unlike what happens on the ice, you usually have complete control over what you choose to do (or not do) off the ice. Ten years ago, girls hockey players who trained off the ice were hard to find. Now it is a necessity if you want to get to that next level.

Setting your goals for off-ice training for the next 12 weeks are just as important as the on-ice performance and nutrition goals that you may have already set for yourself. In fact, they can have an even more dramatic effect than you might think, since most girls hockey players don’t do any off-ice training during the in-season. You can set yourself apart from your competition simply by dedicating yourself to working out off the ice in the second half of the year.

So what will your workout goals be for the second half of the season?

- To be able to hold a perfect front plank position for 2 minutes?
- To be able to do 20 perfect push-ups?
- To do your first chin-up?

If you set your weekly goals properly, you should be able to achieve any of these BIG goals in the next 12 weeks. You aren’t just wake up one morning and be able to rattle off 5 chin-ups.

You are going to have to work for it.

Set a deadline for when you are going to achieve your workout goal and then put together your action plan to get there.

That might mean that you shoot for doing 5 perfect push-ups this week.

And then 10 in 2 weeks.

And then 15 in 4 weeks.

I guarantee you that getting stronger, faster and fitter off the ice will move you closer to any of the BIG goals you have set for yourself on the ice.

Set them and then work hard to achieve them.

What is your off-ice training goal for the next 12 weeks?

Work Hard. Dream BIG.

~ Coach Kim

Originally published on Total Female Hockey Club.

I recently spent three days snowshoeing in the middle of nowhere with my best friend in the whole wide world. We have known each other since we were 5 years old and were teammates for almost 15 years. We always pushed and inspired each other to be the best we could be on and off the ice. Neither of us play elite women’s hockey any more, but our desire and drive to be the best hasn’t changed one bit.

Many girls hockey players learn all about the importance of hard work on the rink, but it transfers over to absolutely everything else we do in life.

It was my focus and determination to be the best female hockey player possible that helped me to go from a non-skating 13 year old to a Division 1 player in five years.

It was my tireless work ethic and positive attitude that allowed me to go from being buried on the fourth line to skating on the first line in three years at Dartmouth.

Now that I have stepped away from that high-level of hockey, I am using all those attributes I learned on the ice to help me to reach my goals on my bike and in my business.

2008 has been a year of “firsts” for me:

=> I finished my first season of mountain bike racing by winning a title, breaking my bike and sustaining only a minor concussion. What can I say, I ride my bike like I used to play hockey - with reckless abandon and a huge smile on my face.

=> I started Total Female Hockey and feel completely blessed to be in a position where I can help aspiring players move closer to their dreams.

2008 was amazing and my 2009 is going to be unbelievable.

In fact, it is going to be the best year of my life.

Because I have decided that I am going to make it happen.

I have set my sights high and I have a plan of how I am going to get there.

Do you?

The “secrets” to success are simple:

=> Know what you want.
=> Plan how you are going to get there.
=> Believe that it is possible.
=> Work Hard and Dream BIG.

Looking forward to a great 2009.

~ Coach Kim

Originally published on Total Female Hockey Club.

Mmmmm…chocolate milk. I drank way too much of the stuff when I was a kid - always trying to pass it off that I was really drinking “milk”. Deep down inside, I knew it probably wasn’t what the commercials had in mind when they said, “Milk - It Does A Body Good”.

But…As it turns out, chocolate milk does do a body good. Scientific research has shown that chocolate milk is one of the best recovery drinks for athletes to have after they finish a tough workout or game.

1% chocolate milk has the perfect blend of:

–> Simple sugars (carbohydrates) from the chocolate that will get absorbed by the body quickly in order to immediately replenish lost energy stores

–> Protein from the milk that will help the muscles recover from the wear and tear of the on-ice (or off-ice) session.

Athletes ideally need a carbohydrates-to-protein ratio of 3-to-1 or 4-to-1 after exercise. Chocolate milk has that ratio; unflavored milk doesn’t. It turns out that I was on to something when I was a kid - except that I drank it by the jug and definitely did not restrict my consumption for after practices and games.

Chocolate milk just might be the perfect hockey recovery drink. It tastes great and helps players to recover faster.

Sounds pretty perfect to me.

Until next time,
~Coach Kim

Originally published on Total Female Hockey Club.

It comes as no surprise that there are several high quality books out this year on the Montreal Canadiens. Hockey's greatest team is celebrating it's centennial, after all, and authors, publishers and book sellers are playing a big role in giving fans a taste of Montreal history to take home with them.

There are four main titles for you to consider, plus a DVD:

Habs Heroes: The Definitive List of the 100 Greatest Canadiens Ever
Ken Campbell/The Hockey News
THN senior writer Ken Campbell polled a panel of experts to come up with a definitve 1-through-100 ranking of the top Montreal Canadiens players of all time. Campbell then goes about writing brief biographies for this action packed book. There's plenty of colour photography to compliment the great writing. Published by The Hockey News/Transcontinental Books.

Honoured Canadiens
Andrew Podnieks
When the Montreal Canadiens and the Hockey Hall of Fame got together to work on this joint project, they instantly sought the services of hockey super author Andrew Podnieks. With Podnieks' great research and writing abilities, and the Hall's amazing and exclusive photography, this book looks at each of the 54 Montreal Canadiens players, coaches and builders who have been enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. The design and layout are spectacular, with the imagery unmatchable. And Podnieks does a good job of covering each enshrinee with great detail. The only thing more noticeable than the striking cover is the shrink wrap around it that prevents you from peeking inside. Publisher HB Fenn authorized a sneak peek inside here at HockeyBookReviews.com

The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory
D'Arcy Jenish
This book appears to be the early popular favorite, appearing on the Globe And Mail's best seller list earlier this season, one of only two hockey books to do so this fall. Jenish retraces Montreal's long history through the words of Montreal's sports writers over the years. He must have spent countless hours researching and compiling this work, but it pays off big time. He offers a unique, thorough, and honest history of the Canadiens, warts and all. It is not a history written through nostalgia-coloured glasses like every other Habs history title.

Patrick Roy: Winning, Nothing Else
Michel Roy
This Patrick Roy biography, written by his father Michel Roy, is the English release of the 2007 French mega hit Le Guerrier. Roy remains in the news despite retiring from NHL competition, so this book will be of great interest to many fans, and not just Montreal fans. The book is a little long-winded, but you get an honest look into one of hockey's leading personalities. Roy was at times mysterious and at other times down right controversial. This book looks into it all.

So which is the best?

1. The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory by D'Arcy Jenish
2. Honoured Canadiens by Andrew Podnieks
3. Habs Heroes by Ken Campbell/The Hockey News
4. Patrick Roy: Winning, Nothing Else by Michel Roy

There is another book coming in January 15th, 2009. Wiley is reproducing the classic Lions in Winter by Chrys Goyens and Alan Turowetz. It's actually the third edition of this blast from the past.

Oh yes, about that DVD. It's called Montreal Canadiens Greatest Games. Here's the disk lineup:

1. 2/19/08 vs. Rangers (Habs come back from 5-0 down)
2. 11/23/03 vs. Oilers (Heritage Classic)
3. 3/11/96 vs. Stars (Last game at the Forum)
4. 6/9/93 vs. Kings (Habs win 23rd and last Stanley Cup)
5. 5/24/86 vs. Flames (Habs win 22nd Cup)
6. 4/20/84 vs. Nordiques (Adams Division Final, Game 6)
7. 5/10/79 vs. Bruins (Too many men on the ice. Semi-final Game 7)
8. 5/14/77 vs. Bruins (Habs win 2nd of Four Cups in a row)
9. 12/31/75 vs. Red Army (Tretiek puts on a show vs Habs on New Year's Eve)
10. 4/14/60 vs. Maple Leafs (Habs win 5th consecutive Stanley Cup)

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Originally published on HockeyBookReviews.com

As we all know goalies used to play every game without a mask. That all changed by the 1970s as the new generation of goalies all donned facial protection. They wouldn’t even think of stopping pucks without their mask.

So that makes one particular incident in the playoffs of 1971 very interesting. A line brawl broke out in game two of the series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers. A long delay ensued because one of the Rangers forwards, Vic Hadfield, threw Toronto goalie Bernie Parent’s mask into the crowd of Madison Square Gardens.

New York fans are renowned for their antics, so you knew right away they were not going to give the mask back to the opposition’s goaltender. Toronto executive King Clancy, still as fiesty as he was when he played the game decades earlier, stormed into the hostile crowd after the mask. This got the police involved on the search but that mask was never to be seen again.

In those days it was too expensive to create and carry spare masks. With the game already out of hand, Parent took to the bench and let back up goalie Jacques Plante finish the game.

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