As the collegiate hockey season ends, I am sure many local Connecticut hockey players have taken special notice of Quinnipiac’s hockey present on the national level.  Unfortunately, they fell just short of the national championship; nonetheless, they should be a contender in the coming years on the same stage.

For those who have had a chance to see the changes QU has made to their hockey facilities over the past ten years, its obvious that the school wanted to develop a national level program from the ground up.  What many do not get to see is the countless hours of off the ice training that this team has put in.

Since 2008, Brijesh Patel has run the strength and conditioning for both men/women’s basketball and hockey programs. B is not only preparing his athletes for their current endeavors, but also building them to excel at the highest level of sport.

One aspect of training that seems misunderstood by many sport coaches is in-season training.  Here B highlights some of his in season with his men’s hockey team.  Coaches often look for their athletes to bust their butt in the off-season to build foundational strength and be ready for the on-field/ice rigors, but maintaining those power/strength/flexibility/mobility qualities takes hard work in-season.

My first goal as a strength and conditioning coach is to have my athletes healthy and be able to take the field.  My second goal is to increase performance on the field.  This means understanding how each training session plays a role in that week, month, and years cycle of development for each player.  Yes, training can leave you tired, sore, and mentally drained, but a good strength coach will know how to adjust variables to not leave them feeling or preforming poorly.  This is evident with a 2-month block where QU hockey didn’t lose a game.

Here at Moore in Southport, we aim for our athletes train in-season 1-3 times a week depending on their practice and game schedule.  Saturday we had 70% of our baseball clientele in training from youth, high school, to pro.  Each athlete has their own in-season program that is geared to keep them powerful, strong, and healthy.  Many of our athletes set personal records while their in-season due to hitting growth spurts and having just the right amount of stimulus to perform at their best.