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Inaugural TRIA Training Camp a Success

By Minnesota Hockey, 08/14/18, 10:45AM CDT

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Nearly 400 of the top 14 and 15-year-old hockey players in Minnesota gathered in St. Paul for the inaugural TRIA Training Camp at TRIA Rink. The event, which included teams at the Girls 14U, Youth 14U and 15 levels, was designed to kick off the 2018 CCM High Performance Tier I League season by immersing the participants in an environment focused on development on- and off-the-ice.

The TRIA Training Camp provided participants with a holistic view towards ice hockey training, complete with on-ice skill sessions, hockey sense training, injury prevention sessions with TRIA experts and scrimmages.

Training Camp Highlights

The on-ice skill sessions were led by USA Hockey ADM Managers Guy Gosselin and Emily West, Minnesota Hockey Player Development Coordinator Wes Bolin and Girls 14U/15 Development Director Jamie Plesha.

“We really focused on skill development, age appropriate training and some hockey IQ stuff,” said Gosselin. “Basically, concepts and habits that these kids need in order to excel in the game.”

Body contact was one of the focal points in all of the practices. The coaches utilized small area stations to shrink the ice, maximize repetitions and increase instruction on the concept while also keeping four goaltenders continuously involved and incorporating battle components to keep the players’ intensity and engagement at a high level.

“I feel like angling is a huge deficiency in both boys and girls hockey right now,” said West. “Especially with our female athletes, with us not having checking in our game, it almost becomes a crutch in a way. There are a lot of skills that fall under body contact that I think a lot people assume is checking. Angling, stick positioning, physical awareness, rink awareness, receiving proper body contact; I think all of that can fall in line with female hockey.”

The players were also exposed to IMPACT testing, which provides a baseline screening for concussions, and a Hockey Injury Prevention and Performance (H.I.P.P.) program by athletic trainers from TRIA. The two sessions were designed to instill the importance of maintaining good health to athletic performance and to educate players on how to take care of their bodies.

“There are some things you really can’t prevent like a broken wrist from getting jammed into the boards or taking a puck somewhere,” said Josh Brodersen, who serves as an athletic trainer for TRIA and is the head trainer for St. Louis Park High School.  “What we’re really focusing on is the long-term duration of the athlete. We’re hoping we can incorporate some routines really early to prevent injuries like stress fractures in the low back, chronic hip injuries like labral issues and other injuries that occur over time.”

“If we can insert some good habits that can combat those injuries, that’s what we’re trying to put in place for a lot of these athletes.”

The H.I.P.P. training during training camp focused on the foundational exercises necessary to develop those good habits Brodersen referred to. Players were walked through a series of exercises to utilize for pre-game and pre-practice warm ups, develop strength and stability and provided with movements to aid in recovery and cool down.

“If you want to perform, you need to take care of your body,” said Gosselin. “Now is the point where these kids start to take control of their own destiny. It’s up to them and it needs to come from within.”

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