Fast players make fast plays and fast plays are big plays. Let's make fast players.

Wow! Did you see that play last night?!

It’s a weekday morning and two NHL diehard fans are discussing the huge play made last night. It’s been months since Colorado won the Cup and they’re ready for more NHL action.

In locker rooms and offices that evening, players and coaches will be breaking down the same play. Players will be mimicking the pass, stickwork, and shot. Coaches will be questioning each other, “How do we get our players that fast? Did you see how he came down the wing and went wide on the D so easily? He’s just so fast!”

Coaches, it is right there in front of us. Fast players make fast plays and fast plays are big plays. 

Let’s make fast players.

As the world’s best are watched live and on TV this season, more and more coaches will want to know, “What would it look like if we tried to get our players that fast?”

Sprint Based Hockey

In Part 1 of the Sprint Based Hockey Article Series, Sprint Based Hockey was introduced as a system that gives coaches what they want but do not know how to develop – faster players. Article 1 broke down the science of speed development and ways to incorporate sprints, after warm ups, into already existing practice plans. 

To review, Sprint Based Hockey is a system that slightly modifies classic practice layouts to prioritize fast and fresh over slow and tired. It is best utilized by an organization that emphasizes short shifts and high intensity speeds during games.

To develop faster players:

• Treat speed as a skill
• Optimal window for sprints is at the start of practice, after a warm up
• Sprints last less than 6 seconds
• Rest to full or near full recovery after each sprint
• Use drills, small area games, or full ice live-go’s to condition for the game
• Never bag skate – ever

Now that some coaches drank the Kool-aid and want to develop faster players, we turn to what a week of Sprint Based Hockey may look like.

The Short to Long Approach

A term, or methodology really, to define before we get into a weekly template is the short to long approach. The short to long approach was first introduced to me by Canadian Sprint Coach Charlie Francis, who has several phenomenal books published on speed. I highly suggest them. 

Essentially, in the short to long approach you work shorter sprints to longer sprints. From a physiological perspective, shorter sprints are more muscle and force (strength) dominant than longer sprints, which are more central nervous system and velocity (speed) dominant.

Typically this approach is taken across a season or an off season, but may also be utilized in a weekly practice layout to further develop speed. As you view the Weekly Template, you will see the short to long approach on full display.

Sprint Based Hockey – 4 Day Weekly Template

This template is written for teams that play on weekends. However, it may be modified depending on practice and game schedules. For example, if you have a midweek game, just follow the ‘from game’ column for the recommended distance, rest, and repetitions. If you have a practice 2 days from a midweek game, follow the ‘Wednesday’ guidelines, because they are written for 2 days from a game.

Across a week of practices:

• Want to go shorter distances to longer distances
• Smaller area of the ice to larger area of the ice
• Less game like (small areas only), to more game like (all 200 feet)

Remember, a template is a general guide. If you only practice 2 days a week instead of 4, maybe one day is blue line to blue line and another day is goal line to red line. That works. It still has a short (acceleration) to long (top end speed) approach.

Video 1. Two days of college hockey speed and skill stations. Day 1, short sprints. Sprints are run by a coach. Day 3, long sprints. Sprints are performed by players, on their own. 

Video 2. College hockey speed development. Blue line to blue line and goal line to blue line sprints. Team is split into 4 groups, rest intervals controlled by coach. 

The exciting thing is, as a coach, you may already be implementing the short to long approach without even realizing. If you are, this sprint template will flow seamlessly into your current weekly practice template. Observe Table 2 below:

On Monday, Week 4, players will still be fatigued from the games played in Week 3. 

• Muscles recover quicker than the central nervous system
• When the central nervous system is fatigued, it is difficult to develop top end speed (goal line to far blue line)
• As the week goes on and the central nervous system recovers, great time to develop top end speed
• Practice on Monday, Week 4 should be more muscle dominant (short sprints) versus neurological dominant (long sprints)

How you may already be doing this as a coach is through your weekly practice template. Mondays and Tuesdays may have more small area games or battle drills. And later in the week, Wednesdays and Thursdays may have more full ice, live-go’s or drills, as well as five on five full ice scenarios. In other words, short (smaller areas of the ice) to long (larger areas or the entire ice).

As a weight room guy, I have been doing this for years. My Monday workouts are more strength based and my Wednesday workouts are more speed based. Or in other words, my week flows slower to faster. Less neurologically demanding (strength work such as bench press and deadlifts) to more neurologically demanding (speed work such as plyos and sprints). I want to ramp players up towards the games on the weekend.

At this point, a hockey coach may be thinking, “This is great, I’m all in. But what about starting straight forward, in a glide, or having to turn and sprint? What about crossovers and backward skating?” Great questions.

Incorporating Start Variations

In my opinion, most sprints should start with a crossover start. Again, my opinion. Crossover, forward sprint starts will create the highest speeds and therefore the most effect on the neuromuscular (brain body) and phosphocreatine systems (explosive burst energy). It is very important for speed development to not stray too far from this scientific principle of hitting the highest speeds possible. In order to get fast, players must skate fast.

Video 3. Crossover starts in the 2022 NHL Fastest Skater Competition. While every skater did not start with a crossover start, my opinion stands. Starts recorded at 75% and 25% speeds. (blur is applied to some videos in attempt to not have it flagged)

However, starting facing forward such as in a V-diamond will develop the toes, feet, and hips in a way a crossover cannot. Starting on the knees or stomach may help teach not only speed to get up, but how to drive and push with a lower body angle. 

This is the art and science of speed and coaching. And especially depending on the level you coach, different starting positions may enhance on ice skill and game specificity or simply make it more fun and challenging. After all, staleness and boredom are detrimental to enhancing performance. 

Here are several variations to start a sprint. This list is in no way exhaustive and remember, I am the weight room guy. Be a coach, be creative, or consult a skating coach and get their opinions. Perhaps as the season progresses the start becomes more game specific, because the basics and technique have been mastered. 

• Crossover start
• Forward facing start
• Backward facing start
• On knees start
• On stomach start
• Backward on knees start
• Backward on stomach start
• Half kneeling (on one knee) start
• First make a pass to a coach or teammate, then sprint

Video 4. Sample sprint start variations.

Incorporating Crossovers and Backwards Skating

The below tables are templates showing how coaches may incorporate crossovers and backwards skating into their weekly plans. Notice, straight forward skating still has a priority, as the highest speeds will be reached and therefore have the largest effect on the neuromuscular and phosphocreatine systems. High speeds are non negotiable for speed development. 

Video 5. Sample of backwards skating sprints and crossover (circle) sprints. Notice in the crossover sprints, 2 athletes may ‘chase each other.’ The crossover sprints were performed for 6 seconds. 

Addressing Skating Skill and Technique

Skating with maximal intent (a sprint that lasts less than 6 seconds) is non negotiable for a player’s speed development. The neuromuscular coordination developed in a maximal intent sprint is near impossible to mimic with anything else. 

With that being said, if a player has very poor skating mechanics, they may need to slow down to get fast. If they lack skating skill and technique while skating slowly, chances are they will lack them while skating fast. This is where coaches must coach and implement quality power skating.

I am a huge fan of quality skating coaches for a hockey player or team. 

Some suggestions would be:

• Hire out a Power Skating Coach if you feel unqualified
• Power skating should be incorporated near the beginning of practices, just like speed development
• First few weeks could have heavy power skating emphasis, tapered off with more sprint focus
• One day a week has power skating focus
• Incorporate into skill development stations, perhaps a drill performed after a shooting or passing drill, instead of waiting on a line
• Create a daily practice warm up, which incorporates power skating, which precedes sprints

Sprint Based Hockey Weekly Template

The Sprint Based Hockey Weekly Template, along with its potential variations and progressions, is the perfect system for coaches looking to add sprints to their practice plans. It utilizes the short to long approach and other scientific and physiological principles of the body that many coaches are already incorporating.

Hockey Coaches, remember that a template is a general guide. It is more of a menu for you to pick and choose from than a rigid structure. Use your coaching intuition, based off of your team, to make decisions on what to do and when. 

In conclusion, if you want fast players, but do not know how to incorporate sprints throughout a week of practice, the Sprint Based Hockey Weekly Template is the answer.

• Treat speed as a skill – must be worked on
• Incorporate sprints at the start of practice
• Sprints may be performed at a dedicated station during skill work, as a team switches drill to drill (versus classic 2 laps), or as a stand alone time after a warm up
• Follow the short to long approach throughout a week to maximize speed development

To learn more about Chris’ principles behind Sprint Based Hockey, you may reach him at coachchriskerr@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @coachchriskerr.