I was looking through the online store - with some quite nice deals I should add - and I was wondering which products would be best for hockey players, and which one(s) I should start with to begin.
Thank you. 
I have done pretty in depth reviews of all the products in the Reviews and Recommendatins section:
http://www.charliefrancis.com/community/forumdisplay.php?f=23
I know CF has worked with some great hockey players but not knowing the sport i couldn’t tell you what modifications he makes apart from that there is a lot of short work and then a fair amount of tempo.
Someone else who lives in a country where hockey is played (i assume ice hockey) might be able to help.
Cheers,
TC
Most people think that you have to adapt a whole new form of training for certain sports when there is really no need to. Sprint training is applicable to almost all sports and it should be thought of as a general means of improvement. With sprint training, you are teaching your body to produce the most amount of force as quickly as possible. This coupled with the general endurance aspects of tempo, leaves you above and beyond any training system designed specifically for certain a certain sport.
Although specific sport activities have to be brought into training, such as shooting, passing, puckhandling… it would be best to follow Charlie Francis material to get the best knowledge on how to train. Check the store for DVD’s and E-books.
So as far as my skating speed goes, would I be a better skater with better sprint form, a better start, and better mechanics? I’m just curious how much of sprinting can be applied to skating. I realize there is a coralation as I have been doing some sprint training all fall. 
Read anything by Peter Twist…he was the conditioning coach in Vancouver and is training is unreal.
Be nice Clemson 
He might actually take you seriously :eek:
Hey - Clemson is right. Twist’s stuff is unreal. He makes it up - from nothing.
One guy told me that Twist would go for hikes in the mountains and take a tape recorder with him to record new great ideas that would come to him in the fresh mountain air. Isn’t the air thinner in the mountains? Hmmmm…
I thought good ideas came from working with athletes day-to-day over the years. And possibly speaking to proven coaches with actual results. Not hiking.
But on a serious note - Joe Horrigan and Doc Kreis put together a hockey training book, and also mentioned Charlie’s influence. I think it’s called, “Strength and Conditioning and Injury Prevention for Hockey” - McGraw Hill is the publisher.
Rocky Mountain High.
Yes you would be a better skater with better sprinting form. There are so many factors at work though that it would be tough to explain.
-With greater core strength you could hold a better skating position for longer with less fatigue.
-Tempo will improve your work capacity and endurance. Which will help when your skating form breaks down because of fatigue.
Overall you will see huge improvments in hockey with sprint training.
Thank you so much, that gets me excited. I think I’ll be ordering the e-book three pack tomorrow.
No problem. It’s interesting how much of an improvement it makes. I used to get off the ice and my legs would be burning from lactic acid build-up and I thought I was gonna die. Now, it feels like I’m not even trying out there. I could stay on the ice for a 5 minute shift and I would be fine.
The most useful items on this site in my opinion are the “Training for speed” ebook and the GPP dvd. The GPP dvd is very informative and it helped me alot when I started this type of training.
You guys made my day with the Twist comments… Funny shiiiiot!
my 2 cents for what it’s worth- the Horrigan/ Kreis book is excellent. It’s worth having in your library. The GPP Essentials is a must have. I’ve found that the tempo days have a great benefit in the running mechanics, which in turn has helped my players skating- they’re just smoother on the ice. It’s a giant cycle- running mechanics get better, speed and acceleration training become more efficient and ultimately speed on the ice is improved. I had a goalie do the training as well, with some adjustments for lateral quickness and he reported feeling in mid-season game shape during the prospects tournament before training camp. And all these players have maintained conditioning and speed throughout the season. Just think of all the players still training on the bike all summer that you’ll be blowing by after a summer of proper training.