Our Guide to Playing Better Hockey
Nutrition - Probably the single most important thing you can do for yourself is eat the right balance of nutritional foods. This is not to say you should be on a never ending diet, you don't have to be on a diet to watch what you eat. Eat a balanced variety of foods. You don't have to cut out all fat from your meals, a bit of fat is good for you, but don't overdo it. In Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook you are given guidelines to follow to be at your best using nutritional foods. It also includes 131 recipes for improved performance.
Flexibility - Every hockey player can improve their performance by improving their flexibility, and especially goalies! At the very least, you should do several warm-up stretches before and after a game to prevent injuries and sore muscles. Yoga is a perfect way to not only increase your flexibility, but also strengthen and tone your muscles, and it's a great way to relieve stress. Pick up The Complete Guide to Joseph H. Pilates' Technique of Physical Conditioning for a guide to obtaining and maintaining flexibility, strength, and toned muscles.
Strength - Increasing your strength will allow your muscles to be more explosive on the ice, you'll skate faster, move across the net quicker, and play better defensively since you'll be able to muscle your way out of, and into, situations. Complete Conditioning for Ice Hockey is a wonderful resource!
Agility - Some players seem to zip all over the ice with out any effort, almost looking graceful as they flow in and out of other players before taking a shot. Becoming more agile will help you be that player! You can move your feet faster, balance better (fall less), and stickhandle easier. Of course, it goes without saying that a goalie needs to be extremely agile -- how else would they pop up and down repeatedly for save after save? I bought Training for Speed, Agility, and Quickness and after just a few weeks of some of the agility exercises in the book, I felt like SpiderMan in the net. Needless to say, I highly recommend it!
Mental game - It's very important to be on top of your game mentally as well as physically. Being mentally prepared for a game, and mentally prepared to deal with pressures during a game, will ensure that you're focused on the task at hand and able to perform better. There isn't one specific method for everyone that will prepare you mentally for a game, each person is different, you need to find what's best for you. One thing that I've found that really works for me is visualizing. I close my eyes and spend some time (usually about 5 minutes, more if time allows) before a game visualizing what the game will be like. Since I'm a goalie, I visualize different scenarios possible, different types of shots, and I see myself making the save to stop those shots. I usually play better when I make the time to do this, and I think it's because I'm mentally prepared for many different situations, I'm ready for it already, so when it happens it's almost like I'm expecting it!
Other Sports - During the off-season, mix in another sport into your schedule. Participating in another sport or activity at least three times a week, along with maintaining your flexibility and strength, will help preserve your condition when the new season arrives and "real" training begins. Athletes who participate in more than one sport are typically better in their "specialty" sport than those who exclusively train in one sport.