The most important aspect of pre-season testing for ice hockey is that your testing reinforces the training concepts you have set forth for your players.. The SAID principle demonstrates clearly that the body adapts to imposed or implied demands.
Therefore, it makes no sense to ask an athlete to interval train for the entire off-season and then administer a steady-state VO2 type test. In the same way we should not ask an athlete to strength train through the off-season and then administer an endurance test. If we want our athletes to interval train, we should use an interval test. If we want athletes to strength train, we should administer a strength test.
My early experiences in the 1990's with the Boston Bruins showed me that highly competitive athletes will train for the tests rather than follow the program. Players know that ultimately they are not being evaluated on program compliance, but rather on test results. The key to designing a successful and effective training program is to make program compliance produce the desired testing results.
Note: In addition, if testing is performed, strict attention must be paid to form and technique. Do not allow athletes to cheat, as this creates an additional layer of problems.
I believe it also essential that we test ice hockey players on ice.
I'm amazed ( and a bit embarrassed) that it took us nearly twenty years to develop some on-ice tests that make sense and, are easy to administer. My work since 2010 with our United States Women's National Team has really solidified this idea for me.
Think about this. Do you know who your fastest player is or, do you think you know? You only know if you have performed a straight-ahead speed test. In much the same way, a test like the VO2 test does not tell you who is in the best shape, it only provides a physiological profile. As my friend Paul Robbin's once said, “ a VO2 test is a test of what someone could do or might do”. A performance test is like a game. We put athletes on a line and we have them compete against each other not, against a machine.
We have developed three simple on-ice tests that are valid, reliable and easy to administer. We utilize the offensive zones and face-off circles as these are consistent distances in every ice rink ( I would still recommend measuring as we have found slight discrepancies in the goal line to blue distance).
Test 1- Goal line to Blue Line Sprint- think of this as the “hockey 40”. In fact it is a 60 foot or twenty yard test that can be used to measure speed. In the simplest sense, the person who travels goal to blue the fastest is the fastest. In a more complicated explanation we are actually measuring acceleration vs speed. Ice hockey is a game of repeated acceleration so this test is extremely predictive. Collegiate males ( Boston University sampling) will be below 3.0 on average with top times in the 2.7 range. For world class females ( US Women's National Team) fast is considered to be sub 3.0 with the fastest players in the high 2.7- 2.8 range. I do not have data on NHL males. (The offensive zone is supposed to be 60 ft long but, we recommend measuring as we have found some discrepancy. )
Test 2- On Ice Lateral Movement- our Women's National Team Coaches asked us to develop an on-ice agility/ lateral movement test that again could be valid and reliable. Kevin Neeld ( US Women's National Team Assistant Strength Coach) developed a hockey specific, on-ice version, of the popular 5-10-5 or Pro Agility test used at the NFL Combine. The test begins on the faceoff dot and is done R-L-R across the circle. The test incorporates both a right and left direction change and is extremely simple to perform. National level females will be sub 5.0 in this test. ( distance covered is 20 yds or 60ft). This test is again reliable as the circles are a consistent 30 feet across.
Test 3- On Ice Conditioning- Blue Line to Goal Line Shuttle- the Blue Line to Goal Line Shuttle Test was developed to test on-ice conditioning again in a simple, easy to administer manner. The offensive zone is again used as the distance is consistent. As hockey shifts tend to be less than a minute 7 repeats were selected. 7 repeats of Blue Line to Goal line results in scores in the 53- 58 second range for collegiate males and 55-60 second for world class females. (It is important to note that average shift length tends to be in the area of 50 seconds.) The distance covered is 280 yds or 840 ft per trial. Two trials are done 5 minutes apart with the score being the average of the two trials. The differential is also calculated. Differentials greater than 4 seconds indicate a conditioning issue even if the average score is acceptable. 2 repeats with 5 min rest were chosen based on data from the frequently used 300 Shuttle test done on land for numerous sports. Adding additional repeats or decreasing the rest time is not recommended. Collegiate males tend to average 54 -57 seconds, world class females will average under 60 seconds.
The Goal Line to Blue Line (x7) test is almost identical to the 300-yard shuttle. We developed this test to mimic what we did in our off-ice running programs, and the correlation from off-ice to on-ice has been perfect. At the collegiate level we like to administer this test in week three of our pre-season to allow some adaptation to skating. Professional teams could do this early in training camp, since players are expected to begin skating well in advance of camp.
Off Ice Testing
If we are going to perform off-ice testing, there are a few key areas of concern. The first revolves around lower body strength testing. Although I am a huge believer in lower body strength, I think coaches need to be careful when testing lower body strength due to the injury risk. Although I consider lower body strength the number one goal for an ice hockey player, I would urge caution in testing. I would particularly caution against conventional double leg tests like the front or back squat. Although we have done these in the past, the injury risk may outweigh the benefit, particularly at the elite level.
Recently we have tested both Rear Foot Elevated Splits Squats and One Leg Squats with our players for 5-10 RM's. If you aren't comfortable with even this, focus lower body testing on the vertical jump and the 10-yard dash.
The only way to improve vertical jump and 10 yd dash is to follow a well-designed lower-body strength program. Increases in vertical jump and improvements in speed will indirectly indicate compliance in lower-body training.
It is also important to track bodyweight and bodyfat percentage. Young players who are gaining muscle mass may not improve in speed and power, however if a player gains lean body mass and maintains vertical jump and speed, the net result is a gain in power as more mass is being moved at the same speed. This will not be as great a problem for older veteran male players or, most female players, as they will not tend to have large changes in lean body mass from year to year. For this reason a calculation like the Lewis Formula or Sayers Formula is recommended.
When testing older players, it is important to note that power is not decreasing. It is very common for older players to focus on aerobic fitness and see decreases in speed and power as they seek to stay “fit”. In order to not “lose a step,” the older player must work diligently to increase or at least maintain speed and power
Vertical Jump
This is the standard standing two-foot jump. Coaches can use a Vertec or the new jump pads such as the Just Jump. It is important to accurately measure reach on the Vertec and to monitor technique on the Just Jump. The Just Jump measures time in the air and converts time to distance. This can be influenced by jumping from the back of the mat and landing on the front, or by an exaggerated landing on the heels. The key to any of the jump mat systems is that the jump appears “normal.” The idea of normal is one you'll understand after observing athletes jump—there are no standards and no published norms for this.
10-Yard Dash—I strongly prefer electronic timers for 10-yard-dash timing, since an electronic timer eliminates the margin of error. Electronic timers yield slower times, but the times are far more reliable. Off-ice speed has been shown in numerous studies to correlate to on-ice speed. Hockey speed expert Jack Blatherwick has been preaching this since the early '80s.
Blatherwick, Jack, Overspeed Skill Training for Hockey, 2nd Edition, USA Hockey, 1994
We do not use electronic timers on ide as they are not as readily available and wires are easily cut. 10 yard dash is used as research has shown a higher increase in muscle strains at distances over 10 yards. Again, we are actually looking at acceleration vs. speed.
300-Yard Shuttle Run - Conditioning testing should be interval in nature and should test performance. Do not test physiology and assume physiology predicts fitness—performance predicts fitness. The 300-yard shuttle run is an excellent, valid and reliable test that will accurately measure fitness in a competitive environment. The athlete with the lowest average time is in the best shape… simple.
To perform the 300-yard shuttle test, athletes run 12x25 yards, rest five minutes and repeat—the score is the average of the two times. We also make note of the differential between the first and second time. This is important, as a fast athlete may be able to obtain a passing score, but have a large differential between the two times. My guideline is to consider differentials greater than five seconds a failed test.
Upper Body Pushing ( Angela Ruggiero with 135 x10)
Many coaches prefer pushups for upper body strength, but pushups actually test upper body endurance. As stated above, if you want athletes to develop strength for injury prevention, a test of strength must be administered. For this reason we use some version of the bench press. In the past we have used a one-rep max and I would still favor this with collegiate males. With most other athletes we will use a repetition-max test. My current choice is to ask the athlete to select a load perceived to be a five-rep max and go to failure. Maximums can easily be estimated from this data. The weight must be raised and lowered under control. No bouncing of the bar is allowed, and the hips must stay in contact with the bench. In addition, the elbows must extend at the end of every rep. It is critical that testing be done strictly if the testing is to have any validity.
To test a one-rep max, it is necessary to have an accurate estimate of the athlete's strength. Therefore, do not perform one-rep max tests with athletes you do not coach on a regular basis. To perform a one-rep max, the athlete does two or three warm-up sets with increasing loads. After the initial warm-up set of 5-10 repetitions, the athlete performs single repetitions. The first attempt in a one-rep max test should be done at a weight of which both the athlete and coach are confident. The key is for the bar to descend under control, touch the chest with no bounce and be pressed back to the starting position. This attempt then determines the load for the next attempt.
Upper Body Pulling ( Alex Carpenter w/ 45 x 7)
For upper body pulling, a pullup or chinup test is simple to administer. I have recently begun to favor chin-ups as they are more “shoulder friendly”. It is critical that the test is strictly administered and that no cheating is allowed. To avoid endurance testing we have put a simple system in place. Once an athlete can do 10 chinups they are required to test with a 25 lb plate on a dip belt. Once they are capable of 25 lbs. for 10, they move to 35 and eventually 45. Team USA members and 2015 and 2016 Patty Kazmier award winners Alex Carpenter and Kendall Coyne have both done at least 45 x5.
Bodyfat Percentage—Testing bodyfat is relatively simple, although two things are important to note. First, reliability is always an issue. In an ideal situation, the same person should function as the tester for all athletes. Second, do not use age adjustments for athletes. Athletes, particularly those in the professional ranks, do not age normally. Bodyfat calculation formulas assume we get fatter as we get older. As a result, the formula calculates additional bodyfat with age. Many professional athletes have much “younger” bodies. When an athlete moves to another age category, the same skinfolds yields a higher bodyfat percentage using the automated calculations. I test all my athletes as 18- to 25-year-olds regardless of age.
To test bodyfat, we use a Cramer Syndex. The Skyndex is an electronic caliper that takes a three-site measurement and immediately calculates a bodyfat percentage. This device has proven to be both valid and reliable provided it is calibrated as described in the manual.
Lower Body Testing
Rear-Foot-Elevated Split Squats
These are the base lower body strength test we currently use for our players. The first is commonly and incorrectly referred to as a Bulgarian lunge. It is important to note that the exercise did not originate in the Eastern block and is not a lunge. The rear-foot-elevated split squat develops the unilateral strength so necessary in skating, while also allowing the use of heavy loads. The ideal way to load is with dumbbells and kettlebells at the sides. Recently as loads have increased we have moved to the one-leg squat test below.
One-Leg Squats
Like the rear-foot-elevated split squat, a true one-leg squat is also a key exercise we use to develop lower body strength. The one-leg squat is a more advanced exercise and develops the strength of the hips in three planes. Our strongest athletes will routinely use over 225 pounds in a rear-foot-elevated split, but will rarely use over a hundred pounds in a one-leg squat. In the one-leg squat, unlike the pistol, which is done off the floor, these are normally done off a standard exercise bench or a 18” plyo box, load is most often obtained through a combination of a weight vest and dumbbells.