The Lucan Fitness Alliance

LFA and GRIT run off-season training programs and in-season maintenance programs for hockey players of all ages. We run these programs for individuals, small groups, and teams in our Lucan and London training facilities. We also offer self-directed programs for players who are confident in the gym and want the convenience of training on their own with an intelligently designed strength and conditioning. We also offer weekly skates that include strength and conditioning in the sessions.

Programs are for athletes from the ages of 9-19, and every program we design is tailored to the age and ability of those within the session.

Our training principles for young players are:

Move Better: increasing range of motion to improve stride length, on-ice mobility, and injury prevention should be the #1 priority for younger players. Optimal movement is essential for building the traits we want to see as players grow.

Increase Stability: As range improves, we must teach young players to stabilize themselves in challenging positions. If you can’t be stable in deep ranges in the weight room, you can’t be stable in dynamic positions and while battling on the ice.

Create a Strength Base: Once players can become stable in various ranges, we can begin to get them as strong as possible in those athletic positions.

Introduce Power: as young players get stronger, we can increase the speed at which they express strength (power). This step is often the focus of dryland training too early which is why power exercise in the weight room rarely translates to faster skating on the ice.

Improve Strength and Power Endurance: as athletes progress and become more powerful, we can now focus on increasing the pace and endurance so they can hold and express their power for full shifts on the ice and become dominant athletes.

Training without a process and understanding of how young player’s bodies work is inefficient and doesn’t serve the athlete. Our programs are thoughtful, science based, and created by one of the most experienced sports performance coaches in the industry.

Training programs are designed by Tommy Caldwell, founder of the LFA, Hybrid Sports Training, and GRIT HockeyTommy has worked directly with hundreds of professional players and thousands of young athletes. He has mentored players from the NHL, OHL, NCAA, Team Canada Hockey, and World Junior players from Canada, USA, Germany and Russia. Tommy also worked as a performance consultant for the London Knights (2009-2011), Soo Greyhounds (2010-2011), and Toronto Marlies between (2010-2011). His facilities have provided team development to the Junior Knights and Middlesex Chiefs (now Canucks) AAA programs. Tommy specialized in taking players who weren’t in the top of their leagues and giving them the tools and ethic necessary to make an impact and get an opportunity to play at the next level.

Age Group Focus

We keep our training groups small enough that each player receives an individualized approach to his or her off-season training, but there are some general themes, needs, and limitations of each growing stage.

9-11: The core focus of this group is on coordination, range of motion, speed/shiftiness, and fun. We perform less “structured” training and more game like training to keep the kids engaged. Young athletes will come out of this program with a better understanding of movement and greater control of their body on the ice- especially faster stops, starts, hard turns, and other changes of direction where children usually struggle.

12-14: Into the teen years we can begin introducing plyometrics, higher intensity strength training, and a more structure strength and conditioning program. Players in this age group can expect increased strength, power, quickness, and confidence.

16+: This is the age when we can begin to (sensibly) test the training limits of our athletes in the off-season by increasing training volume and intensity with fully structured and periodized programming. Players in this group can expect well rounded improvements that translate into various aspects of their on-ice performance, especially in contact situations, hard changes of direction, breakout speed, and resilience to injury.

FAQ

Is my child too young to start dryland training? Children under the age of 12 should not have a strength and power focus that uses heavy weights or explosive movements, but range of motion, speed, and coordination can all be developed around 9 to 10 years of age. In fact, some research shows that the more a child develops these traits before puberty, the greater their capacity to develop in these areas as a teenager. For children under the age of 13, we recommend no more than 2-3 days per week of speed, agility, coordination, and injury prevention programming- or no more than 2 if your child is highly active in other summer sports. As young athletes get into the early teen years, they can begin to take on more load and intensity, and once an athlete begins puberty, training intensity can be maximized. In order to understand the necessity of introducing young athletes to formal training by age 11, read this article on Peak Height Velocity.

Do you offer dryland training for female athletes as well? Of course! Resistance training in young female athletes is particularly critical for success in athletics. In fact, due to earlier maturation and earlier onset of PHV (see article above), female athletes can (and should) begin formally training earlier than their male counterparts.

Does my child need nutritional guidance? The more we can introduce our children to strong nutritional values and choice-making, the better they will perform, recover, sleep, and behave! When athletes are young, we don’t make nutrition prescriptive or restrictive- we suggest and educate. As our young athletes get older and more serious, we can begin to get more specific with their nutritional needs as athletes. We don’t recommend formal nutritional guidance until the athlete is old enough to ask for it themselves, but we’re happy to give parents basic guidance and recommendations they can pass onto their kids and implement into the household.

Click the button or text us at 226-289-5777

Personal Training and Junior/Pro Development

We also offer 1 on 1 training for athletes who are looking to level up as well as higher level programs for players in Junior and Pro streams. Athlete’s outside of London, Lucan and surrounding area can also follow self-directed programs at any training facility. All self-led programs are delivered via our simple smartphone app. If you’re interested in Personal Training, Pro Training, or Self-Led Custom Programs, indicate your interest in the form.