Fitness Fitness Basics

Acceleration Training

Summary & Participants

Young athletes can train like pros by going through acceleration training.

Medically Reviewed On: October 01, 2007

Webcast Transcript

JACK, ACCELERATION TRAINING STUDENT: I’d hope to go pretty far, maybe even play college. But of course I’d like a shot at the NHL.

ANNOUNCER: When it comes to hockey, Jack is dreaming big. But he’s also training hard.

JACK, ACCELERATION TRAINING STUDENT: When you go up on the treadmill and you go on like 16 miles and hour, 17 miles an hour, when you’re on elevation, and it feels great knowing that you can actually do it.

SHANE PALAHICKY, HOCKEY PROGRAM COORDINATOR: What we’re trying to do, is increase their stride length and increase their stride frequency. When you do an incline training, you actually have to increase your stride length or you’re going to fall on your face.

ANNOUNCER: Jack is one of a growing number of kids who hope to get an edge in their sport by training like pros. Programs like this give them that chance.

SHANE PALAHICKY, HOCKEY PROGRAM COORDINATOR: Acceleration training is small group training that specifically works with individual athletes’ sports. Everyone, everyone gets tired, and everyone breaks down eventually. And what we’re trying to do here is if you break down after 35 seconds but everyone else on the ice or on the field breaks down after 30, who’s going to be better off?

ANNOUNCER: Of course, a young athlete needs to be old enough to handle the discipline.

SHANE PALAHICKY, HOCKEY PROGRAM COORDINATOR: Twelve is our cutoff. It’s a mental thing. We want to make sure that they are mentally ready to, you know, go through the training.

ANNOUNCER: While the training is tough, coaches say safety is key.

SHANE PALAHICKY, HOCKEY PROGRAM COORDINATOR: An injured athlete’s not going to help us. It’s not going to get him better. He’s not going to be able to improve, so we want to make sure that everyone’s safe.

ANNOUNCER: For these kids, it’s all about getting a leg up in the game.

JONATHAN, ACCELERATION TRAINING STUDENT: I think I’m a better overall athlete. I think my team’s going to do well. I think I’m going to do well, and I’m excited to get started.

JACK, ACCELERATION TRAINING STUDENT: I feel a lot more confident now. I’m going into another level of age group, so it’s going to be a lot more physical. I think that being a better player will help me on the ice, for the confidence-wise.

ANNOUNCER: Thanks for joining us on today’s Once Daily.