Phoenix girls hockey doesn’t have enough resources to be as competitive and successful as other high school girls hockey teams, or to the boys teams. The most successful athletic teams tend to have well-supported athletes with good training and facilities. Despite the fact that the girl’s hockey team is built up of multiple different schools that are not close in distance to each other, causing it to be very hard to have these things; still, the hockey team should still be able to put together some more training sessions.
It is proven that working out with strength training improves athletic endurance and performance by coaches all across the nation. In an article on Minnesota Hockey, “Former Minnesota Duluth Bulldog and Blaine High School standout Dan Jablonic said, ‘They have to learn their bodies and they have to have that progression as they move up from the younger ages to the older ages. They not only have to get stronger and more agile but they have to be better athletes, and that all comes with a concerted plan of off-ice and dryland training.’
The girl’s hockey team currently does not participate in any dryland training. This means that they practice on ice but they do not do any off-ice training together.
If the hockey team had even just a couple of ice sessions, the team would improve greatly in competitiveness and overall success.
Many coaches and players who know and play the game well know how important safety is to be able to have a fun and competitive season. With dryland training, athletes are able to work on these checking-like drills in a safe way to then be able to take it to the ice. As Jablonic explained, checking and body contact drills aren’t even close to the endless number of benefits that come from dryland training. ACL tears, knee injuries, and hip injuries are all part of the game but can be prevented with the proper training.
The Pheonix currently is still struggling with working out all of the complications with having such a big co-op team, but desperately needs to change the resources available in order for them to have a successful season.
