Development of Ice Hockey Strength and Conditioning Coaching During the First Season in the Field

This diary based thesis attempts to present the author’s first season as a strength and conditioning coach in the sport of ice hockey. It aims to highlight professional development of a strength and conditioning coach with relatively low levels of experience in strength and conditioning coaching, particularly within the sport of ice hockey. The season presented in the thesis takes place after the compulsory internship year required to complete the degree program at Haaga-Helia. During the internship many areas of the coaching process were heavily influenced by the senior coaching staff in the organization; this resulted in majority of coaching decisions, long and short term planning elements were taken care of by others and not the author. This was done as a way to educate the author without giving too much responsibility and to avoid costly mistakes. The observations featured in this thesis therefore, should be viewed as the author’s first season working professionally as a strength and conditioning coach. The author was responsible for the strength and conditioning programming for under 16 SM and under 15 AAA teams in the junior Tappara organization. The main responsibilities for the season were running the gym based strength and conditioning practice sessions, short term planning and to enhance the long term annual planning to fit the strength and conditioning training. Within that is the responsibility to educate the players on how to correctly perform exercises, monitor their strength levels and encourage them to become better athletes. The thesis follows 12 weeks of the season with 3-4 diary entries per week (depending on the weekly schedule). The daily reports are set up to follow working tasks and objectives for each day and will be analysed in a weekly reflection. The desired outcome is a clear development of professional practice and coaching effectiveness, supported by the theoretical framework. The author does not expect to become a perfect strength and conditioning coach by the end of the thesis but hopes to see noticeable growth in the areas identified through analysis of current coaching competency. The project is a diary of the author’s actions, reflections and development as a coach for Tappara RY Under 16 SM and Under 15 AAA teams. The author tries to remain honest and present a realistic picture of the process throughout the season. This means there may be inconsistencies in the actions and thoughts of the author. These should be considered as a reflection of the dynamic nature of coaching, especially junior athletes, and of the process of self development