ITR 26ers AAA Hockey

 Elite Power/Speed/Agility Skating*
(South) featuring Matti Uusivirta 

• April 26 - July 6: (week sessions schedule based on participants) 
• 60 hrs of ice, 20 hrs of dryland
• Up to Four Sessions Available to obtain 60/20 hrs
• low instructor ratio (1:3 to 1:6)
• Matti, also known as Masa, is a renown Speed & Strength Skating coach from Finland
• Not available as a Pick Camp, but includes other training package discounts and camps based on the number of weeks purchased. Ask an ITR representative for your custom package.

• One Week ($600.00), Two Weeks ($1,100.00), Three Weeks ($1,600.00), Four Weeks ($2,000.00). Online payment plan available.

   

  *The Power/Speed/Agility program is not a "Pick Package", but with three or more weeks of training ITR will include other training or game options as a portion of this package. Please ask an ITR representative for your custom package. It is our goal to see skaters succeed and participation in other opportunities such as scrimmages, games and other camps allows us and you to better evaluate players improvements.

Why is This Program So Important to ITR AAA Hockey?

At ITR we believe this program is amongst our top training programs. Why? Well for several reasons. The most forefront being that skating is what hockey is based on. The better and faster a skater you can translates directly on how good of a hockey player you become. It is the key foundation to the sport.

Are only good skaters good hockey players?

Well the answer to that question is probably no, because there are so many other skills that effect how a player develops but skating is definitely the foundation and if you are a good or excellent after that makes training for other skills easier. Besides many good skaters show confidence on the ice in additional training which also makes them a stronger learner.

What makes this program better than other power skating program.

There are a number of factors we believe are important that other power skating programs are missing.

1. Low instructor ratio: The best athletes use personal trainers so they can get the specific attention they need. It is just too difficult for a coach to identify the areas a player need to improve upon when they are dealing with 10, 15 or 20 athletes. We keep this program low 3 to 6 participants at a maximum level. We also have the ability to provide one-on-one training at a custom level.
2. Hours of training: The fact of the matter is skaters do not spend enough time just working on training. Yes they may be on the ice for many hours of the ice during the year but are they getting the repetitions and mental repetitions they need. We have identified that around 60 hours of skating training is necessary to see significant improvements. We have had skaters to have logged over 80 hours in summer on just this one program and shown a tremendous difference.
3. Professional Coaching: Matti Uusivirta, grew up in Finland where skating is stressed as a key aspect to the game of hockey. The Fins are known for thier strong skating skills which is reinforced at a very early age before sticks are put into skaters hands. Matti also plays professional hockey for the Espo Blues in Finland and understand first hand the importance of speed and stride efficiency. Besides Matti is one of the coaches that does not let skaters slack off. He has high expectations of his participants because he feels as we do that results matter.

Efficiency of the skaters stride is stressed. Getting the most out of every stroke is key to overall speed and performance.

Seemingly simple but yet a complex task, a compact stance allows the skater to get the most out of their core skating muscle group for speed.

Quick footwork drills are stressed which not only trains a skater physically but how to be mentally sharp. Constant repetition prepares skaters to know how to react and not have to think about reaction time.

Sometimes the most overlooked area of improvement is the combination of skating balance and transition to puck handling skills.

Once a sound foundation of edge work, speed training, agility training and strength training are accomplished development for speed to the net and quick release are transferred along with skating training.