Shift-length conditioning

Setup

1. Full equipment: players condition in what they play in. Only after a full warm-up.
2. Groups of three on the goal line, like a line waiting on the bench. With a big squad, three or four groups take turns, which builds in the rest.
3. A coach times each shift and the rest between them.

How it runs

1. The pattern: sprint to the far blue line and stop hard; skate backwards to the red line; pivot and sprint to the far goal line; easy skate back to the start.
2. One pattern at full effort takes roughly 30–40 seconds. That is one shift.
3. Rest for at least two to three times the work time, until breathing settles, with water on the bench. Then go again.
4. Start with four or five shifts. Add a shift a week as fitness builds rather than adding speed and volume together.

Coaching points

• Full effort for the whole shift, then a real recovery: quality reps, not exhaustion.
• Stop on both edges and alternate the stopping side each shift.
• Deep knee bend and full leg extension on every stride.
• Head up all the way: other groups are on the ice.
• Stop straight away and tell the coach about pain, dizziness or chest tightness.

Common mistakes

• Coasting the last few strides before the line.
• Cutting the rest short, so later shifts turn slow and sloppy.
• Gliding through the stop instead of stopping hard.
• Shifts stretching well past 45 seconds, which no longer matches the game.