What are the first things you tell a player who’s new to the Boston College program?
There are three aspects of our program we want our players to understand right off the bat. The first is to purchase Olympic weightlifting shoes. A lifting shoe has a solid wooden hard heel that reduces the amount of deviation in the ankles, knees and hips when performing Olympic-style lifting. Secondly, when it comes to evaluating and making sure our athletes are getting better, we do not chase numbers just to set records. We do not just try to throw up as much weight as we can with no regard for technique. Squatting 500 pounds is not nearly as important as making sure we are technically sound while squatting. Thirdly, and he cornerstone of the evaluation, is to understand that working on increasing the flexibility (functional range of motion) and strength of the hips and hamstrings, and shoulders/pectorals, can help reduce the occurrence and/or severity of injury on the ice. Also, flexibility gains will help to reduce the amount of unnecessary abuse on the athletes’ bodies in the wei
