3 Best Ways to Be Ready for Tryouts

Tryouts can be a tough time. Rumors are flying, players change teams, coaches pick new players, and many futures are unknown. At the same time, the season is usually still ongoing, leaving no time to reset the body physically and mentally. It’s a stressful time for everyone involved. The best piece of advice: control what you can control. Here are three things that can be helpful in the short turnaround time.

Mobility Training for the Body:

Mobility training can help reset the body and also allow it to return to optimal movement. The season can be grueling: games, practices, private sessions, and everything else that surrounds daily life. Open up mobility (not just stretching) in the joints—focus on the ankles, hips, torso, shoulders, etc. By working on these movements, it can be a low-intensity way to rest the body while also increasing performance in a short period of time.

Bodyweight Exercises:

Push-ups, pull-ups, jump rope, pistols, and body movement training in every variation possible, in as many planes (side-to-side, rotating) as you can. Bodyweight exercises are higher impact, but they keep the body moving, with muscles and joints under pressure. The body needs continuous pressure to sustain power and strength. Limit training to about 20–30 minutes at 65–70% effort. While the mind may urge you to push the limits, remember that if the body has already gone through six months of high intensity between games and practices, it’s essential to give it active recovery time. A balance of rest and activity is needed.

Core Stability:

Training the core, carries, bands, rotational movements, balance, and coordination are key. Work on balance through triple extension, single-leg low-intensity jumps, side-to-side, forward and back, and change of direction drills. Carries and hip work help build balance, brace the body, and reinforce stability in the stride, hitting, and shot power. As with the other exercises, keep this to 30 minutes with 65–75% output.

Pre-Tryout Prep Conclusion:

Conditioning, heavy training, or any other high-intensity exercise may do more harm than good, depending on the athlete. From a productivity standpoint, very little can be gained in a 2–4 week time frame. Focus on active rest and body optimization to get the most out of pre-tryout prep. 

Check out the Training Aspects 1 week Pre try-out prep camp. Follow the link for more info.
Training Aspects Pre Try-outs 5 day camp

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Written by:
Kirill Vaks
BA, CSCS

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Voorhees Flyers Training center.

The Hollydell ice arena, in the main building.