European Development, LTAD, and Resistance Sled Sprint Training for High Performance Hockey with Lassi Laakso

As the Head Of Strength & Conditioning at Hockey Club Lugano, Lassi Laakso sees all different ages and skill levels as new prospects are brought up through the club model. From the day-to-day life of a coach to the differences in coaching a whole club versus one team, this conversation will provide insight into the training world. Learn how working with players of different levels can make you a better trainer and how a coach's experience as a player can impact their buy-in. We also dive into the key metrics coaches focus on to track athletes' progress in and out of season, as well as a deep dive into resisted sled sprint training, its kinomatic differences from pure sprinting, and how to program it.

01:15 - What does a day look like as a Strength & Conditioning coach for an entire club?

06:23 - What’s the biggest difference coaching in the club model versus working with only one team?

08:05 - How has working with different levels made you a better trainer?

10:13 - Does being a hockey player himself impact the buy-in he gets from the teams he trains?

12:48 - How does the European Hockey schedule compare to the NHL?

18:19 - How do you work with more experienced players to give them more autonomy in the workouts and training routines?

20:25 - What defines a successful high-performance model to you?

27:00 - What metrics do you focus on for your athletes to make sure they’re progressing in and out of season?

32:00 - Adduction to Abduction Ratios in hockey players, what’s important?

35:40 - What are the strengths and weaknesses of working in the club model?

41:45 - Collaboration, How Finland and Sweeden work together to collaborate on data for the improvement for both clubs and their players.

45:11 - His biggest takeaways from writing his article, “Resisted Sled Sprint Training – A Practical Guide to Improve Short Sprint Performance.”

47:40 - What’s the difference in sled sprint training and sled marching?

48:30 - The biggest kinomatic differences between sled sprinting and pure sprinting.

51:30 - How do you define sprint performance?

53:00 - How to program Resisted Sled Sprint Training.

55:40 - What is he currently studying while finishing up his Masters Degree?