There are physical fitness trainers who say that they judge their work by the sound – like skates cutting ice during training. What are your personal indicators?
There are different subjective indicators. Communicates with the masseurs, what is the muscle tone – is the muscle hard or flexible. This shows if the muscle has fully recovered or if there is still tension and strain inside. When we do speed exercises and jumps, see how the rebound happens – how long it stays on the ground, or how quickly it gets up. I also use a lot of psychological factors – athletes’ well-being, feelings on the ice during running exercises, recovery level the next day. 110% cannot be relied on because it is a subjective indicator. But there are things to consider and listen to the players.
There were two test days on the ice. What caught your eye?
In the tests, we can evaluate the overall condition of the team and understand whether the team has remained faster. We can look and compare from year to year. Speed exercises show what happens to the fast-twitch muscle fibers – they have recovered or there is still a background of fatigue. It is an indicator by which we can plan loads. We can also look at how the players who joined later have entered the training mode – are they not accumulating too much fatigue. Our head coach has a mindset to be fast and dynamic. Whenever we do tests, the training process is much better afterwards – tests are an impulse for athletes, and they react. It’s an activation, not just a test.
Today is the day of speed tests in the Latvian national team pic.twitter.com/U5Zd8Wzv0V
— Ulvis Brozhe (@UlvisBrozhe) April 15, 2024
Hockey players don’t come to you in July or August after a good summer vacation. You receive them with bruises, injuries, fatigue. How much do you have to adapt yourself to individual needs?
It is very important to take this into account. At the same time, we have a common training plan. We know where we want to see the curves, we know our goals. Each week has its own goal. We want the player to get into the overall training regime as soon as possible. The goal is to get the player on our track as quickly as possible, not to focus on what came before.
There is a belief that hockey players are ready to go on the field and fight despite any injury. You have also worked on other national teams and sports. Is it a stereotype or is it true?
This is partly an exaggeration. Our goal is no longer to make a survival school, to make heavy athletic exercises that compress the spine and wear down the surfaces of the joints. Our goal is to create the highest quality body that can do the same job with great economy. What does physical fitness mean? When you can do the same amount of work with less energy consumption. Therefore, you will be able to do more afterwards.
Hockey has its own specificity – it allows playing with injuries. It is a sport that takes place on skates, on ice. No jumping, no changing direction on a hard surface, no landing. These are aspects that allow playing with knee, ankle, and in some cases even hip or lower back injuries. Of course, hockey is also a sport of character. You have to be ready for a lot. The puck is heavy. The equipment protects, but when you get hit with the puck, there are also consequences.
It must be said – if other coaches will have the longest working hours exactly during the world championship, then you are different, because the largest amount of work must be done before leaving.
Now there is a stage where you have to give speed injections, so that they are not only in good shape after that, but also well rested. To have a fairly large amount accomplished and the right qualities activated. Three or more months of training is required to obtain physiological changes. At the same time, we have at our disposal people with a highly developed nervous system and adaptation abilities. At its expense, we can, if not completely fool the body, then give the right impulses. The base has been accumulated over the years, and now we are activating the right features. Each stage of preparation has its own goals. Hopefully we will soon enjoy the good fruits of our labor.
If we touch on the topic of the physical base – how long can a hockey player rest in the summer so as not to lose too much?
Many individual athletes do training camps where they leave the load. Reduced volumes, other types of loads, other sports. Someone rides a bike, someone plays volleyball on the beach, now it is popular to play streetball, given the Olympic success. We have loads programmed into our DNA. Complete rest is not desirable for more than ten days. On the other hand, a significant drop in physical form occurs after three weeks of rest. A professional athlete who knows his goals will not even think of taking a longer break.
When the Latvian national team was still coached by Bob Hartley, it was popular every spring to talk about the fact that young hockey players lag behind players from other countries in terms of physical development. Do you see positive changes?
We must realize that as a nation we are maturing late. That’s why we sometimes call 25-year-old players young.
Is it adequate?
Yes. Other sports show the same picture. We must be extremely professional. If you mature later, you reach the athletic level later, thus a longer career is needed. A long career requires good health. Good mode, accurate work every day. Get to know your body. You change clubs, coaches change, but no one knows you the way you know yourself.
This year’s selection includes a very good example – American students who have brought energy and new breaths. We see the positive effects of dual education. They need a mode to bring everything together. This is also perfectly reflected in our work. You have to think through the exercises – you can’t just do them mechanically.
The World Championship does not disappoint with its rhythm – last year there were ten games in 17 days. This means eating a lot and well. What does the Latvian national team player’s menu look like?
Nutrition is an extremely important element. Of course, we use food supplements, because it is difficult for others to eat as much as they need. When you need to recover after stress, nutrition is one of the basic elements. The organizers of the World Championship draw up the big menu, which we review. We have measured the body mass index, and so far there have been no problems with it – we have always maintained the required weight.
How many calories does a Latvian hockey player eat per day?
It depends on the schedule. If there is a game the next day, then dinner needs an increased amount of carbohydrates. You should eat what restores and helps to accumulate energy. Lots of carbs. Sports gels, recovery drinks. An athlete consumes around 1000 calories during an average ice training session. In dry training – currently around 200-300 calories. These are only active calories.
And during the game?
2000 and up.
Before and after the games – it’s the classic pasta?
Yes, fast carbohydrates. The first half hour after exercise – the metabolism tries extremely quickly to restore the consumed energy. Of course, athletes have no appetite, so we use sports nutrition. A big meal follows in the hotel. Snacks are constantly available in the hall, calories and trace elements are replenished.
Hockey players have been seen drinking coke on the bench during the game, others drinking pickle juice during breaks to avoid cramps. Will the Latvian national team take pickles with them?
I haven’t seen it yet. Nobody drinks vinegar either. (Laughs.) We make do with sports nutrition, gels, sweetened drinks with carbohydrates.
Protein?
Yes. The same proteins. The staff mixes the proportions – how many carbohydrates, how many proteins. Proteins are more for muscles, carbohydrates for energy.
Gels are no different from marathon runners?
Yes. All this happens already between periods. In endurance sports, they say – if you have to spend at least an hour under load, then you need additional nutrients. Here are similar. The amount of time that must be spent in training is quite significant. Starting already with the 15-30 minute preparation part, where we start spending calories. Only then is there training on the ice, other times – in two parts, and then there is the weight room, dry training.
Spoken earlier: The team is under pressure, so test match results can be deceiving. Is it still relevant in 2024 or not? Especially in the context of the Swiss test matches.
It’s still relevant, and that’s one explanation. One is loads. The second – we had a longer training cycle, we were without test matches. Game conditioning can only be trained by playing. Several hockey players who had not played for a while joined. It was obvious that we mobilized for the second game. The games against Norway will be crucial. We have done a good job. To be able to compete with the big nations, one of the keys to success is a good training camp.
When choosing the team for the world championship, Harijs Vītoliņš also consults with you, are you interested in the condition of the players?
We talk in the coaches’ room almost after every training session, I give feedback. Other times we talk already after the warm-up – what mood, how the team moves. To understand where the team is in terms of recovery. We share information about who works well in dry training. Other times, the coaches themselves come up and see who has better motor control. We want exercises in which we have to close the muscle chains, and not just lift weights. The decision about the composition is of course up to the coaches, but the communication between us is good.
