What Gives Women’s Hockey Canada The Edge?

Hockey Canada announced a couple weeks ago that 104 players were invited to attend Canada’s National Women's strength and conditioning camp taking place on our campus at McMaster.

While much of this camp is kept hush, hush, we sat down with McMaster's Strength and Conditioning Coordinator, Steve Lidstone, to chat about why this camp is beneficial and how he thinks athletes can stay motivated on a long journey like this one. 

What types of sessions are you leading for these women?

The athletes will be put through a variety of different training, testing, and team building activities over their five day period here. Sessions will be run by a few different coaches. 

Why is a camp like this so important?

A camp like this is an essential first step to get the athletes ready for the long journey ahead of them. It will be five days of hard but rewarding work.

With the Winter Olympics being so far away, what are some ways to stay focused and motivated during the journey?

It can definitely be a challenge as four years can seem daunting. Similar to athletes who play sports during the year, it can be demanding to keep that focus. 

Taking the journey one day at a time is always a great way to keep focused. Also keeping track of your training, so you can see your gains, can help with motivation when you see positive results. 

Storing the big picture in the back of mind is essential. Having that goal in mind whether it's to represent Canada at the Olympics, hit a PB, or play your best game, goals are great motivators. 

There are going to be days where you don’t want to hit the gym, you don’t want to be restricted to a certain diet, and you really just want to play a friendly game of your chosen sport. Just remember that you're an athlete and it will all be worth it. I see being an athlete as a privilege, not everyone has the dedication, drive, and ability to do what you do. 

What are you most looking forward to with the camp?

For those that know me, they know that I love training athletes. I’m excited to see the caliber of high-performance athletes that will be at the camp. Additionally, it’s always great to interact with other coaches, and trainers, to see how they do things. We can always learn something new.

The athletes will be in Hamilton for 5 days and all training sessions at the strength and conditioning camp are closed to the public.

Interested in taking your training to the next level? Athlete's Edge can help with that.