NEXT Testing

While on-ice testing gives an incredibly accurate picture of hockey skills development, our off-ice testing looks for key indicators of strength, fitness and future potential. In some cases it can even reveal old injuries and body imbalances that can be addressed. The Full Combine includes our 14 skating tests and the following off-ice tests. Click on each test for a brief description and information about what your results mean:

Balance
Body Composition
Body Scan
Energy System
Grip Strength
Leg Power
Vertical Jump

Balance

Completely unique to Next Testing, we’ve adapted a series of neuromuscular research tests to establish a measure of an athlete’s postural control. The test uses our proprietary NT Balance machine and Korebalance testing to determine static and dynamic balance. The results of these tests can indicate past injuries and detect future skills, reveal joint pathologies and help differentiate potential skating proficiencies.

Where Should You Be:
With the NT Balance test you want to obtain the lowest score possible. This test includes both static and dynamic assessments of balance capabilities. Performance in hockey depends upon your ability to remain balanced during stops, transitions, and encounters with other players. Look for a low score on both of these off-ice tests.

NEXT TESTING TOP SCORES:

Static Balance:                    1. 93         2. 109     3. 113

Dynamic Balance:               1.  728      2. 730      3. 772 

Body Composition

A Tanita body composition analyzer is used to calculate body fat percentage and lean muscle mass via Bioelectric Impedance Analysis. Values obtained from any body composition measure will vary based upon several factors including: time of day you were tested, hydration levels, your current training status, in season or out of season, prior exercise or training, and many others. It is important to note that although many factors play a role in the value you see on your report, the measurement is reliable. This means that as long as we control as many of the factors noted above and keep them the same next time your body composition is tested, we will be able to track how your body composition is changing. The ability to track progress is of great importance in the development of a high level athlete.

Where Should You Be:
Athletes tend to have lower body fat percentages than the average population. For hockey, ideal body composition may slightly differ according to the athletes’ level of play and position. The average body fat percentage reported in men’s hockey is between 10-14% (Montgomery, 2000, Montgomery, 2006). It should be noted that lower body fat percentages may be seen at the elite levels. In research involving female collegiate hockey players, forwards tend to have the lower body fat percentages than defensemen, and goal tenders tend to have higher body fats than both forwards and defensemen. Female elite level hockey players have reported body fat percentages slightly higher than male players, averaging around 16% (Hoffman, 2006). Similar relationships are observed in men’s hockey with forwards and defensemen exhibiting lower body fats than goal tenders.

Body Scan

This exclusive Next Testing protocol uses 24 cameras and structural light to record 45,000 points on the body and render a virtual athlete in incredible detail. The data collected can help reveal signs of old injuries, body development imbalances that need to be addressed or key physical attributes that indicate greater resistance to injury (example: proportionally larger necks suffer less concussions).

Where Should You Be:
There are several positional characteristics that will be reflected in the results of your body scan. Research on male Canadian players show that defensemen are most likely to be taller, heavier, and have increased body surface area when compared to forwards or goal tenders (Geithner et al., 2006). Defensemen also have larger waist and hip circumferences as well as calf and thigh when compared to forwards and goal tenders (Geithner et al., 2006).

When looking at your numbers from the body scan you want to look for symmetry between right and left sides of the body. There are also areas which are of interest for hockey performance such as: thigh, forearm, chest, waist, hips and calf. Larger girth measures in these areas are indicative of hockey performance with respect to position.

Energy System

Hockey is all about anaerobic peak power and capacity. We measure it with a Monark bike ergometer and a lab-accurate Wingate test protocol validated by our science advisors. This is a true physiological challenge to the athlete. The results of this test yield a reliable indicator of an athlete’s anaerobic peak power and capacity, both of which are strongly associated with on-ice performance. On the report the athlete will also notice relative peak and end power. This helps the athlete compare their values to other individuals regardless of how different their physical characteristics may be.

Where Should You Be:
The Wingate test protocol is a commonly used tool to assess peak power and anaerobic capacity. Research has shown that forwards and defensemen have similar peak and average power values when body mass is considered (watts/kg). In terms of raw absolute scores (watts) forwards display the higher peak and average power scores (Montgomery, 2000). Unpublished research involving elite female hockey athletes have reported peak Wingate power around 785 watts and average power output at 729 watts (Hoffman, 2006). In several studies using athletes from the NHL, peak power averages 12.0 ± 0.3 watts/kg and average power at 9.0 ± 0.3 watts/kg. Athletes will also notice a fatigue index on their reports. The fatigue index is thought to be an indicator of anaerobic fitness, and has been shown in the research to correlate well with fiber type of the athlete. Generally if an athlete has a greater percentage of fast-twitch fibers they usually have a greater fatigue index. It is worthwhile to keep in mind how well an athlete recovers from this test as well. The athlete may display a high fatigue index but have the ability to recover quickly from the anaerobic effort. This recoverability may be determined by monitoring the athlete’s heart rate. The newest addtion to the Next Testing Energy System analysis is the collection of heart rate data during and for 90 seconds following the anaerobic bout. This can provide coaches and athletes an indication of their ability to recover from an intense anaerobic effort.

NEXT TESTING TOP SCORES:

Absolute Peak Power            Relative Peak Power                Fatigue Index

           1.   1737.8 watts                 1.  8.6 watts/lb                           1.  38.0%

           2.   1737.7 watts                 2.  8.4 watts/lb                           2.  41.3%

           3.   1727.2 watts                 3.   8.2 watts/lb                          3.  41.7%

Grip Strength

There is a strong correlation between grip strength and upper body strength. And Grip is also a surprisingly good measure of overall body strength. We measure it using the traditional athletic protocol with a digital dynamometer.

Where Should You Be:
Literature suggests that athletes that have high levels of grip strength also show greater velocities during on-ice shots (Twist & Rhodes, 1993). It has also been suggested that grip strength may be an indicator of an athlete’s ability to be strong on the puck during face offs (Twist, 2007). Previous studies using NHL veterans report a grip strength average of 147.4 ± 9.7 pounds of force (adapted from Twist & Rhodes, 1993). General guidelines for grip performance in men indicate a score greater than 118 pounds of force is Excellent, 112-118 is Good, and 95-111 is Average (adapted from Hoffman, 2006; 20-29 year old adult men). Guidelines for grip performance in females indicate a score greater than 79 pounds of force is excellent, 73-78 is Good, and 57-72 is Average (adapted from Hoffman, 2006; 20-29 year old adult females).

Leg Power

Several skating fundamentals require an athlete to both decelerate and accelerate effectively. Acceleration is a result of an athlete’s ability to exert force. The exertion of force ultimately results in a given power output. The Leg Power test measures an athlete’s ability to repeatedly exert high power outputs during a series of maximal effort vertical jumps performed without an arm swing. This challenges an athlete to repeatedly exert high force and power with only the lower body- similar to the demands placed upon them during game performance.

Inertial sensor technology is used in conjunction with a magnetic field sensor technology to assess these capabilities. The athlete is able to see how well they are able to maintain power outputs over a series of maximal exertions which are critical to several on-ice elements inherent in hockey. This information can also provide a coach with information about an athlete’s reactive capabilities.

Where Should You Be:
The ability for an athlete to produce high power outputs may one of the most important characteristics of a successful athlete. Elite level athletes should reach into the 7,000 watt range on their power output scores. With the leg power test you want to look for your power outputs to maintain at or near maximal for all four jumps. A large drop off from your first to fourth jump would indicate an area for you to improve. Athletes should note that the power output values from this test will and should differ from the Vertec measurement. Remember, with the leg power test the athlete is performing four jumps without an arm swing.

Vertical Jump

Hockey requires lower body strength and explosiveness. The vertical jump has been established as a valid predictor of top performance in hockey and an indicator of strength and explosiveness (Behm et al., 2005; Farlinger et al., 2007). We measure this with a traditional athletic protocol using a Vertec. Using the Vertec protocol the athletes are allowed to use an arm swing which will increase the jump heights achieved during this test. Additionally, an estimation of power output is also obtained with the Vertec jump height measurement. The Vertec is a widely used tool available to most coaches therefore estimating power output using Vertec performance data provides an additional area for comparison to other athletes of various levels.

Where Should You Be:
The vertical jump is an athletic movement requiring various levels of coordination within the body. The vertical jump is a commonly used performance test for a variety of athletes. In elite level male athletes vertical jump numbers are reported around 29.5 ± 2.8 inches on the Vertec (adapted from Hoffman, 2006).

NEXT TESTING TOP SCORES:

1.    35.0 in

2.    33.0 in

3.    32.0 in

REFERENCES

Geithner, C.A., Lee, A.M., & Bracko, M.R. (2006). Physical and performance differences among forwards, defensemen, and goalies in elite women's ice hockey. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 20, 500-505.

Twist, P. & Rhodes, T. (1993). Physiological analysis of ice hockey positions. National Strength and Conditioning Association Journal. 15, 44-46.

Twist, P. (2007). Complete conditioning for hockey. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Hoffman, J. (2006). Norms for fitness performance, and health. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Montgomery, D.L. (2000). Exercise and Sports Science. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Montgomery, D.L. (2006).Physiological profile of professional hockey players- a longitudinal comparison. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 31, 181-185.

Behm DG, Wahl MJ, Button DC, Power KE, Anderson KG. Relationship between hockey skating speed and selected performance measures. J Strength Cond Res 2005 May;19(2):326-31.

Farlinger CM, Kruisselbrink LD, Fowles JR. Relationships to skating performance in competitive hockey players. J Strength Cond Res 2007 August;21(3):915-22.