BELOIT — When you’re a hockey player with limited ice time to practice, you make the best of your situation.
If you’re a member of the Beloit Youth Hockey Association, quality off-ice workouts have turned out to be a game-changer.
“I couldn’t believe how much improvement I saw in players stick-handling last fall just from the time they put in off-ice last summer,” BYHA Coaching Director Rob Corvo said. “We’re still behind when it comes to actual skating because we don’t have year-round ice available here, but we’ve been able to catch up in a hurry and we beat teams that had walked all over us in the past few years.”
The BYHA began its summer off-ice workouts last Tuesday night at the Telfer Sports and Activity Center and was pleasantly surprised when nearly 40 skaters showed up for an hour-long program of drills with instructors from the Stateline Family YMCA followed by another hour of stick-handling and shooting drills with BYHA Coach Brad Potter.
“It was really a hot night so we weren’t sure how many kids we’d get, but we got a really good turnout,” Corvo said.
About 30 skaters of various ages, boys and girls, attended the second workout. There is no cost for participants for the program which will continue on Tuesdays starting at 5 p.m.
“We’ll keep doing this all summer right on up until we have ice in October,” Corvo said. “A lot of the older kids have baseball and other activities right now, but after July we’ll start seeing more of them coming, too.”
Corvo, whose son Joe played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League before retiring in 2014, is a huge believer in putting in the time off-ice when the real thing isn’t available. Right now, the only time skaters see ice is when the BYHA rents it in Janesville.
“People think you have to have ice to make this work, but really there are a ton of off-ice skating drills that can mprove your stride and your stretch,” Corvo said. “With the YMCA drills we’ve added, you’re seeing plyometrics, a lot of jumping to increase your leg strength and drills to improve lateral movement. If you add all this together, you’re going to be a better hockey player.
“The fun for us coaches is seeing these kids learn the game the right way, work hard and then pull out some impressive wins. That’s what this is all about.”
Corvo said the BYHA also began to build back its numbers during the 2023-24 season and he hopes to see that continue.
“The key is being able to have two or three teams at an age division,” he said. “You don’t want a situation where you only have one team with 22 kids on it. You want everyone to be able to play and that’s a difficult situation. I think we’re definitely headed in the right direction with our numbers.”
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