Gillam keeping Petes players in shape
Technology offers a boost for team’s strength and conditioning coach
Josh Gillam can tell when Peterborough Petes players are slacking off on their training.
Some of the Petes wear a wristband which records their heart rate that Gillam, the club’s strength and conditioning coach, can monitor even when the players are at home. That’s where they are currently as the OHL season remains postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19.
“It’s a tracking device that allows me to watch their recovery through their heart rate variability. It allows me to track their sleeping patterns and their exertion levels throughout each day just to make sure they’re actually recovering and pushing themselves with the proper amount of output each day,” said Gillam. If he sees a player not keeping up his workouts he’ll text them a reminder but it rarely comes to that, he said.
“You’re dealing with your one per centers here in terms of kids who are driving to make that next step into professional hockey. For the most part they’re more than willing to share that data and make sure someone is keeping them accountable,” said Gillam.
He laughed when it was suggested the wristband could be seen as Orwellian.
“It is pretty funny when you see some of them slack off. You can shoot them a quick text message and say, ‘What happened yesterday?’ ”
He says it’s an education tool. “The idea is to be able to educate them because they get to see the data, too. They can see if they take a day off or slack or don’t get enough sleep one night what that actually does to them recovery-wise and output-wise the next time they do a workout. Numbers don’t lie. You can really see the impact choices have on your progress,” he said.
Max Grondin hopes he’ll get to play this season as one of the Petes overage players. He’s doing his best to stay ready while home in northern Ontario.
“Josh has an app we follow. He puts my workouts on there every day and I do the workouts. Up north all the ponds are frozen so I go on the ice, too. The rinks are closed everywhere so it’s better than nothing. You’re still skating and getting your shots in and your cardio.”
Grondin said workouts will vary depending on where you are on the calendar either in anticipation of an upcoming season or maintenance work during the season. Not knowing when the season will begin has been challenging.
“That’s the main problem right now. We don’t know when the season will start so we don’t really know how to plan. Usually you do strength training at the start of the summer and then we go more into agility, cardio and speed at the end of the summer.
“Our summer has been all over the place. I started with strength then speed then back to strength. It’s been all over the place.”
Now he’s in a hybrid mode.
“I do a bit of everything,” said Grondin.
The uncertainty is tough.
“I hope we have a season because this has been way long enough. It’s been almost a year,” he said.
It’s especially tough since it’s his last year of junior eligibility.
“It’s really tough. I thought I was going to get a good year as one of the older guys and maybe get a contract in the AHL or something. If we don’t play, I don’t know what the next step is. Is it school? I’ve been in contact with schools but I don’t know. I’m still hoping to get a pro contract,” he said.
Gillam has lent equipment to players who live nearby. He co-ordinates workout routines with players or their hometown trainers.
“Increasing their strength, even though they’re at home, is a definite need,” said Gillam. “We don’t want to go backwards. They’re in the prime age group and growth phase maturity-wise for ample growth.”
With arenas closed Gillam says outdoor ice is a good alternative.
“I think there is a part of this where kids just really enjoy going out and having fun on a pond. Ninety-nine per cent of their life is super structured with the sole purpose of nothing but progress,” he said.
If there is a season, Gillam is confident players will arrive in excellent shape but there will be an adjustment period for players.
“You can’t replace game reaction, pace and decision-making with practice. You just simply can’t. There’s a reason why they call it game shape,” he said. “You’re going to have a window where you will have to have some form of leniency when it comes to decisions and execution on the ice but these kids are good at what they do. They practice it relentlessly and watch video relentlessly. I don’t think that window of getting back to that high level they expect of themselves, let along fans and coaches, should take too long.”