A new player had just joined our U18 team.

During his first gym session with the rest of the guys, I quickly realized he wasn't halfway as bad as I expected.

You see, when we get a new player from another club, 9.5 times out of 10 they're weak and don't know how to lift.

This 17-year-old had some potential, though.

He could squat with pretty good form.

And perform chins over a full of range of motion with extra weight - something many kids at that age can't do.

The only thing off was his power clean technique. ​All pulling with his arms, zero power generated by the lower body.

I put him through a few drills with an empty bar and he soon got the hang of it.

As usual with a ​recent addition to our roster, I asked him about his prior lifting experience between sets.

How many years he has been Training, what types of exercises he usually does, whether he has got any Injuries or health issues I need to know about, his rep maxes on main exercises, etc. to get a better understanding of his background.

Turns out this player had never done anything below 8 reps on the big barbell lifts. Not fives, not triples, not singles.

The only exercise he had ever attempted a 1RM on?

Bench press.

(What else would you expect from a teenager?)

After questioning the athlete why he had never ventured into lower rep training, he replied:

"My coaches always told me I shouldn't do maximal strength."

What??

We've got a competitive athlete with decent Lifting form, testosterone levels at their zenith, no injuries, only a few months removed from his 18th birthday...

And you're saying he should stick with 8 reps per set and above??

Who comes up with this nonsense?!

I have thought about why a "coach" would forbid heavy lifting many times over the years...

And the only reason I can think of is they fear their athlete will get injured.

Which is nothing more than a reflection of their poor coaching skills.

If you have physically and mentally prepared your athletes the right way from the ground up, they will NOT buckle under heavy weights and limp away with an injury.

In all my years of training people and athletes, I have NEVER seen anyone blow their knee or back on a max effort power clean, squat or deadlift attempt.

Max strength training - when done correctly - is very safe.

And highly beneficial for improving force production, skating speed, and protecting against injuries on the ice.

I explain how to improve your maximal strength without injuries at the link below:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

Yunus Barisik