This is the third year for Mike Letizia as Head Coach of the Johnstown Tomahawks Junior Hockey Organization. He started out as Assistant Coach, and has been with the team for the full five years that they have been a member of the North American Hockey League.
Along with the help of his Assistant Coach, Nick Shackford, and a part time personal trainer who is just graduating and going into the field, they manage the health of fitness of around thirty hockey players.
With ABC Trainerize, they don’t always have to be on their players, as they can send them workouts whenever, and from wherever suits them.
What problem is ABC Trainerize solving for the Tomahawks?
Last year, Letizia and Shackford were trying to find a way to deliver workouts, track them, and keep up the accountability of their players a bit better. They used to give out a lot of paperwork, PDFs and spreadsheets, so they wanted a different, and better solution. They discovered ABC Trainerize, signed up to try it out, and really liked it.
Instead of managing clients, they manage thirty players. They have their own workouts, and often use videos from the Exercise Library. They assign workouts to their players the same way a personal trainer would assign workouts to their clients.
ABC Trainerize makes training easy
A lot of kids this age, technology is what they know. The players are all using phones, and it’s so easy for them to get their workouts right there, input the workouts, see their results, and weigh in. It’s way easier than us sending them a bunch of paperwork. They like the program; they like seeing their own workouts, and the ability to look at the exercise and track it, says Letizia.
For the Tomahawks, they have players that show a lot of development throughout the season, that they can contribute to both on ice and off-ice training. The off-ice training with ABC Trainerize is a supplement to the on ice training, to maintain strength and health. It’s good for the players if they have a month of similar workouts, they can up the weight to increase their personal bests.
“It’s a better maintenance of their training. It helps them stick to a normal routine, since players are using it every week."
How has ABC Trainerize improved the team's off-season training?
"We used to give them a summer workout program that was a booklet or a PDF, and they would have to provide us updates through spreadsheets, email, etc. Using technology instead, it s right at their fingertips to track it.”
"Once the season has ended, a lot of players go off to college, and they get a new workout plan from their new coaching staff and trainers. So we set up the online training program and give accounts to the incoming players that we’ve drafted for the next season, and to the players that are returning next year. We used to give them a summer workout program that was a booklet or a PDF, and they would have to provide us updates through spreadsheets, email, etc. Using technology instead, it’s right at their fingertips to track it. states Letizia.
Accountability is #1
Coaches have to wonder whether their players are actually following through with their training, or just entering numbers into the app.
When asked whether his players are really tracking the workouts, Mike says, “It’s possible that they could not follow through, but we’ll know right away when they come to town. We’re looking right in their profile. We know where they’re at, if they’re filling it out. Using ABC Trainerize for workouts is way better than using spreadsheets for the accountability factor. Now they’re responsible for themselves.
What's next for the Tomahawks?
Letizia has already started to think about new ways to use ABC Trainerize. One idea is testing the players’ abilities in May whether it’s cardio, strength, or aerobic exercises they can track them in the app, and check back, by doing the same test after training camp is over. If they come back in September, and they have increased since May, the numbers won’t lie. They appreciate that they have a way of tracking the history of their players’ workouts and progress.
