<p>The aim of this study was to examine if it was possible to improve fitness and strength in young ice hockey players with help of a training programme based on functional training and aerobic training. The training programme was performed on Halmstad Hockey U-16 team where 17 boys participated in the study. We performed the training in a period of sex weeks with three training occasions each week. These consisted of two functional training sessions and one fitness session. In the beginning we emphasized the importance of a correct performance and technique. Two test methodes were used to see if the training had given result, Åstrand bicycle ergometer test and Square hop test.</p><p>The result of the training was an increase in leg and trunk strength and fitness on the majority of the participants.</p>

The aim of this study was to examine if it was possible to improve fitness and strength in young ice hockey players with help of a training programme based on functional training and aerobic training. The training programme was performed on Halmstad Hockey U-16 team where 17 boys participated in the study. We performed the training in a period of sex weeks with three training occasions each week. These consisted of two functional training sessions and one fitness session. In the beginning we emphasized the importance of a correct performance and technique. Two test methodes were used to see if the training had given result, Åstrand bicycle ergometer test and Square hop test. The result of the training was an increase in leg and trunk strength and fitness on the majority of the participants.

Bone fractures, mostly of the lower leg and foot, due to impact with hockey pucks are becoming a common injury in ice hockey. These injuries can take up to more than two months to heal and return to play. In the professional levels of play, these injuries cost the team in more than one way. Firstly, a member of the team cannot play for some time and secondly the team may continue to pay the player their salary even though they are injured and not providing their full services to the team. These injuries do not appear to be researched at this time and the current equipment options do not appear to provide adequate protection to prevent injury. This work attempts to develop a testing setup, which is composed to several components, to investigate the minimum requirements that lead to these injuries. A puck-shooting machine was used to impact composite tibias and the velocity at which they fractured was recorded. Other components were designed, built, and selected to comprise the testing setup. The results obtained with the testing setup presented in this work provided valuable insight on these injuries. The composite tibias fractured at impact velocities ranging from 28.83 – 31.25 m/s. Puck orientation at impact was captured with high-speed video. Slight improvements in the testing setup and methodology could provide even more valuable information that could lead to improvements in protective devices designed to prevent these injuries. / February 2016

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of selected psycho-social factors associated with the gold medal winning peak performance of the 1998 Women's Olympic Ice Hockey Team. These psycho-social factors were grouped into six specific purposes: cohesion and coaching, team confidence, team-specific ideal performance states, individual confidence, individual task-specific ideal performance states, Olympic stress, and coping methods. In-depth interviews using a two-part interview guide were conducted with all 20 team members. Hierarchical content analysis procedures were used to analyze the interview data. Method triangulation in the form of quantitative instruments, source triangulation, analyst triangulation and member checks were utilized to support the credibility of the interview data. Results showed that the team was highly cohesive and confident. Primary sources of cohesion were the commitment to a common goal, mutual trust and acceptance, and coaching actions. Cohesion was considered to contribute significantly to performance. Sources of confidence were performance accomplishments, coaching, cohesion and perceived readiness. The team reported a very strong relationship with the head coach, who was considered highly effective. Collectively, the team did experience task-specific, ideal peliormance states at various times in selected games at the Olympics. On an individual level , athletes reported high confidence based on peliormance accomplishments, constructive feedback, role clarity, and effective preparation. Due to their preparation the athletes experienced few stressors and coped effectively with them. lndi vidually, the athletes also experienced ideal peliormance states during selected games at the Olympics. However, these states were fragile and not present for the entire duration of a game. The description of taskspecific, ideal peliormance states, collectively as well as individually, matched Csikszentmihalyi's (1990) theoretical model of flow. Unambiguous feedback was a particularly salient flow dimension for these team sport athletes. From a team development perspective, the team achieved the performing stage of its development at the Olympics characterized by high cohesion and confidence, role clarity, acceptance, and commitment as well as strong leadership and ideal peliormance states. Strength and limitations as well as practical implication of these findings with regards to preparing the team for 2002 were discussed.

Bakgrund: Ishockey är en sport som i studier visat sig ha en hög skadefrekvens. Sporten utövas av kvinnor likväl som män men hur sporten spelas skiljer sig åt beroende av kön samt mellan olika länder. En kartläggning av skadeproblematiken utgör första steget i ett skadepreventivt arbete. Dock finns i dagsläget inga studier angående skadepanoramat inom svensk damishockey. Syfte: Att kartlägga skadeproblematiken inom svensk damishockey utifrån ålder, antal exponeringstimmar, skadelokalisation, skadetillfälle, skadefrekvens samt hur lång matchfrånvaro skador föranleder. Att undersöka samband mellan skadefrekvens och exponeringstimmar samt skadefrekvens och ålder. Metod: En webbaserad enkät utformades i en retrospektiv design. Populationen var samtliga spelare aktiva i riksserien och division 1 i Sverige under säsongen 2013-2014. Data insamlades fortlöpande under tre veckor i februari 2014. Resultatsammanfattning: Antal kompletta enkätsvar som inkluderades var 137, ca 25 % av populationen. Den vanligaste skadelokalisationen var knät (20 %, n = 25). Knäskador var även kopplade till näst längst matchfrånvaro (medelvärde: 6,5 veckor). Mellan träning och match var skadefördelningen jämn. Flest matchskador inträffade i period 2 (45 %). En signifikant korrelation kunde ses gällande ökat antal skador vid ökat antal exponeringstimmar. Ingen korrelation mellan ålder och skadefrekvens noterades.  Konklusion: Denna studie visar, liksom studier på herrishockey och damishockey i Nordamerika, att knäskador är vanligt förekommande samt att flest matchskador sker i period två. I motsats till föregående studier visar denna ingen signifikant skillnad i skador sett till ökad ålder. Även huvudskadorna visade kraftigt lägre siffror än vad tidigare presenterats inom ishockey. Vidare studier behövs för att kunna utarbeta skadeförebyggande åtgärder framförallt för knäskador / Background: Ice hockey is a sport with high risk for injuries. The practitioners of the sport are both males and females, yet how the game is played differs due to gender and country. Mapping out injuries within the population makes a first step towards injury prevention. However, there are no studies regarding the prospect of injuries in Swedish female ice hockey.  Purpose: Mapping out age, exposure to the sport, location, occasion and time loss related to injuries. Study correlation between player age and number of injuries; exposure hours and number of injuries. Procedure: A web-based questionnaire was made in a retrospective design. The population were all players in riksserien and division 1 in Sweden during the season 2013-2014. Data were collected continuously during three weeks in February 2014. Results: The number of complete questionnaires included was 137, approximately 25 % of the population. The most common injury localisation was the knee (20 %, n = 25). Knee injuries also had the second longest absence from gameplay (mean: 6,5 weeks). The distribution of injuries between training and gameplay were equal. The highest number of injuries during gameplay occurred in the second period (45 %). A significant correlation indicated that more injuries occurred with more exposure hours. No correlation between age and injury were found.  Conclusions: This study shows, as studies on men’s ice hockey and female ice hockey in North America that knee injuries are common and that most of injuries during gameplay occurs in the second period. In opposite to previous studies this study shows no correlation between injuries and age. The head-injuries also showed lower numbers than previous studies. Further studies need to be done to work out interventions for injury prevention, especially for knee injuries.

No description available.

Title: Ice hockey and crisis in the Czech Republic Objectives: Investigate the impact of the current economic crisis on ice hockey in the Czech Republic. Methods: Collect macroeconomic indexes of the Czech Republic and determine the impact of the economic crisis on its economy. Collecting and monitoring of economic indexes of ice hockey teams in the Czech republic before and during crisis. Results: The current global economic crisis affected the economy of the Czech Republic. This crisis affected the Czech ice hockey clubs as well and culminated in 2008 and 2009. The main cause was high dependence on income from sponsors, which constitutes about 70-80% of total income. During the crisis, many companies reduce their sponsorship activities. Currently, most clubs have already settled with the economic crisis and is expected to have as its end. Keywords: Ice hockey, crisis, the Czech republic

Ice hockey helmets effectively mitigate the risk of skull fractures and focal traumatic brain injuries in professional ice hockey (PIH), but do not manage diffuse brain injuries such as concussion. This is due to current standard tests, which only represent one head impact event (a fall to the ice) and do not measure rotational head kinematics. It is important that helmets are evaluated using impact conditions that represent how players sustain concussions in ice hockey. The objective of this study was to describe the relationship between three ice hockey helmet tests and reconstructions of three concussive injury events in PIH. A flat anvil drop test (representing head-to-ice impacts), angled anvil drop test (representing head-to-boards impacts at 30o and 45o) and pneumatic ram test (representing medium and high compliance shoulder-to-head impacts) were performed using parameters reflecting concussive injuries in PIH. Stepwise regressions identified the dynamic response variables producing the strongest relationships with MPS. For the flat anvil drop test, dominant linear acceleration had the strongest relationship with MPS (R2 = 0.960), while there were no significant predictors of MPS from the PIH head-to-ice reconstructions. Rotational velocity had the strongest relationship for the 30o (R2 = 0.978) and 45o Anvil Drop Tests (R2 = 0.977), while rotational acceleration had the strongest relationship for the PIH head-to-boards reconstructions (R2 = 0.649). Resultant rotational acceleration had the strongest relationship for the medium compliance ram test (R2 = 0.671), the high compliance ram test (R2 = 0.850) and the PIH shoulder-to-head reconstructions (R2 = 0.763). The flat anvil drop test results indicate that falls on a flat, rigid surface induce primarily linear acceleration of the head. Standards should continue using this type of test to ensure helmets prevent skull fracture and focal TBI. Ice hockey helmets should also be evaluated using an angled anvil drop test and a collision ram test, representing two unique head impact events known to cause concussive injuries. The 45o Anvil Drop Test provided a closer representation of concussive head-to-boards impacts in PIH, with rotational velocity producing the strongest relationship with MPS. For collision impacts, the Medium Compliance Ram Test yielded repeatable impact conditions while the High Compliance Ram Test provided a closer representation of real-world concussive shoulder-to-head impacts. For these pneumatic ram tests, rotational acceleration produced the strongest relationship with MPS. The information in this thesis may be used by standards organizations when designing future ice hockey helmet tests.

The overarching purpose of this study was to describe and to understand what it means to become and be a coach in ice hockey. The following areas were considered: how Swedish ice hockey has been developed, the recruiting of ice hockey coaches, the work of a coach, how the actors view the development of ice hockey and how the club directors, players, and the coaches believe a good coach should act. A fundamental theoretical point of departure for this work is Kalevi Heinilä's totalization theory. The recruiting of coaches is understood with the aid of Schelin's views on early involvement and socialization in sports and Patriksson's model of socialization. The coaches' activities and the forces that affect the coach will be described according to Chelladurais' multidimensional model of leadership. The empirical material comprises questionnaires to coaches and chairpersons from 205 clubs, interviews conducted with twenty ice hockey coaches and twenty ice hockey players and a literature study to describe the development of Swedish ice hockey. The results showed the there has been a striking increase in the number of matches and that there is a conflict between the sports and marketing aspects. This situation places demands on the actors to win but also play in an entertaining manner. Economic aspects control the development of sports to an ever greater extent but also offers an opportunity for a professional career for both players and coaches. The process of desocialization does not always mean a definite departure from sports but it can instead mean the beginning of a new career. Most of the coaches are former players. They continue in the same sport but in a new role. The coach is responsible for all the activities with the team and bear the responsibility for the team's results. The pressure to succeed make the teams try to find an effective way to play: ice hockey today is more tactically governed and defensive. There seems to be a Swedish model for the routines associated with a match. The whole course of events is very formalized and this study shows an almost ritualistic behavior of coaches. Players and coaches believe that the coach should be authoritarian in the match situation. The whole culture of ice hockey seems to expect it. It is believed that one must be of a certain kind to be accepted by the culture of ice hockey: the Ice Hockey Association, clubs, players, mass media, and spectators. In any case it is simpler not to deviate. / digitalisering@umu

Commercialization of sport has been growing since 80s and club owners tend to pay more and more attention not just to cups and titles but to commercial success as well. Nevertheless, fans are still the key source of revenues. Besides direct spending while attending games popular clubs and crowded stadiums grab attention of generous advertisers. That is why the problem of sports attendance becomes more and more important though ice hockey attendance is still not the most popular topic among sports marketing researchers. The majority of them cover Canada and the United States while European leagues suffer from the lack of studies as much bigger attention is paid to sport number one – soccer. In the same time, Sweden is one of the few countries in the world where ice hockey might be as popular as soccer. Swedish ice hockey league is one of the strongest in the world but still many clubs fail to sell out their arenas at every game. So the main purpose of this research is to identify factors that influence attendance of ice hockey games in Sweden and reveal their impact on attendance. The analysis is conducted using quantitative methods, where econometrical and statistical approaches are primary tools. In order to test factors influencing attendance a multiple regression model was set up. The dataset was compiled using secondary data and consisted of 1317 regular season ice hockey matches played during 4 seasons (from 2008/2009 to 2011/2012) of the top Swedish ice hockey league called Elitserien. The main sources for compiling the dataset were game reports provided by Swedish Ice Hockey Association and Elitserien. The present study has shown that several factors have strongly positive effect on attendance. Scheduling (games on Friday, Saturday and during Christmas holidays) and rivalry are the most important factors that bring crowds to arenas. Moreover, it can be concluded that higher prices do not affect attendance negatively and clubs can slightly increase ticket prices to improve match day revenues. Finally, on-ice violence attracts Swedish fans while opposite trend exists in North America.