The Athletic Republic training center in Clifton Park, NY is helping hockey players in Update New York improve their skating mechanics, and increase foot speed and on-ice performance.

Ice Hockey Treadmill Increases Skating Speed for Saratoga County Athletes  ~by Stan Hudy

CLIFTON PARK — Parents have yelled at children for decades for putting their feet up on the coffee table and the furniture.

Now, imagine their reaction if their young, skate-wearing hockey player decided to jump on mom and dad’s treadmill at home?

Jack Bartoszek, owner of the Athletic Republic franchise in Clifton Park doesn’t see a problem in that and actually encourages it.

Bartoszek teamed up with Athletic Republic and provided the ideal training for hockey players with a need to increase speed — the ice hockey treadmill.

Introduced as part of each Athletic Republic location the skating treadmill allows skaters to lace up their ice skates and work on their strides on a treadmill designed just for them.

“It’s a synthetic surface, kind of like if you were to compare it to the cutting board in your kitchen, the white board that you cut vegetables up with,” Bartoszek said. “It’s similar to that in that the skates will make a mark in it, but they won’t really cut it too badly.”

Instead of a single piece of running surface or mat stretched across two rollers, the ice hockey treadmill utilizes synthetic slats, attached to the mat surface and then pulled across the rollers.

“We replace the slats every couple of years,” Bartoszek explained. “Youth athletes, Olympic athletes and professional athletes come in and they skate on this.”

The unique treadmill — the only one in Upstate New York — provides a workout in from the cold for a number of athletes during a training session and provides unique challenges when the treadmill, like its running cousin, is lifted up at an angle.

“They are improving their skating performance by skating uphill at different various speeds and angles all controlled by a computer,” Bartoszek said. “You come in here and skate, become a better skater and that translates directly onto the ice when you are skating on flat ice.”

With a safety system for each skater, the overhead beams, rope and harness gives the ice skating treadmill a feel of a ride at an amusement park, but these rides are much shorter and more strenuous.

“When you are skating uphill, incline training recruits muscles at a rate of three times more than skating or running on flat ground,” Bartoszek said. “When the athletes come in here, their longest time on the treadmill is 45 seconds and that’s a warm-up at a very slow speed and very low angle.”

Professional hockey player and Clifton Park resident Peter MacArthur pushed himself to the limit on the treadmill earlier this week, stepping on for a few strides at its highest point.

“When you go 30 degrees like that, five or six seconds is the longest time you are going to be on there,” MacArthur said. “Usually we’ll go through that three or four times and be really, really difficult by the third time. The first time isn’t bad and you get through it. The more you do things — the repetition — that’s what really gets you.”

Even for a professional athlete, the treadmill wins every time.

“If you go for 20 seconds you’re done, you need at least a minute break to get your heart rate down and the lactic acid out of your legs,” MacArthur said. “It’s really tough. You’re just not used to using those muscles for that period of time at that quick of a rate.”

The skating treadmill isn’t limited to high school, collegiate or professional athletes as Jack’s daughter, Mandy Bartoszek, jumped on for some stride work and family friend David Wehrlin took his first strides on the synthetic surface.

“When I started it felt kind of weird, then the second time I got on it I felt really good about myself and it was really fun,” she said.

Her interaction on the treadmill stirred a return to the slippery flat surface for Bartoszek. “I played when I was 5 and then I stopped for a little while because it didn’t feel right for me,” she said. “Then when I started on the treadmill I just wanted to try again for a while, just me and my dad, to have some fun on the ice.”

Twelve-year-old David Wehrlin wasn’t intimidated by the unique treadmill.

“Since we were harnessed I knew if we did fall I would just swing back,” he said. “Really it wasn’t that scary. It was just weird.”

With a full life on the ice for MacArthur, skating for Shenendehowa, Boston University and the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, the professional hockey player knows what it takes to be successful on the ice.

“The game is all about confidence and skating. If you can’t skate now you can’t play,” the AHL free agent said. “Even the big guys who are fighting they can all fly. It may not look like it, but when you’re out there next to them they can all fly.

“Skating is the number one thing if you want to be a hockey player,” MacArthur said. “If you want to be a successful playing hockey you have to be a good skater, otherwise it’s not going to work out.”

Through the years MacArthur has learned that his success has to do with the center of his body as much as his legs to propel him up and down the ice.

“A lot of things that young players and athletes don’t understand that your core is essential,” he said. “If you don’t have a strong core, strong legs, strong muscles in your stomach you can’t do anything. It’s your base. It’s like having a good center of gravity.”

“We do a lot of things with the core balls, the weights down on the floor, working on our core to make our center muscles as strong as possible and in return makes you a better skater,” MacArthur said. “Even if you don’t think it’s going to your core is number one.”

Currently back home during the off-season and fielding offers from different professional ice hockey clubs, MacArthur is taking advantage of the local skating treadmill.

“This is the only place that I have ever seen one and the only place I have ever trained on one,” MacArthur said.

“I’m sure other places have them, I think Cornell has one and a bunch of the pro teams have one, but this is the only one I have used. It’s pretty convenient. It’s nice.”

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North Shore Ice Arena in Northbrook, Illinois expands its services with an Athletic Republic performance sports training center.

It’s hard for former New Trier hockey player Stephanie Dubin to forget her first experience on a skating treadmill.

“At first, it’s weird,” said the center, who is entering her sophomore year at the University of Colorado. “It’s scary to let go of the bar and then you realize that you can’t fall. You’ve got nowhere to go.”

While attending New Trier, Dubin took advantage of Athletic Republic’s running treadmills, plyometric press machine and conditioning cords. She currently is spending her first summer as an intern at its new Northbrook location at the North Shore Ice Arena.

Since Athletic Republic opened its eighth site in the Chicago area May 19, business has been booming. The Park City, Utah-based company’s other area locations are in Lincolnwood, Geneva, Orland Park, Naperville, Willowbrook, Winnetka and Libertyville. Locally, skating treadmills are at Northbrook, the Hartland Arena in Lincolnwood and Fox Valley Arena in Geneva.

The treadmill is about eight feet wide and is supported by plastic planks that rotate. At full speed, it’s very loud.

Hockey players use the machine most often, but speed skaters and figure skaters train on it as well. Northbrook instructors are looking for figure skates without toe picks so skaters do not chew up the treadmill’s surface.

Skaters are supported by a harness and cable to prevent falls. The treadmill can be adjusted to incline for even harder workouts and can reach a top speed of 16 mph.

“It’s hard. It’s a hard time because it’s so grueling,” Dubin said. “It takes a lot out of you.”

At Northbrook, the treadmill is located near a mini-rink so skaters can work on their mechanics moments after completing a workout. Athletic Republic staff videotape from two different angles to break down the skater’s stride during and after workouts

“It’s such a great tool for stride mechanics,” said Tyler Bosch, Athletic Republic’s director of operations. “You can also be next to the athlete while they are skating.”

Workouts on the treadmill take up 40 minutes of an hour-long workout, which includes warm-up exercises and drills to improve balance and flexibility. Typical programs last 20-26 sessions over six to eight weeks.

The U.S. Olympic training center in Colorado Springs uses similar equipment for its skaters.

Athletic training has come a long way since Debbie Stoery graduated from Glenbrook North in 1970. Stoery was a figure skater long before her current role as an elite coach at North Shore Ice Arena. She formerly coached Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek when he competed at the novice level.

“As a little girl, my father took me to the forest preserve to run up hills,” Stoery said. “I used to jump the fence to use Glenbrook North’s running track.”

Now, Stoery’s students as young as 8 years old belong to Athletic Republic and train under Bosch and Dubin.

“What the (training) does is maximize our efficiency,” Stoery said. “In our sport, we are part artistic (skater) and part power skater.”

Article by George M. Wilcox originally printed in Wilmette Life.

Kyle Palmieri — 1st Round/Anaheim

Mike Cichy — 7th Round/Montreal

Jordan Samuel-Thomas –  7th Round/Atlanta

Athletic Republic Congratulates  our class of 2009 NHL Draft picks!

The recent NHL Draft was a great one for players who have trained using Athletic Republic’s patented Hockey Treadmill and proprietary training protocols. The photos above show just three of 16 players drafted after training at an Athletic Republic facility or with the USA National Team Development Program.

At Athletic Republic we take great pride in our athletes accomplishing their goals.  The NHL Draft this past Friday and Saturday in Montreal was a major event in the lives of 16 Athletic Republic hockey players. The on-ice and off-ice dedication that these 16 hockey players have shown has led them from aspiring to be NHL players to be drafted on the NHL stage. All of us at Athletic Republic would like to send out a heartfelt congratulations to these 16 athletes (listed below).   We know that your journey has been a long and grueling one. Athletic Republic applauds the outstanding coaching, dedicated parents and remarkable work ethic that has gotten you to this point, and wish you nothing but the best in the future.

On Friday night, two AR athletes had their names called, with Jordan Schroeder from the University of Minnesota being taken with the 22nd pick by Vancouver, and Kyle Palmieri being selected with the 26th pick by the Anaheim Ducks. On Saturday, the names of 14 Athletic Republic athletes were called, nine of whom are members of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (USNTDP) U-18 team.

Athletic Republic training and technology is currently part of the NTDP training regimen, with athletes training on our patented Hockey Treadmill during their pre-season and post-season stages.

Other notables drafted were Craig Smith (Waterloo), Nick Jensen (Green Bay), Brad Peltz (Avon), Mike Cichy (Indiana) and Jordan Samuel-Thomas (Waterloo). Every one of these players have experienced our scientifically tested and guaranteed hockey-specific training program, which is designed to give players the on-ice edge.

From Pee Wee to Pros, at Athletic Republic we have a program that’s specifically designed to accelerate a player’s game on and off the ice. Our programming is designed specifically for athletes preparing for the season, gaining the advantage in the off-season and ramping up their skills in-season. Each program incorporates regular athlete assessment and strikes a balance based on time of year, physical development, skill level, performance level and an athlete’s goals. We have over 32 levels and over 2,500 pages of protocols designed to help athletes progress from beginners to the National Hockey League, and that is exactly what we have done — helping to develop over 500 NHL players and athletes competing with the US National Team Development Program and Hockey powerhouses like University of Minnesota, Cornell, Ohio State and Michigan Tech.

Athletic Republic congratulates all 16 of this year’s draft picks! We look forward to watching your journey and applaud you on your work ethic on and off the ice.

Here’s the full report, showing round , team, hometown and current league/team:

1         VAN    Jordan Scroeder                   Burnsville, MN               WCHA              U of MN
1         ANA    Kyle Palmieri                         Smithtown, NY               USNTDP         US U-18
2        PHX    Chris Brown                           Houston, TX                   USNTDP         US U-18
2        SJS      Will Wrenn                            Anchorage, AK                USNTDP         US U-18
2        FLA     Drew Shore                           Denver, Co                        USNTDP         US U-18
2        ATL     Jeremy Morin                       Auburn, NY                      USNTDP         US U-18
2        TOR    Kenny Ryan                           Franklin Village, MI       USNTDP         US U-18
2        CBJ     Kevin Lynch                          Grosse Pointe,   MI         USNTDP         US U-18
3        NYR    Ryan Bourque                      Boxford, MA                     USNTDP         US U-18
3        NSH    Craig Smith                           Madison, WI                    USNTDP        Waterloo
5        DET    Nick Jensen                          St Paul, MN                       USNTDP         Green Bay
6        COL    Brandon Maxwell                Winter Park, FL                USNTDP         US U-18
6        TOR    Jerry D’Amigo                     Binghamton, NY               USNTDP         US U-18
7        OTT    Brad Peltz                             New York, NY                     NE-HS             AVON
7         MTL   Mike Cichy                           New Britian, CT                 USHL               Indiana
7         ATL   Jordan Samuel-Thomas    Hartford, CT                        USHL              Waterloo

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Last year when Athletic Republic moved its training and technology into the USNTDP training facility at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube, Scott Moneghan Director of Hockey Operations for US Hockey had this to say:

The U.S. National Team Development Program is a cutting-edge program that strives to make our American players the best on the World stage. And the Athletic Republic Hockey Treadmill is the type of cutting-edge technology that will help our players continue their string of five consecutive medal performances at the Under-18 World Championships, also helping them to reach their personal goals for success in college and professional hockey.

It’s seems that Scott Monaghan he wasn’t kidding with that statement.  Last week, in the same town where Athletic Republic was  created — Fargo, ND — the USA U-18 team took the ice to defeat the Russians 5-0 defeat. Five separate players scored goals in the championship game.  The U.S. finished the tournament 6-0-0-1, and captured the first world title for a U.S. hockey team on home ice since the 1980 Olympic Winter Games.

Tonight was a culmination of two years of hard work for many of our players, said Ron Rolston, head coach of Team USA. They sacrificed for each other and they became a family. They had the focus, determination and persevered, which is what the National Team Development Program is all about. There is no better way to end the season and I am really happy for our players.

Before a record crowd of 4,923 at the Urban Plains Center, Team USA struck early when Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich.) put a wrist shot into the lower right corner of the net through a screen just 2:09 into the game. Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) doubled the U.S. advantage after he streaked towards the goal and one-touched Kevin Lynch’s (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) feather pass inside the left post at 9:27.

Just 1:55 into the second period, William Wrenn (Anchorage, Alaska) one-timed Drew Shore’s pass from the middle slot into the lower left corner for a power-play goal, making it 3-0.

Chris Brown(Flower Mound, Texas) extended the lead to 4-0 when he took Shore’s drop pass and wired a wrist shot over the right shoulder of netminder Igor Bobkov 2:29 into the third period. Just 1:10 later, Nick Mattson (Chanhassen, Minn.) fed Ryan Bourque (Boxford, Mass.) who sniped a shot into the upper left corner to ice the 5-0 victory.

Netminder Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) made 17 saves to earn his second shutout at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

All of us at Athletic Republic would like to say ”Congratulations TEAM USA!”

Athletic Republic in Russian

In 1986 John Frappier, the founder of Athletic Republic, was invited to join the U.S. Gymnastics Team delegation in the U.S.S.R. for the Summer Goodwill Games. John quickly realized that America’s athletic training lagged behind that of the Soviets and began translating his experiences into better training plans for athlete development in the United States. Many of the training concepts John learned from the Soviets focused on over-speed training, plyometric training and athlete testing. On John’s return flight home, he devised new ways to train and new machines to test an athlete’s limits. Thus, the thinking behind Athletic Republic was born in Russia.

Twenty-three years later, Athletic Republic was invited back to Russia to provide our Athletic Republic Hockey Performance System and expertise to the city of Yekaterinburg and their city’s professional, junior and Olympic academy hockey players. The city of Yekaterinburg is considered a hotbed for young aspiring hockey talent. The city boosts two Olympic Development academies ranging for athletes 7-16 years of age – the Automobilist Authority and Automobilist Unost. In addition the town is home to one of the region’s elite junior programs as well as a professional team in the 2nd Division Russian Liga, the Yekaterinburg Automobilist. Over the years, Yekaterinburg has produced such NHL superstars such as: Alexei Yashin (Ottawa Senators, NY Islanders), Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Redwings), Nikolai Khabibulin (Chicago Blackhawks) and hundreds of others to star in the Russian KHL and 2nd Divisions.

Russian entrepreneur Igor Balandin first approached Athletic Republic in the fall of 2008, after returning home with his son Ivan, an aspiring hockey standout. Ivan had spent weeks training in one of the Athletic Republic’s many Chicago-land facilities with trainer Tyler Bosch, and had seen incredible improvement in his skating. So much so, the head coach of the academy team took special notice that Ivan was clearly a stride ahead of his opponents and decided to examine the possibility of opening an Athletic Republic facility in Yekaterinburg further.  After researching Athletic Republic, and traveling to the U.S. to visit our performance sports centers in Libertyville, Illinois, Albany, New York, Stamford, Connecticut, and Chelsea Piers, in Manhattan, Igor was hooked on the concept of developing his very own center in Russia.

So, 23 years later the goodwill shown John Frappier on his trip to Russia comes full circle. State-of-the-art, patented equipment like Athletic Republic’s Hockey Treadmill, and scientifically tested and proven training methods offer hockey players in Yekaterinburg the best of both worlds.

“It is with great pleasure to bring an Athletic Republic facility to Yekaterinburg, Russia. The results that I have seen firsthand with my own son, and the fact that Athletic Republic has trained so many NHL stars is incredible – it’s an opportunity that I am excited to give back to the hockey community and help to provide a safe and effective way for hockey players to gain speed, power and efficiency.” –Owner Igor Balandin

Suffolk PAL National Champs!

At Athletic Republic, we pride ourselves on providing hockey players a program dedicated to “lighting the lamp”. Last week, the Suffolk PAL Junior “B” franchise took that to another level when they clinched a National Championship Title from the Central Penn Panthers with a decisive 4-1 win.

“Unbelievable,” was Head Coach Aleksey Nikiforov’s response right after winning the USA Junior B National Championship. “We were aware of how tough it would be and the boys worked hard to accomplish their goal.”

Suffolk PAL came into the USA Junior B National Championship as the fourth seed from the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League after losing in the Semi-Finals of the Keegan Cup to the Central Penn Panthers.  That would turn out to be their last loss of the season.

“This has been an absolute incredible experience for these young men. They have all worked extremely hard on and off the ice and when the battle was needed to be won they were well equipped,” said Jake Laime, Suffolk PAL Assistant Coach and Hockey Manager at BlueStreak, Hauppauge.

Equipped is an understatement. This team boasts the top three goal scorers in the nation, as well as the leading defensemen, and one of the finest coaching staffs in Junior Hockey with “Coach of the Year” Aleksey Nikiforov, Jim Wright, Jake Laime and GM Ron Kinnear. The team also is equipped with their own state of the art Athletic Republic Hockey Training Center, BlueStreak Sports Training.

“This is the moment we have all waited for. Since we first opened BlueStreak Sports Training four years ago at the Rinx in Hauppauge, NY, the overwhelming goal was to be able to provide the Suffolk PAL players with a state of the art training center. Being a fellow Long Islander. I wanted the best for these kids. They have the best coaching staff and the finest facilities, but I felt that they needed a training facility that could improve their on-ice strength, power, efficiency and overall conditioning,” said Matt Stack, VP of Operations at BlueStreak Sports Training. Read more

Athletic Republic’s patented Hockey Treadmill and performance sports training programs gives hockey players the speed and separation needed to compete in the “new” NHL.  Each individual training program increases a player’s stride frequency, stride length, skating mechanics, edge control and stability, conditioning, shot velocity and puck control. Visit an Athletic Republic training center for one of our programs designed to “light the lamp!”

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from or about Neil Clark (top photo) and Vladi Nikiforov (bottom photo).

With hockey season in full-swing, they’ve both seen the benefits of their hard summer of hockey training pay off. Here’s a story about Neil being called up to the AHL Rochester Americans.

Neil is possibly one of the hardest working athletes I have ever worked with his resilience, attitude and pure passion for the game makes him a leader on and off the ice. He has made incredible strides in his game and continues to move up the hockey food chain. – Tad O’Had VP of Hockey Athletic Republic

Utah Grizzlies Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Kevin Colley recently announced  that forward Vladimir Nikiforov has been recalled to the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Grizzlies are proud to be the ECHL affiliate of the New York Islanders and their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. Nikiforov, 21, was named an ECHL All-Star last week and leads Utah rookies with six goals and 12 assists in 29 games. He played four games with the Sound Tigers earlier this year.

Vladi Nikiforov did an incredible job this summer training, his persistence and attitude are outstanding and we couldn’t be any happier with his success. — Jake Laime BlueStreak Sports Training Hockey Director (A Proud Member of Athletic Republic)

The photo at left recently was posted on Habs Inside/Out–the online source for absolutely everything about the Montreal Canadiens. The title of the post is Getting Into Hockey Shape, and tells the tale of the Silver brothers bring Athletic Republic’s patented Hockey Treadmill to the Sportplexe Quatres-Glaces in Pierrefonds.

If you’ve ever wondered what hockey treadmill training was all about, this article is a must read.

Max Pacioretty is a 6’2’’, 203 pound left winger that is creating some excitement at the Montreal Canadians camp, so much excitement in fact that this 19-year-old was featured on NHL.com. The NHL has always been a goal of Max’s, and his hard work is paying off. 

Max has trained on Athletic Republic programs at BlueStreak Sports Training Stamford, CT since the age of 15. His training allowed him to enter camp in great shape with 5.7% body fat and with the highest recorded vertical jump (36”) in Montreal’s rookie camp history. In a short four years his list of accomplishments includes USHL Rookie of the Year, NHL 1st round draft pick, CCHA Rookie of the Year and NHL contract.  Athletic Republic’s Vice President of Hockey had this to say about Max, “There are few athletes that test their personal limits as much as Max has done over the last four year span at BlueStreak. Max’s energy, intensity and relentless pursuit of perfection are the reason he adapts at every level. He will surprise many this year in the NHL.” 

Max played for the University of Michigan last winter and immediately earned a spot on the Wolverines number one line with Hobey Baker winner Kevin Porter. His journey from high school to NHL was recently featured on MaxPreps.com. Max credits Athletic Republic performance sports training programs for his success. “I can’t believe the incredible benefit BlueStreak & Athletic Republic has meant to my career, from the (hockey) treadmill, plyos to the plyo press. All of these things have helped me develop into a faster, quicker & more explosive hockey player.”

Good Luck Max in the upcoming season!