Basketball continued from page 4 However, problems for the average high school competitor don't really matter because the scholarship players are often much better than the average high school competition anyway. "When you come to this league, you got a lot more people at the same level," Plocki said. "So any time you have weight training to get bigger, stronger, you gain an advantage." In the case of Michigan guard Kirk Taylor, working out is not a case of gaining an advantage; it is done just to be able to play. On February 11, 1989, Taylor tore knee ligaments in a game against Minnesota, sidelining him for 18 months. He had to wait over six months before he could even step on the court and dribble again. Last December, Taylor finally returned to the same starting position he held in the Minnesota game. "In high-intensity sports, the majority of the people who have his injury return," Michigan trainer David Ralston said. "The key is not the surgery. It's the rehabilitation that's really the important part." Despite the fact that ligaments are missing and there is some scar tissue left, Taylor feels his knee is functioning at 100 percent. He has his own weight set, with which he works his knee three times a week to keep it strong. "Kirk is somebody you have to push to do it because now that he is recovered, he thinks he's better," trainer typically sees a player needing care for a bruise, sprained ankle, or even a blister every day. About once a week he has to send someone to get X-rays or to see a physician. "A majority of them are things I can treat in the training room, whether it be through physical therapy, taping technique, exercise or whatever," Ralston said. Even though the Wolverines are often regarded as the weaker team this season, it can be noted that Michigan has only suffered 'The advantage of the Center of Champions is... for recruiting, it's a nice, big facility. Recruits see a big facility and they're wide-eyed and bushy-tailed ' - Jim Plocki, Conditioning Coach Hockeye continued from page 5 Brad Andress oversaw their program. Andress has since taken a job with Bo Schembechler and the Detroit Tigers. "The kids, especially this year's sophomores, really got into it," Berenson said. "For the first time, we had a strength coach the players could relate to. Ken has been excellent too. "If the kids fight for a puck in the corner, no matter how big the other guy is, they tell themselves that they can win the fight for it and outmuscle the opponent." While the muscle and bulk the players add in the summer greatly helps the players win the fight for the puck, visualizing the surroundings and happenings before it occurs also plays an important role. This year is the second year the team has been staying "mentally fit" through the help of a team psychologist, Dr. Hugh Bray. Bray has worked for the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues under former coach Jacques Demers. "His job is to try and teach the players how to handle the emotions of playing a sport," Berenson explained. "We all know that hockey is a mental sport. If you ask hockey players, they'll say anywhere from 70 to 90 percent of the game is mental. We coaches practice just the physical. We all like to think we're amateur psychologists, but it's good to get a professional in to teach the kids." Bray attempts to have the Plocki said. "This is the critical time, because if he were to stop lifting right now and just played hoops, he would be very vulnerable." Taking care of injuries is Ralston's responsibility. The I I' Iq C ina at * U 1 RESTAURANT one significant injury this year - a minor foot injury to James Voskuil. The credit has to go the conditioning staff. This is also a young team. Plocki thinks first-year forward Rich McIver "is gonna be big" in the years to come, as he is the strongest player on the team. Mitchell is not far behind, and if Riley can finally bulk up, maybe it will be Michigan giving the lessons of strength during a press conference next season. We will prove them wrong 0 Wolverines deal with all that is happening around them, and keep their emotions in a proper perspective. He has them envision situations before they occur, both in the large perspective (before a game, they picture what surroundings they are about to enter) and the minute (foreseeing a play). 'This weekend, a centerman knows he will have to faceoff against [Michigan State's] Kerry Russell," Berenson said. "Now, he sees himself doing that and doing it well. Once he does it, it's a natural reaction. It's really like a dream." Again, what is available is afar cry from when Berenson was a player. "I know how important the mental game is because I played it," he said. "For me, being prepared to play in a game is so tough. I would sit at home and think of nothing else. Sometimes I would break out into a cold sweat. I wasn't fit to live with because I knew I was about to go into a lion's den. "'I equate it to going to the Coliseum and the lions and the Christians - and I didn't know if I was a lion or a Christian. "You just have to be ready. You have to be ready to stick your head through a wall, even if it is a brick wall. If you aren't ready, then it's too late, no matter what the coach says. Mental preparation is a big, big, part of hockey." Team members were curious when they first found out a psychologist would be working with them. After last season, Berenson polled the team on whether they found Bray helpful, and the team agreed that it worked. While on-ice preparation remains most important, many things go into creating a successful hockey team. Work is year-round, physical as well as mental. Now, the team needs only to visualize scoring 2-on-4 goals in practice. If those dreams become reality, Red might again be smiling, and physically holding an NCAA championship trophy - because this team has gone the "longway. Now that would be "fitting." by Mike Gill At a recent Michigan hockey practice, coach Red Berenson had his team practicing 2-on-0 moves against goalie Steve Shields. Two skaters would pass the puck back and forth and attempt to stick it past the rookie netminder. Few succeeded. Berenson rounded his troops up and lectured them on such a poor display. He told them to redo the drill. They did. And few.again succeeded. Red turned angry as he called the group in for another lecture. "How many scored?" he asked and only a couple of hands went up. "Well, what do you guys have to say about this?" There was silence. Finally, one player smiled and said, "With goaltending like that, we're going to go a long way." Even Red couldn't help smiling at that response. With the Michigan hockey team soaring toward the CCHA and NCAA playoffs, on a school record 14 game winning streak going into this weekend's matchup against Michigan State, no one can argue that the team is poised to go a long way. But in addition to puck handling, goal scoring, and tough defense, some of Michigan's success can be traced away from the ice surface at Yost Ice Arena, and upstairs to their lockerroom. That is where the team maintains physical fitness and improves their strength, as well as prepares mentally for games with the help of a psychologist. Ilockey is not just an ice sport anymore. At Michigan, preparation for games begins in the summer with intense strength and conditioning workouts, which continues to a lesser extent until the conclusion of the season. It is a far cry from the days Berenson spent with four teams during his 17-year (1961-78) NHL playing career. 0 Red's team fit in mind and b "You didn't have strength conditioning, they just weighed you in at the beginning and that was it. Then you would work on the ice," Berenson said. "Hockey is slow to change. But we learned a lot from the Russians in 1972. They were in really much better shape because they did more off ice. We started to look at our sport. It's come a long way since then." Berenson said there are still some pro teams that don't condition the way Michigan and other college 'I equate it to going to the Coliseum and the lions and the Christians - and I didn't know if I was a lion or a Christian' - Red Berenson Michigan Hockey Coach or NHL teams do because their coaches "just play the games. They don't feel it's worth the time, or coaches don't think it's necessary because they didn't do it. Hockey players are in much better shape, though, today." The usual itinerary during the season for Michigan is: Monday - intense practice with weight training; some stationary bike riding. Tuesday - regular practice with added skating; meet with psychologist for 30 minutes. Wednesday - practice with some weight training. Thursday - light practice. Friday/Saturday - Training table (a buffet of pasta and salad) at Cottage Inn (if playing at home); game. Sunday - optional ice; power skating for first-year players (through the mid-season point). This season, Michigan's weight training program has been under the guidance of graduate assistant Ken Mouton. During the season, the hockey team attempts only to maintain their strength, not improve it. "All you are doing is maintaining what you got," Mouton said. "It's during the summer that you bulk up. Hockey season is so long that the muscles break down because of all the skating. You might lose weight, but you lift to maintain the muscle tissue." The hockey team, as well as the football team, lift on a "work until failure" program. Mouton explains that once a player cannot lift his maximum weight, it is reduced to approximately 60 percent, and the player continues until he cannot lift anymore. In contrast, swimmers are on a totally different program in which they do a set number of repetitions. Both Mouton and Berenson point to Hobey Baker Candidate Denny Felsner as an excellent example of what the program can do. When Felsner arrived on campus three years ago, Berenson estimates his weight was around 175. Now, he is over 200. "He has really matured physically, yet he has not lost speed or agility," Berenson said. "Don Stone is another example. I remember his coach Michigan puckster Mike Stone appears t teeth while lifting weights after practice telling me that he had absolutely no upper body strength. Now for his size, he's a strong player. 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