The Quesnel Millionaires are very fortunate to have Brian Kozak with the hockey club, along with the Quesnel Acceleration Centre. Brian comes with honors in fitness and nutrition along with a teaching degree. He lives in Quesnel with his wife ­­­Anna, and two daughters, Brianna and Mia.

 

Quesnel Hockey Academy

 

He has worked with exceptional athletes like Curt Bowen, Mike Richards, and Mike Garrow. “These players are the epitome of dedication; they follow the training program to a ‘T’ and sometimes you have to explain that ‘too much’ does not mean better.” Brian states.

 

Brian says:

 

Our players come from varied backgrounds of training so when they arrive we put them through a series of tests to determine where they are at and then we perform the tests throughout the season to adjust the athlete’s training program. The first test is a body composition test to find out their body fat, muscle mass, the hydration level and also the shape of their cells to determine their nutrition. If there’s a problem in one of those areas, we address it by doing a nutrition log of what they eat and drink and we can adjust their nutrition to help them become healthier athletes. The second major test we provide is a FACT test to see where each individual athlete is at…we find their weakest link i.e. metabolic, cardio, or respiratory system and determine their training zones. From this information we design a training program to address the needs of each athlete. There are some other tests we do to find the athletes 1 Rep Max. for their metabolic system as well as their resting heart rate for their cardio system.

 

Once the testing is completed, we educate the athletes on how to use the test results to increase their personal level of fitness and how this translates to on-ice performance. For example, if a player wants to double shift the test results will show if they can and if they can not, then the training zones they need to work on to be able to. The other area often overlooked by athletes is ‘Recovery’ as the players have to learn that after a workout (which is also a game) the recovery is when the body heals and becomes stronger if the proper protocol is followed. This is major reason why our players perform the tests and learn to use a heart rate monitor for their cardio system, and metabolic recovery tests so they learn to listen to their body and ultimately perform at their top level.

 

The athletes have the privilege of using this testing equipment and working out at the Quesnel Acceleration Centre which has a SkateMill plus other hockey specific training equipment. The players use the SkateMill in-season mainly for recovery from an injury, but in the off-season they use work on conditioning and increase their skating coordination, balance and technique.

 

Hockey Academy: located in the Helen Dixon Centre – Phone 250-983-6910