Vegas
10-12-2005, 11:12 AM
Kings legend and future Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=8) can credit the length of his 18-year, relatively injury-free NHL career to good fortune and a regular, hockey-specific training regimen. So when Lucky Luc saw an opportunity to offer similar workout guidance to young athletes and weekend warriors alike during the hockey hiatus, he jumped at the chance.
The wheels inside Robitaille's head began turning when he saw the instruction youngsters on the Omaha Lancers, a junior team he owns along with Mario Lemieux and others, were receiving day in and day out. Robitaille thought there was a way to make the same information and progress tracking available en masse via the Web.
He found his answer with Players Edge, a performance center started in Virginia by Craig Pippin (former baseball player with the Royals, Indians and Pirates organizations). Pippin approached Robitaille through a mutual acquaintance.
"Basically, what we're going to do is give the opportunity from kids to adults to get their own personalized training at a fraction of the cost. If a kid comes in and wants to be a hockey player, he gets to do a little testing. We have a skating treadmill. We have a shooting simulator with a computerized goalie," Robitaille said. "And after testing, we'll give them their own personalized program. Two to three times a week, they'll have their own program and start working out with it."
The programs are set up for football, volleyball, basketball, baseball and soccer, as well. And for the first time, these tests are available online, a groundbreaking step in the digital age to help develop a performance program for every athlete at any age and skill level.
The wheels inside Robitaille's head began turning when he saw the instruction youngsters on the Omaha Lancers, a junior team he owns along with Mario Lemieux and others, were receiving day in and day out. Robitaille thought there was a way to make the same information and progress tracking available en masse via the Web.
He found his answer with Players Edge, a performance center started in Virginia by Craig Pippin (former baseball player with the Royals, Indians and Pirates organizations). Pippin approached Robitaille through a mutual acquaintance.
"Basically, what we're going to do is give the opportunity from kids to adults to get their own personalized training at a fraction of the cost. If a kid comes in and wants to be a hockey player, he gets to do a little testing. We have a skating treadmill. We have a shooting simulator with a computerized goalie," Robitaille said. "And after testing, we'll give them their own personalized program. Two to three times a week, they'll have their own program and start working out with it."
The programs are set up for football, volleyball, basketball, baseball and soccer, as well. And for the first time, these tests are available online, a groundbreaking step in the digital age to help develop a performance program for every athlete at any age and skill level.