On a Wednesday in suburban Kanata, the air is fresh, a carryover from a welcome cool night, the mid-morning sun not yet burning hot.
Tell it to the six hockey players inside the Greco training facility, sweat rolling off their faces as they dance along a floor ladder (think about old schoolyard games of hop scotch), music pounding in their ears so loud it’s impossible to think. (That’s generally good, when hockey players aren’t thinking). Ripping through the ladder, dancing in and out of the squares, at three-quarters speed, on the heels of 30 minutes of dynamic weightlifting exercises, would be tough enough.
But Tony Greco and his fellow instructors – one per player at this session – turn the ladder into a gauntlet, literally pushing the players during the footwork drills, calling on their core strength to maintain balance. Now they’re yanking on the players via straps lassoed around the shoulders. Makes sense. Being pushed and pulled while trying to execute a skill is a lot like hockey isn’t it?
“You can always do better than you think you can,” bellows Tony Greco above the blaring music. “Give it! Give it!”
To enhance effort, he talks tough during the sessions, but afterward he sits on the gym apparel and chats easily with these players, who range from an established NHLer like Claude Giroux to others looking to get to another level.
“It sucks while you’re here, but the results are worth it,” says Calvin de Haan, a 20-year-old defenceman from Carp drafted 12th overall by the New York Islanders in 2009. “I really enjoy working with Tony and the other trainers here are great as well.”
