Anthony Donskov is a strength and conditioning coach for elite and youth hockey players and owns Donskov Strength and Conditioning in Columbus Ohio. He has also written two books: Physical Preparation for Ice Hockey: Biological Principles and Practical Solutions (2016) and The Gain, Go, Grow Manual: Programming for High Performance Hockey Players (2020).

Needless to say after 16 years coaching some of the best in the world, Anthony is one of the leaders in hockey S&C. His ability to draw information from a variety of sources is second to none and it shows in his approach. Luckily he broke down a lot of his principles in full here in thoughtful and precise manner.

We talked about his process of writing and how was able to complete two books. We also discussed training players in the offseason, balancing stressors between sport and training, ramping up on-ice work in the offseason, the differences between youth and pro athletes, skating vs sprinting, and conditioning considerations for hockey players.

The conditioning discussion was particularly fruitful as we discussed how much off-ice conditioning is needed, how effective it is and how to incorporate as much on ice work as possible especially for pros.

Here is the study referenced: Adaptations of skeletal muscle to endurance exercise and their metabolic consequences

And finally here is Anthony's social media platforms: Twitter: @anthonydonskov IG: @anthonydonskov