P.K. Subban Young Hockey Player Development

Maria Subban (P.K’s Mother) Had Vision

Maria Subban once told me how important it is for me to work with young kids in the hockey world.

She flat-out told me to work with the young kids because of their need of proper strength training to build the right foundation for the sport.

I didn’t really listen back then as I was too busy focusing on the older kids that are on the edge of becoming pro.

Because frankly, those that want to turn pro knew the investment in our training gave them the best chance they could get at getting a contract signed.

I didn’t have to sell hard, they come, they hear, they bought.

Karl Subban and Maria Subban at EH Gala

But more recently, we had dinner again and she explained in detail why and this is her story:

A performance coach once persuaded Karl Subban to bring P.K. for “reactive-training”, being a little skeptical, Maria decided to bring P.K. to a single session.

She observed P.K. doing “reactive-training”, and exercise where an athlete will hop after these lights that blink on and off. You identify the correct light and then you hop after it.

She observed P.K doing this for the entire session, while the coach was on the phone. And when P.K. was done, the coach clapped him on the back and told him “Good job, P.K.!”

She politely thanked that coach and never came back.

In another time, a performance coach convinced P.K. to come train with him for a session, and again, Maria watch him hop through these ladders the entire time.

As an ex-sprinter, she knew this was bullshit. The training Karl was doing at home with P.K. was better, and she wasn’t quite sure what he needed but that for damn sure, was not it.

She knew P.K. needed something better, her son needed to get strong, and that crap wasn’t the answer.

I really enjoyed listening to Maria tell theses stories, as she reenacted the reactive jumps and the ladder drills.

We laughed so hard we cried. She said:

“Clance, you must get to these kids early! And by the time they get to sixteen years old, they’ll be ready for your real tough training.”

It was refreshing to hear from a parent who understands that STRENGTH is the foundation.

Strength is Foundation Subban Family

That’s why this year, I’m dedicating time to help the younger athletes.

We’re going to start working with kids as young as 8 years old.

We’re going to give them the foundation they truly need, and not get scammed into another bullshit training that we have to do humpty dumpty fixing 5-8 years down the road.

It’s about to get really exciting for Canadian athletes.

It’s going to take years, and I’m starting to see results, but I’m not settling for Canadian standards, I want to give each and everyone of my athletes an opportunity to set an international standard.

Mediocre & status quo will not exist under my leadership.

If you want to learn more about The Subban’s family journey, check out Karl Subban’s latest book: “How We Did It”.

How We Did it by Karl Subban on Amazon